Self-managing Organizations: Management Practice and Transformational Process

Modern technical and economic conditions are rapidly changing. The paradigm of hierarchy dominance is rapidly losing its position under the influence of the emerging knowledge economy. In this regard, organizational structures are inevitably influenced by new conditions. Self-managing organizations (SMOs) can become the new dominant form of organization. The purpose of the study is to identify and describe practices of self-management and problems of transformation in the Oil Energy. To achieve this goal, an analysis of the existing literature on the topic of self-governing organizations and the origins of their emergence had been carried out. As a result of the review of literature on self-managing organizations and transformation process, the data were summarized and used in the survey. After that, a series of in-depth interviews with Oil Energy employees were conducted, based on which management and transformational characteristics were identified and described. The research methods are based on a survey and a series of in-depth interviews with Oil Energy employees (the sample is 15% of the company's staff). The survey is based on the analysis of literature, and the 5-point Likert scale is used for the surveys). According to the results of the survey, a high level of compliance of the organization with the SMO was revealed (3.98 out of 5), which gives grounds for conducting qualitative data through in-depth interviews. The obtained interviews were analyzed by transcripts using the methods of case classification and induction. Based on this, the organizational characteristics and problems of SMO implementation of the Oil Energy were identified. Unique system of decentralized management, based on working circles and employee autonomy was identified in Oil Energy. There are no management levels in the organization. Instead, there is a developed system of meetings (facilitators, peer reviews are practiced). At the organization level, there are 3 circles that preserve the integrity of the organization: The Council of representatives of the circles, the Strategic Circle, the Immune System. The organization identifies them as 3 branches of power: legislative, executive, and judicial. Employees elect their own representatives to these circles. The organization maintains high transparency of information, which is expressed in high interpersonal trust, open salaries, mutual control and open discussion of organizational issues. The remuneration is based on grades and the distribution of 15-20% of the profit. Grades are divided by payment for the area of responsibility, for involvement in the management process and for uniqueness of the employee's abilities. In Oil Energy, there is no budgeting, marketing plans. The strategy and mission of the company is formed from the "collective intelligence" (bottom up). It is based not only on commercial grounds, which is expressed in the creation of an evolutionary goal. The transformation process is developing successfully due to conviction and perseverance of owner Dmitry Zatsepin, who is not afraid to delegate power in the organization. This is also reflected in the fact that soon he plans to transfer 90% of the shares of the company to NCO, which will be controlled by the employees of the Oil Energy. At the same time, 10% goes to the Founders ' Fund, which will ensure both the stability of the owner's income and the development of the company's "self-ownership". The main identified problems of transformation are unfairness of the system of remuneration for roles; sharpness of changes; high turnover of employees; burnout and stress, including due to an increase in the communicative load that provides the management process; high percentage of people who do not want to work in the self-managing system; high requirements for the psych emotional development of employees of the organization; resistance to changes on the part of middle and top management. and some others.