Information
AI Chat

The importance of participation in organizations

Participation, Getting involved mentally and emotionally Motivation to...

Course

Organizational Psychology (PSY 267)

14 Documents

Students shared 14 documents in this course

University

The College of New Jersey

Academic year: 2019/2020

Uploaded by:

Grace Smith

The College of New Jersey

0followers

6Uploads

5upvotes

Comments

Please sign in or register to post comments.

Preview text

THE IMPORTANCE OF PARTICIPATION IN ORGANIZATIONS

Participation

Participation involves communication, but goes one step further. People must be involved in the organization's decisions. All of them? Maybe not, but it should be achieved on as many issues as possible. As in the previous point, it will not be possible to achieve participation from a certain level of structure; for it to be verified must arise from maximum driving. Many organizations initiate participation programs from the middle of the structure down. The results are usually lean, and it makes sense that they do. Participation processes, like empowerment processes, must start from the organizational summit. For Davis and Newstron, participatory bosses consult with their employees, making them intervene in the different problems and situations to be solved and in the decisions that are finally made, for effective teamwork. Many people, including bosses, think that the concept of equipment involves agreeing and avoiding responsibilities, almost like in a student. On the contrary, the concept of equipment from an organizational perspective involves responsible equipment in decision-making.

Participation is the mental and emotional involvement of individuals in group situations that encourages them to contribute to and share responsibility for the group's goals. Three important aspects need to be highlighted from this definition by Davis and Newstron:

Involvement Contribution Responsibility

Getting involved mentally and emotionally

If it is not possible for people to get involved in this way (mentally and emotionally) participation is not possible. It is not enough for the person to do as he is told (somehow, to obey a slogan), but to really accept what he undertakes to do. As an example: if the team decides to make an extra effort to realize a goal of any kind, for example a report, and a person works the same hours as the rest of the team but in their internal field thinks that things could be done differently and that therefore the effort is unnecessary, the person puts the body to work , that is, she does, but she's not really involved.

The motivation to add value

As we said in the previous point, participation does not involve just accepting. If people really participate, they feel motivated; so they can bring ideas that add value, as proposed by McGregor's Y theory. Otherwise, ideas that add value will be

expected to be provided by someone else, the boss or another team member, but not himself.

Accepting responsibility

Participation encourages individuals to accept responsibility for the group's activities. When they talk about the organization they refer to it using a us instead of them. When one problem arises, it's ours and not the other's. When individuals accept responsibility for their group activities, they see in it a means to do what they want to do, that is, to effectively perform a task for which they feel responsible. Faced with these issues (participation) many wonder, first, if they are feasible in our Latin contexts, and second, the bosses wonder if it will not be counterproductive to their image of bosses, in the belief that a boss should not show weakness when consulting his collaborators.

Can a participatory process be implemented in our Latin culture? It is true that people are deeply rooted in the concept of command and authority, not only in the business sphere, but also in the political sphere and even in the Family. To verify this, it is sufficient to watch advertising on television or pay attention to the discourse of many rulers or leaders of any other extraction. However, bosses need to know the benefits of participation and understand that, in the first instance, it helps them in their task. Therefore, beyond a certain Latin cultural mandate, the participatory process can be applied in this area. You must start by understanding it and knowing its advantages, from the organization and from the boss himself involved. Finally, participation is a cascading process, and a boss is – in most cases – at the same time a collaborator or subordinate of another senior boss; therefore, it is good that you see the advantages from all angles.

In a participatory process, does the power of bosses diminish? No, an opposite result is verified. Some doubts may arise at first, but in reality the role of the boss is strengthened, from another perspective. A reciprocal relationship develops in which the leader delegates, reports, consults, mentors, praises or selectively repays each employee. The relationship is two-way, in contrast to the imposition of ideas from above. Strange as it may seem, participation can increase the power of both bosses as well as employees. In a participatory scheme, each other's power grows, without taking it away from others.

