THE EFFECT OF EMPLOYEE PARTICIPATION IN MANAGEMENT DECISION MAKING

THE EFFECT OF EMPLOYEE PARTICIPATION IN MANAGEMENT DECISION MAKING (A STUDY OF FEDERAL POLY OKO)

Abstract

This research work is conceived with the effect of employee participation in management decision making in Federal Poly Oko Anambra State. The study involved a survey in which a total of two hundred employee were used as subjects, fur (4) research question were as tested. Questionnaire was used to elicit information from employees in Federal Poly Oko. The data collected were analyzed using mean scores. The effect of employee participation in management decision making in Federal Poly Oko. The researcher found out that sometime decision made by Junior staff of the institution will not be used and most of the staff have known time to go for meetings finding of the respondents in table 3 shows more respondents with higher measures in table 3 shows more respondents with higher measure in the respond. We found that employees in Federal Poly Oko have a higher involvement in decision making. Based on the findings of the study it could be conclude that workers in the study institution are much more involved in the management decision making.

CHAPTER 1

INTRODUCTION

Background of Study

Over the years, the practice of organizational management demanded that employer/management could expect that workers will do the work that is set before them. While this was a perfectly typical method of getting results through others in the early days of assembly line and scientific management, it is no longer true of today’s business, the trend has changed in that management expects more from its workers than doing simply what is put before them. It has also changed in that work expects that more can be got from them by simply working according to the direction of the boss. However, with the rise of such theories as “participation management” and with increasing recognition those employees often have something valuable to contribute (beyond the accepted units of their normal job duties (Adewumi F. 2005).

Many companies are now actively seeking ways of getting employees to participate more in decision affecting them; the workers on the other hand expects to be asked how he feels about his job, and what his ideas are on how the work can be done more easily, better and faster. The reason for this change in emphasis is that management has discovered hat there are tangible business values in soliciting and using the ideas of people at all levels in the organization. As the main objective of every business organization is long-term survival and in addition to have a competitive advantage over and above its competitors rather than being like the biblical seeds that fell on the way side and perished. The secret of having his competitive advantage over others then lies on the productivity of the enterprise. The increase in productivity can only be achieved mainly through the organizational work force (Dunlop. 2007).

Increase in work life and productivity in an enterprise starts with the mind. It starts with the improvement of an individual self-esteem and self worth. It starts with helping an employee develop a higher degree of self regard. In tracina the background of this concept of employee participation in decision making, one can inter it to be a household name in many countries of the world. (Dunlop J. 2007). Japan’s success in the business world is attributed to employee participate. Decision making is shared at all levels of management. It is observed that decision making in Japanese firms are focused on defining questions or issues rather than on finding solutions. Thus all levels of the organization are involved in this process, in the United States, Industrial democracy is practiced, employee are encouraged to buy shares in companies thereby enabling them to have a say in the management of their organization. In other developed countries like Britain, Yugoslavia and Germany, participatory management is popular In Britain and Yugoslavia. It is known as joint consultation and self management respectively while in Germany, it is known as co-determination. In Nigeria, participatory management has come a long way. The Nigeria military government in 1977 decided t democratize industrial ownership in Nigeria by promulgating the Nigerian Indigenization decree part of which provides “that 10 percent total equity share of any enterprise on schedule, 2 and 3 should be reserved for workers (Fashoyin, T. 1992)

Statement of the Study

The issue of whether participation in decision making exists in the Nigeria industrial set up is very controversial. Some companies in Nigeria practice participate decision making and government has in the past encouraged participation in decision making though registration on the contrary, some management writers n Nigeria are of the opinion that reason is that the necessary pre-requisite conditions encourage participation in Nigeria are not available. The research is aimed at the effect of employee participation in management decision making in Federal Poly Oko.

However, research into Federal Poly Oko has exposed employee desire for involvement in decision making in their various organizations. Employees are at the same time important elements of the accomplishment of the school goals, in order to standard and remain as a Federal Institution. The reason basically rests on the fact that employees are operators and are in better position to know the problem they encounter in doing a particular task and how best to solve them. This study is therefore set to determine the extent of practice of participating in decision making in Federal Poly Oko.

Purpose of the Study

Specifically, the research intends to determine the effect of employee. Participation in management decision making in Federal Poly Oko.

1. To ascertain the level employees with low educational qualification have more influence in decision making in Federal Poly Oko.
2. To it employee: Opinions are made used off after being collected by the management of the institution.
3. To employees are allowed to make decision in Federal Poly Oko.
4. To examine the employees participation in decision making result to responsibility and independence.

