This document discusses employee involvement in decision making. It presents four case scenarios involving different decisions around employee involvement. The first scenario involves a decision to reduce costs in a water utility unit. A medium-high level of involvement is proposed, consulting representatives from each department. The second scenario involves a decision on funding new sugar substitute research. A medium level of involvement is proposed, consulting individuals, to avoid conflicts among employees with different funding priorities. The third scenario involves creating a social media policy. A medium level of involvement is proposed to gain necessary information and commitment while avoiding conflicts between supporters and opponents of the policy. The fourth scenario involves a decision by a coast guard captain during a storm rescue. Deciding

1. Group project:
Employee Involvement in
Decision Making
PRESENTED BY:
MD. SIDDIQUE E AZAM (G1539243)
ABDULRAHMAN BADER NASER (G1536435)
MA HUICHENG (G1532031)
EBRAHIM ABDULAZIZ )G1531921(

2. Employee Involvement:
The degree to which employees influence how
their work is organized and carried out (also called
participative management).

3. Benefit of Employee Involvement
 Improve decision-making quality and commitment
by recognizing problems more quickly and defining them more
accurately.
 can also potentially improve the number and quality of solutions
generated.
 Under specific conditions, it improves the evaluation of alternatives.
 Also has positive effects on employee motivation, satisfaction, and
turnover. And skill variety, feelings of autonomy, and task identity.

4. Four Contingencies of Employee
Involvement
 1.Decision structure
Programmed decisions are less likely to need employee involvement.
 2.Source of decision knowledge
subordinates should be involved when the leader lacks some
information.
 3.Decision commitment
Participation tends to improve employee commitment to the decision.
 4.risk of conflict
Two types of conflict undermine the benefits of employee involvement.

5. Case Scenario 1 :
THE PRODUCTIVITY DIVIDEND DECISION
• As head of the transmission distribution group (TD group) in the city’s
water agency with an engineering background.
• You have been asked to reduce costs over the next year by a
minimum of 3 percent without undermining services .
• Also need to determine whether and to what extent to involve the
300 employees in the business unit.
• The work is complex and involves several professions and trades.
• The td’s first and second line supervisors below you in the hierarchy
may not be fully knowledgeable of all aspects of the business.
• The employees maybe unaware or carless about this repercussion,
due to limited interaction with or social bonding by employees
across the departments.

6. Q1:To what extent should your employees be involved
in this decision? Select one of the levels of
involvement which
mentioned before?
 A medium high level of involvement (consult with the team)
 Assign representative of each department to provide me with
the needed information and recommendation .
 I will make the final decision which may or may not represent
the team’s information.

7. Q2: What factors led you to choose this alternative rather than
the others?
 This question can be answered by reviewing the four contingencies of
employee involvement :
1. Decision structure: This decision has low structure. This scenario reflects a
complex situation and need to generate an accurate information with
knowledge based recommendation . Therefore, moderate level of
participation will be necessary.
2. Source of decision knowledge: limited awareness relative to employees, and
that even supervisors two levels below me are lack sufficient details about the
work to provide enough information. In such a scenario , it will be necessary to
involve front-line employees. Employees likely to have relevant information for
complex decisions.
3. Decision commitment: The employee’s commitment was not clearly
highlighted in this case. There is a conservative agreement to the initiative of
lowering the cost but not the execution in particularly. However, since a
moderate level of involvement is probably necessary, this may be sufficient if
any commitment is otherwise lacking.

8. Q2: What factors led you to choose this alternative rather than
the others?
4. Risk of conflict : employees may have difficulty agreeing among
themselves. This might occur because the unit has diverse employees
with different skills and knowledge. High involvement is ineffective if
employees cannot agree of solution. Overall, the conflict among
employee discourages high involvement, but will support a medium
level of involvement.

