Organizational Participation: Myth and Reality - Softcover

Heller, Frank; Pusic, Eugen; Strauss, George; Wilpert, Bernhard

Softcover

ISBN 10: 019829378X ISBN 13: 9780198293781

Publisher: Oxford University Press, 1998

Synopsis

Team-working, partnership, quality circles, works councils, industrial democracy--are they distinct and innovative arrangements or is it a case of new wine in old bottles? In the post-war period we have seen numerous forms of organizational participation sometimes as experiments, sometimes as negotiated expediency, and sometimes as hype. Different ideas have emerged from different parts of the world, in different industries, at different times with different objectives. In this book, four experienced international analysts take the longer view and look at the changing forms of--and changing debates around--organizational participation. They review an extensive literature of experiments and practical experiences through a critical evaluation of the available data to reach balanced conclusions about the importance and utility of this concept for organizations now and in the future.

About this title

About the Author:

Frank Heller is at Tavistock Institute for Human Relations. Eugen Pusic is at Zagreb University.

Review:

`clear and cogent style, avoiding high faluting academic parlance as well as the smooth PR prose of a bestseller written by a fashionable management guru. It is truly amazing that the authors, after having occupied themselves for so many years with the fads and foibles, the facts and fashions
of the field of particpation and kindred topics, still manage to take a fresh look and tell us something new about it. The set-up of the book is quite coherent and original ... a highly remarkable and up-to-date achievement.'
Cornelis J. Lammers, Organization Studies, Issue 2, 2000.

`stimulating and useful book ... I know of no other work on the subject that provides such a comprehensive review of the theory and empirical research on participation across the fields of psychology, organizational theory, collective bargaining, systems theory and human resources management
... There is much to admire in this work. Years of thinking about the issues, distilling clear definitions, exploring experiences from different nations and contrasting them, and analyzing factors blocking the expansion of participation generally serve the authors and their readers well ... It will
be appreciated by researchers and by students at the undergraduate and graduate levels for its informed summary of a vast literature, and for the wisdom distilled in its pages.'
Christopher Gunn, Economic Analysis, Vol 2, no 1, 1999

...a book which succeeds in its attempt to provide a balanced picture of organizational participation. What makes this book particularly refreshing is the way it brings together theory and practical solutions in a balanced way and yet with enthusiasm...an important book... for those looking
for a critical evaluation of the literature and practices of organization participation. There is something in this for everyone with an interest in the subject from academics to managers or trade unionists. Thoroughly recommended. - Brian Chaney. QWL Notes and Abstracts. Winter 1999.

About this edition

• Publisher: Oxford University Press
• Publication date: 1998
• ISBN 10: 019829378X
• ISBN 13: 9780198293781
• Binding: Paperback
• Edition number: 1
• Number of pages: 304