MSG Team's other articles

10601 Performance Appraisal Interview

Introduction We have discussed the performance appraisal process in earlier articles. In this article, we discuss the performance appraisal interview and its importance in the performance appraisal cycle. The performance appraisal interview is the first round in the performance appraisal process and this is the round in which the manager communicates his evaluation of the […]

9150 Employee Relations – Importance and Ways of Improving Employee Relations

Maintaining healthy employee relations in an organization is a pre-requisite for organizational success. Strong employee relations are required for high productivity and human satisfaction. Employee relations generally deal with avoiding and resolving issues concerning individuals which might arise out of or influence the work scenario. Strong employee relation depends upon healthy and safe work environment, […]

10070 Job Analysis and Strategic HRM

Human Resource Management is the most critical function of any organization as it deals with the most complicated problems – the people problems, especially when the organizations are operating in highly competitive and uncertain environments. Strategic HRM lays emphasis on developing and implementing policies and strategies in order to get the desired output. Therefore, job […]

8818 What is Employee Relations ?

An organization can’t perform only with the help of chairs, tables, fans or other non living entities. It needs human beings who work together and perform to achieve the goals and objectives of the organization. The human beings working together towards a common goal at a common place (organization) are called employees. Infact the employees […]

12703 The Challenges of Recruiting and Onboarding Remote Employees in Virtual Workplaces

The Recruitment and Onboarding of New Employees in Virtual Workplaces With much of the corporate world operating virtually and where WFH or Work from Home is the New Normal, HR (Human Resources) personnel find it challenging to conduct regular HR work in such models. This is because unlike in physical offices, they cannot come face […]

Search with tags

  • No tags available.

After having read lots of stuff about participative management and its implementation, lots of questions arise in the mind of the reader. Is participative management really beneficial? What are the pros and cons? What are the challenges involved in implementation? What effect does it have upon ROI, after all change comes at a cost! These and lot more, I am sure. Continue reading for getting your answers.

Advantages of Participative Management

Undoubtedly participative approach to management increases the stake or ownership of employees. But there is more to it. The following points elucidate the same.

  • Increase in Productivity: An increased say in decision making means that there is a strong feeling of association now. The employee now assumes responsibility and takes charges. There is lesser new or delegation or supervision from the manager. Working hours may get stretched on their own without any compulsion or force from the management. All this leads to increased productivity.

  • Job Satisfaction: In lots or organizations that employ participative management, most of the employees are satisfied with their jobs and the level of satisfaction id very high. This is specially when people see their suggestions and recommendations being implemented or put to practice. Psychologically, this tells the individual employee that, ‘he too has a say in decision making and that he too is an integral component of the organization and not a mere worker’.

  • Motivation: Increased productivity and job satisfaction cannot exist unless there is a high level of motivation in the employee. The vice versa also holds true! Decentralized decision making means that everyone has a say and everyone is important.

  • Improved Quality: Since the inputs or feedback comes from people who are part of the processes at the lowest or execution level. This means that even the minutest details are taken care of and reported. No flaw or loophole goes unreported. Quality control is thus begins and is ensured at the lowest level.

  • Reduced Costs: There is a lesser need of supervision and more emphasis is laid on widening of skills, self management. This and quality control means that the costs are controlled automatically.

Disadvantages of Participative Management

There is a flip side to everything; participative management stands no exception to it. Whereas this style of leadership or decision making leads to better participation of all the employees, there are undoubtedly some disadvantages too.

  • Decision making slows down: Participative management stands for increased participation and when there are many people involved in decision making, the process definitely slows down. Inputs and feedback starts pouring from each side. It takes time to verify the accuracy of measurements which means that decision making will be slowed down.

  • Security Issue: The security issue in participative management also arises from the fact that since early stages too many people are known to lots of facts and information. This information may transform into critical information in the later stages. There is thus a greater apprehension of information being leaked out.

The advantages seem to outnumber the disadvantages. This however is no assurance that one should blindly adopt it for his/her organization. Organizations are different and therefore the culture, the human resources. A deep understanding of both is required in order to ascertain a decision making style and adopt the same.

Article Written by

MSG Team

An insightful writer passionate about sharing expertise, trends, and tips, dedicated to inspiring and informing readers through engaging and thoughtful content.

Leave a reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *

Related Articles

Benefits of Participative Management

MSG Team

Reasons for Failure of Participative Management

MSG Team

Scope of Participative Management

MSG Team