Employee Involvement to Get Opportunity to Partake in Decision-Making - Assignment Example

Organization and Management Section A: “Employee involvement and employee participation are mechanisms for consulting employees and giving them an opportunity for input into decisions.” Discuss. The nature and scope of organizations have evolved through time. From simple and basic organizational structures, the types, classifications and categories of organizations developed into more complex and intricate global systems requiring highly professionalized management skills and abilities to govern a diverse workforce. As indicated by Christensen, Andrews & Bower (1978, p. 13), management is regarded as “leadership in the informed, planned, purposeful conduct of complex organized activity. General management is in its simplest form the management of a total enterprise”. Leadership and management are crucial elements in planning, directing, organizing and controlling employees towards the achievement of organizational goals. Definition of Terms McMillan (2001) averred that employee involvement is a form of participative management where stakeholders are encouraged to be a collaborative part of the decision making process, including goal setting, designing schedules in work, and soliciting suggestions in daily operations. From McMillan’s discourse, employee involvement has been found to be synonymous with employee participation in terms of providing opportunities for the employees to be included in the decision making process. Actually, it is not only the employees who are involved in participative management. As indicated, various stakeholders are encouraged to be involved – which could even include crucial customers or supplies, as the situation requires. The Learning and Teaching Support Network (LTSN) (n.d.) has defined and differentiated employee involvement from employee participation according to the Chartered Institute of Personnel and Development (CIPD), to wit: “Employee involvement is ‘a range of processes designed to engage the support, understanding and optimum contribution of all employees in an organisation and their commitment to its objectives’. Employee participation is defined as ‘a process of employee involvement designed to provide employees with the opportunity to influence and where appropriate, take part in decision making on matters which affect them” (LTSN, n.d., p. 1). The comparative difference categorize participation as a process of involvement; while involvement, per se, could be viewed as a spectrum ranging from zero involvement to complete and full support in the organization’s endeavor. Difference between Employee Involvement versus Employee Participation LTSN cited Blyton and Turnbull (1998) as effectively proffering employee participation as “a pluralist/collective approach with a continuum from ‘no involvement’ to ‘employee control’ (Blyton & Turnbull, 1998). As such it may involve processes and mechanisms such as: collective bargaining, employee share schemes, works councils, worker directors, joint consultative committees, and European Works Councils” (LTSN, n.d., p.1), among others. Employee involvement, on the other hand, was explained to be more of an “individualistic and unitarist. It aims to harness commitment to organisational objectives and relies on the maintenance of management control” (LTSN, n,d., p.1). The differentiating factor is seen in terms of the level of commitment: from an individual’s perspective (involvement) to a collective, collaborative approach (participative). But both are seen as processes or mechanisms used by management to manage employee relationship. As indicated in the Learning Organization (n.d.), employee involvement “represents a novel form of participation” (par. 1). Rationale for Employee Involvement and Participation Price (2007) in his book entitled Human Resource Management in a Business Context proffered that rationale for employee involvement. He indicated that “an acknowledgement of the greater and more detailed knowledge that experienced employees may have of specific processes when compared with a manager who may be relatively new or who has never been involved at a working level with those processes” (Price, 2007, p. 649) is a relevant factor contributing to the need for employee involvement. Likewise, McMillan has enumerated several benefits in seeking employee involvement and participation in the decision making process of an organization. The advantages are indicated as increased self-esteem and fulfillment as employees perceive participative management as an encouragement for ownership as both management and employees join hands in the accomplishment of organizational goals. In addition, implementation of proposed changes in the organization is met with minimal resistance. McMillan (2010) averred that “changes are implemented more effectively when employees have input and make contributions to decisions. Participation keeps employees informed of upcoming events so they will be aware of potential changes” (par. 4). Another rationale and benefit of employee participation is its ability to provide opportunities for growth and development of personnel through training, development programs, seminars and skills enhancement activities which are designed to prepare workers for greater responsibilities. The process serves as a motivation for employees to do