HOLOCRACY AS A GOVERNANCE MANAGEMENT STRUCTURE

Öz

In the last century, companies have had to cope with increasing uncertainty and fierce competition. In this context, it has become necessary to move from traditional hierarchical management structures to flexible and agile organisational structures suitable for the requirements of the age. In holocracy, one of these structures, the hierarchical structure resembling a pyramid has been replaced by an organisational form consisting of circles or holons. Self-organising circles consist of roles and individuals are assigned to undertake these roles. Individuals become accountable to other employees in the organisation by having clear responsibilities of the role. This structure, in which leadership is formed together with the competence, experience and value that the employee adds to the organisation, has some advantages for both employees and organisations. These advantages include increasing the productivity of the organisation and employees, increasing the self-confidence and organisational commitment of individuals, reducing the intention to leave the job, and paving the way for the development of individuals. The aim of this study is to present definitions of holacracy and the conditions that necessitate this organizational structure, while evaluating its advantages, criticisms, and offering selected examples of its application. In line with these findings, the aim is to evaluate the conditions under which holacracy -which is currently applied primarily in dynamic and innovative fields such as software development and service delivery- could become more widespread in the future, considering the increasing need for organizational agility, employee participation, and rapid decision-making in today’s business world.

Anahtar Kelimeler

• Hierarchy
• Holocracy
• Circle
• Holon
• Agile organization

Bir Yönetişim Yapısı Olarak Holokrasi

Öz

Son yüzyılda şirketler artan belirsizlik ve kıyasıya rekabetle başa çıkmak durumunda kalmışlardır. Bu bağlamda, geleneksel hiyerarşik yönetim yapılarından çağın gereklerine uygun esnek ve çevik düz örgütsel yapılara geçilmesi gereği doğmuştur. Bu yapılardan biri olan holokrasi; piramidi andıran hiyerarşik yapının yerini çemberler ya da holonların aldığı bir örgüt biçimidir. Kendi kendini organize eden bu çemberler rollerden oluşmakta, bu rolleri üstlenmek üzere bireyler görev almaktadır. Bireyler rolün açık sorumluluklarına sahip olarak örgütteki diğer çalışanlara karşı hesap verebilir hale gelmektedir. Liderliğin çalışanın yetkinlik, deneyim ve örgüte kattığı değerle birlikte oluştuğu bu yapının hem çalışanlar hem de örgütler açısından bazı avantajları bulunmaktadır. Örgüt ve çalışan verimliliğini, bireylerin özgüvenini ve örgütsel bağlılıklarını artırması, işten ayrılma niyetini azaltması, bireylerin gelişimine katkı sağlaması bu avantajlar arasında yer almaktadır. Bu çalışmanın amacı; holokrasi tanımlamalarını ve bu örgütsel yapıyı gerektiren koşulları ortaya koyarak, avantajlarına ve eleştirilere yönelik değerlendirmeleri ve bazı uygulama örneklerini ortaya koymaktır. Bu tespitler doğrultusunda, günümüzde daha çok yazılım geliştirme ve hizmet sunumu gibi dinamik ve yenilikçi alanlarda uygulama alanı bulan holokrasinin, örgütsel çeviklik, çalışan katılımı ve hızlı karar alma gereksinimlerinin arttığı günümüz iş dünyasında, gelecekte yaygın hale gelmesinin hangi koşullara bağlı olduğuna ve Türkiye’de uygulanabilirliğine ilişkin değerlendirme yapmaktır.

