The document discusses workers' participation in management, defining it as both mental and emotional involvement that enhances workers' sense of importance and contributes to decision-making at various levels. It outlines the five levels of participation from information sharing to decisive participation, and emphasizes the need for mutual trust and understanding between management and employees to overcome barriers to participation in India. The document also highlights the importance of participation in promoting industrial democracy, enhancing productivity, and managing changes within organizations.

1. Workers Participation In Management
Definitions of Workers Participation In Management
According to Keith Davis, Participation refers to the mental and
emotional involvement of a person in a group situation which
encourages him to contribute to group goals and share the
responsibility of achievement.
Participation in Management gives the worker a sense of
importance, pride and accomplishment; it gives him the freedom
of opportunity for self-expression; a feeling of belongingness
with the place of work and a sense of workmanship and
creativity.

2. • It provides scope for employees in decision-making of the
organization.
• The participation may be at the shop level, departmental level
or at the top level.
• The participation includes the willingness to share the
responsibility of the organization by the workers.

3. • Features of Workers Participation In Management
• Participation means mental and emotional involvement rather
than mere physical presence.
• Workers participate in management not as individuals but
collectively as a group through their representatives.
• Workers’ participation in management may be formal or
informal. In both the cases it is a system of communication and
consultation whereby employees express their opinions and
contribute to managerial decisions.

4. Levels of Workers Participation In
Management
• There can be 5 levels of Management Participation or WPM:
1.Information participation: It ensures that employees are able to
receive information and express their views pertaining to the matter
of general economic importance.
2.Consultative importance: Here workers are consulted on the
matters of employee welfare such as work, safety and health.
However, final decision always rests with the top-level management,
as employees’ views are only advisory in nature.
3.Associative participation: It is an extension of consultative
participation as management here is under the moral obligation to
accept and implement the unanimous decisions of the employees.
Under this method the managers and workers jointly take decisions.

5. 1.Administrative participation: It ensures greater share of
workers’ participation in discharge of managerial functions.
Here, decisions already taken by the management come to
employees, preferably with alternatives for administration and
employees have to select the best from those for
implementation.
2.Decisive participation: Highest level of participation where
decisions are jointly taken on the matters relating to production,
welfare etc.

6. • Characteristics of Workers Participation In Management
• Participation implies practices which increase the scope for employees’
share of influence in decision-making process with the assumption of
responsibility.
• Participation presupposes willing acceptance of responsibility by workers.
• Workers participate in management not as individuals but as a group
through their representatives.
• Worker’s participation in management differs from collective bargaining in
the sense that while the former is based on mutual trust, information
sharing and mutual problem solving; the latter is essentially based on
power play, pressure tactics, and negotiations.
• The basic rationale tor worker’s participation in management is that
workers invest their labour and their fates to their place of work. Thus, they
contribute to the outcomes of organization. Hence, they have a legitimate
right to share in decision-making activities of organisation.

7. Objectives of Workers Participation In
Management
• To establish Industrial Democracy.
• To build the most dynamic Human Resources.
• To satisfy the workers’ social and esteem needs.
• To strengthen labor-management co-operation and thus
maintain Industrial peace and harmony.
• To promote increased productivity for the advantage of the
organization, workers and the society at large.
• Its psychological objective is to secure full recognition of the
workers.

8. Importance of Workers Participation In
Management
• Unique motivational power and a great psychological value.
• Peace and harmony between workers and management.
• Workers get to see how their actions would contribute to the
overall growth of the company.
• They tend to view the decisions as `their own’ and are more
enthusiastic in their implementation.
• Participation makes them more responsible.
• They become more willing to take initiative and come out with
cost-saving suggestions and growth-oriented ideas.

9. Specific Purpose of Workers' Participation
• 1. It helps in managing resistance to change which is inevitable. For the
growth and development of industry, changes have to be welcomed,
otherwise the organization will stagnate and be left behind.
• If the need for change is jointly felt by all partners of production its
acceptance can be high. Workers' participation in change strategy can
facilitate acceptable solutions with a view to secure effective and smooth
implementations of decisions.
• 2. Workers' participation can encourage communication at all levels.
Since both partners of production are involved in the decision-making
there will be fewer changes of distortion and/ or failure in communicating
the decision.

