Strategies for Implementing

UNIT 14 STRATEGIES FOR Participation

IMPLEMENTING PARTICIPATION
Objectives
After going through this unit, you should be able to:
● understand the factors responsible for the failure of participative schemes in
India;
● identify the factors which contribute to the growth of the schemes; and
● formulate the strategies for making the participative forums work.

Structure
14.1 Factors Responsible for the Failure of Participative Schemes in India
14.2 Strategies for Making Participative Forums Effective
14.3 Micro and Operational Participation
14.4 Summary
14.5 Self-Assessment Questions
14.6 Further Readings

14.1 FACTORS RESPONSIBLE FOR FAILURE OF

PARTICIPATIVE SCHMES IN INDIA
Broadly speaking, the schemes of workers’ participation in management have failed in
India. A variety of factors have contributed to this failure. In this section, we will
discuss these factors.
1) Lack of Positive Attitude of the Management: Management’s acceptance of
WPM is very crucial for the success of any participative scheme. However, in India,
the employers in general are incredulous about the capacity of participating workmen.
Moreover, most of the employers/managers believe that decision – making is their
prerogative and they do not want it to be shared by workers.

2) Lack of initiative on the part of Trade Unions: The schemes workers’ participa-
tion have been sponsored by the Government. There has been lack of initiative on the
part of managements and trade unions. The trade unionists view the schemes of
participation as the ones intruding into their domain.

3) Ideological differences between Employees and Employers regarding the

degree of participation: There is a fundamental difference between employees and
employers regarding the level of participation by workers. The employers’ contention
is that participative management should be an evolutionary process and that this
should be experimented at the plant and shop levels. Further, the employers are of the
opinion that as the employees are, by and large, uninformed and lack experience in
participative management, Board level workers’ participation is not feasible until the
workers are educated. The employees, on the other hand, feel that the scheme of
participation should be simultaneously introduced at all levels. The result is that the
various schemes have been accepted half – heartedly.

25
Employee Involvement 4) Delays in implementation/Non-implementation of the decisions of the partici-
pative bodies: One of the major handicaps in the effective functioning of the partici-
pative schemes is that there are often inordinate delays in the implementation and
sometimes non-implementation of the decisions arrived at by the participative forums.
This often generates apathy or dissatisfaction and frustration among the workers
resulting in their alienation to the participative schemes.

5) Workers’ attitude to Participative Schemes: The workers consider any kind of

participation as an eyewash. Further, they feel that the participative forums would
turn out to be forums for passing on to them the entire blame for poor production, low
productivity and lower profits. Why should they allow themselves to be the scape
goats? Historically, the workers have not been asked to do anything more than carry-
ing out instructions. They have never been asked to think and suddenly they are made
not only to think but also to participate in the job of running of the organisation.
Obviously, they will look at the whole thing with suspicion.

6) Political Unionism/Multiplicity of Unions and Inter-Union Rivalries: Too much

of politicialisation and multiplicity of unions and the consequent inter-union rivalries
also have negative effects on the participative schemes. Minority unions in their
struggle for survival will naturally scuttle efforts of the participative forums.

A major issue in a multi – union situation is ‘how should workers be represented on

the participative forums?’ Central trade union federations like INTUC oppose the
suggestion of election of representatives through secret ballot, but on the other hand,
the federations like HMS, CITU, AITUC etc. favour election (through secret ballot)
of representatives to these forums. Thus, the inter – union rivalries pose a big problem
to the working of the participative schemes.

7) Narrow scope of Participative Forums: One of the reasons for the lukewarm
response of the workers to the participative forums is that these forums cover only a
limited range of issues such as the “3Ts”—Tea, Towels and Toilets. As the workers
are more interested in other issues like grievance settlement, pay scales or wages etc.,
and they expect the participative forums to cover these issues, they show little interest
in the working of these forums.

8) Consultative form of Participation: One of the reasons for the unimpressive

record of workers’ participation is that the major function of participative forums is
only consultative and advisory in nature, and their role is confined to issues of labour
welfare. What the workers expect is decisive participation.