Significance of the Study

The study is designed to provide information to the populace on how Federal Poly Oko have faired in their practice of participative decision making and its contributions to the staff and the school. It is expected that this study will be benefiticial to the management by giving enough insight into the benefits of employee participation in decision making, workers, students of business administration and the society at large are equally the hope that the study would provide a basic on which further research would be carried out.

Research Question

1. To what extent employees with low educational qualification have more influence in decision making in Federal Poly Oko.
2. To what extent employees opinion are made use off after being collected by the management of Federal Poly Oko.
3. To what extent employees are allowed to make decision in Federal Poly Oko
4. To what extent the employee’s participation in decision making result to responsibility and independence.

Hypothesis (Optional)

The following testable hypotheses were formulated to guide the attainment of the research objectives.

Ho: An employee in higher job position tends to exercise more involvement in management decision making than another in lower job position.

H₁: An employee who possesses higher educational qualification would tend to have more influence in management decision making that other who possess lower educational qualification.

Scope/Delimitation of the Study

This study is about the effect if employee participation in management decision making. The extent of employees participation and the problem encountered in its practice will be examined. Government press and a few. Other selected private institution and University in Anambra State will be limited because of time and finance being faced by the researcher and also unwillingness of some management in using their organization or institution for research. Despite these limitation, the study will explore every necessary available information to be attain its set objective.

Definition of Terms

1. Participation: The process during which individuals groups and organizations are consulted about or have the opportunity to become activity involved in project or program of activity.
2. Decision Making: A result arrived at by the judges when here is no clear winner at the end of the contest.
3. Management: The executive of an organization, especially senior executives.
4. Employees: An individual who provides labor to a company or another person.

CHAPTER 2

LITERATURE REVIEW

2.1   Conceptual Framework

Worker participate has been explained as a plank of individual democracy (Adewumi, 2008). Mills (2009) described the spread of industrial democracy to Western Europe in the 1970s a story of capitalism in transaction. In this words, in countries where it is occurring industrial democracy, affect the nature, control and every ownerships of private enterprise; the nature control power and bargaining areas of the labour unions and the roles and contributions and rights of the individual worker in contemporary and future industrial society, (Heisler and Hiuck Ceds), 2008).

The description above shows that industrial democracy affects many aspect of lives of different people in Modern society. This reason may explain the wide clamor for the introduction of worker participation arrangement in most countries.

The basic concept involves any power – sharing arrangement in which work place influence is shared among individual who are otherwise hierarchical unequal’s such power-sharing arrangements may entail various employees involvement schemes resulting in co-determination of working conditions, problem solving and decision making (Lock and Schivershar, 2007).

The primary aim of employee participate in decision making is for the organization of benefit from the “perceived motivational effects of increased employee involvement (Latharn, 2001, p. 28)

A group of managers view participation as a useful item in their bag of managerial risks. It is for them a manipulative device for getting people to do what they want, under condition which delude the participation “into thinking they have a valve in decision making. The idea is to handle, them skillful that they came up with the answer, which the manager had in the first place sent believing it was their own. The consultative manager on his down part seeks the views and ideas of his employees. He capitalizes on the knowledge and experience of those under his and from the expected; list of alternative solution developed by both parties. Selects the one he regard as most promising. The participative/democratic manager passes the decision making itself to his group with himself as a member. ( Paterman C. 2009).

However, further doing so; define the boundaries with in which the decision must be made?

Likert further assumed that giving or sharing of information is an essential step in the process of participation and one of the first in moving toward more complete participation (Likert, 2012) p. 308.

It managers, therefore depending on the people under him and the situation at hand, must vary his participative approaches. According to Guest and Knight (2003) some observers have noted that while a continun is a useful way of conceptualizing participation it does not provide a definition. They further stated that if a definition does not use a concept such as control them some of the approached falling on the continuum could not be classified as genuine participation (Guest and Knight, 2013) p:31)

This fervor explains rising employee’s demand for increasing influence in management decision making. The increasing interest in employee participation has been traced to a number of factors. First is the real or participated political pressure which was designed to extend the popular democratic dispensation in the larger society to the economic sphere. Second. is the growing pressure on the collective bargaining system arising from continually difficulties from negotiation in the context of high inflation and n some instances increasing disenchantment with the dialogue to confrontation more importantly, is the endemic problem within the modern industrial system which may tend to encourage employers to consider experimenting with different forms of participation was encourage by the problem associated with denying power full group (for example, shop stewards and Work groups) formal and legal means of exercising their rights. When such situation arises, the workers concerned will employ informal bargaining methods and illegitimate facts to achieve their goals. To forestall these negative. Trends; management is forced to introduce certain participation Schemes (mills. 2012).

