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Page 1: Participative Management Hardcopy

Human resource Management….

--- Human Resource Management.

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PrefacIntroduction

Participative (or participatory) management, otherwise known as employee involvement or participative decision making, encourages the involvement of stakeholders at all levels of an organization in the analysis of problems, development of strategies, and implementation of solutions. Employees are invited to share in the decision-making process of the firm by participating in activities such as setting goals, determining work schedules, and making suggestions. Other forms of participative management include increasing the responsibility of employees (job enrichment); forming self-managed teams, quality circles, or quality-of-work-life committees; and soliciting survey feedback. Participative management, however, involves more than allowing employees to take part in making decisions. It also involves management treating the ideas and suggestions of employees with consideration and respect. The most extensive form of participative management is direct employee ownership of a company.Four processes influence participation. These processes create employee involvement as they are pushed down to the lowest levels in an organization. The farther down these processes move, the higher the level of involvement by employees. The four processes include:

Information sharing, which is concerned with keeping employees informed about the economic status of the company.

Training, which involves raising the skill levels of employees and offering development opportunities that allow them to apply new skills to make effective decisions regarding the organization as a whole?

Employee decision making, which can take many forms, from determining work schedules to deciding on budgets or processes.

Rewards, which should be tied to suggestions and ideas as well as performance.

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Scope of Participative management

The scope of participative style of management certainly depends on the organization, its nature, functions and processes. Though associating employees at every stage of decision-making is not possible still regular exchange of information, ideas, consultations, thoughts, decisions and negotiations between employer and the employees definitely is a boon to the organization. Few of the world’s biggest organizations like Toyota, HSBC, British Airways, Satyam, British Gas and Nokia Cellular have achieved considerable profits and value creation by implementing the most amazing ideas of their employees. Their success witnesses the importance of workers’ participation in the process of decision making.The scope of workers’ involvement in managerial decision-making may extend to social, economic and personnel decision making depending upon the requirements of the organization. But there is a difference of opinion about the extent to which employees can participate in managerial decision-making process. Should they be equal partners and make joint decisions or should workers be given opportunities through their seniors to come up with the ideas. The first school of thoughts favors the actual participation of workers while the second school of thoughts suggests the consultation of workers in managerial decision making. It is up to the management to decide which style it prefers and till what extent it requires involvement of employees.However, if we talk about the scope of workers’ participation in social, economic and personnel decision-making, it may have a direct impact on some of the most crucial activities of the organization. Let’s read further to understand how these three groups of managerial decision-making can affect any industrial establishment:Social Decision-Making: It refers to employee involvement in decision making regarding hours of work, rules and regulations at workplace, welfare measures, workers’ safety, employee welfare, health and sanitation. In this category, employees have a say in decisions in these areas. They may take an advantage of their liberty and sometimes, can dominate the management. Here the concept of bounded or restricted participation can work well.

Economic/Financial Decision-Making: It includes involvement of employees on various financial or economic aspects such as the methods of manufacturing, cost cutting, automation, shut-down, mergers and acquisition and lay-offs. Inviting ideas from employees on various issues like how to cut down the operating cost can work wonders.

Personnel Decision-Making: The employees’ participation in personnel decision-making refers to their involvement in various management processes including recruitment and selection, work distribution, promotions, demotions and transfers, grievance handling, settlements, voluntary retirement schemes and so on. Participation of

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employees in these processes can safeguard their interests and motivate them to work hard for the betterment of self as well as the organization.Employee participation in decision-making process although is beneficial. However, there may be some limits on it to ensure that they do not take advantage of their liberty and right of participation. There are several ways through which employees can participate in the whole process. Some of them are financial participation, participation through collective bargaining, participation at the board level, participation through ownership, participation through work councils and committees and participation through suggestion schemes. Anyone of these ways or processes can be adopted by the management to ensure participation from workers.

Objectives of Participative Management                    

 Participative management acts as a force to motivate employees to meet specific organizational goals. The main idea behind this style of management is not only using physical capital but also making optimum utilization of intellectual & emotional human capital. This is the process of involving people in decision making process to ensure that everyone’s psychological needs are met. It, in turn increases the job satisfaction among employees and improves the quality of their work life. Motivated employees are the biggest assets of an organization and participative management is an effective strategy to retain the best talents of the industry

Participatory Management or co-ordination is seen as the quick cure for poor morale, employee attrition, low productivity and job dissatisfaction. However, it may not be appropriate to empower employees at every level but use of joint decision making at certain levels in organization can work wonders. The main objectives of Participative Management are as follows      

1. To Make Best Use of Human Capital: Participative management does not restrict organizations to exploit only physical capital of employees. Rather it makes the best use of human intellectual and emotional capital. It gives employees an opportunity to contribute their ideas and suggestions to improve business processes and create a better working environment.

2. To Meet the Psychological Needs of Employees: When employees have a say in decision making process, it gives

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them a psychological satisfaction. It is a simple force that drives them to improve their performance, create a proper channel of communication and find practical solutions to design better organizational processes.