Some prerequisites for implementing a successful participatory process:

Put it into practice at a time when it is discussed as appropriate. Ensure that the potential benefits are greater than the costs involved (both economic and psychological). Mutual communication capacity. It's not a good idea to start when you see threats to either party. For example, if you did not work in this way to the present, start doing so on the day you have to

countries this resource is not covered by current legislation, and companies that apply it, of transnational origin, deliver shares of the company where the headquarters (parent company) is based, in the United States or another country where company law allows such programs. Many authors consider action plans among those of participation, because of their origin, although this can be debatable in the practice of organizations. In the most frequent conception, so- called stock options programs are merely remunerative, ways to compensate employees, and this is the case in most cases. However, in their original conception they were intended as motivational programs.

In order to be true participation programmes, in addition to integrating executive compensation packages, they should allow executives to participate in one way or another in the conduct of organizations. For this to be verified, the percentage of actions held by collaborators must be significant, but this is not very common. In most cases, stock options programs play an employee retention role (not participation), because if they leave their work by their own decision (resignation) they may lose the shares, since they can only be exchanged for money (sold) after a certain period of years. That is, employees who receive this benefit do not remain in their jobs because they are motivated but not to lose a certain number of actions that can only be effective after a certain number of years (often five).

The circles of quality and total quality

The issue of quality is booming, but it's not always well-faced. Many organizations seek quality certifications to improve their export position or some other similar purpose. However, genuine good purposes have sometimes become mere compliance with guidelines for obtaining certification and not organizational work to achieve quality. It is not my purpose to give a skeptical view of the subject, but, on the contrary, to call for reflection. Many organizations implement different programs without a real conviction of the need for change. Therefore, in this area, if money is to be invested in a quality program, it is suggested that it does not become another bureaucratic process, but an opportunity for real change.

So-called quality circles consist of groups of employees who meet regularly and generate solutions subject to management's evaluation and implementation. Quality circles spread rapidly in the United States and Europe after widespread success and popularity in Japan. The quality circle method helps employees experience the power of some influence in their organization, even if not all of their recommendations are accepted or implemented. To succeed, quality circles must respond to these guidelines: They should be used in relation to measurable and short-term problems. Permanent support from senior management must be obtained. The group's capabilities (knowledge and competencies) should be applied to problems corresponding to their area of work. Supervisors must receive prior training. Quality circles are often seen as a starting point for more advanced participatory processes to be implemented in the future.

Total quality programs are more ambitious than quality circles, as they engage the entire organization. They involve all employees in the process of finding continuous improvements in their operations. The quality of the products and services becomes a goal of all employees and relates to every step of the company's processes, which is subjected to intense and regular scrutiny in search of means to improve it. Employees receive extensive training in problem solving, group decision-making, and statistical methods. The total quality method is a formal program with the direct participation of all employees.

Self-directed teams

Self-guided teams are natural working groups that are granted a high degree of autonomy in decision-making and are expected to control their behavior and results. A key feature of these self-directed teams is that the supervisor or boss assumes a smaller or diametrically different role as team members acquire new capabilities. Self-directed equipment, as well as empowerment practices and the like, will be recommended or not depending on the organization concerned and its circumstances. From now on, they are very good organizational practices that involve a certain culture, and their characteristics will depend to a large extent, in addition, on the driving style of their managers. As to the circumstances in which they apply, the context, business style or activity should be considered. In some cases its application will be more positive than in others. It should be examined whether the country or region is experiencing major social conflicts or, on the contrary, the social climate and the economy are stable.

In a report, French actress Isabelle Huppert discusses her working/professional relationship with various directors with whom she has been lucky to work throughout her career, and makes a special mention of Claude Chabrol, on which she says: Chabrol, particularly, directs little to her actors, practically says nothing, before or during or after a film, a form that sometimes upsets many actors. But, interestingly, I always understand what you want. It is that its staging is of absolute justty. That makes the actor feel very free. This is very rare... He likes to shoot with me because I make proposals for him, I anticipate a lot in the way he shoots. Later, in the same note, Huppert goes so far as to say that he doesn't really know many great directors who very precisely point things out. A great director is one who feels so confident as to give confidence to the actor. Then you can be very lenient with an actor and be totally surprised by him. That's why it's so nice to work with the big ones, he says. In these few words the French actress, who may not know about management and the film business, sums up the roles of leadership and empowerment.

