Adhocracy is the absence of hierarchy, and is therefore the opposite of bureaucracy.

The term is used in the theory of management of organizations. All members of an organization have the authority to make decisions and to take actions affecting the future of the organization.

Alvin Toffler noted in his book Future Shock that adhocracies will get more common and are likely to replace bureaucracy in the near future. He also wrote that they will most often come in form of a temporary structure, formed to resolve a given problem and dissolved afterwards.

The term is also used to describe the form of government used in the science fiction novel Down and Out in the Magic Kingdom, by Cory Doctorow.

See also

Xerocracy

Sources

• Adhocracy by Robert H. Waterman, Jr. (ISBN 0393310841)
• Future Shock by Alvin Toffler (ISBN 0553277375)