In general, involving employees in making decisions seems like it would be a wise approach to managing. Often, involvement results in better decisions and positive employee outcomes, such as increased motivation and satisfaction, and lower turnover. However, involving employees isn't the answer in all situations.

In this exercise, you'll review what is referred to as the "contingencies of employee involvement." These are factors that determine whether involving employees is a good idea. In this activity, you'll try to correctly apply the model of employee involvement in decision-making. As you complete this exercise, reflect on times when you've been invited to participate in decisions. Have those who requested your involvement correctly followed the prescribed approach? If so, did the predicted benefits follow?

Employee involvement (also known as participative management) refers to the degree to which employees influence how their work is organized and carried out. Employee involvement can create benefits such as better problem identification, more and better choices generated, a greater likelihood of selecting the best alternative, and stronger employee commitment to the decision. Whether these benefits occur depends on the structure of the decision, the source of decision knowledge, the level of commitment to the decision, and the risk of conflict.

Read the case below and answer the questions that follow.

You are an assistant manager at a large manufacturing facility. You supervise 14 employees who assemble large electric motors that are used in everything from amusement park roller coasters to airport luggage conveyor systems. Recently, you received some good news. The general plant manager has authorized you to replace some of the assembly machinery in your work area. Since your employees have been complaining about the old machinery for months, you are very excited about this development. At the same time, you are a little concerned. Opportunities to replace machinery come only every few years, so the choice you make now will have an impact on your work for some time.

One dilemma you have is whether to involve your employees in selecting the new machinery. Your intuition tells you it would probably be a good idea, but you've seen employee involvement seriously backfire in other places in the company. For instance, two years ago a human resources manager asked workers to help design a new benefits plan. The plan they came up with was admittedly unreasonable, probably because they had no expertise in the area and created a "luxury" plan for themselves that no company could afford. Still, asking for their input and then completely dismissing it when it came had a lasting negative effect on morale. In contrast, employees in the shipping department were never consulted before construction of the new receiving dock began, and the costly revisions that eventually had to be made could have been avoided with input from the people who actually worked there.

In each of the following questions, you'll learn a little bit more about the decision you need to make. Use the model of employee involvement in decision-making to determine your answers. Answering the questions correctly will allow you to determine the appropriate level of employee involvement in this situation.

Question 1

In replacing the machine, there are numerous features to consider, many of which did not exist when the original was purchased. Given this complexity, the manager should:

A. not involve employees in the decision.

B. involve employees in the decision.

C. involve the general manager, but not the employees in the decision.

Question 2

As an assistant manager, you spend much of your time dealing with paperwork and attending meetings. Your employees are the ones who actually do the assembly work. As assistant manager, it has been some time since you participated hands-on in building a motor. This would suggest which level of employee involvement?

A. A low level of involvement

B. This aspect of the situation doesn't affect the appropriate level of involvement

C. A high level of involvement

Question 3

Getting buy-in from all your employees to use the new machine once it arrives will be important. Employees may continue to use the old machine, which would be inefficient. You want them to buy into the decision to willingly start using the new machine immediately. To achieve this it would be best to:

A. involve employees now.

B. wait for the machine to arrive and then make the pitch.

C. involve one or two of the employees now, but wait to tell most of them until after the machine arrives.

Question 4

The new machine will increase productivity. Since employees are paid piece rate, not only will units be made more quickly, but also employee pay will go up. Given this, should employees be more involved in the decision?

A. Yes. If employees' goals conflicted with the organization's goals, you would want a lower level of involvement.

B. Maybe. If managers can force workers to adopt organizational goals, then involvement is irrelevant.

C. No. Whether employees' goals conflict with the organization's goals doesn't make a difference.

Question 5

Your employees are diverse, but tend to agree on the technical aspects of the job. They will likely agree on the type of new machine to best produce the motors. How would this impact involvement?

A. It will make involvement easier to achieve.

B. It will make involvement harder to achieve.

C. It will not affect the possibility of involving employees.

Answer rating: 100% (QA)

Answer1 B should be the answer Involve employees in the decision because they are the ones wh... View the full answer