Employee Participation in Management - Essay Sample

Introduction

Most of the companies in the modern world are putting more emphasis on encouraging the workforce to participate in the management decisions. However, companies are using different methods to encourage worker involvement in management. Some employers allow all staffs to work represent ideas while other organizations choose representatives who link the employees and the managers. In this paper, it is essential to look at the various methods of employee participation in management, evaluate the criteria for evaluation of the approaches, and recommend the appropriate method to use.

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Ways of Employee Participation in Management

Company Ownership

When the management is making decisions in a company it has to consider the interests of the company owners. Some companies allow the employees to be shareholders of the company. Organizations promote the method by allowing the workers to buy the shares through installment or providing advance loans to the members. When employees become the owners of the organization, they are able to participate in the decision-making process. Employee Stock Ownership Plan (ESOP) is one of the ways in which the executive may allow the employees to be part of the financial support in the company. Wright Tree Company is one of the companies that have embraced ESOP. Through the strategy, the workforce pride has increased and as a result, the company profits have improved (Juckett, 2012).

Self-Management System

When the management allows the employees to have control of their departments they engage more in making decisions. Companies that use the self-management strategy, elect some employees who are given the complete control of the management decisions. Most companies in Yugoslavia embrace the self-management concept (Calvo, & Morales, 2017). The system facilitates worker self-identification with the organization.

Work Councils

Employees can participate in management through the work council. There may be one body to represent a number of entire staff or a number of committees that represent a particular group in the organization. Each group elects the representatives that engage with the managers during the decision making process. The Work council approach is useful in countries such as European countries such as Germany (Psimmenos, 2018).

Collective Bargaining

Workers can participate in the management through an agreement between the employers and the employees. Both the management and the workers formulate rules, terms, and conditions of the contract which are backed by the forces of the law. Most companies around the globe have adopted the collective bargaining method, with more than 80% of the companies and industries in France Belgium and Austria using it. If the bargaining power method is properly utilized, it can reap huge benefits the binding parties (Psimmenos, 2018).

Quality Circles

Some organizations have formal institutions that involve employees who perform similar tasks. The group has the obligation to the supervisors and the entire company management to discuss the arising issues and provide the amicable solutions to the prevailing challenges and provide the outline to ways to implement the unanimous decisions. The method has been actively used in areas firms and industries in Both the USA and Japan. The approach enhances high performance among the employees (Employee Participation and Collective Bargaining in Europe and China, 2016).

Quality Control Mechanism

Due to the high competition of products in the market, companies are forced to produce a high-quality product for sustainability. The aim of the quality control mechanism is to enhance the employees in all department of an organization to work together with an aim of meeting the needs of the customers. The method was common in the manufacturing operations but today it has gained a universal acceptance s an important tool for participatory management. The method results in the effectiveness and efficiency of employees (Psimmenos, 2018).

Suggestion Schemes

Most of the companies have suggestion boxes where the employees may give the recommendations of the new ideas or changes they may need within the institutions. The management has the obligation to collect all the suggestions which then tabled for further discussion.

Recommendations for the Best Method of Employee Participation in Management

Quality circles are one of the best methods that employers can implement to enhance employee participation in management because of various reasons. Every business aims to provide high-quality products and services at minimum cost (Calvo, & Morales, 2017). The approach is very cheap since the organization does not have to add remunerations to enhance the strategy.

Secondly, quality circles encourage consultations, participation, and cooperation among all employee enables to work together and a result they are able t live in Harmony. A conducive environment for all employees facilitates teamwork spirit and as a result, the organization is able to achieve a teamwork spirit (Psimmenos, 2018).

Thirdly, employees have the capacity to exploit their potentials. Quality circle enhances creativity among the employees and helps them to develop more skills. Skillful employees are able to work effectively and efficiently and as a result, they can produce, unique, and high-quality products and services within a short period of time (Psimmenos, 2018).

Conclusion

To sum it up, there are various methods of employee participation in management such as Suggestion schemes, complete control, quality circles, quality control mechanism, collective bargaining, and work councils. All methods aim to facilitate employees to contribute to the decision-making process of the organization. However, Quality control is an outstanding mechanism since it does not only improve the quality of production, but also the quality of skills among all the employees. In addition, all employees have the same potential to contribute to the new ideas in the organization.

References

Calvo, S., & Morales, A. (2017). Social and Solidarity Economy and the Environment. Social and Solidarity Economy, 129-161. doi:10.4324/9781315677309-5

Employee Participation and Collective Bargaining in Europe and China. (2016). doi:10.1628/978-3-16-154407-1

Juckett, A. (2012). 21st Annual ESOP Economic Performance Survey (EPS). Retrieved from https://www.esoppartners.com/blog/bid/157768/21st-Annual-ESOP-Economic-Performance-Survey-EPS

Psimmenos, I. (2018). The Development of Employee Participation in Greece. Globalisation and Employee Participation, 99-122. doi:10.4324/9780429455490-4