Open business is an approach to enterprise that draws on ideas from openness movements like free software, open source, open content and open tools and standards. The approach places value on transparency, stakeholder inclusion, and accountability. Open business structures make contributors and non-contributors visible so that business benefits are distributed accordingly. They seek to increase personal engagement and positive outcomes by rewarding contributors in an open way.
Main ideas
Central to the concept are:
Open learning/sharing — a fundamental tenet is open collaboration at all levels in all locations
Open participation — open invitation to join the organization
Individual rights — each person is supported and encouraged to identify and optimise their personal development, i.e. technical, personal, spiritual, etc.
Community focus — productivity activities are seen as part of a range of normal human activities e.g. family life, community life, religious commitments, etc.
Institution free — the organization is not based on any existing institution - state, religious or otherwise. Members can hold whatever views or affiliations they like.
Open knowledge — the free exchange of knowledge by making use -as much as possible- of open standards, open-source and open content principles.
Open member details — including open access to the contact details of all other members in a convenient form
Open financials — all accounting information including the compensation of others
Details
Knowledge
All knowledge and information is free and open between members
Knowledge and information gets converted continuously from any location into a ubiquitously accessible form, converted from
Decisions rise from a continuous Open Process by consensus building and voting, available to all involved members
Management roles in projects are rotating
Focused on transparent goods
Businesses that sell consumer products can operate in open ways, for example by disclosing prices for components and publishing operating information. There is an interest in the benefit of most stakeholders, whether shareholders, workers, families etc. The risk of bankruptcy of such open-movement businesses is reduced because the fruits of their work remain in the commons and therefore remain as a permanent base for recovering the open business, even in their most critical situations.
Focused on transparent services
A service orientated business can also operate in open ways. A business that documents all transactions real-time on their websites in public, is very open. Another example might be Canonical Ltd.. Open businesses can be more attractive to donors, especially if the name of the donors in social networks are made public too. So in this case even the donors participate in the charity as business and beyond by increasing their positive community karma and building their reputation. The risk of bankruptcy of such transaction-oriented businesses is reduced due to the fact, that
Any person may be a member, regardless of their races, sex, religion or political persuasion
* either with the approval of the majority of members or
* simply by an online registration process
the degree of participation depends on social and professional competence and on self-regulating transparent business rules, constantly developed and cared for by the whole business community.
the members may determine more or less their working time and location
* from a rigid: 8-18 Monday to Friday as the expected working availability time
* to a self-determined, synchronized or more a-synchronic schedule as need be.