Anahtar Kelimeler

• Hiyerarşi
• Holokrasi
• Çember
• Holon
• Çevik organizasyon

Kaynakça

1. Ackermann M., Schell, S., Kopp, S. (2021). How Mercedes-benz addresses digital transformation using holacracy?. Journal of Organizational Change, (September, 2021), 1285-1299. https://doi.org/10.1108/JOCM-12-2020-0395.
2. Adler, P. S. (2001). Market, hierarchy and trust: the knowledge economy and the future of capitalism. Organization Science, 12(2)., 215-234, https://doi.org/10.1287/orsc.12.2.215.10117
3. Bernstein, E., Bunch, J., Canner, N., & Lee, M. (2016). Beyond the holacracy hype. Harvard Business Review, 94(7/8), 38-49.
4. Birle, C., Slavoaca, D., Popa L. V.& Vacaras, V. (2020). Cognitive function: holarchy or holacracy?. Neurological Sciences, (October, 2020), 1-12, https://doi.org/10.1007/s10072-020-04737-3.
5. Blakeman, C. (2016, February 9). Holacracy is stupid: Here’s why Medium ditched it. https://chuckblakeman.com
6. Buck, J., & Villines, S. (2017). We the people: Consenting to a deeper democracy. Info Press.
7. Contractor, N. S., DeChurch, L. A., & Wang, D. (2021). Emergence of shared leadership networks in teams: An adaptive process perspective. The Leadership Quarterly, 32(6), 101540.
8. Demirbilek, M. (2021). Holakratik öğrenme ve takım öğrenmesi, Eğitim Yönetimi ve Politikaları Dergisi, 2-1. https://dergipark.org.tr/en/pub/eypd/issue/63464/932018.

