Participative Management

Synopsis
Meaning
Features
Levels of Participation
Factors Essential
Forms / Types / Methods
Advantages and Importance

Meaning
Participative Management is also called as
Workers Participation in Management.
Type of employees involvement in
industrial management.
Crystallize the concept of industrial
democracy
Was established in western countries. Today
practiced in India also.

Features
Universally Recognised Concept
Participation is indirect
Revolutionary concept
Importance of Communication system
Has certain Limitations

Levels of Participation
Corp
orat
e
Leve
l

Plant Level

Shop floor Level

Factors Essential for Successful

WPM
Strong Trade Unions
Favorable Attitude of Management
Mutual Trust and Confidence
Genuine urge of Cooperation
Peaceful atmosphere
Clear understanding of objectives
Meaningful sharing of information
Participation of supervisory staf
Education & training of workers
Voluntary character desirable

Forms / Types / Methods

Works Committee
Joint Management Councils
Co-partnership
Employee Directors
Suggestion Schemes
Workers Cooperative
Collective bargaining
Job enlargement
Job enrichment
Quality Circles
Empowered teams

1. Works Committee
Necessary according to The Industrial
Disputes Act, 1947.
It consist of representatives of management
and employees in every unit where 100 or
more employees are there.
Provide a forum for negotiations between
employers and workers
Committee meets frequently for smooth
functioning of the work and removal of
problems between the employers and workers

2. Participation through Joint

Management Councils (JMCs)

Very similar to Works Committee

Equal representation of employers and employees
Not statutory
Workers express their views, problems and
difficulties through their representatives
Problems such as welfare facilities, discipline,
training, common grievances, holidays,
expansions programs, etc. are discussed.
JMCs are not efectively operating in India.
As JMCs are consultative bodies, workers
participation is quite loose

3. Co-Partnership (Participation
through Ownership)
Workers are converted into Shareholders by
ofering them Equity Shares of the company
Workers participate like any other member
of the company
Co. assists workers financially in buying
such shares
Workers who get these shares my be
nominated in Board also
Not so popular in India

4. Participation through
Employee Directors

Two or three representatives of workers are taken

on the Board of Directors of Co.
Employee directors work as a link between Top
management and co-workers
Used extensively in Public Sector in India.
Specially in Nationalised Banks.
But representation on the Board may not enhance
the participation of workers
Workers directors have limited knowledge and
experience and thus have very limited role to play
They are in minority

5. Participation through
suggestion Schemes
Companies encourage workers to give
suggestions on various aspects of
operations of the company.
Encourages workers to think and participate
in raising the efficiency of the organization.
On useful / purposeful suggestions,
employees are being rewarded with
monetary or non monetary benefits
Eg. Tatas, L&T, Wipro

6. Workers cooperative / Auto

Management
Workers take over the industrial unit and
manage it completely on cooperative basis
Eg. India: Kamani Tubes Ltd. Managed by
workers since 1985 when company went
sick

7. Participation through
Collective Bargaining
Representatives of the employer and
employees meet together to negotiate a
contract governing both the parties.
Better alternative to strikes and industrial
disputes
Peaceful and democratic method for solving
the problems and demands of workers
through
direct
negotiations
and
consultations rather than through disputes
and strikes.

8. Job enlargement & Job

enrichment

Job Enlargement: Performing a variety of jobs and

operations at the same time. It is one of the
approaches of Job Design. It is horizontal job loading
with up-gradation of authority and responsibility. It is a
process of increasing the scope of a job by adding
more tasks to it. Employees get the opportunity to
make greater use of their mental and physical skills.

Job enrichment: One of the approaches to Job

Design. It provides the employee a greater autonomy
for planning & controlling his own performance. This
makes the job more interesting and challenging.
Motivates the employees.

9. Quality Circles

A voluntary management technique introduced in Japan to

upgrade quality, productivity and employee morale in an
organization.
Introduced by Dr. Ishikava Kaoru also known as Father of quality
Circles.
It consist of small number of employees who come together from
various diferent field or operations on voluntary basis for quality
improvement, avoiding wastages, improving productivity, etc.
Management provides support to such QCs.
Good suggestions, novel ideas, innovations, etc, are shared by
these QCs. If found good, they are been implemented by the
management
They are given enough autonomy to handle the problem areas
and ofer their solutions.

10. Participation through Empowered

Teams / Self Directed Teams
Empowerment is any process that provides
greater opportunity through the sharing of
relevant information and the provision of
control over factors afecting job performance.
They Function independently within the
authority and responsibility given.
Employees, when empowered, understand
that the job belongs to them.
Increases motivation level among the
employees.

Benefits / Advantages of
WPM
Provides higher status to employees
Provides psychological satisfaction to
employees
Facilitates to the attention to views of
employees
Brings employees and management closer
Improves Employee Productivity
Beneficial to both parties

Thank
You