10. • 3. Joint decision - making ensures the there will be minimum
industrial conflict an economic growth can be free form distracting
strife.
• 4. Workers' participation at the plant level can be seen as the first
step to establishing democratic values in society at large.

11. Forms of Participation
• 1.Collective Bargaining:
• Collective bargaining results in collective agreements which lay down
certain rules and conditions of service in an establishment. Such
agreements are normally binding on the parties. Theoretically,
collective bargaining is based on the principle of balance of power,
but, in actual practice, each party tries to outbid the other and get
maximum advantage by using, if necessary, threats and
counterthreats like; strikes, lockouts and other direct actions.

12. • Joint consultation, on the other hand, is a particular technique which
is intended to achieve a greater degree of harmony and cooperation
by emphasizing matters of common interest. Workers prefer to use
the instrument of collective bargaining rather than ask for a share in
management.

13. 2. Works Committees: Under the Industrial Disputes Act 1947, every
establishment employing 100 or more workers is required to
constitute a works committee.
Such a committee consists of equal number of representatives of
employer and workers.
The main purpose of works committees is to provide measures for
securing and preserving amity and good relations between the
employer and employees.

14. 3. Joint Management Councils (JMCs):
These are joint bodies consisting of the representatives of
management and employees. The functions of JMCs may range from
decision-making on some issues to simply advising the management
as consultative bodies.
The decisions of these councils are advisory in nature through
employers often implement the unanimous decisions of them.
Working conditions, accident, prevention, indiscipline, absenteeism,
training are the important matters before joint management councils.

15. • 4. Board Level: The basic function of the board is to ensure the
growth of enterprise capital.
• His pre-occupation will be one of the negotiating workers special
interest with the other members of the board.
• In India in Port Trust, Dock labour Boards etc, have workers
representatives. The effectiveness of workers representatives at the
Board depends upon his ability to participate in decision-making and
his knowledge of the company affairs.

16. • 6. Suggestions Scheme:
• Under this method, workers’ are invited and encouraged to offer
suggestions for improving the working of the enterprise.
• A suggestion box is installed in the organization. Workers can write
their suggestions and put into the box.
• Periodically all the suggestions and put into the box. Periodically all
the suggestions are scrutinized by the suggestion committee and
good suggestions are accepted for implementation and suitable
rewards are given to the concerned workers.

17. • Reasons for Slow Progress of Workers Participation in India: The
following are the important reasons for slow progress of workers’
participation in management in India.
• i) Basically there are ideological differences between employees and
employers towards participation. Employers want to introduce
participation gradually in stages and while employees feel that the
scheme should be introduced simultaneously at all levels.
• ii) The basic needs of the workers are not fully satisfied. So majority
of the Indian workers are not motivated towards the participation
either directly or through their representatives.

18. • iii) The role of outsiders in the trade unions is one of the features of
Indian trade union movement. Trade union leaders who represent
workers are also active members of political parties and spoiling the
atmosphere of Industrial Organization. For them their political
interest is more important than employees interest

19. • . iv) Always the industrial climate in India has not been free from
labor unrest. It is pity that Government has introduced participative
schemes on Industries in such a climate where for its anticipated
results has been its total failure.
• v) The workers representatives on various participative bodies are by
and large illiterate. Due to lack of adequate education they are unable
to participate meaningfully in their working.

20. • vi) Schemes of workers’ participation have been initiated and
sponsored by the Government. There has been lack of initiative on
the part of both employers and employees.
• vii) The focus has been on participation at higher levels only.

21. • Measures for Effective Participation In India: The following
measures are necessary to make the workers’ participation in
management to be effective in India.
 i) There must be complete agreement between management and
employees on the manner in which the various participative schemes
should function.
ii) There must be mutual trust and confidence from the side of both
management and employees towards the schemes relating to
participative management.

22. iii) There should be a feeling of participation at all levels. The work
environment must be congenial enough to inspire the workers to give
their best to the enterprise.
iv) Participation must be real and the parties to the scheme should
meet frequently and the decisions should be timely implemented.
v) Through proper training programmes the workers are to be
educated to know the benefits of participative management. This will
develop their knowledge and skills necessary for effective
participation.