Levels and Forms of Workers Participation In Management

Workers participation in management includes following.

    • Workers participation in management provides a chance to employees in organisation's decision making process.

    • The workers participation may be at the shop level, departmental level or at the top level.

    • The workers participation in the management is that the willingness to share the responsibility and accept commitment by workers in executing decisions of management with consultation of workers.

    • The workers participation is conducted through the mechanism of forums which provide for association of workers representatives.

    • the idea behind worker's participation in management is to dole of self discipline and control among workers and for the smooth running of management.


levels of workers participation in management

workers participation may exist in all levels of management, however it may vary from management to management. Participation of workers in management is more likely at lower level and less involvement at top level of management. Broadly speaking there are following file levels of participation of workers in management.

1. Information participation of workers:

It ensures that employees are able to receive information and express their views pertaining to the matters of general economic importance.

2. Consultative participation of workers:

Under this kind of workers participation in management, May act as a consultant in the matters of workers safety, health and their welfare at workplace. Even so, ultimate decision lie in the hands of management, only employees views are considered as advise.

3. Associative participation of workers:

This kind of workers participation in management is next level to consultative participation. under associative participation of workers in management, morally bound to accept and implement the opinion of employees.

4. Administrative participation of workers:

Under this kind of participation of workers in management, workers the part in discharge of managerial functions. Here employees take part in decisions, which were already taken by the management, thereupon employees have to select the best from those decisions for the purpose of implementation.

5. Decisive participation of workers:

Decisive participation is the highest level of workers participation in management, where employees and management together taking decisions on the matters related to workers welfare and production related issues.

Forms of Workers’ Participation in Management

The forms of workers participation in management vary from industry to industry and country to country depending upon the political system, pattern of management relations and subject or area of participation. The forms of workers participation may be as follows:

    1. Joint Consultation Model

    2. Joint Decision Model

    3. Self Management, or Auto Management Scheme

    4. Workers Representation on Board

1. Joint consultation model:

In the joint consultation model the management consults with the workers before taking decisions. The workers represent their view through ‘Joint consultative Committees’. This form is followed in United Kingdom, Sweden and Poland.

2. Joint decision model:

In this form both the workers and management jointly decide and execute the decisions. This form of participation is followed in U.S.A. and West Germany.

3. Self management of auto management:

In this model, the entire control is in the hands of workers. Yugoslavia is an example to this model. Where the state industrial units are run by the workers under a scheme called ‘Self Management or Auto Management Scheme’.

4. Workers’ representation on board:

Under this method, the workers elect their representative and send them to the Board to participate in the decision making process.

The workers participation in management maybe informal or formal. In the formal form of workers participation in management takes the formal structures such as Works Committee, Shop Councils, Production Committee, Safety Committee, Joint Management Councils, Canteen Committee etc. The informal form of workers participation may be such as the supervisor consulting the workers for granting leave, overtime, and allotment of worked or transfer of workers from one department to another.