From the preceding paragraphs it is important to highlight Chabrol's leadership role, based on his experience and proven ability and on empowerment to his leadership. This is reflected in words such as: he addresses little to his actors... but curiously I always understand what he wants, and then: his staging is of absolute

Informal communication

Informal communication systems or natural networks are developed in the form of a chain of groups. These exist together with the formal organization. Informal communication is usually verbal, but it can also be in writing and, from now on, by email. An important feature of informal networks is that they are dynamic and depend on the motivation that their members have to communicate. Its members have no obligation to communicate, so doing so depends entirely on their motivation. For Davis and Newstron there are a number of factors that encourage the activity of natural networks:

Friendship between colleagues Reasons for situation, for example, instability for reasons such as reduction of personnel, possible sale or merger of the company, etc.; that is, when you live a feeling of threat. Handling relevant or interesting information for others. Performing tasks that allow you to converse with others. Personalities of each other.

What can a company's management do?

You cannot ignore them and you must adapt to the situation. Many managers, once they have detected natural networks, let through them information that they want to reach employees. Natural networks can be useful for companies if managers use the resource of sharing select information to key people. In general, natural networks are truthful, fast and influential in the information they transmit, and rarely communicate full versions of what happens. Rumor is the information that natural networks communicate without safe evidence. When the rumors are incorrect they can cause serious damage. Rumors that, even if true, disseminate certain information at an inopportune time can also cause irreparable harm. The rumor, today, has surpassed the organizational framework.

The importance of communications

In the current context it seems idle to say that communications are important. However, organizations continue to suffer problems around them, at all levels and in their different manifestations. The advancement of technology, which facilitates communications from the tooling, does not solve the central aspect: the communication itself between two people. For Davis and Newstron communication is the transfer of information from one person to another. It is a means of contact with others through the transmission of ideas, data, reflections, opinions and values. Its purpose is for the receiver to understand a message as expected by the transmitter.

You cannot conceive of an organization without communication, of any kind and between an indeterminate number of people, at least two. In turn communication

can be through verbal or written contact, and within each other there are also variants, without leaving aside communications through gestures and postures. New management trends use communication for more complex uses, such as knowledge management. Therefore, it is not limited to how a boss communicates with his collaborators or a company with his clients; it's much more: it's the foundation of the organization. Every act of communication, as minimal as it may seem, influences the entire organization. Communication is the basis of basic processes such as planning, organizing processes and systems, steering at all levels, and control. Whencommunication is effective, it improves the performance of employees and they feel greater job satisfaction, among other reasons because they better understand their tasks, know what is expected of them and feel more involved.

A communication process, of any kind and using any technology, could be summarized as follows: The emitter develops an idea that he wants to convey. If the idea or message is worthless, inappropriate, or null, the following steps will be launched anyway. The idea takes the form of symbols, which will be seen below; the most common are oral or written words, but they are not the only ones. The emitter determines the symbol to use.

Transmission, according to the chosen method. Currently the most commonly used methods to communicate are email (e-mails) along with others of digital type (Messenger, Skype and the like), employed even by people who have their desks facing each other. This medium, whose main characteristics are its simplicity and immediacy, has become a useful means in cases where its issuer uses it for specific purposes, to a vehicle of foolishness and stupidity, as evidenced by many email chains and inconsequential (and even in bad taste) messages that are distributed throughout the agenda without a particular recipient. Transmission may be interference; therefore, the sender must verify that they have not affected the arrival of his message to the recipient or recipient. Transmission allows the message to reach the desired person. From here the subject is in the hands of the receiver.

