Workers Participation in Management: Workers Participation in Management

(WPM) has
come to stay in both developed and developing countries. Its efficacy as a
system is no longer
a question. The concept is an extension of political system to the work place. In a
democracy,
participation of the people in the political process is an essential ingredient of the
system. WPM
is an extension of the political process to workplace relations. Participation is an
influencing
process, it also affects employees terms and conditions of the employment. The
structure of the
WPM, content mostly depends on the political ideology and systems adopted by a
particular
society. The forms of WPM can be depends on the differences in the level of
management, the
subject matter of participation, the strength of the union and the pattern of
industrial relations.
The important forms of participation in management are collective bargaining,
joint decision
making, consultation and information sharing. WPM falls into the several
categories. These are
informative (sharing of information), consultative (consult on the matters of
welfare)
associative (council for solving a problem) administration (Joint decision bodies)
and decisive
(highest form of participation) participation.

The philosophy of WPM provides a sound basis for the economic and
psychological involvement
of workers in decision-making. It is a part of HRD strategy of enterprises. The
pattern of participation
largely depends upon the socio-cultural milieu of the society and the culture and
ethos of the
organization. However, necessary infrastructure of participative work culture is to
be carefully builtup
in the organization through such informal methods like small group activities,
leadership styles,
motivation patterns and communication system. It also calls for a change in the
social and inter
personnel skills on the part of the management as well workers. The institutional
mechanism of
participative management is to be geared to the interests of both the
organization and its employees.
Workers should be given all necessary facilities and encouragement to start
small self-managed firms
and also takeover of certain firms by organizing themselves into cooperative.
Moreover, the growth
of professionalism in industry, advent of democracy and development of
principles of social justice,
transformation of traditional labour management relations have added new
dimensions to the concept
of participative management. The philosophy underlying workers participation
stresses: democratic
participation in decision-making, maximum employer-employee relations,
minimum state interventions,
realization of greater measure of social justice, greater industrial efficiency and
higher level of
organizational health and effectiveness.