9) Multiplicity of Participative Forums: The existence of a number of participative

bodies — the workers committees, JMCs, shop councils, unit councils, plant councils,
canteen committees, safety committees, etc.— each with ill-defined role and functions
has often created confusion, duplication of efforts and resulted in a waste of time and
energy. The resultant effect has been the improper functioning of these bodies.

Activity A
List out the issues covered under the participative forums of the organisations you are
familiar with. Suggest most important issues as per your opinion to be included in the
participative forums.
............................................................................................................................................
............................................................................................................................................

26 ............................................................................................................................................
 Strategies for Implementing
14.2 STRATEGIES FOR MAKING PARTICIPATIVE Participation
FORUMS EFFECTIVE
Based on the various studies on different aspects of workers’ participation, the
following pre-requisites are identified as the ones that make the participative forums
effective:
1) A scheme of workers’ participation in management cannot be developed unless a
permissive environment is first created. There are three elements which may help
building the permissive environment: (i) industrial relations climate must be
peaceful; (ii) there must be a strong and representative union; and (iii) results of
any experiments in this regard need not be time-bound.
2) Workers’ Participation in Management can succeed reasonably only when the
parties concerned start with an initial faith in the system. This however, is
possible only when both union and management perceive the schemes as a useful
aid to the realisation of their respective goals.
3) It is important that the objectives set for Workers’ Participation in Management
should not be ambiguous and consequently vague.
4) It is important not confuse the larger question of the political struggle for power
distribution between different social groups on the one hand, and participative
management for sorting out shop floor level issues on the other. If the larger
question of power distribution is separated from the goals of participative
management related to limited and specific issues, the chances of success will
improve.
5) It is important that participative forums must play a complementary role to the
process of bargaining. In such a complementary framework participative forums
should confine themselves to dealing with the day-to-day work place level issues
including grievance handling.
6) There is scope for selective and careful legislative support to workers’
participation in management. Legislation provides a signal to the parities to move
in a particular direction in their interaction process. But legislation should move
towards creating a permissive environment rather than imposing a rigid
framework in which participation to work.
7) As far as possible, the institutionalised form of participation should be less
emphasised, and efforts should be made to encourage participation through
changes in the leadership styles, communication processes, inter personal and
inter-group relations etc.
8) A realistic scheme for workers’ participation in management must necessarily
start from a reasonable degree of managerial and supervisory autonomy from
outside control, particularly in the context of public enterprises. In addition the
bureaucratic and rule-oriented practices must give way to flexibility.
9) It is import that the right kind of attitudes and skills should be developed among
managers to enable them to practice participative styles. It is less than honest for
a person of authoritarian bent of mind to practice participative management. In
enterprises where such authoritarian practices have prevailed for a long time,
probably a beginning will have to be made by a change in the leadership itself.
This will need considerable further reinforcement by carefully designed schemes
of management development and organisational change through suitable
techniques.
10) It is needless to enforce uniformity across the industrial scene so far as any form
of participative management is concerned. It is better if the forms, the coverage,
and the extent of participation grew in response to the specific environment, 27
Employee Involvement capacity and interest of the parties concerned. Perhaps it would be more
worthwhile if some pilot schemes of workers’ participation in management are
tried in selected undertakings where, organisational and other pre-conditions
permit.
11) It is desirable to have a limited number of forums of workers’ participation in
management. In this context, there is no need to have the works committee as
well as the JMC. Perhaps works committees with enlarged scope and power
should be given a further trial.
12) In order to create a necessary industrial relations climate, immediate steps must
be taken to strengthen unionism. All steps that are necessary to develop strong,
representative and recognised trade unions at the enterprise or industry level, as
the case may be, should be taken in all earnest.
13) It is important that after the initial lead from the government, the managers must
seize the initiatives to promote workers’ participation in management. Once they
are committed and prepared to take the right kind of initiative perhaps it would
be easier for them to convince others.
14) At the same time, the enterprise must commit a certain amount of resources for
investment for the development of participative skills among the workers and the
trade union leaders.
15) Efforts for promoting clarity with regard to the different aspects of participative
management should be undertaken for a group of trade unions separately as well
as jointly with managers of a selected group of enterprises.
16) Once certain decisions are taken, the management is under a moral obligation to
implement such decisions without undue delay.
17) Workers must sense a concrete need to participate.
18) There must be information flows and communication channels.
19) Workers must have a sense of job security and freedom from reprisals resulting
from their participation.
20) The form, coverage, extent and levels of participation should grow in response to
specific environment, capacity and interest of the parties concerned.