3. To Retain the Best Talent: Participatory management is one of the most effective strategies to retain the best talent in the industry. It gives employees a sense of pride to have a say in organizational decision making process. Once they are valued by their seniors, they stick to the organization and become management’s partners in meeting specific goals and achieving success.

4. To Increase Industrial Productivity: In today’s competitive world, motivation, job security and high pay packages are not enough to increase industrial productivity. Leadership, flexibility, delegation of authority, industrial democracy and employee say in decision making are important to increase annual turnover of any organization.

5. To Establish Harmonious Industrial Relationship: Participatory from of management is an unbeatable tact to establish and maintain cordial relationships with employees and workers union. The success of an organization depends on its human resources. Employee empowerment acts as a strong force to bind the employees and motivate to give them their best to the organization.

6. To Maintain a Proper Flow of Communication: Two-way communication plays an important role in the success of any organization. Employee participation in decision making ensures proper flow of communication in the organization. Everyone contributes their best and tries to strengthen the organization by contributing their best to improve business processes.

Participative management is beneficial to organization as well as employees. It gives employees a higher degree of enjoyment at work place that drives them to work harder. It is equally rewarding for the management as it ensures tremendous improvement in work culture within the organization as well as increase in its productivity.

Features

Employees have always been bossed around their managers and told what they are supposed to do. They never had the authority to decide things in the company.gradually, times are changing and employees are encouraged to participate in organisations decision making process. Management motivates them to come up with ideas and suggestions that can make organizational processes far more efficient. The main idea behind adopting

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participatory form of management is to work together, achieve targeted goals in minimum possible time and stay ahead of competition.

For some companies, participative management is still a foreign subject. The concept is not widespread and is still restricted to a few organisations. They have such a weird perception towards it that can’t even picture it working. The management is still restricted to a few organisations. They have such a weird perception towards it that can’t even picture it working. The management in such companies doesn’t like employees questioning its authority. But the organizations that have successfully adopted this particular style of management they look upon it as a means to achieve their targets and create a sound working environment. The concept is gaining world-wide recognition and popularity day by day.        

Some companies still stick to conventional ways of management while others are encouraging employees to contribute to the suggestion box. Features of participative management can work are as follows:

1. Ethical Dimensions: Participatory management has ethical dimensions and based on morals, principles and values. In this form of management, every one is treated equally when it comes to organizational decision making. It is based on employee empowerment, responsibility sharing and delegation of authority.

2. Proper Channel of Communication: Participative form of management encourages two-way communication. It is not only management that decides what employees need to do but it also encourages employees to participate in decision making and give ideas and suggestions to make organizational processes better and more efficient. They are allowed to share their problems, views, ideas and feedback with their managers.

3. Empowers Employees: Participative style of management gives employees a chance to participate in management processes. They are encouraged to come up with their views. Gone are the days when employees were bossed around by their managers. Now they are to be treated like co-workers. This provides a higher status to employees as they also have a say in decision making.

4. Recognition of Human Dignity: In this form of management, all employees are treated equally irrespective of their designations when it comes to giving ideas and suggestions for organizational decision making process. Employees are no more the servants of managers but are the most important assets of an organization.

5. Psychological Satisfaction to Employees: Most of our lives are spent at workplace. It is important for everyone to have psychological satisfaction as far as our employment is concerned. Commitment from the organization, respecting the

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dignity of individuals and co-determining the company policies are some of the features of participative management that provide psychological satisfaction to employees. Participative Management is a universally recognized concept but still most organizations hesitate to adopt it. Through this style of management, both the parties, employer and employees, are satisfied. It brings management and employees closer and thus, should be adopted open heartedly.

Requirements of Participative Management

A common misconception by managers is that participative management involves simply asking employees to participate or make suggestions. Effective programs involve more than just a suggestion box. In order for participative management to work, several issues must be resolved and several requirements must be met. First, managers must be willing to relinquish some control to their workers; managers must feel secure in their position in order for participation to be successful. Often managers do not realize that employees' respect for them will increase instead of decrease when they implement a participative management style.

The success of participative management depends on careful planning and a slow, phased approach. Changing employees' ideas about management takes time, as does any successful attempt at a total cultural change from a democratic or autocratic style of management to a participative style. Long-term employees may resist changes, not believing they will last. In order for participation to be effective, managers must be genuine and honest in implementing the program. Many employees will need to consistently see proof that their ideas will be accepted or at least seriously considered. The employees must be able to trust their managers and feel they are respected.

Successful participation requires managers to approach employee involvement with an open mind. They must be open to new ideas and alternatives in order for participative management to work. It is important to remember that although the manager may not agree with every idea or suggestion an employee makes, how those ideas are received is critical to the success of participative management.

Employees must also be willing to participate and share their ideas. Participative management does not work with employees who are passive or simply do not care. Many times employees do not have the skills or information necessary to make good suggestions or decisions. In this case it is important to provide them with information or training so they can make informed choices. Encouragement should be offered in order to

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accustom employees to the participative approach. One way to help employees engage in the decision-making process is by knowing their individual strengths and capitalizing on them. By guiding employees toward areas in which they are knowledgeable, a manager can help to ensure their success.

