Business management - Essay Example

Background to the study Decision-making in companies has been the safeguard of the top management devoid of the association of lower steps of ladder management. Non-intervention of lower level management in decision making process refers the important input from employees that are not featured in decision made. It creates several problems, which are experienced in a firm at the time of acceptance of the particular decisions as employees feel affronted. The employees also do not feel as the belonging of the decision making process. According to them the decisions are forcefully pushed down to them. It leads to a laid-back attitude to implementation. Employee involvement in a decision making process can be extensively understood. Moreover, it can be accepted as a key part of Human Relations in a firm. The employee involvement in management decision making would create a healthy environment in an organization. Moreover, the staffs and employees in the particular organization will be motivated enough to do their job effectively. Top management who are against of employee participation in the decision making concept can waste valuable work time, reduce the effectiveness and weakening the efficiency of a management. Management should understand the fact that it is the employees who are responsible for the things have happened. Therefore, they should be recognized as the key resource of an organization. Objective of the study The broad objective of the study is to determine that employee involvement is an effectual management tool in organization’s decision making process. Specifically the study will critically evaluate the subject. Moreover, the study will highlight several decision making theories, methods and forms of employee involvement. Finally the study will end with some advantages and limitations employee involvement in the management decision making methods. Critical Evaluation Various management practices depend on the trust and empowerment that are designed to increase employee assurance to performance objectives and organizational objectives. The scenario of market place and space are rapidly changing since few years. Therefore these changing scenarios have convinced the management of company and shareholders to adopt a new archetype based on new values. For an example, in banking sector new financial products are jumping up in quick speed. These may create several problems and tough times for the management board in order to compete in this global competitive market. The organization cultures need to change according to the change of market place scenario. It involves understanding the current role, current culture and in depth dealing with the change of culture. There is need for greater flexibility and speed that can be achieved through employee involvement in the management decision making. Due to high flexibility, employees get motivated to innovate without any kind of bureaucracy. Red tapes and bureaucracy generally aggravates employees and shuts them down. Employee involvement in management decision making is an old idea that has been frequently invigorated by new generation organizations across the globe. For an example, the oldest system of documented of employee participation is a particular document called “employee suggestion system” established in 1898. The return of nominal investments comes as superior level of employee motivation, productivity, creativity, and commitment that will shift the organization towards success. Employee Involvement Employee involvement is a particular process that empowers the employees to take part in the decision making process in management of an organization. Moreover, it improves their activities to their levels in the firm. It can also be defined as the procedure of employee participation designed to provide opportunities in order to encourage and influence them. It is creating an atmosphere in which individuals have an effect on actions and decisions that may or may not be affect their jobs. It is practiced in several organizations, but it is neither the tool nor the goal of an organization. It is a kind of leadership and management philosophy in order to enable people to put in a frequent improvement and continuous success of their company. It has been capitalized as the procedure of constructing a psychological ownership among the members of an organization. Moreover, it has been implemented through the employee involvement in decision making and information processing or problem solving. The employee involvement would create a healthy environment in an organization. Moreover, the staffs and employee in the particular organization will be motivated enough to do their job effectively. Top management who are against of employee participation in the decision making concept can waste valuable work time, reduce the effectiveness and weakening the efficiency of a management. Decision Making Decision making is a particular process that makes it possible to implement the best path of action in order to complete a given task. It is necessary to identify the best path out of various paths of performing a given task. The final decision that is selected needs to generate the best result. Moreover, the final decision should be acceptable to both of the organization and employees. Satisfied workers used to put in best efforts and this provides higher result of output. It satisfies the organization management in the overall competence. Decision making in an organization has been explained as a procedure of behavior by means of social and economic model. Therefore, it is feasible that only irrational decision making concurrences human values priority over economic values. Leaders in an organization should identify some middle grounds in order to understand the importance of values. Managers in several organizations are being dealt with the tasks of making strict, unpleasant and undesirable cuts of personnel in a rapid manner. Quite similarly, the organizations have been forced to withdraw some decisions and act in confounding manners in complex situations. Some decision Making Theories In management of an organization leaders and managers make decisions based on some decision making theories. There are three types of decision making theories which are followed by several managements are being listed below. Rational decision making theory in which the cogent people make decisions based on the best possible choice of supreme benefit to them. Trade-off decision making theory in which people making decisions by sacrificing one thing in order to achieve the objective or goal. Biased decision making theory in which managers of organizations are over confidence about the positive result of projects and choose actions and people that satisfy them. Methods of Employee Involvement There are several key methods to involvement among which are job and financial security. Profit distribution and share ownership plans can help to promote an interest in organization’s affair at the aggressive level. It is habitually hard to convey in the daily routine of workplace activity. Regarding job security, the employees who are belonging to an organization for a long span of time are likely to motivate automatically. Several methods of employee involvement are focus groups, suggestion system, self-directed work groups, surveys and incentive programmes. The objective is to resolve the most effectual option, which will be related to precise organizational goals. Several important actions need to take place in order to implement employee involvement. Employees should be asked by the organizational management to join employee participation program. It