9. Q3: What problems might occur if less or more involvement
occurred in this case (where possible)?
 A high degree of involvement is likely problematic
because of the risk of conflict among employees within
the TD Group because some decisions may have bad
effects on particular subgroups in that unit.
 A low level of involvement, including deciding alone
and receiving information from individuals, would be too
low due to the lack of knowledge about how to find
ways to improve efficiency and even lack of knowledge
about what questions to ask front-line staff on this matter.
The business is too complex.

10. Case Scenario 2 :
The Sugar Substitute Research Decision
 Role as the head of the Research and Development (R&D) at a major beer
company.
 Encountered to a new sugar substitute which has few calories but tastes closer to
sugar.
 R&D has limited budget
 The company has no foreseeable need for this product, but it could be patented
and licensed to manufacturers in the food industry.
 Make a decision on funding the budget or not.

11. LEVELS OF INVOLVEMENT

12. Q.1. To what extent should your subordinates be involved in this
decision?
 Answer: Medium level of involvement. i.e. Consult with individuals.
 Employee are closer
 Creativity increase
 Blind spot in problem identification
 Rationale + emotional process.
Although some tend to suggest high involvement(facilitate the team’s
decision). The answer to the next question explains why medium
involvement is probably best here.

13. Q.2. What factors led you to choose this level of employee involvement rather than the others?
 Answer: The four contingencies of employee involvement-
1. Decision structure
2. Source of decision knowledge
3. Decision commitment
4. Risk conflict

14. Q.3. What problems might occur if less or more involvement occurred in
this case?
HIGH INVOLVEMENT
• Conflict among employees
• Employees could not agree because a decision to fund the
project would reduce their own funding.
LOW INVOLVEMENT
• The scientist to complain more and quit the research unit
• Lose some synergy of discussion on this issue.
NO INVOLVEMENT
• The chief is decisive, poor decision
• Higher probability of failure. Self justification.

15. Case Scenario 3 :
Social Media Policy Decision
 Social media
 The industry initiative agency is responsible for marketing your
state as a good place for companies to operate.
 During a recent recruitment drive, some potential applicants
stated that the state government seems out of touch with the
younger generation.
 Accordingly, you consider having a social media policy in the
industry initiative agency, particularly whether or to what
degree.
 social media policy decision would be within your mandate, the
agency is semi-autonomous in its policies and practices

16. Case Questions
 To what extent should your subordinate be involved in
this decision?
 Medium level of involvement is required in this situation
 What factors led you to choose this level of employee
involvement rather than the others?
 Decision structure: agency is semi-autonomous in its
policies and practices
 Source of decision making: lack of sufficient information
related to social media
 Decision commitment: Employee involvement is needed
to increase the support for the final decision
 Risk of conflict: supporters vs opposed social media policy

17. Case Questions
 What problems might occur if less or more
involvement occurred in this case (where
possible)?
Low involvement
•Inaccurate judgment since the head of the agency lack the
sufficient information
High involvement
•No agreeable decision and will create a conflict among
employees.

18. Case Scenario 4:
Coast Guard Cutter Decision Problem
Type of organization
Team missions
Current situation

19. Solution for the question 1
Decide alone

20. Solution for question 2
Decision structure
Source of decision
knowledge
Decision commitment Risk conflict
Decide alone

21. •More programmed decision---less employee
involvement needed
•For coast guard cutter, they have high programmed
decision structure.
•protection of crews’ security is their first choice.
Decision
structure
•Subordinates involved when leader lacks sufficient
knowledge and they provide additional information
•Captain obtained all the information about crashed
plane, also he know all information about current
situation and conditions of coming storm
Source of
decision
knowledge

22. •Participation improve employee commitment. Employee likely to
accept a decision with their involvement
• obeying commands from their captain is primary requirement for
crews.
•Main responsibility of captain analyze situation and delivery commands
to his subordinates
Decision
commitment
•Employee goals and norms conflict with the organization’s goals. Degree
of involvement depends on whether they reach to the preferred solution.
•Crews and captain they follow same norms and have same goals.Risk conflict

23. Solution for question3
Problem
incurred
Result in spending more time to make the final
decision.
Misunderstanding about functions of each
position, lead to less efficient during the mission