Before expecting employees to make valuable contributions, managers should provide them with the criteria that their input must meet. This will aid in discarding ideas or suggestions that cannot be implemented, are not feasible, or are too expensive. Managers should also give employees time to think about ideas or alternative decisions. Employees often do not do their most creative thinking on the spot.

Another important element for implementing a successful participative management style is the visible integration of employees' suggestions into the final decision or implementation. Employees need to know that they have made a contribution. Offering employees a choice in the final decision is important because it increases their commitment, motivation, and job satisfaction. Sometimes even just presenting several alternatives and allowing employees to choose from them is as effective as if they thought of the alternatives themselves. If the employees' first choice is not feasible, management might ask for an alternative rather than rejecting the employee input. When an idea or decision is not acceptable, managers should provide an explanation. If management repeatedly strikes down employee ideas without implementing them, employees will begin to distrust management, thus halting participation. The key is to build employee confidence so their ideas and decisions become more creative and sound.

Concerns

Participative management is not a magic cure for all that ails an organization. Managers should carefully weigh the pros and the cons before implementing this style of management. Managers must realize that changes will not take effect overnight and will require consistency and patience before employees will begin to see that management is serious about employee involvement. Participative management is probably the most difficult style of management to practice. It is challenging not only for managers but for employees as well.While it is important that management allows employees to participate in decision making and encourages involvement in the organization's direction, managers must be cognizant of the potential for employees to spend more time formulating suggestions and less time completing their work. Upper-level management will not support a participative management program if they believe employees are not meeting their daily or weekly goals. Some suggestions for overcoming this potential problem are to set aside a particular time each week for workers to meet with management in order to share their ideas, or to allow them to work on their ideas during less busy times of the day or week.

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Another idea that works for some managers is to allow employees to set up individual appointments to discuss ideas or suggestions.Managers should remember that participative management is not always the appropriate way to handle a given situation. Employees often respect a manager that uses his or her authority and makes decisions when it is necessary. There are times when, as a manager, it is important to be in charge, make a decision, and then accept the responsibility for the choices made. For example, participative management is probably not appropriate when disciplinary action is needed.When managers look upon their own jobs as a privilege instead of as a responsibility, they will fail at making participative management work. They will be less willing to turn over some of the decision-making responsibility to subordinates. Another reason that participative management fails is that managers do not realize it is not the same as delegating or simply shifting responsibility. Participation alone has no value; it is only an effective tool if it is used to solve problems and meet goals. Some managers believe that inviting employees to join in meetings and form committees will create a successful participative management program. However, these measures are only successful when employees' ideas are accepted by management and implemented.The larger the organization, the more difficult it becomes to institute a participative management style. Large organizations have more layers and levels, which complicate effective communication and make it difficult to register the opinions and suggestions of a diverse group of employees and managers. Critics argue that unions are often more effective than participative management in responding to employee needs because union efforts can cut through bureaucratic organizations more quickly.Participative management programs can be threatened by office politics. Due to hidden agendas and peer pressure, employees may keep their opinions to themselves and refuse to tell a manager if they feel an idea will not work. Managers also play a part in politics when they implement participative management programs to impress their own bosses but have no intention of seeing them through.Many companies have experienced the positive effects of participative management. Employees are more committed and experience more job satisfaction when they are allowed to participate in decision making. Organizations have reported that productivity improved significantly when managers used a participative style. Participative management is not an easy management style to implement. It presents various challenges and does not succeed overnight. Managers will be more successful if they remember that it will take time and careful planning before they will see results. Starting with small projects that encourage and reward participation is one way to get employees to believe that management is sincere and trustworthy.

Pre-requisites of Participative Management                    

 Participative management can best be described as a style of decision making that ensures involvement of stakeholders at all levels. This operates at three levels. Problem analysis, strategy formulation and final implementation of the solution. There are certain pre-requisites to be met before participative management can be put to work. Participative management first of all requires a willingness from the managers to give up

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some charge to the workers and they must in turn be in a position such that the successful participation of all is ensured. It cannot be successful in any organization unless is carefully planned, timed and well thought upon. Since participative is a style of decision making , therefore its implementation essential requires a change in the employee’s idea of the latter. This change also means that there is a cultural change required in the organization vis-à-vis a change from a certain other style of decision making to participative style. Also brings with it a certain amount of resistance from the employees specially so from the older or the long term employees.The resistance is a reflection of the disbelief of the employees that their participation will not be respected and implemented. The onus here lies on the managers in putting in sincere efforts to convince them of the usefulness of their role in the decision making. The employees need proof that their ideas will be considered, discussed seriously and implemented finally if found beneficial to the organization. This is precisely why participative management needs to be implemented in phases; this way the employees are able to see proof that their ideas and suggestions hold weight. It also encourages them to come forth in future and also keeps them continuously engaged in thinking about the welfare of their organization.One more prerequisite for successful participative management is attitude of the top and middle management or those who seek employee interventions in decision making. They must approach employee involvement with a receptive and open mindset. This encourages participation. They must be open to new ideas and innovations. This may sound problematic in large organizations but how the suggestion is being received decides to a large extent whether or not the style of decision making can be successful.Since decision making is based on inputs of one and all, therefore its success also depends on the degree of participation of employees. In certain organizations despite obvious proofs, the employees decide not to participate or make contribution. In yet another organizations the employees are not skilled enough to make meaningful contributions to the final decision making process. This can be overcome by imparting the right kind of training and by the manager himself by ascertaining the individual strengths of his team members and asking for relevant contributions based upon the same.In large organizations in order to ascertain the relevance of suggestions, managers also need to set certain benchmarks for making inputs to various groups so that discussions are held at levels that are consequential and the solutions are feasible economically.Proof of implementations serves as the biggest marketing vehicle that encourages the employees to become more forthcoming. This also communicates to them that they are important and also motivates them more. Ideas that cannot be implemented need to be explained to the employees. This is important in order to avoid mistrust and promote participation.

