Idea of Workers’ Participation in Management

Participative management or the idea of workers’ participation in management is a form of open management in which employees are encouraged to actively participate in the organisation’s decision-making process.The notion is utilised by managers who recognise the significance of human cognition and aim to build a solid relationship with their staff. They are aware that the employees serve as intermediaries between the clients and the company, facilitating the fulfilment of their needs. This type of management has been embraced by many firms to outperform the competition in the market and to remain one step ahead of the competition.

Importance of workers’ participation in management

Participative management serves as a motivating drive for employees to achieve certain organisational objectives by involving them in the process. The key concept behind this type of management is that it is about maximising physical capital and the use of intellectual and emotional human capital. This is the process of involving people in the decision-making process to ensure that everyone’s psychological requirements are satisfied on an individual basis. In turn, it boosts the level of job satisfaction among employees and the overall quality of their working environment. Motivated employees are the most valuable assets an organisation can have, and participative management is an excellent method for retaining the top talent in the market.

Participatory Management, also known as co-determination, is viewed as a quick fix for low morale, staff attrition, low productivity, and work unhappiness, among other issues. However, while it may not be suitable to empower employees at every level of the company, the usage of collaborative decision-making at specific levels of the organisation can be quite beneficial.

Forms of workers’ participation in management

All despise a decision-making technique that involves participation! Labour organisations like trade unions, for example, are opposed to this. They claim that it is, in reality, detrimental to the welfare of workers since participatory methods provide management with valuable information, which in turn allows management to bargain more effectively with labour unions when dealing with them.

Denison published an extensive paper in 1990 detailing a wide range of advantages of participative management. This comes after Kanter made significant contributions to the field from 1983 to 1989. His theory of participatory management enables innovation and knowledge sharing between managers and employees, particularly those close to the manufactured items. Their proximity allows for improved quality control, the development of more efficient production processes, and the strategising of such operations, among other things.

As well as working alongside the previously mentioned individuals, Markowitz and Lawler have also worked independently in the field.

Participatory management has its limitations

Participative management is unquestionably one of the most effective management systems available. However, this approach has some limitations, just as there are other types of decision-making. These restrictions might be attributed to either external or internal factors in the implementation process.

There are certain limitations to participative management that include the following

The complexity of Technology and Organisations: Organisations and technology have become so complex in recent years that specialised people are required for each position. Workers are not permitted to participate in activities beyond a particular point. Occasionally, a particular department or group contributes actively, while another group acts in the polar opposite direction. Afterwards, there are restrictions based on the level at which you operate. Worker participation in operational matters, for example, is permitted, but participation in policy considerations is not permitted at this time.

Manipulation: Managers may use participation to manipulate their staff from time to time. This may be both conscious and subconscious. Similar to this, representatives of labour unions may take advantage of employees under the guise of collective bargaining, and it reduces the importance of workers’ participation in management.

Workers’ Psychology: There is an ingrained belief among employees that they are workers whose primary job is to serve their superiors (management), which hinders them from taking part. As a result, it is of little interest to such individuals, and their interest varies in forms of workers’ participation in management.

Workers’ Unions: Workers’ unions are essential to the success of participatory management, but they can also be damaging to it if it fails. The majority of labour unions are involved in politics, but they are not particularly concerned about their participation. How representatives or individuals address the situation is not very favourable to make matters worse. Workers join trade unions for personal motives rather than for the organisation’s benefit. Employees who are members are considered to have some level of protection against unfortunate events such as accidents, dismissal, and other problems, in which case union assistance can save the day. As a result, the motivation for participating is diminished.

Conclusion

Various mechanisms, such as those described above, allow employees to participate in corporate decision-making. However, there are various avenues by which people can contribute their share to making the businesses a better place to work, such as financial involvement, Total Quality Management, engagement through empowered teams, joint committees, and councils. The company should continue the entire focus on growth and development to make the business big. The involvement of the employees helps the organisation and has certain limitations that the company should take care of and accordingly should decide the company’s policies.