40 companies named to WorldBlu List of Most Democratic Workplaces
WorldBlu proclaims April 14 ‘Democracy in the Workplace Day’
Tuesday April 14, 2009 -- Jason Thompson
A record 40 companies are winners of the 2009 WorldBlu List of Most Democratic Workplaces award — recognizing organizations around the world for their commitment to democratic principles.

Sponsored by WorldBlu, an Austin-based non-profit specializing in organizational democracy, the list is made up of organizations from Canada, England, India, Malaysia, Mexico, the Netherlands, Switzerland and the U.S., representing roughly $12 billion in combined annual sales in the technology, health care, telecommunication, media, manufacturing, aerospace and retail sectors.

“Nothing has proven the need for a new model of business as definitively as the current economic crisis,” WorldBlu founder and president, Traci Fenton said in a news release.

“The call for transparent, accountable, and decentralized companies is greater than ever, and in the midst of all the economic turmoil these organizations are a bright spot and a reason for hope.”

As part of the application process for the WorldBlu list, employees complete a survey evaluating their organization’s practice of 10 democratic principles, including transparency, dialogue and listening, integrity, accountability and choice on a leadership, individual, and systems and processes level.

According to WorldBlu, the survey tool has been developed based on a decade of research into what makes a world-class democratic organization.

“Democratic organizations operate on the principles of freedom rather than fear and control,” Fenton said.

“Democratic companies understand that the future of business is less about pomp and more about participation, less about titles and more about meaning, and less about fiefdoms and more about being flat in order to be competitive in this new, democratic age.”

WorldBlu is also proclaiming April 14 the third annual Democracy in the Workplace Day to celebrate those organizations who have earned a spot on the list and the impact their democratic workplace practices are having on the world around them.

The third installment of the WorldBlu LIVE conference is scheduled for October 21-23, 2010 in Austin, Texas. Last held in New York City in 2008, the conference is a showcase of select WorldBlu award winners that will share best practices and insights on leadership and democracy in the workplace.

In alphabetical order, the 40 companies named to the 2009 WorldBlu List are (companies listed in bold maintained their place on the list for the third consecutive year while those listed in italics are on the list for a second year):

1. 1-800-GOT-JUNK? – Vancouver, Canada
2. a-connect – Zurich, Switzerland
3. AIESEC International – Rotterdam, Netherlands
4. Axiom News – Peterborough, Canada
5. BetterWorld Telecom – Reston, Virginia
6. Beyond Borders – Norristown, Pennsylvania
7. Brainpark, Inc. – San Francisco, California
8. BzzAgent – Boston, Massachusetts
9. Chroma Technology Corp. – Rockingham, Vermont
10. CommunityLend, Inc. – Toronto, Canada
11. Continuum – West Newton, Massachusetts
12. DaVita, Inc.® – El Segundo, California
13. DreamHost – Los Angeles, California
14. Explore Communications – Denver, Colorado
15. Equal Exchange – West Bridgewater, Massachusetts
16. Generation Think Tank – Boulder, Colorado
17. Getting Personal – Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia
18. Glassdoor.com – Sausalito, California
19. Great Harvest Bread Company – Dillon, Montana
20. Guayaki Sustainable Rainforest Products, Inc. – Sebastopol, California
21. Happy, Ltd. – London, United Kingdom
22. Hypertherm – Hanover, New Hampshire
23. I Love Rewards – Toronto, Canada
24. Innovation Partners International – Portland, Maine
25. La Siembra Co-operative – Ottawa, Canada
26. Menlo Innovations – Ann Arbor, Michigan
27. MindValley – Kuala Lumpar, Malaysia
28. Nearsoft – San Jose, California and Hermosillo, Mexico
29. NixonMcInnes – Brighton, United Kingdom
30. Orpheus Chamber Orchestra – New York City, New York
31. Rypple – Toronto, Canada
32. SBTV.com – St. Louis, Missouri
33. Seventh Generation – Burlington, Vermont
34. Srijan Technologies – New Delhi, India
35. sweetriot – New York City, New York
36. TakingITGlobal – Toronto, Canada
37. Touchstone – Washington, DC
38. Tracer Corporation – Milwaukee, Wisconsin
39. Veldhoen + Company – Maastricht, Netherlands
40. WONGDOODY – Seattle, Washington

Visit www.worldblu.com for more information on WorldBlu.

Stay tuned to Axiom News in the coming weeks to read about organizations named to the WorldBlu list and how they’ve fostered democracy in their workplaces.

If you have feedback on this article, please contact the newsroom at 800-294-0051 or e-mail jason(at)axiomnews.ca.