Ground Preparation for Participative Management      

    

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  Participative management in itself does not ensure success and should not be seen as tool to create magic within no time. There is certain ground preparation required before an organization can decide for implementation of the management style.The following things need to be taken care of:1. Clearly Defined Objectives: Each party to decision making called as the participants namely the management and the workers must have clearly defined objectives. Operationally there should be no clash between the objectives of the two.2. Clear Communication: There should be clear and timely communication between the management and the workers or the employees. This helps in building trust between the two parties. Workers also gain a sense of responsibility increasing their stake in their work and in the organization as a whole.

        1. Choosing the Representative: It is important for the workers to choose their

representative from among themselves and not any person from outside the labor union. This is important for two reasons. First, the person is able to better understand the problems of his colleagues and report the same to the management. Second, the management is keener to talk and listen from a person who works within the organization.

2. Training the Workers: Training and awareness regarding the usefulness of participative management is required to make it more effective. Further training is required to ensure that every person at every level knows his what contribution he/she has to make. For example, participation at the level of middle management is different compared to participation at lower or top level.

3. Confidence: Both parties workers and the management need a trust to develop between the two. Participation should not be perceived as intimidation to the position of any. If workers think that their status will be adversely affected, they refuse to participate. Similarly, if managers suspect that they will lose their authority, they will decline to participate.

4. Increasing Workers Participation: Workers participation needs to be increased at each level in order to encourage them to contribute meaningfully. Further, their suggestions and recommendations need to be treated with dignity and respect. Nothing can be more motivating than seeing your recommendation being put to practice.

5. Legal Action: Since participative management requires structural and cultural change which takes time. There is resistance to change offered by the employees especially those who perceive it as a threat to their status and authority within the organization. If allowed to take shape a natural speed, it will take time to show results. Therefore, some legislative action is required against the erring employees.

6. Ensuring ROI: Participation should not be at the cost of the values of the organization. It has to be carefully planned; employees should devote a certain time for participation and the rest upon their own specific area of work.

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Participative management may be a solution for each and every type of organization. It is a big challenge in big organizations with big employee size. The implementation needs to be carefully planned and implemented gradually.

Methods/Ways of Participation of Employees in Decision-Making                    

Participation of workers in decision-making process has resulted in successful value creation in many organizations. Though the extent to which employees should participate in organizational decision making is still a matter of debate. Some say that workers’ union should participate with management as equal partners while some believe in restricted or bounded participation, that is, participation of employees or workers to a limited extent. However, there are a number of ways through which employees can participate in decision-making process of any organization.

Participation at the Board Level: Representation of employees at the board level is known as industrial democracy. This can play an important role in protecting the interests

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of employees. The representative can put all the problems and issues of the employees in front of management and guide the board members to invest in employee benefit schemes.

Participation through Ownership: The other way of ensuring workers’ participation in organizational decision making is making them shareholders of the company. Inducing them to buy equity shares, advancing loans, giving financial assistance to enable them to buy equity shares are some of the ways to keep them involved in decision-making.

Participation through Collective Bargaining: This refers to the participation of workers through collective agreements and by deciding and following certain rules and regulations. This is considered as an ideal way to ensure employee participation in managerial processes. It should be well controlled otherwise each party tries to take an advantage of the other.

Participation through Suggestion Schemes: Encouraging your employees to come up with unique ideas can work wonders especially on matters such as cost cutting, waste management, safety measures, reward system, etc. Developing a full-fledged procedure can add value to the organizational functions and create a healthy environment and work culture. For instance, Satyam is known to have introduced an amazing country-wide suggestion scheme, the Idea Junction. It receives over 5,000 ideas per year from its employees and company accepts almost one-fifth of them.

Participation through Complete Control: This is called the system of self management where workers union acts as management. Through elected boards, they acquire full control of the management. In this style, workers directly deal with all aspects of management or industrial issues through their representatives.

Participation through Job Enrichment: Expanding the job content and adding additional motivators and rewards to the existing job profile is a fine way to keep workers involved in managerial decision-making. Job enrichment offers freedom to employees to exploit their wisdom and use their judgment while handling day-to-day business problems.

