The Relationship Between Employee Participation in Decision Making and Work Performance in the Manufacturing Sector
CHAPTERS ONE
OBJECTIVE OF THE STUDY
- Employees must be involved if they are to understand the need for creativity and if they are to be committed to changing their behaviour at work.
- Employee involvement in decision making serves to create a sense of belonging among the workers as well as a congenial environment in which both the management and the workers voluntarily contribute to healthy industrial relations.
- In order to increase the workers commitment and humanise the workplace with the intention of improving work performance and good citizenship behaviour, managers need to permit a high degree of employee involvement.
CHAPTER TWO
REVIEW OF LITERATURE
INTRODUCTION
Our focus in this chapter is to critically examine relevant literature that would assist in explaining the research problem and furthermore recognize the efforts of scholars who had previously contributed immensely to similar research. The chapter intends to deepen the understanding of the study and close the perceived gaps.
Precisely, the chapter will be considered in three sub-headings:
- Conceptual Framework
- Theoretical Framework
- Empirical framework
CONCEPTUAL FRAMEWORK
Concept Of Participation
Several management strategies have been developed to enable organizations attain their objectives, one of which is participatory management. Adeola S. (2014), defines participation as the active involvement of subordinates of followers in the making of decisions that directly affect them in the work place. Participation in decision making is generally regarded as a sign of enlightened and democratic management. It may be through of the giving and receiving of information, achieve and suggestion and the sharing of experience among members of an organization. In management, Murew (2017) opined that “participation particularly applies to allowing the employees) to have a voice in shaping policies, procedures and processes that directly or indirectly affect”. It is therefore a process of sharing among managers and employees. Though the use of participation also, individual members are involved in a wide range of objective setting, problem solving, and decision-making activities of the organization. Davis (2011) stated that participation is a mental and emotional involvement of persons in group situations that encourage them to contribute to group goals and share responsibility for them. Lewin (2019) defined it as a mode of organizational operation in which decision as to activities are arrived at by the person, who are to execute those decisions. However, participation from my own point of view, I can say is a process in which two or more parties influence each other in making decisions. The parties to the decision-making process may be in their capacities as individuals or as groups. In participatory management, management selectively shares, some of its powers with employees. It takes into consideration the wishes and suggestions of the members as well as those of the leader. It is a human relations approach where all members of the group are seen as Abbildung in dieser Leseprobe nicht enthalten important contributors to the firm’s decisions. Gurin, Veroff and Feld (2011) concluded that participation is really a middle-class value, and grows out of the prior expectations of those being supervised. Vroom (2004) points out two distinctions in the definition of participation. The first he calls “psychological” (you think you are participating in the decision that affect you), and the second “objective” (you actually participate strongly in the decisions that affect you whether you know it or not). Vrooms(2004) study is essence shows or through some interesting light on how follower personalities affect participation per se, is not a Programme but rather a dramatic change in the way most companies take decisions and operate on a day-to-day basis, which efficiency and productivity by managers of organizations and on the oath The concept of participation in an organization can therefore be summarized as a process by which an organization attempts to unlock the creative potentials of its people by involving them in decisions affecting their work lives. It is a structured effort to enable employees at all levels in an organization to use their knowledge, skills and abilities more effectively in their work and to participate more fully in decisions about their work life.
CHAPTER THREE
RESEARCH METHODOLOGY
Introduction
In this chapter, we described the research procedure for this study. A research methodology is a research process adopted or employed to systematically and scientifically present the results of a study to the research audience viz. a vis, the study beneficiaries.
CHAPTER FOUR
DATA PRESENTATION AND ANALYSIS
INTRODUCTION
This chapter presents the analysis of data derived through the questionnaire and key informant interview administered on the respondents in the study area. The analysis and interpretation were derived from the findings of the study. The data analysis depicts the simple frequency and percentage of the respondents as well as interpretation of the information gathered. A total of fifty-seven(57) questionnaires were administered to respondents of which fifty fifty (55) were returned while 50 were validated. This was due to irregular, incomplete and inappropriate responses to some questionnaire. For this study a total of 50 was validated for the analysis.
CHAPTER FIVE
SUMMARY, CONCLUSIONS AND RECOMMENDATIONS:
Introduction
This chapter summarizes the findings on the relationship between employee participation in decision making and work performance in the manufacturing sector in Imo State. The chapter consists of summary of the study, conclusions, and recommendations.
Summary of the Study
In this study, our focus was to examine the relationship between employee participation in decision making and work performance in the manufacturing sector in Imo State. The major objective of this project is directed towards the achievement of the following: employees must be involved if they are to understand the need for creativity and if they are to be committed to changing their behaviour at work, employee involvement in decision making serves to create a sense of belonging among the workers as well as a congenial environment in which both the management and the workers voluntarily contribute to healthy industrial relations, and in order to increase the workers commitment and humanise the workplace with the intention of improving work performance and good citizenship behaviour, managers need to permit a high degree of employee involvement.
The study adopted the survey research design and randomly enrolled participants in the study. A total of 50 responses were validated from the enrolled participants where all respondent are employees of some selected manufacturing firms in Imo State.
Conclusions
In the light of the analysis carried out, the following conclusions were drawn.
- There is a significant relationship between employee involvement in decision making and firms’ performance.
- Employee involvement in decision making has a significant impact on firms’ performance.
- Thereis a significant difference between the performance of firms whose employees’ involvement in decision making are (deep) high and the performance of firms whose employees’ involvement in decision making are (shallow) low.
Recommendations
Based on the findings of the study, the following recommendations are proffered.
- Managers should put more effort in encouraging their employees to come up with suggestions and useful decisions and endeavour to incorporate them into the organization’s decisions and policy.
- Managers should increase the frequency and level of worker participation in decision making considering the fact that they are the people carrying out the main operative work as they are in the better position to know what goes on those areas.
- Every organization should endeavour to create a clear-cut understanding and notion of the concept of participation decision making to avoid confusion and clashes of interest between the employees and the managers.
REFERENCE
- Adeola S. (2014), Corporate Decision Making, “Must Workers have a Say” Corporate Diary, Financial Guardian, 4th April p. 23.
- Akpala A. (1982), Industrial Relations Model for Developing Countries, The Nigeria System: Fourth Dimension Publishers, Lagos. Akpala A. (1990), Management: An Introduction and Nigerian Perspective P.23 Benard M. (1985), Leadership and Performance Beyond Expectations. New York: The Free Press. Benson T.E. Destination: (1990), Total Employee Investment”. Industry Week; September 3, vol 239. Bisocos S.K. (1990), Employee Participation without Pain” Human Resources Magazine 10 April. Burt N. Leaders’ New York Harper and Row.
- Allen, N. J., & Meyer, J. P., (1990). The Measurement and Antecedents of Affective, Continuance and Normative Commitment to the Organization.Journal of Occupational Psychology, 63(1).
- Angle, H. L., & Perry, J. L., (1981). An Empirical Assessment of Organizational Commitment and Organizational Effectiveness.Administrative Science Quarterly, 26(1), 1-14.
- Aw, B., Roberts, M., & Winston, T., (2007). Export Market Participation, Investments in R&D and Worker Training, and the Evolution of Firm Productivity.World Economy, 30(1), 83-104.
