Professional Documents
Culture Documents
Chapter
24
PARTICIPATION
AND
EMPOWERMENT
24-2
ANNOTATED OUTLINE
INTRODUCTION
Participation has a unique motivational power and a great
psychological value. It promotes harmony and peace between
workers and management. Workers’ participation in management
aims at improving the quality of working life and thereby secure
cooperation and commitment from workers.
Forms of Participation
Objectives
Promote cordial industrial relations
Improve operational efficiency of workers
Provide welfare facilities to workers
Educate and prepare workers for meaningful participation in organisational matters
Criteria for setting up JMCs
The unit must have 500 or more workers
It should have a fair record of industrial relations
It should have a well organised trade union, affiliated to one of the central
federations.
Both management and workers should agree to the setting up of such a unit
Evaluation
Failed to make much headway due to unenthusiastic response from unions and
workers
Management, on the other hand, was mentally reluctant to share ideas and power
with workers in a meaningful manner.
Empowerment
A. Quality Circles
A quality circle is a small group of employees who meet periodically
to identify, analyse and solve quality and other work related
problems in their area. The main features of a quality circle may be
stated thus:
Voluntary group
Manageable size
Regular interaction
Own agenda
Quality focus
Objectives