Participation through Quality Circles: A quality circle is a group of five to ten people who are experts in a particular work area. They meet regularly to identify, analyze and solve the problems arising in their area of operation. Anyone, from the organization, who is an expert of that particular field, can become its member. It is an ideal way to identify the problem areas and work upon them to improve working conditions of the organization.Employees can participate in organizational decision making through various processes mentioned above. However, there are other ways such as financial participation, Total Quality Management, participation through empowered teams and joint committees and councils through which they can contribute their share in making the organizations a better place to work.       

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Participation through Staff or Works council’s: Staff councils or Works councils are bodies on which the representation is entirely of the employees. There may be one council for the entire organization or hierarchy of works council, from the shop floor to the board level. The members of the councils are elected by the employees of the respective sections.The councils have different functions in the management of an enterprise, ranging from electing information on the management’s intentions to a full share in decision making. They are a right step in the direction of industrial democracy. But they are not successful because of the fear expressed by trade union leaders that, being mainly workers bodies, staff councils may erode their power and prestige.

Participation through Joint councils & committees: Joint councils are bodies comprising representative of employees and employers. The function of these bodies may range from decision making on some issues, to merely advising the management as consultative bodies. Being mostly consultative bodies the joint councils indicate a loose type of participation because there are not binding on the management. These councils serve no useful purpose. They only provide a platform to employers and employees from which they give free vent to their complaints and grievances without making any attempt to find remedies and solutions.Works committees have being constituted in industrial establishments employing 100 or more workers, and these comprise representatives of employers and employees. The constitution of a works committee is a legal requirement under the provisions of the Industrial Dispute Act, 1947. The committees discussed a wide range of topics connected with the workers welfare. Certain voluntary committees like the welfare committee, the safety committee, the canteen committee, the incentive committee, have also being constituted in most manufacturing establishments. There is no need for so many committees and sub- committees and the effectiveness of their role in promoting industrial democracy, increased productivity and reduced labour unrest is doubtful.The opinion of most of the managers about the committees is that they have a nuisance value.

Empowered Teams- it basically refers to passing on authority and responsibility. Empowerment occurs when power goes to employees who then experience a sense of ownership and controls over their jobs.Empowered individuals know that their jobs belong to them. Given a say on how things are done, employees feel more responsible. When they feel responsible they show more initiative in their work, get more done, and enjoy the work more.

Empowered teams have the following distinct features:-1. They are empowered to share various management and leadership functions .2. They plan, control, and improve their own work processes.3. They set their own goals and inspect their own work.4. They often create their own schedules and review their performance as a group.

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5. They may prepare their own budgets and coordinate their own work with other departments.

6. They usually order materials, keep inventories, and deal with suppliers.7. They are frequently responsible for acquiring any new training they might need.8. They may hire their own replacement or assume responsibility for disciplining

their own members.9. They, and not others outside the team, take responsibility for the quality of their

products or services.

Financial participation: Financial participation differs from other forms of employee involvement in that it is less likely to involve employees in consultation or decisional processes. The general purpose of financial participation is to enhance employee commitment to the organization by linking the performance of the firm to that of the employee. Thus, it is urged that the employee is more likely to be positively motivated and involved if he or she has a financial stake in the company by having a share of profits or being a shareholder. There are many schemes of financial participation but the more prominent of them are the profit linked pay, profit sharing and employee stock option scheme workers co-operatives, management buy outs, pension funds participation and wage earner funds.

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Employee Empowerment - Good or Bad            

What motivates people to work? Money may be the primary reason, but beyond a certain limit it fails to. Organizations have been trying out different things to increase the level of motivation of its employees. Employee empowerment is one of them.Employee empowerment means that an employee is given a chance to be enterprising, take risks without compromising with the organizational goals, mission and vision. His say in the process of decision making in increased. This can be for one particular individual or for the entire organization. In the latter case it is called participative management.There are pros and cons to this employee empowerment. Whereas it is said and has been observed that participative management may lead to increased productivity, motivation, job satisfaction and quality enhancement; it may also slow down the process of decision making and act a potential security threat in terms of ease of access of information it offers to the employees.From an organizational perspective the following pros and cons may be associated with employee empowerment.

Pros of Employee Empowerment

It leads to greater job satisfaction, motivation, increased productivity and reduces the costs.It also leads to creativity and innovation since the employees have the authority to act on their own.There is increased efficiency in employees because of increased ownership in their work.Lesser need of supervision and delegation.Focus on quality from the level of manufacturing till actual delivery and service of goods.Employees when empowered become more entrepreneurial and start taking more risks. Greater the risk, greater are the chances to succeed.

Cons of Employee Empowerment

At the individual level employee empowerment means you are an integral component of the organization. This may sprout egotism or arrogance in the workers.Apart from disadvantages at the organizational level, there are certain challenges that emerge at the individual level. Supervisors often complain disgust from the empowered workers. The following points go against employee empowerment:

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Egotism / arrogance: Worker arrogance can create a big trouble for the supervisors and the managers. There can be problems in delegating. Employees avoid reporting about their work and feedback can be taken negatively.

Security: Since information comes and is shared by all, there are apprehensions about leakage of critical data.

Risk: Creativity and innovation demands a greater risk bearing capacity and there are equal chances of success and failure. Workers often lack the expertise to execute are enterprise, which can cost big.

