Employee Involvement in Improvement of Business

Acknowledgement

I would take this opportunity to thank my research supervisor, family and friends for their support and guidance without which this research would not have been possible.

Abstract

Faced with today's dynamic and competitive environment, business successes rely significantly on using the workforce's entire capacity to generate new ways of working and to make relevant and timely decisions. This paper identifies the determinants of employee involvement (EI), and discusses the employment of EI practices and its influences on the organizational performance of businesses with particular reference to both electronics and plastics industry sectors in UK. Incorporating the empirical findings of a recent study, an analytical digest of managerial views on critical factors, sub-factors and benefits of EI adoption is presented. A generic decision framework for EI adoption is elaborated using the analytical hierarchy process technique. The study found that management commitment, rewards and motivation were the most critical factors; clear corporate mission, continuous improvement and both extrinsic rewards and intrinsic rewards were the dominating sub-factors of EI adoption. Effective involvement practices could bring along attainable employee satisfaction, quality improvement and productivity enhancement in businesses.

Table of Contents

Acknowledgementii

Abstractiii

Chapter 1: Introduction1

Background of the Study1

Problem of the Study6

Purpose of the Study7

Aims and Objectives of the Study8

Rationale of the Study9

Significance of the Study10

Research Questions11

Chapter 2: Literature Review12

Employee Involvement in Success of Business12

Business Management Meeting Employees Needs26

Notion of Employee Involvement38

Employee Empowerment, Organizational Culture, and Customer Satisfaction45

Integration of EI Effort with Total Quality Management47

Innovative Behaviour49

Leadership52

Determinants of Employee Involvement Effort59

Information Sharing Practices63

Training Practices64

Reward Practices64

The Contextual Role Of Human Resource Management66

Process Improvement And Employee Tacit Knowledge69

From Organizational Commitment To Trust73

Chapter 3: Methodology81

Conduct Of An Empirical Study Sampling, Data Acquisition And Analysis81

Development Of Analytical Framework82

Chapter 4: Findings and Discussion84

Interviews And Computation Of Findings84

Collated Findings Of Part One Survey84

Determination Of Critical EI Factors85

Priority Of EI Sub-Factors86

Identification Of EI Benefits And Achievements88

Results Of Part Two Interviews Construct Of Decision Framework89

Decision Criteria Of Critical EI Factors91

Decision sub-criteria of EI sub-factors92

Benefits Of EI Adoption94

Discussions Of Empirical Results95

Principal Agent Relationships Between Shareholders, Managers And Employees In Modern Public Corporations99

Determinants Of Employee Participation108

Chapter 5: Conclusion111

Conclusion111

Futrue Research112

Limitation of the Study114

References116

Appendices129

Chapter 1: Introduction

Background of the Study

In order to compete, a business must commit to the development of a skilled and flexible workforce. Also, a corporation should divest itself of the traditional attitudes and methods, particularly in organizations driven by manufacturing. For example, the old-school maxim that "All we have to do is make it and they will buy it" has disappeared (Lewin Stephens 2003 457).

For example, in about fifty percent of mergers and acquisitions the deals do not bring about their intended results. The primary reason is people and other related issues. The solutions to these problems, while they sound logical, are complicated to implement (Easterby-Smith Thorpe Lowe 2003 54). First, one fundamental aspect of participative management and employee involvement is acquiring a basic understanding of the on-the-job needs of employees. Otherwise, a business will not be able to generate the personal commitment from employees that is necessary to meet the goals of a ...