Decoding depends on the receiver; however, the sender must have presented his message in the best possible way, so that his decoding is as desired. If you have sent an instruction on something important, you will need to make sure in some way not only that the message arrived but also that it was understood. The latter is the hardest thing about a communication process. Acceptance or rejection is the faculty of the recipient. The sender will surely want the receiver to accept the message, but the receiver may accept or reject it, in whole or in part, as appropriate or not. If the encoding and decoding processes were successful, the receiver's decision will be related to the sender's original idea. If there has been any noise or interference or error in the encoding and/or decoding, the acceptance or rejection will be about a different concept than the idea that originated the message.

provide the collaborator with a written description of the position and, at the same time, through specific requirements and setting objectives. People should know exactly the functions of their job and what is expected of it. This relates to the Human Resources and Human Resources Management by Skills subsystems. Upstream communication: various types. Questioning: asking questions. Good bosses encourage the formulation of appropriate questions by their employees. This practice demonstrates that an organization's driving is interested in the opinions of its employees. Listen: Active listening is much more than just listening. It involves not only listening to what is said but also capturing feelings and emotions. It's not a simple feature to acquire, but if people don't have it as their own, it can develop. Meetings with employees: with small groups is the most effective. In these meetings, employees should be encouraged to express their work-related problems, concerns and needs. If collaborators feel they are heard, it is very good for the organization. It is important to note that while it is not always possible to implement employee suggestions, at an extreme point, if at least one of them is not implemented, this will bring frustration. Open Door Policy: Employees are encouraged to turn to their superior at first instance and then to the Director General to raise awareness of their concerns. These practices, such as empowerment, require some maturity of the organization. Another form of open doors is to leave the office, tour the different outbuildings and talk to employees on a daily basis. Participation in social groups: recreational or social events. It is also called un planned upstream communication.

Was this document helpful?

The importance of participation in organizations

Course: Organizational Psychology (PSY 267)

14 Documents

Students shared 14 documents in this course

University: The College of New Jersey

Was this document helpful?

THE IMPORTANCE OF PARTICIPATION IN ORGANIZATIONS

Participation

Participation involves communication, but goes one step further. People must be

involved in the organization's decisions. All of them? Maybe not, but it should be

achieved on as many issues as possible. As in the previous point, it will not be

possible to achieve participation from a certain level of structure; for it to be verified

must arise from maximum driving. Many organizations initiate participation

programs from the middle of the structure down. The results are usually lean, and it

makes sense that they do. Participation processes, like empowerment processes,

must start from the organizational summit. For Davis and Newstron, participatory

bosses consult with their employees, making them intervene in the different

problems and situations to be solved and in the decisions that are finally made, for

effective teamwork. Many people, including bosses, think that the concept of

equipment involves agreeing and avoiding responsibilities, almost like in a student.

On the contrary, the concept of equipment from an organizational perspective

involves responsible equipment in decision-making.

Participation is the mental and emotional involvement of individuals in group

situations that encourages them to contribute to and share responsibility for the

group's goals. Three important aspects need to be highlighted from this definition

by Davis and Newstron:

Involvement

Contribution

Responsibility

Getting involved mentally and emotionally

If it is not possible for people to get involved in this way (mentally and emotionally)

participation is not possible. It is not enough for the person to do as he is told

(somehow, to obey a slogan), but to really accept what he undertakes to do. As an

example: if the team decides to make an extra effort to realize a goal of any kind,

for example a report, and a person works the same hours as the rest of the team

but in their internal field thinks that things could be done differently and that

therefore the effort is unnecessary, the person puts the body to work , that is, she

does, but she's not really involved.

The motivation to add value

As we said in the previous point, participation does not involve just accepting. If

people really participate, they feel motivated; so they can bring ideas that add

value, as proposed by McGregor's Y theory. Otherwise, ideas that add value will be

The importance of participation in organizations

Organizational Psychology (PSY 267)

The College of New Jersey

Comments

Students also viewed

Related documents

Preview text

THE IMPORTANCE OF PARTICIPATION IN ORGANIZATIONS

The importance of participation in organizations

Course: Organizational Psychology (PSY 267)

University: The College of New Jersey

Recommended for you

Students also viewed

Related documents