Libertarian Management

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Libertarian management is participative and/or non-authoritarian self-management, which typically emphasizes repetition of proven successes, institutional learning, and earmarking funds to project investment. Libertarian consultants generally focus on management and system productivity, not worker productivity. Libertarian management exponents believe the method can be applied beyond industrial settings in areas such as alternate family arrangements, co-housing, and the co-op movement.

While no text on the subject exists, Libertarian management has been highly influential as a guiding concept among American Libertarian founders of intentional communities and American management productivity consultants. Noted proponents of Libertarian management include Deming and Drucker, consultants at the former GMW in Pittsburgh, and Brycedon International in Ontario, Canada. Many companies use the concepts and techniques of Libertarian management, some of which are listed below.

[edit] Libertarian management and the Libertarian Party

The last three chairs of the United States Libertarian Party have been management consultants. Members of the Party often refer to organizations using Libertarian management as do-ocracies, where decision-making by the initiators and implementers (i.e. doers) of a project is emphasized. Typically, decisions in such a do-ocracy are made through a consensus process.

[edit] Concepts of Libertarian management

• Desirable definition processes
• User co-operatives
• Building quality in
• Learning circles
• Thinking squares
• Emoting trapezoids
• Philosophizing ellipses
• Gainsharing
• Modular businesses
• Open source
• Re-engineering
• Bottom-up strategic planning
• Tactical best practices
• Open-book management and learning
• Detailed activity and task lists and standards
• Outcome metrics
• Short interval check scheduling and control
• Management by worker created objectives
• Self-managing task creation and assignment
• Task-based learning
• Goal analysis
• Management engineering
• Re-privatization of government services
• Standards definition and organization
• Prototyping
• Internal markets