14.3 MICRO AND OPERATIONAL PARTICIPATION

Labour is part of the organisation. Hence, they should be encouraged to participate in
decision-making. At the micro and operational level, workers should be encouraged to
participate in the day-to-day affairs of the organisation. There is a strong case for this
type of participation because man-machine relationship is higher at the bottom level. It
is expected that they should be able to contribute much towards solving operational
problems. In suggestion schemes, Quality Circles1 etc. workers have proved that by
involving the workers at the micro and operational level the organisations are able to
solve problems which were not thought of earlier. Hence, schemes such as suggestion
schemes, quality circles, etc. should be encouraged so that a meaningful participation
takes place at the micro level.

Activity B
What are the strategies being used in the organisation you are working in or familiar
with, to make participative forums more effective?
............................................................................................................................................
............................................................................................................................................
28 ............................................................................................................................................
 Strategies for Implementing
14.4 SUMMARY Participation

In this unit we have discussed the factors inhibiting the effective functioning of the
participative schemes in India. To recapitulate, some of the inhabiting factors are: lack
of positive attitude on the part of management and lack of initiative on the part of the
unions towards the participative schemes, ideological differences between employers
and employees regarding the degree of participation, delays in implementation/non-
implementation of the decisions of the participative bodies, the workers’ perception
that the employers involve them in the participative forums with the ulterior motive of
passing on to the workers the entire blame for poor production, low productivity and
lower profits, multiplicity of unions and inter-union rivalries, narrow scope of
participative forums (the range of issues covered by the participative forums being
limited to the ‘3Ts’— Tea, Towels and Toilets), only consultative and not decisive
nature of functioning of the participative forums, and the existence of multiplicity of
participative forums in the country each with all-defined role and function and
sometimes overlapping of the functions performed by these forums. It was noted that
unless these factors are tackled, the participative schemes will remain at sixes and
sevens.

14.5 SELF ASSESSMENT QUESTIONS

1) Briefly discuss the factors responsible for tha failure of participative schemes in
India.
2.) What suggestions would you like to offer to make the participative schemes work
effectively?

14.6 FURTHER READINGS

Chandra, S. and C.S. Venkata Ratnam (Eds.). 1990. Workers Participation in
Management, New Delhi: International Management Institute.

Chhabra, T.N. and R.K. Suri. 2003. Industrial Relations: Concepts and Issues,
Delhi: Dhanpat Rai & Co.
IGNOU. 1988. MS – 2, Blcok – 6, Unit – 23, “Industrial Democracy and Workers’
Participation”, pp. 53-66.
IGNOU. 1993. MS-24, Block – 4, Unit – 16, “Strategies and Planning for
Implementing Participation”, pp. 21-28.
Mamoria, C.B., Mamoria and Gaukar. 2004. Dynamics of Industrial Relations,
Mumbai: Himalaya Publishing House.
Perumal, S. Velayudha. 1993. “Workers’ Participations: The Myth and Reality in
India” in Ruddar Datt (Ed.) 1993. Workers’ Participation & Workers’ Ownership,
Delhi: Pragati Publications, pp. 67-82.

Sheth, N.R. 1972. “Hazards of Industrial Democracy”, Economic and Political

Weekly, 7(35), 1972.

Sheth, N.R. 1972. Joint Management Councils: Problems and Prospects, New Delhi:
Shri Ram Centre for Industrial Relations and Human Resources.

29
Employee Involvement Sodhi, J.S. & Rama J. Joshi, 1996. “In Search of Participation” in C.P. Thakur, C.S.
Venkata Ratnam and Pravin Sinha (Eds.). 1996. Economic Transition with a Human
Face, Delhi: Global Business Press, pp. 287-309.
Thakur C.P and K.C. Sethi (Eds.). 1973. Industrial Democracy: Some Issues and
Experiences, New Delhi: Shri Ram Centre for Industrial Relations and Human
Resources.
Virmani, B.R. 1978. Workers’ Participation in Management, New Delhi: Macmillan
Company of India Ltd.

30