Participative Management

Some of the most innovative thinking on management education and practice was originated by management theorist Douglas McGregor in The Human Side of Enterprise (1960). In this book McGregor challenged many of the prevailing managerial assumptions about worker motivation and behaviour. According to the prevailing view, which he labeled “Theory X,” workers were seen as uninformed, lazy, and untrustworthy members of the organization. Management's task was to control workers and motivate them through a combination of control systems, fear of discipline or dismissal, and organizational rules. McGregor contrasted this with a “Theory Y” assumption, namely, that workers are highly motivated and can be trusted to contribute to the organization's objectives if given the opportunity to participate in organizational decision making. Out of the work of McGregor and others, such as Rensis Likert, has evolved “participative management,” a process in which managers consult with and involve employees at all levels of the organization in organizational problem solving and decision making.

McGregor's views were supplemented by theories that promoted innovations in the design and implementation of new technologies and production systems that would accommodate the physical and social needs of workers. These sociotechnical concepts originated in Europe and had substantial impacts on the design of innovative work systems in Scandinavia in the 1960s and '70s. By the early 1980s they had achieved significant acceptance and use in American firms.

Sociotechnical theory and worker-participation models of decision making have become essential to companies as they face global competition and rapid technological change. Most contemporary organizational and industrial relations scholars have concluded that the full potential of new information and manufacturing technologies can only be realized through management processes that support participation and communication across functional lines and departments. This must be accompanied by effective problem solving and flexibility in how work is organized. Yet there is still considerable debate among practitioners over the feasibility, wisdom, and even the legal consequences of involving workers in organizational decision making. Therefore, vestiges of both Theory X and Theory Y can be found in the concepts and practices of contemporary organizations.

 

Exercise 13. Say if these statements are true or false. Correct the wrong variants.

1. D.McGregor believed that workers were uninformed, lazy, and untrustworthy members of the organization.

2. Participative management is a system of encouraging workers to take part in solving problems and making decisions at work.

3. Sociotechnical theory of management deals with applying new technologies and production systems which can satisfy employees' physical and social demands.

4. The ideas of participative management and the sociotechnical concepts are not acknowledged in modern companies.

 

Exercise 14. Speak about participative management. Is this theory important for Russian companies?

 

Exercise 15. Read the text about organizational practices in Japanese companies and say which of the statements is closest to the opinion of most Japanese experts in management:

a) At present, in large Japanese companies organizational relations are still determined by old culture.

b) In modern Japan organizational relations are shaped by the family model that carries over into the workplace.

c) Nowadays Japanese industrial and organizational practices are moulded by the combination of cultural, economic and political factors.

Shimada Haruo, a leading Japanese industrial relations scholar, has maintained that one cannot comprehend Japanese industrial and organizational practices without recognizing that Japanese managers regard human resources as the most critical asset affecting the performance of their enterprises. Therefore, management in large Japanese companies is deeply committed to developing and sustaining effective human resource and industrial relations practices. Many Japanese observers go on to argue that this assumption grows out of Japanese culture and traditions. Shimada points out, however, that this cultural thesis fails to explain the changes in management and labour practices that have occurred over the years. Thus, he and most other contemporary scholars of Japanese practices stress the interactions of cultural, economic, and political events that shape organizational relations in the country's industries.

Japanese culture places a high value on family relations and obligations, and some analysts claim that this family model carries over into the workplace. Employers are expected to show the same regard for their workers as a parent shows for other family members. Unity within the firm becomes a central value and corporate objective. In turn, employees are expected to show strong loyalty to their employer. It should be noted, however, that employment relations can be quite different in the smaller Japanese firms that supply the giant producers and exporters. The smaller companies have a tenuous existence and cannot guarantee secure employment or make substantial investments in employee training.

Employees in large Japanese firms exhibit fewer traces of individualism and place more emphasis on group relationships in the design of work and in their day-to-day workplace interactions, especially when compared to their Western counterparts. Direct conflict in organizational decision making is discouraged in favour of a more informal group consensus building. Authority is respected so highly that the outcomes of group problem-solving tasks will tend to reflect the views or preferences of senior managers.

Exercise 16. Look through the list of phrases which will help you to approve or disapprove people's actions and behaviour.

I. Approval

Excellent! (formal)

Fine!

Splendid!

Wonderful!

A very good idea!

You've surpassed yourself.

You've made a good job of it.

Good for you!

Well done!

I'm sure you did right.

I'm sure that was the right thing to do in the circumstances.

That was clever / sensible / thoughtful of you.

That solves the problem.

II. Disapproval

That isn't a very good idea.

It doesn't do.

That wasn't a very nice thing to do.

That isn't a very nice thing to say.

You shouldn't do it this way.

You ought to do it my way.

You shouldn't have done that.

It's all your fault.

You are to blame.

What's the use of doing it?

There is no sense in doing it.

It's a waste of time.

It isn't fair. = It's unfair.

Exercise 17. What would you say in the following situations? Approve or disapprove people's actions.

1. Your colleague is late. The chief is very displeased.

2. One of the saleswomen was rude to the customer.

3. Your colleague suggests that the urgent work (should) be put off.

4. An employee is putting forward the plan you (don't) like.

5. An employee has been ill for two months. The boss is going to sack her as they are reducing their office staff.

6. The secretary has (hasn't) done the work properly.

7. You are very busy. You colleague is discussing trifling matters on the company time.

8. The secretary's dress is out of place at work.

9. Your boss can / can't deal with the subordinates.

10. One of the waiters is not good at serving customers. The boss is going to cut his salary. You think that it would be better to fire him.

