Académique Documents
Professionnel Documents
Culture Documents
Participation,
Involvement
Implications for Employee Relations
Employee Participation
Long history in Personnel/HRM
Distinguish
Direct v Indirect
Formal v Informal
Scope – limited/broad
Level – team/department/company
Focus – task/team/individual
Salamon (1998)
Industrial Democracy –
Worker control
Employee Participation -
Influencing decision-making
Employee Involvement -
Marxist Worker
Control
Collective Bargaining
Pluralist
Joint Consultation
Employee
Involvement
Collective Bargaining
Works Councils
Task-Based Participation
Theoretical Contributions
Unitarist - Human Relations/HRM
Mayo – communications/consultation
influence in Britain post 1930s
HRM – EI alternative to unions or provide
dual channel (Willman 2007)
Marxist – Cycles of control (Ramsay 1977)
– participation as response to challenges to
management authority and changes in
power within capital-labour relations
Pluralist – Wave theory (Marchington1992)
Employee Involvement and
Participation
Recent interest from two main sources:
Rise of HRM
Focus on EI means to securing commitment and high
performance - HPWS
‘Mutual gains enterprise’ (Kochan and Osterman 2000)
Co-operation, mutual interest v conflict in employment
relationship
High involvement – ‘mining the gold in people’s heads’ to
secure improved performance
European Initiatives
European Works Councils (1990s) Information and
Consultation Directive (2002)
Tensions between HRM and EU Agendas
Employee Involvement
HRM influence seen through claimed links between EI
and performance
Performance a function of
Ability
Motivation
Opportunity (AMO)
Improved
Improved
systemic worker
response to outcomes
employee
effort
Supportive company,
industry and societal
context
Employee Involvement
EI major area of growth in Britain since early
1980s
Particular configuration of;
- Level
- Scope
- Direct involvement
- Focus
Complex reasons for growth – see Marchington
work, often dual-channel (exists alongside
indirect communications)
Employee Involvement
Employee Involvement includes:
Mgt commitment to
organisation Performance
Manager’s fairness
re: issues
Intention to Stay
Treating employees
With respect
Participation in EU
In EU model of legally constituted forms of
indirect involvement via Works Councils (or
equivalent) and (in some countries) employee
representation at senior levels in organisations –
board level
Works councils/works committees at
establishment or organisational level: Austria,
Belgium, France, Greece, Luxembourg, the
Netherlands, Portugal and Spain, similar
structures in Denmark, Norway
Representative system - Key role for trade
unions and worker representatives
European Union Traditions
Model of participation in EU normally a dual system
of industry-wide collective bargaining and company-
based works councils