9. Ellinger, W. E., Gregory, R. W., & Almandoz, J. (2020). Building shared purpose without managers: How can holacracy work?. Academy of Management Proceedings, 2020(1), 20972.
10. Endenburg, G. (1981). Sociocracy as social design. Delft. Eburon Press.
11. Gedik, Ö., Helvacıoğlu, T. E., & Atilla, E. A. (2023). Holokrasinin çalışan güçlendirme ve verimliliğine etkisinde demografik değişkenlerin düzenleyici rolü: Sağlık çalışanlarıyla bir uygulama. Ankara Hacı Bayram Veli Üniversitesi İktisadi ve İdari Bilimler Fakültesi Dergisi, 25(1), 275-300.
12. Gulla, D. (2020). F. Laloux, Reinventing organizations: a guide to creating organizations inspired by the next stage in human consciousness. NHRD Network Journal, 13(3), 398-399. https://doi.org/10.1177/2631454120958089
13. Gupta, A. & Jena, L. K. (2023). Respect my authority”: Spiritual self-managed teams and holacracy. Management Research: Journal of the Iberoamerican Academy of Management, 22 (1), 21-17. https://doi.org/10.1108/MRJIAM-11-2022-1360.
14. Gür, G.& Genç, K. Y. (2020). Örgütsel yönetimde yeni bir sistem olarak holakrasi ve sistemin Türkiye’de uygulanabilirliği üzerine bir alan araştırması: Ordu ili örneği. 1. International Congress On Management Of Organizations. https://2024.orgutlerinyonetimi.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/04/Orgutlerin_Yonetimi_1.pdf?utm_source.
15. Gür, G., & Wolff, R. A. (2021). COVID-19 pandemi döneminde Z kuşağı ve holakrasi yönetimi. Social Sciences Research Journal, 10(2), 287-295.
16. https://data.tuik.gov.tr/Bulten/Index?p=Kucuk-ve-Orta-Buyuklukteki-Girisim-Istatistikleri-2023-53543
17. Ishikawa, K. (1985). What is total quality control? The Japanese way. Prentice-Hall.
18. Jack, M. A., & Bayo, P. L. (2024). Holacracy and organizational performance: a meta‐analysis of case studies across different business models. African Journal of Management and Business Research, 17(1), 249-262.
19. Kalmus, H.; Vochozka, M.; Formánek, I. 2023. Organizational design based on holacracy as a source of competitive advantage. Entrepreneurship and Sustainability Issues, 11(2), 349-362. 
20. Kamp, P. (2014). Holacracy- A radical_approach to organizational_design, 13-25. https://doi.org/10.13140/2.1.3740.8645
21. Karakaya, A., Arslan, B., & Araşkal, S. (2021). Radikal bir yönetim yaklaşımı olarak holakrasi’nin stratejik analizi. Finans Ekonomi ve Sosyal Araştırmalar Dergisi, 6(4), 625-635. https://dergipark.org.tr/en/download/article-file/1861628.
22. Kinneen, K., Younas, M., & Möller, C. (2018). Self-Managing organizations in the context of entrepreneurial marketing. Retrieved from https://www.diva-portal.org/smash/get/diva2%3A1228343/FULLTEXT01.pdf
23. Kopp, S. (2019). https://www.mercedes-benz.io/blog/2019-06-13-hola-what-a-quick-introduction-to-our-rather-unsual-organizational-structure.
24. Kukreja, J. (2019). Holacracy: The next generation leadership in a VUCA World. International Journal of Trend in Scientific Research and Development (IJTSRD), 3(6), 37-47.
25. Kumar S. V., & Mukherjee, S. (2018). Holacracy - the future of organizing? The case of Zappos. Human Resource Management International Digest, 26 (7), 12-15. https://doi.org/10.1108/HRMID-08-2018-0161.
26. Lee, M. Y., & Edmondson, A. C. (2017). Self-managing organizations: Exploring the limits of less-hierarchical organizing. Research in Organizational Behavior, 37, 35-58. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.riob.2017.10.002
27. Manning, L. (2023). Çase study-operational ınnovation at Zappos: From hierarchy to holocracy, https://www.researchgate.net/publication/375601041, https://doi.org/10.13140/RG.2.2.21424.94721
28. Minnaar, J. (2020). Two large-scale holacracy experiments: Zappos.com vs. Bol.com. https://www.corporate-rebels.com/blog/zappos-versus-bol?utm
29. Mosamim P., & Ningrum S. (2020). Holacracy and hierarchy concepts: Which one is more effective in an organizational leadership and management system?. Malaysian Journal of Social Sciences and Humanities (MJSSH), 5(12), 257-271. https://doi.org/10.47405/mjssh.v5i12.600.
30. Rau, T. J., & Koch-Gonzalez, J. (2018). Many voices, one song: Shared power with sociocracy. Sociocracy for All. https://www.permaculture.org.uk/sites/default/files/2023-10/Many%20Voices%20One%20Song%20-%20Ted%20J.%20Rau%2C%20Jerry%20Koch-Gonzalez%20-%20SOC2022.pdf?utm_source
31. Rayner, T. (2016, April 19). Medium’s experiment with holacracy failed. Long live the experiment. Medium. https://timrayner01.medium.com/medium-s-experiment-with-holacracy-failed-long-live-the-experiment-85af1d3a661a
32. Robledo, M., A. (2024). Holacracy: redefining organizational ontology and epistemology, International Journal of Organizational Analysis, 1-15.
33. Romero, A. M., Uruburu, M., Jain, A. K., Ruiz, M. A., & Muñoz, C. F. G. (2020). The path towards evolutionary-Teal organizations: A relationship trigger on collaborative platforms. Sustainability, 12(23), 9817. https://doi.org/10.3390/su12239817
34. Rzepka, A. (2021). Teal organizations in times of industry 4.0. European Research Studies Journal, Special 1, 60-71.
35. Schwer, K. & Hitz, C. (2018). Designing organizational structure in the age of digitization. Journal of Eastern European and Central Asıan Research., 5 (1) 1.-12, https://doi.org//10.15549/jeecar.v5i1.213
36. Turpçu, M. (2024). The adoption of holacracy in higher education: A scale development study. Journal of University Research, 2024, 7(3), 296-304. https://doi.org/10.32329/uad.1490403
37. Üstün, Ö., & Yıldız, A. T. (2024). Holakratik yönetim yaklaşımının sağlık işletmelerine uygulanabilirliği. Anadolu Akademi Sosyal Bilimler Dergisi, 6(1), 53-61.
38. Velinov, E. & Denisov, I. (2017). The relationship between contemporary holacratic models of management and company performance: Evidence from global corporations in the World. Global Journal of Business and Social Science Review, 5(2), 10-15.
39. Weirauch, L., Galliker, M., & Elfering, A. (2023). Holacracy, a modern form of organizational governance: Effects on work organization and employee experience compared to traditional structures. Frontiers in Psychology, 13, 1021545. https://doi.org/10.3389/fpsyg.2022.1021545
40. Yordanova, Z. (2014). Holacracy - An innovative model for organizational management. 12th International Scientific Conference Management and Engineering ‘14, Sozova, Bulgaristan.