Industrial Democracy: Labor unions and workers are empowered and they may misuse the same. Strikes and lock outs become more frequent. Also, labor unions gain insights into management and their functioning and they leak the same.

Participative management or employee empowerment does not mean relentless transfer of authority. It has to be in a controlled and regulated manner. Each aspect has to be carefully studied and levels of participation decided. For example, the level of participation of knowledge workers is different from that of a floor worker.

Need Of Participative Management To Give Psychological Satisfaction To Workers:

Participative Management is needed in order to give employees psychological satisfaction. They feel important when their views are taken into consideration.

Cordial Labor-Management Relations:Participative management is needed in order to establish cordial labor-management relations. The participation of workers in management can act as an effective means for preventing industrial disputes.

Creating Uniform Approach Of Employers And Workers:Participative management is needed in order to have uniform approach of employer and workers on matters important to both the parties. This avoids disputes.

To Raise Industrial Production:Participative management is needed to raise industrial production. Employers work with enthusiasm and interest when they are given importance and a chance to express themselves.

To Create Platform For Direct Negotiations:Participative management is needed in order to create a platform for direct negotiations and collective decisions as and when required.

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To Create Responsible Approach Among Workers:More the employees are involved in the activities of the organization, more they would feel responsible towards the organization. Participative management creates a responsible approach among employees.

To Remove grievances Of Employees:Participation of employees is needed in order to remove doubts, misunderstandings and grievances in the minds of employees as regards policies and activities undertaken by the company.

To Create A Feeling Of Involvement Among Employees:Employee participation is needed for creating a feeling of involvement among the employees.

Participation and Performance - Importance of Participation                               

The greatest and widely accepted benefit of participation is the increased work ownership of employee. An employee is better able to relate himself/herself with his or her work and this improves performance and efficiency at work.John Newstrom and Keith Davis worked extensively upon the subject. They identified three variables that lead to increased performance. These variables are a part of participative management.According to them, the three variables that collectively enhance performance are:

Removing conditions of powerlessness Enhance job related self efficacy Perception of empowerment

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Removing conditions of Powerlessness: This implies empowering the employees to take decisions on their own, be enterprising and take more risks. This requires a wholesome change in the entire organizational structure and culture. Then leadership becomes a crucial aspect. The choice of a leader who can inspire, motivate and delegate with equal efficacy assumes importance.The reward system needs a revamp. Psychologically empowerment connotes increased responsibilities in the mind of an employee, a hike is required.Finally, participation should result in either job enrichment or job enlargement. Job enlargement means expanding the job responsibilities - adding task elements horizontally. Job enrichment on the other hand means that the job becomes more rewarding - monetarily and otherwise.

Enhance Job Related Self Efficacy: Increase in responsibilities also demands increased efficiency at work. This is achieved by providing training helping an employee achieve job mastery. Laying down benchmarks for a certain set of responsibilities by the use of role models (those who have already accomplished tasks in similar capacities under similar workload) also benefits.Since training induces behavioral changes there is a need for reinforcing the new behaviors. It is this change in attitude and behavior that brings in increased efficiency. Each employee also requires support from those above him and people working his supervision. Support functions become important because the individual now himself delegates his own work. This trickles down to the bottom or the lower level and this is how participation happens across various levels.

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Perception of Empowerment: Employees often misunderstand the idea of participation. There may be a certain group of employees who participate aggressively and in the process their own work gets affected. These perceptions need to be taken care of otherwise they may be well the undoing of all the good work.Empowerment means more competence and value addition to work. It means that individual accepts the responsibilities with humility and fulfills them with grace and efficacy. It calls for increased use of talent. It is in wake of this that the concept of talent management is fast evolving.One limitation of participative management is that the results or decision making doesn’t improve overnight. The above mentioned three variables have been effectively used in organizations implementing participative management. They can act as a catalyst in speeding up the results.

Benefits of Participative Management                               

Participative management as a decision making style is not welcome by one and all! Labor or trade unions, for example do not approve of this. They argue that it is in fact disadvantageous to welfare of the workers because the participative processes give deep insights to the management, which in turn puts the latter in a better bargaining position while dealing with unions.Denison in the year 1990 elaborated on a large number of benefits of participative management. This is after Kanter made useful contributions in the subject from 1983-1989. According to him participative management allows for innovation and knowledge sharing between the managers and the workers, those who are contiguous to the products being made. They being the closest can give better feedback for quality control, devise efficient manufacturing processes and strategize for the same.

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Apart from the above mentioned workers, Markowitz and Lawler have also worked independently in the field. Nonetheless we may enumerate thebenefits of participative management as follows:Innovation and increased efficiency: The problem solving process and openness to new ideas can result in innovation. Apart from this as mentioned above there is also knowledge sharing amongst the workers and the managers. This means that those who are part of a certain process at the ground level give inputs for improved efficiency of the same. This has dual implications, helping improve the quality of product and curtailing the cost of manufacture.