Exercise 18. Write what kind of working environment you would like to create if you were a manager.

 

5.2. Managing Creative Workers

Exercise 1. Focus on the topical vocabulary.

blue-collar workers ['blH 'kPlq 'wE:kqz] "синие воротнички", рабочие

white-collar workers ['waIt 'kPlq] "белые воротнички", служащие

gold-collar workers ['gqVld 'kPlq] "золотые воротнички" (творческие работники, инновационные идеи которых приносят компании прибыль)

profitability ["prPfItq'bIlItI] n прибыльность, рентабельность

headquarters ['hed'kwLtqz] n штаб-квартира, главное управление, центр

wrapping(-)paper ['rxpIN "peIpq] оберточная бумага

tool [tHl] n инструмент

to wander ['wPndq] v бродить

to pay off handsomely ['peI 'hxnsqmlI] щедро окупаться

to view [vjH] v осматривать, рассматривать

exhibit [Ig'zIbIt] n экспонат; выставка; показ; v выставлять

return [rI'tE:n] п доход, прибыль

to innovate ['Inq(V)veIt] v вводить новшество

innovation ["Inq(V)'veISqn] п нововведение, новшество

to follow intuition ['fPlqV "IntjH'ISqn] следовать интуиции

masking tape ['mRskIN "teIp] маскировочная липкая лента

sandpaper ['sxn(d) "peIpq] n наждачная бумага

creativity [krJ'eItIvItI] n творческая сила, творческие способности

to be engaged in smth [In'geIGd] заниматься чём-л.

to coin [kOIn] v создавать новые слова, выражения

(advertising) copywriter [('xdvqtaIzIN) 'kPpIraItq] n автор текстов рекламных объявлений

interference ["Intq'fIqrqns] n вмешательство; помеха, препятствие

feedback ['fJdbxk] n обратная связь

autonomy [L'tPnqmI] n автономия, самоуправление

bonus ['bqVnqs] n премия

royalty ['rOIqltI] n авторский гонорар

stock ['stPk] n государственные бумаги, фонды, акции

annual ['xnjuql] a ежегодный, годовой

Exercise 2. Try to understand the meaning of the derivatives.

Head, headquarters; innovate, innovator, innovation; write, writer, copywriter; art, artist; wrap, wrapping, wrapper; refuse, refusal; talent, talented; instruct, instruction, instructive, instructor; will, willing, unwilling; tolerate, tolerant, tolerance; encourage, encouragement; author, authority; handle, handling; construct, construction, constructive; admit; admissible, inadmissible; engage, engaged, engagement.

 

Exercise 3. Guess what these international words mean.

Film classics, artists, to motivate, regularly, talented engineers, continents, instructions, galleries, ideas, revolutionary, a mask, a term, personnel, financial managers, computer programmers, alternative, autonomy, a management authority, traditional.

 

Exercise 4. Read the following adverbs ending in -ly. Say what adjectives they derive from.

Model: usually ← usual обычно – обычный

Broadly, commonly, nearly, occasionally, actually, usually, generally, regularly, handsomely, suddenly, historically, differently, annually.

 

Exercise 5. Find synonyms in List A and B.

Model: to wander – to rove

A. To encourage, to watch, to search for, to wander, to picture, to require, to handle, to reward, to understand, to allow, to include, to view.

B. To see, to rove, to imagine, to demand, to treat, to let, to incorporate, to award, to realize, to permit, to look at, to look for, to motivate, to hunt for.

Exercise 6. Read the following word combinations and give their Russian equivalents.

To manage gold-collar workers; to handle gold-collar workers; to watch cartoons, feature films, plays, to search for ideas; to hunt for ideas; to do a job; wrapping paper; to motivate employees; to wander in art galleries; to pay off handsomely; to view an exhibit; to bring a $500,000 return; a fortress of innovation; creative employees; to follow one's intuition; revolutionary new products; to require a high degree of creativity; to be engaged in; to coin a term; advertising copywriters; to interfere with creative people; to be unwilling; to take responsibility; alternative ways of doing things; to leave them alone; a recognized management authority; to pay bonuses, royalties, stock; to give annual achievement awards.

 

Exercise 7. Complete the sentences with the proper forms of the modal verb may/might.

1. ___ I use your telephone? 2. This ___ or ___ not be true. 3. ___ I have a word with you, please? 4. It's strange that he hasn't come yet. He ___ be at work now. 5. You ___ have telephoned your boss. 6. Hello. ___ I help you? / Can I help you? 7. You ___ try to find a new job. 8. You ___ not go with me. 9. ___ I make a suggestion? 10. You ___ use both must and have to to express necessity. 11. ___ I continue? 12. ___ I begin?

 

Exercise 8. Work in pairs. Speak about possible actions in the future. Use the model and list of word combinations below.

Model. A: Don't call me at 10. I may be working at the project.

B: When then?

A: You may call me in the evening.

To be preparing a report, to be working at the term paper / graduation paper / project / article, to be doing my homework, may be having a job interview, may be at work / at the lesson / at the conference.

Exercise 9. Is it easy to manage talented people? Why? Read the text and find out if you are right.