PARTICIPATIVE

MANAGEMENT
By
Kanku Baruah

Participative Management
O Participative Management refers to

the process of involving employees or

employee representatives at all levels
of the decision making process.
O Participative Management refers to as
an open form of management where
employees are actively involved in
organizations decision making
process.
O Participative Management can also be
termed as Industrial Democracy, Codetermination.

Concept Of Participation
O The concept of Participative Management

is closely related with the concept of

industrial democracy. Participative
Management is based on the concept that
when the worker invests his time and ties his
fate to the workplace, he should be given an
opportunity to participate in the decision
making process of the management.
O This concept was first developed in western
countries and was very successful.
Therefore, it has acquired world wide
recognition and popularity.

Participative Management is NOT

O It is not permissiveness. It holds people responsible.

It is not weakness. It takes character to apply.

O It is not involvement in trivia. Only significant
decisions should go through the process.
O It does not mean giving up authority. We delegate
authority with matching amounts of responsibility
and accountability.
O It does not mean giving up all decision making. We
delegate only the amount of decision making which
is appropriate under the circumstances.
O It does not mean postponing action. It should occur
quickly and avoid constant fixes.
O

Skills Required
O
O
O
O
O
O
O
O
O
O
O
O

Interest and concern

Recognize and enhance talents in others
Recognize and work around weaknesses in others
Communication, particularly listening
Conflict resolution
Self control
Negotiation
Compromise
Synergy
Teach ability
Flexibility
Correction

Methods of Participation
O
O
O
O
O
O
O
O
O
O
O
O
O

Participation at the board level

Participation through ownership
Participation through complete control
Participation through staff or works councils
Participation through joint councils and committees
Participation through collective bargaining
Participation through job enlargement
Participation through job enrichment
Participation through suggestion schemes
Participation through quality circles
Empowered teams
Total quality management
Financial participation

Features of Participation
O Provides higher status to employees Employees are given a

chance to participate in the decision making process of the

organization. This empowers the employees.
O Provides psychological satisfaction to employees Employees are

allowed to express their views and their views are given due
consideration. Management even frames some policies according
to their expectations.
O Universally recognized concept Participative Management is

followed and practiced in many countries.

O Brings employees and management closer Participative

Management facilitates meaningful communication and ensures

cordial relations.
O Beneficial to both parties Participative Management is beneficial

to both parties; organization and employees. Through

participative management, both the parties are satisfied.

Importance of Participation
O Employees identify themselves with the work,

which leads to improved performance.

O Employees feel motivated since they are
involved in management.
O This leads to self esteem, job satisfaction and
cooperation of employees with management.
O It reduces conflict and stress, resulting in
more commitment to goals and better
acceptance to change.
O It results in better communication as people
mutually discuss work problems.

Pre-requisites for Successful Participation

O Strong Trade Unions Existence of strong trade unions

with creative & enlightened leadership is necessary for

successful participation.
Favorable attitude of Management The attitude of
management should be progressive & democratic. Due
importance should be given to employees views and
suggestions.
Clear Understanding of Objectives Employers &
employees should have clear understanding of
objectives of the participation. Participative
management should not become a formality.
Education & Training of Workers Employees & their
representatives should have adequate technical,
financial & managerial knowledge.
Voluntary Participation desirable Participative
management should be voluntary & not compulsory.
Employees voluntary participation largely influences the
success of participative management.

Advantages of Participation
O To give psychological satisfaction to workers
O Cordial Labour Management relations
O Creating uniform approach of employers and workers
O To raise industrial production
O To create platform for direct negotiations
O To create responsible approach among workers
O To remove grievances of employees
O To create a feeling of involvement among employees
O To bring stability & prosperity to the business

enterprise
O To introduce industrial democracy

Limitations of Participation
O Technology & organization today are so complex that

specialized work roles are required for participation

O There is no evidence that participation is good for everybody
O Participative situation can be used to manipulate employees
by management or trade union or undercover cliques
O Presence of feudalistic concept of master & servant
prevalent in India leads to loss of interest on part of workers
O Trade unions indulge in politics & have little time to think
about participative management
O Unwillingness of the employer to share his power with the
workers representatives
O Perfunctory attitude of government towards participation

What It Provides?

Why Participative Mgt.?

O Every one is result oriented.
O Two heads are better than one
O Draw resources of mind, not just

body
O People are our most important
asset
O Company productivity ,its
commitment to involvement of its
employees

How to implement
participative mgt.?

Find
out
what
went
wrong
Find
out
what
went
wrong and
and
Multiple
supervisors
Rely
on
workers
knowledge
Multiple
supervisors
Rely then
on workers
knowledge
to get it
fixed

Five Fundamentals of
Participative management
Challenge the process
Inspire a shared vision
Enable others to act
Model the way
Encourage the heart

ELEMENTS OF PARTICIPATIVE
MGT.

GROUP
GROUP
PROBLEM
SOLVING
SOLVING

GROUP
GROUP
DISCUSSIO
N
N

CONSULTAT
CONSULTAT
ION

MEETING

DELEGATIO
DELEGATIO
N

PURPOSES OF PARTICIPATIVE MGT.

O To Make Best Use of Human Capital
O To Meet the Psychological Needs of
O
O
O
O

Employees
To Retain the Best Talent
To Increase Industrial Productivity
To Establish Harmonious Industrial
Relationship
To Maintain a Proper Flow of Communication

Scope of participative style

of management
O 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.

Contd..
O

Workers participation in social, economic and personnel decision-making

may have a direct impact on some of the most crucial activities of the
organization.

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 employees in

Preparation for Participative

Management
O

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.

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.

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.

Contd..
O 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.

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.

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.

O 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.
O 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.

Participative Management Styles

O During the 1970s, when Japanese-

style management was all the rage,

O William Ouchi, took the Theory X,
Theory Y concept one step further:
O Theory Z.
O This is the participative model.

The Human Resources Model

Theory X and Theory Y

Contd..

Theory Z
O According to Ouchi, the benefits of

using Theory Z include reducing

employee turnover, increasing
commitment, improving morale and
job satisfaction, and drastically
increasing productivity.

Conclusion
O You give worker an inch and he gives

you back a mile

O If applied properly participative
management acts as a boon and
increases efficiency, effectiveness
and performance of employee and
work performed by them

OTHANK YOU..