Timeliness: There is improved communication between the managers and the workers and between workers across different units. A loophole or flaw is reported in time.Employee satisfaction and Motivation: Empowering the employees increases their ownership or stake in their work. This increases efficiency and productivity. Consequently there is decreased absenteeism and less employee turnover. This also works in attracting more people towards the organization and the job.

Product quality: A say in decision making means that workers can immediately pin point and suggest remedial measures for improving the efficiency of the process they are apart of. This means that quality control in product or service is exercised for the lowest level.Less supervision requirements: There is greater focus on management of self with due emphasis of widening one’s skill set. One of the major benefits of this is that there is a lesser need of supervision and support staff.

Better grievance redressal: Increased communication paves way for reduced number of grievances and quick and effective resolution of dispute (often on the spot). Union - management relationship is also benefited and strengthened.

Hiring Flexibility: Hiring flexibility is increased as a result of cross training. Increased coordination among team members also offers a comfort zone for the newly hired.

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Participative management thus results in overall increase of the ownership of work of an employee. This empowerment can lead to increased efficiency, better productivity, improved morale and job satisfaction. But the fact the participative management requires an overall change in the organizational culture, the implementation of the same, specially when there is a bureaucratic style of decision making in place, can be a major challenge!

Increase in Productivity: An increased say in decision making means that there is a strong feeling of association now. The employee now assumes responsibility and takes charges. There is lesser new or delegation or supervision from the manager. Working hours may get stretched on their own without any compulsion or force from the management. All this leads to increased productivity.

Job Satisfaction: In lots or organizations that employ participative management, most of the employees are satisfied with their jobs and the level of satisfaction id very high. This is specially when people see their suggestions and recommendations being implemented or put to practice. Psychologically, this tells the individual employee that, ‘he too has a say in decision making and that he too is an integral component of the organization and not a mere worker’.Motivation: Increased productivity and job satisfaction cannot exist unless there is a high level of motivation in the employee. The vice versa also holds true! Decentralized decision making means that everyone has a say and everyone is important.

Reduced Costs: There is a lesser need of supervision and more emphasis is laid on widening of skills, self management. This and quality control means that the costs are controlled automatically.

Limitations of Participative Management                     

Participative management is undoubtedly one of the better approaches to management. But like any other style of decision making there are certain limitations. These limitations arise either externally or internally vis-à-vis the implementation.The following are certain limitations of participative management:

Complexity of Technology and Organizations: Organizations and Technology are so complicated these days that there are specialized workers required for each job. Workers cannot extend beyond a certain limit in participation. There are instances when a certain department or group participates aggressively and a corresponding group acts equally opposite. Then there are limitations at the level at which you work. Workers, for example, can participate in matters pertaining to operations, policy matters remain outside their reach.

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Employee’s right of not participating: An employee has the right to not participate. Certain people do not believe in the usefulness of participation and therefore opt out of the same. Some labor unions for example question the usefulness of participation reasoning that participation offers the management deep insights into the workers and they may then use it against the latter.

Manipulation: Managers may sometimes use participation to manipulate employees. This may be both conscious and subconscious. Similarly, representatives of the labor unions may also exploit the workers in the name of participation.

Workers Psychology: An existent psyche amongst the employees, that they are the workers and their primary purpose is to serve their masters (management) prevents them from participating. It is therefore of little interest to such people.

General Bias: Resistance to change inside the organization as mentioned earlier is the biggest hurdle to participative management. Managers decline to share power or to delegate apprehending that they may lose authority by doing so. Workers similarly show disinterest in the participation presuming everything to be well in order. Further there is bias from the top management who step back on their promises when they fail to see participation deliver results in quick time.

Trade Unions: Trade unions are integral to the success of participative management; they may be equally detrimental to the success of the same. Most of the trade unions engage in politics and are little bothered about participation. Add to it, the approach of representatives or individuals is also not very favorable. Workers join trade unions for personal rather than organizational reasons. Membership is regarded as a kind of protection against mishaps like accidents, dismissal and other problems whereby union interventions can rescue the worker. Naturally, the motive of participation is diluted.

Decision making slows down: Participative management stands for increased participation and when there are many people involved in decision making, the process definitely slows down. Inputs and feedback starts pouring from each side. It takes time to verify the accuracy of measurements which means that decision making will be slowed down.

Security Issue: The security issue in participative management also arises from the fact that since early stages too many people are known to lots of facts and information. This information may transform into critical information in the later stages. There is thus a greater apprehension of information being leaked out.

Participative management cannot work in isolation. It involves each and every member of the organization. For deriving benefits and success out of the same, no single member or employee group can be left out. There are limitations but they arise because there either

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one or the other group is left out or there is serious communication gap that needs to be taken care of.

Reasons for Failure of Participative Management              

Participative management is an effective decision making tool. It is often the managers who implement it the wrong way.Participative management calls for a change and this change can not come overnight. You require patience and consistency before employees realize the usefulness of the management style.There are other problems that often arise with the managers. The problems may arise because of the following:

Managers often view it as the ends and not as a tool. There is confusion if whether participative management means democratization. Managers sometimes manipulate the process for their own advantage.