what they want to do and assures them that there are avenues for their growth and development depending on their capabilities and interests. Finally, McMillan (2010) recognized that “creativity and innovation are two important benefits of participative management. By allowing a diverse group of employees to have input into decisions, the organization benefits from the synergy that comes from a wider choice of options. When all employees, instead of just managers or executives, are given the opportunity to participate, the chances are increased that a valid and unique idea will be suggested” (par. 6). Employee Involvement and Participation as Tools for Consultation/Decision-Making Employee involvement and employee participation were viewed as mechanisms for employee empowerment. As averred by Foy (1994) “empowering people is as important today as involving them in 1980s and getting them to participate in the 1970s” (xvii). Lashley (2001), in his book entitled Empowerment: HR strategies for service excellence, revealed the two styles where collective interests of the personnel were enjoined, to wit: consultative and participative styles. The level of seeking consultation from employees is more encompassing under participative style where decision-making process actively includes the employees’ views (Lashley, 2001, p. 51). Marchington & Wilkinson (1999) have specifically proffered a ladder or escalator of participation where five stages of employee involvement were differentiated, from providing information, to using channels of communication, advising and consultation, according alternatives to seek solutions to problems, and ultimately delegating control. As evaluated by Kusumawardoyo (n.d.), the controversial issue is that does participative management empower employee or not? The response takes into account two factors: (1) the acknowledgement that authority still comes from management; therefore, the level of involvement and participation depends on their discretion; and (2) the different goals and initiatives within the organization make implementation of involvement and participation complex (Kusumawardoyo, n.d, p. 144). By giving opportunities to employees to participate, even at the most minimal level, some process of involvement is designed to accord them with opportunities to express themselves and be active participants in the organization’s decision-making process. For example, organizations planning to implement a simple change in process, could seek comments and feedback from employees regarding the change. Management who accord personnel to express their thoughts and be involved and participate in the change process benefit through lesser resistance and gain a more positive response on the change process. It simply indicates that the process of according involvement and participation, are helpful tools that management can utilize to their advantage. However, giving too much opportunity for involvement and participation could also be disadvantageous in terms if lengthening the decision process. For critical issues that need to be immediately resolved, there should always be some level of control and discretion accorded to management to make the decision at the soonest possible time. Conclusion Employee involvement and employee participation are tools or mechanisms for consulting employees and giving them an opportunity for input into decisions, depending on the level and form delegated by management. Their success is thereby measured in terms of the benefits accorded to the employees and to management. When there are conflicts in interests between the two, their effectiveness are considered negligible, if any. If, on the other hand, the purpose by which these mechanisms was originally designed was ultimately met, then, in all accounts, employee involvement and participation could be viewed as effective means for enhanced decision-making in the organization. Reference List Bylton, P & Turnbull 1998. The Dynamics of Employee Relations (Management, Work & Organizations). Palgrave Macmillan. Christensen, CR, Andrews, KR, & Bower, JL (1978). Business Policy: Text and Cases. Richard D. Irwin, Inc., Homewood, Illinois. Foy, N 1994. Empowering People at Work. Jaico Book Distributors. Kusumawardoyo, CL n.d. Chapter 12: Participative Management: A Viable Approach for Employee’s Empowerment, [Online]. Available at: http://www.iss.nl/content/download/6852/63062/file/chapter12.pdf, [Accessed 05 January 2011]. Lashley, C 2001. Empowerment: HR strategies for service excellence. Butterworth-Heinemann. Learning and Teaching Support Network (LTSN) (n.d.). Employee Empowerment, Participation and Involvement, [Online]. Available at: http://www.heacademy.ac.uk/assets/hlst/documents/resource_guides/employee_empowerment_perception_and_involvement.pdf [Accessed 31 December 2010]. Learning Organization n.d. Employee Involvement, [Online]. Available at: http://www.kevinmorrell.org.uk/the_learning_organization.htm [Accessed 05 January 2011]. Marchington, M & Wilkinson A 1999. ‘Direct Participation’ in S. Bach and K. Sisson (Eds.), Personnel Management: 340-364. McMillan, A 2010. Participative Management, [Online]. Available at: http://www.referenceforbusiness.com/management/Or-Pr/Participative-Management.html [Accessed 31 December 2010]. Price, A 2007. Human Resource Management in a Business Context, 3rd edition. Thomson Learning. Read More