will improve the quality of lives of employees. Therefore, the superlative interest of supervisors and employees to increase satisfaction and happiness in the work place as satisfied and happy employees are considered as productive employees. This will make sure the employer’s continued existence and profit. Some programs related with employee involvement can increase the knowledge level of the employees about their job, work rules, contract for greater efficiencies and job classifications. Forms of Employee Involvement There are several forms of employee involvement programs, such as consultative participation, job participation, employee suggestion schemes and many more. This could also implement representative participation in which the organization’s employees elect board members and councils in order to characterize their interests to downward communication through team briefings, newsletters, profit sharing, employee ownership schemes and gain sharing. It is inappropriate to assume that the meager existence of such programs as substitutes for personal feelings towards involvement. More precise test can be conducted in order to determine the individual employee’s behavior and attitude. These types of operations identifies that every employee must perceive that opportunity for contribution need to be exist. An organization may have structured policies disquieting involvement. These policies and values have no meaning until the employee consider them as the important aspect of his or her own organization. According to several academics, the literature on employee involvement and participative management is outdated as it addresses to the interactive relationship between workplace and broader socio-political system. Four Important Strategies of Employee Involvement Though there is no authorized source to define involvement, but Lawler and others have provided good starting point by recognizing four important strategies of employee involvement. The location and nature of these strategies in the firm are central concerns for governance. This will largely resolve the degree and nature of involvement that are available to employees. The four strategies are information sharing, rewards and recognition systems, knowledge development and power sharing (McGrath & Remenyi, 207). Information Sharing It is all about business objectives, performances, goals, technologies, competitor’s performance and strategies. Business information helps the employees to make valuable aids. The employees can participate in setting and planning direction and appreciate the effectiveness of performances. Information sharing process includes both open communication process and information disclosure. Knowledge Development Training and Knowledge development provide skills in problem solving and group decision making. It increases the leadership quality of an individual. Moreover, people can understand the business, cross training and job skills efficiently. The training and knowledge development help the employees to appreciate and contribute to the performance of organization. Rewards and Recognition System Reward and recognition systems are based on the output and performance of an organization. These are designed to motivate the employees in order to obtain knowledge, skills and information. This system enhances group work, undertake more responsibility regarding the decision making and perform in such a way that would help the business. For an example, team or work group incentives, profit sharing, stock option plan, individual incentive and stock ownership plan of employees motivate the employees to offer better performance. Power Sharing Power sharing strategy in decision making process can be implemented either through parallel structure exercises or work design power sharing practices. Parallel structure practices include committees, suggestion system, quality circles and survey feedback. On the other hand work design power sharing exercises include job redesign and enrichment, mini business units, involvement with decision making boards, self managing work groups in order to implement and apply the knowledge and information effectively. The important strategies include finding decision at the below level of organization. Benefits and Limitations of Employee Involvement There are several benefits and limitations of employee involvement in management decision making. For the purpose of the study several benefits and limitations of employee involvement is being described below. Benefits Several literature on employee involvement and participative management accrued, a broad range of benefits were detailed, and organizations were motivated enough to employ various participation strategies in order to cultivate participation cultures. A participatory work atmosphere is generally more effectual at enhancing the creativity and innovations comparing to the conventional bureaucratic structures as it used to endorse knowledge sharing about products between the employees and managers. These managers and employees should be very much familiar about the work being done, product being made. Therefore, it will be easy to develop suggestions and strategies for better quality. If the employees get the decision making power, it will be a boost factor to their morale. They can easily communicate with the management that aids their productivity. Moreover, by the decision making power every individual can get benefited. As a result, the organization can accumulate higher stability and profits as they feel that they are secure enough within the industry. A summary of anticipated benefits are innovative, improved, higher output, efficient work method and better communication between employees and management and crosswise work units. It may lead to retention and attraction of employees, reduced turnover, tardiness, better staffing flexibility and increased product and service quality. Moreover, it may lead reduced supervision requirements, staff report, and number of objections. Employee involvement in management decision making can increase the talent and skills of employees and it may improve their morale and job satisfaction. Top management who are against of employee participation in the decision making concept can waste valuable work time, reduce the effectiveness and weakening the efficiency of a management. Management should understand the fact that it is the employees who are responsible for the things have happened. Therefore, they should be recognized as the key resource of an organization. The employee involvement would create a healthy environment in an organization. Moreover, the staffs and employee in the particular organization will be motivated enough to do their job effectively. Limitations of Employee Involvement Though organization can achieve several benefits, but there are some negative consequences also. Some negative aspects of employee involvement have been identified, such as problem in salary distribution and increase in training costs. Programs about participation significantly increase the expectations for personal growth and organizational change. If the program failed to fulfill its objective then it will result cynicism and dissatisfaction. If the staff support groups or the middle management are not affected by the program, then they should try to resist it. Participation of employees takes huge time. As a result, it can slow down the decision making process as major of the employees have to understand and agree to the decisions which are taken. Work Cited McGrath, and Remenyi, Dan. Fourth European Conference on Knowledge Management Oriel College. UK: Academic Conferences Limited, 2003. Print Read More