An explanatory mixed method research to examine the dimensions of organizational democracy

The concept of organizational democracy is an increasingly important concept and is becoming a more frequent topic in academic studies. Addressing the concept of democracy, which has a significant impact on the welfare of societies from the perspective of organizations is also beneficial for observing the welfare of organizations. On the other hand, it is considered that the establishment of universities, which are educational institutions that steer society, within the framework of a democratic organization is also necessary for scientific and social development. With this in mind, this study aimed to investigate the perception level of organizational democracy in academic organizations delivering undergraduate education in tourism and to determine the basic dimensions that constitute the perception of organizational democracy. In this context, academicians serving in academic organizations delivering undergraduate level education in tourism in Turkey were included in the study. The survey technique was used in the quantitative part of the study developed by using the explanatory mixed method while a semi-structured interview form was used in the qualitative part. The academicians' perception of organizational democracy was measured using the Organizational Democracy Scale developed by Geçkil and Tikici (2015) in the quantitative part of the study. According to the obtained results the organizational democracy perception of academicians in academic organizations delivering undergraduate level tourism education is medium (3.03) level. On the other hand, when we examine the connection between the perception of organizational democracy and the demographic characteristics of the academicians, a difference was noted between the participants' ages and education and their perceptions of organizational democracy. A semi-structured interview form was used in the qualitative part of the study to try to reveal the dimensions that constitute the perception of organizational democracy in academic organizations. According to the obtained results, these dimensions were gathered under the themes of participation, criticism, transparency, justice, equality, accountability, sharing power and third generation university themes. The participants made suggestions about organizational culture, management style, management objectives, allegiance culture and merit in terms of achieving organizational democracy. Finally, when the academicians were asked to describe organizational democracy through metaphors, the metaphors were interpreted as categories under animal, human and object.