Participative Management may fail because of the following reasons:

Resistance to Change: Participative Management calls for a change in the entire organizational culture. Older employees specially resist change and do not welcome it. They take it as a device to curtail their powers. Training is also not welcome.

Workers tendency to deviate: Managers must be aware of the tendency of the workers to try spending more time formulating strategies than focus on job in hand. This needs to taken care of. Again top level management may not support this style if they find existent inefficiencies.

One stop Solution: Participative management can not always be a one stop solution for every problem. Often the manager needs to delegate or take a decision on his own without consulting or seeking others advice. For example, cases where disciplinary action is needed do not qualify for participative management.

Size of the Organization: This style of management can be more difficult to implement in organizations that are big in size. Big size means that there are large numbers of management layers. This often makes registering opinions and suggestions difficult. More difficult can be the implementation of the same.

Abuse of Authority: Managers sometimes look upon their own jobs as a license instead as a responsibility. They are unwilling to give away some authority to their subordinate which slows down and chokes the process of decision making. Often such managers

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complain of being overburdened with responsibilities. This fails the idea of participative management.

Misunderstanding Participation: This is yet another reason for failure of participative management. Managers sometimes fail to understand that participative management is not the same as delegating or distributing responsibility. They fail to realize that participative style also involves considering the suggestions and recommendations of employees with respect and dignity.Participation is isolation can be of no use to the organization. It is a mere wastage of time and resources then. Most of the organizations view it an end per se and not a mere tool. Once this happens then participation can be used as an effective tool to problem solving.

Industrial Visit

In order to understand our project topic better, we visited the company site of Alpha Carbonless Paper Mfg. Co. Pvt. Ltd. which is based in Airoli. The Managing Director of the company is Mr. Laxman Kadam. Herein, we got an opportunity to converse with the union leader and a few workers who enlighted us on our project topic further.

Company Profile

Alpha carbonless paper established in 1991, is a leading manufacturer, supplier and exporter of carbonless paper, Thermal Paper, Thermal Sensitive paper and fax paper. Alpha has become the most trusted barns due to its consistent quality and services. Over 17 years of experience in production of Carbonless Paper and thermal paper and continuous technological updating of the production lines, allows alpha to offer a vast array of technical grade products.

Being strategically located in the prime industrial zone of navi Mumbai, India, Alpha is in advantage to manage logistics and on-dot delivery of products to any location across the country. With state of the art infrastructure, highly qualified team, wide distribution network and customer oriented service; they strive to delight their customers. They have reached a combined annual production capacity of approximately 3000 MT per annum and install capacity 5000MT per annum.

Hi-tech infrastructure

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Alpha carbonless paper manufacturing co.pvt Ltd have a sound infrastructure consisting of a separate department to deal with the quality-related matters, a well-equipped manufacturing unit and experienced and specialized workers

Quality

Offering high quality carbonless paper and thermal sensitive paper at the economical prices is of first priority. All the products are tested for dimensional accuracy. Finishing, design, abrasion resistance, etc. strivings to be at par in quality to offer maximum benefits to our clients and sustain our market credibility, to offer maximum benefits to the clients and sustain market credibility, the effort to maintain high standards involves the whole organization, from R&D to production, from marketing to distribution.

Products

Carbonless paper rolls Thermal paper rolls Thermal paper jumbo rolls Thermal fax rolls Plain /printed ATM rolls Plain / printed POS rolls Printed lottery rolls Carbonless stationery EDC rolls Credit card POS rolls Bus and railway ticket rolls Multiplex theater ticket rolls Cash receipt rolls Thermal strip paper rolls Continuous computer stationery

Product Specification.

Sizes Available 9”, 10”, 15”, 18”, 20”

Carbonless Paper.

CB Coated Back White GSM

52,75,85,95,1

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(Top sheets which transfers the image)

05

MICR Cheque

CFB

Coated Front Back

(Middle sheet which receives and transfers the image)

White

Pink

Yellow

Green

Blue

58

58

58

58

58

CF Coated Front

(Bottom sheet which receives the image)

White

Pink

Yellow

Green

Blue

53, 76, 86, 105

54,76,86

54,76,86

54,76,86

54,76,86

SC Pressure Sensitive paper

(Coated on front-side image reacts when pressure is

applied.

White yellow.

54,60

54,60

Thermal paper

Description Size Color GSM

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Thermal Paper Jumbo roll

405 mm

426 mm

(as per requirement)

White

OR

(as per Customers

requirement)

56(+/-2)

60(+/-2)

70(+/-2)

90(+/-2)

Plain/Printed Thermal Paper

POS Rolls.

Plain/Printed Thermal Paper

ATM Rolls

(as per requirement)

White

OR

(as per Customers

requirement)

56(+/-2)

60(+/-2)

70(+/-2)

90(+/-2)

Esteemed Clients

Bank Customers:

1. CITI Bank

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2. HSBC Bank

3. American Express Bank

4. HDFC Bank

5. EXIM Bank, Tanzania

6. ICICI Bank

7. Federal Bank

Payment Card Service Industry Customers

1. Diebold System Pvt. Ltd

2. Venture InfoTech Global pvt.ltd

3. Euronet

Survey Base

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