A related concept to employee participation is joint governance. The concept was developed by vermin and catcher Ciershanfied 2000) who define it as: an ongoing formal process where workers and their immediate supervisors or union and management bear joint responsibility for making decision which may be narrow. Joint governance would then be taking to imply statutory arrangements that are meant to provide equal decision making power to subordinate employees. However, like other programme with similar objectives joint governance provides little opportunity for real decision making power to employees. Wellins-Byhman and Wilson (2001).

In some of the programmes, employees were given advisory role which in few cases may confer tem with an influential voice. But this is still fro short of sharing decision making power which is full worker participation arrangement would imply (Wilson, 2012).

Levine and Tysson (2013) distinguished between consultative and substantive forms of participation. In consultative forms employees provide information or advice, but management retains the result to make decisions. In more substantive participatory systems workers have greater autonomous control over methods and pace of work and make decision that substantively affect the production process this destruction between consultative and substance forms of participation is what Rubestein, Benelt, and Kochan, (2013) Called offline versus “On-line” participation. These terms distinguish between workers who make suggestions t management through problem-solving groups of these job and workers who make decisions with respect to work tacks or quality control as part of their daily work responsibilities (Kester et al 2002).

With respect to the status of employees participation in the developing world, Mankidy (20003) Kester and Schiphorst 2005) have argued that in these countries labour relations are characterized by a break up of existing patterns in many of them. Lastly, on the ideological ground, collective bargaining is rejected because it is emphasis on the dependent wagged labour position of the worker (Mankidy et al, 2003 and 2005).

Kester and Thomas (2007) have demonstrated that there s a last growing interest in the development of workers participation in developing countries. In their studies they found on form f employee participation or the other in these countries. In some case, worker participation was introduced an essential part of development strategy. For instance, in Tanzania, the idea of employee participation formed an important aspect of her socialist ideology. This is anchored on the notion of man centered development strategy.

In Nigeria the institutionalization of employee participation within the nations. Industrial relations was system championed by several scholars. Fashoyin (2001); Adewumi (2002) and Imaga (2003) have suggested ha employee participation in management decision making represents a means of reducing industrial conflict, raising workers productivity and ensuring rapid socio-economic development.

Adewumi (2002) P.7) contented that the Nigerian industrial relations system is guided by the underlying philosophy of institutions and machineries though which management and employee meet on equal footing to discuss, consult and negotiate the terms and conditions of employment. In reiterating the principle of Nigerians industrial relations system, the national labour policy sates; If management must participate in decision for determining the share of the worker from the result of the co-operative use of labour and capital, then the employee is equally entitled to participate in the decision relating to share of capital, namely, profit and indeed all decisions hitherto arrogated to itself by the employee or management relating to the whole organization and operation of the enterprise, determining objectives and policies, the relative share of the co-operating factors of production (Yesufu, 2005, p:142).

2.2   Theoretical Framework

The human relation and participatory democratic theories are adopted to guide or discussion on employee in management decision making. The human relations theory stems from the understanding that the co-operation of workers is desirable fr the attainment of the objectives of high productivity and industrial peace it contends that employee would be better motivated, if they are treated like human beings rather than in irrational objects. For instance by making them have a feeling that the organization accords them recognition by involving them in the decision making process. In the light of the theory the employee is to be perceived in terms of his membership of a social group rather as an individual (Dunlop,)2008).

Mills (2009) sees industry as an area where the individual could gain experience in the management of the collective just as he could in government. The theory views the political arena as a kind of market place in which individuals constantly attempt to maximize the benefits, minimize losses. They could secure from the political process.

The study adopted the case study approach for the purpose of conducting an empirical investigation to the issue of employee participation in management decision making in Federal Poly Oko.

2.3   Empirical Review

Studies have also focused on the effect of employee participation in management decision making organization performance. (Kelly and Harrison, 1992: Levine and Tyson, 1990; Lawler etal 1992). These studies found that participation programs have positive or in some cases, ambiguous effect on productivity and industrial relations practices may interact so that the sum of the effects on plant performance are stronger than the effects on the individual practices themselves (Cooke, 1994), lastly effects on productivity are expected to be greatest when the organization and industrial relations practices (Dunlop, 2008, Cutcher-Gersenfeld, 2000, Kochan and Useem, 1992). In the view of Kester; Zammit and Gold (2002), Decretive participation is no longer primary a battleground between capital and labour, implying a win-lose game, but a common challenges, a win-win game that force all parties to reconsider the rules of the games and the roles of the actors.