An International Comparison of Participation in Management

• Published in: Soziale Welt 1975-01, Vol.26 (2), p.150-173
• Main Author: Walker, Kenneth F
• Format: Article
• Language: ger
• Subjects: Comparison/Comparisons/Comparative/Comparability; Decision-making; International; Manage/Managed/Manages/ Managing/ Management; Participate/Participatory/ Participation/ Participative; Worker/Workers
• ISSN: 0038-6073

The issue of worker participation in the decision-making processes of management has been controversial of late. There are 2 main aspects to this issue: (1) concern with the position of the parties involved & their roles as managers & workers, & (2) the extent to which workers take part in managerial functions. Managers deal with planning, organization, control, etc, while workers implement the decisions made in regard to those considerations. Worker participation concerns the extent to which they are involved in what have been defined as managerial activities. The structure of society is central to the extent of worker participation within it, ie, societies with authoritarian attitudes tend to allow little decision-making on the part of the workers. Several factors may be responsible for the fact that not all workers are equally enthusiastic about participation in management; peculiar to this phenomenon may be inherent character traits which preclude such participation. Integrative participation appears to be more successful than disjunctive participation in promoting industrial peace & cooperation. There is no evidence that participation in decision-making leads to decreased productivity. Most countries have tended to concentrate on 1 or 2 types of participation, & have developed these to the exclusion of other possibilities. In the future, industrial democracy may help determine the form of possible changes in the business world. P. Tiersma.