Through a rejection of the traditional separation between the researcher and the research setting, this volume discusses a philosophy in which the researcher is fully involved in the process of ...organizational learning and change. William Foote Whyte and his collaborators outline the theory and methods behind participatory action research, weigh up its strengths and weaknesses and then present cases where this research strategy has been used in both industry and agriculture from a variety of countries on four continents.
Purpose - This paper aims to examine the relationships and predictive power of organisational justice factors such as distributive and procedural justice along with demographic factors towards the ...employee readiness for organisational change in a developing country.Design methodology approach - The paper uses random sampling of large public sector organisations of a developing country. This is a cross-sectional study where the researcher has used a self-administered survey questionnaire for data collection. The researcher used analytical techniques such as descriptive statistics, factor loading and Pearson's correlations. Finally, hypotheses were tested using the multiple regression analysis on to Statistical Package for Social Sciences (SPSS) version 15.0 for Windows.Findings - It is concluded that employees of public sector organisations in a developing country can develop their positive attitudes and behaviours for organisational change on the basis of distributive and procedural justice. Furthermore, the findings of the paper hold that demographic variables such as gender, age and marital status have no positive and significant relationships with employee readiness.Research limitations implications - This study contributes to the literature on change management, human resources management, organisational behaviours and organisational development. This study may support the management and practitioners of change management in assessing and evaluating organisational change programmes, particularly in the developing country.Originality value - The originality of the paper lies in the use of multivariate statistics on the organisational justice variables in order to examine the attitudes and behaviours of the employees of a public sector employer of a developing country.
Purpose Worker engagement in health and safety H & S is a means to reduce risks in construction projects. A measure for worker engagement in H & S is a first step in ensuring improvement and ...maintenance of worker engagement in the construction industry. The purpose of this paper is to explore the nature of worker engagement in construction by testing a management instrument WISH developed to measure it during a construction project. Designmethodologyapproach A stratified sample of workers in a construction project organisation was studied to test the effectiveness of a sitewide engagement programme IIF run by the main contractor. The measurement was repeated 13 months after the first phase to check engagement at that stage of the project and to reduce bias in scoring. Findings Four key factors emerged as the independent variables on which worker engagement depends. These are knowledge and capability to engage, perceptions, attitudes and behaviours and actual involvement in H & S risk management. The IIF gave a check on the validity face, construct and content of the instrument as a measure of worker engagement. Reliability of the measure was tested by peer scoring at the second measurement phase. The SpearmanBrown R showed a high degree of interrater reliability in scores, supporting the reliability of the WISH measure. Originalityvalue The study provides a valid and reliable measure of worker engagement in H & S management for construction. The use of this instrument within the construction industry should help managements to improve the effectiveness of their worker engagement programmes.
The 1980s saw popularization of the management paradigm requiring that employee intellectual potential should be noticed and used. The subjective approach to employees is fully reflected in the ...empowerment process. The definition scope of the analysed notion has not been unambiguously delineated to date. In narrow terms, empowerment means delegating power in the decision-making process and is considered a management method. In broad terms, in turn, the idea is at times called even a management concept. The aim of this paper is to provide answers to the following research questions: 1) Can empowerment be called a separate management concept? 2) What is the awareness of the essence of empowerment among contemporary employees? 3) What are the barriers to implementing empowerment assumptions in enterprises? The research process was based on literature studies and empirical research that was conducted in Poland under two separate research projects. One, carried out in the period 2006-2015, was oriented towards assessing the level of interest in employee participation and identifying the approach to implementing such participation in enterprises. The research covered over 300 respondents. It used structured interview complemented with free interview and analysis of the provided documents of the respondents' enterprises. The results of the research encouraged a closer look at the category of empowerment. Pilot empirical research on the category of empowerment was conducted in 2016 with questionnaire surveys. The research sample was 63 employees. It was found that empowerment should be perceived as certain expansion of employee participation rather than a separate management concept. It consisted in sharing not only information but also power with employees. The results of the empirical research permitted the ascertainment that interest in lower participation forms prevailed among the respondents. Barriers related to applying empowerment were sought in this context. The pilot research allowed a conclusion that the barriers should be sought primarily in the failure to prepare (also mentally) employees and employers for using empowerment. Although the presented results of the research are not representative, they encourage further in-depth research within the discussed area.
The financial and economic crisis has led to fiscal austerity measures and reform policies in the Netherlands that have had a direct impact on municipalities. Decreased municipal budgets have forced ...municipalities to cut public services and lower the employment conditions of municipal employees. It may be expected that in countries like the Netherlands, with stronger social dialogue institutions, decision-making will provide more room for effective employee participation. This study investigates whether and how social dialogue has influenced austerity policies in Dutch municipalities. The results indicate that collective bargaining at sectoral level resulted in moderate increases in nominal wages as well as support for workers who were made redundant. At the workplace level, the effectiveness of social dialogue through works councils has varied depending on the history of relationships between employers and employee representatives and their strategic approach in dealing with austerity.
The first book of its kind to give a comprehensive overview of non-union employee representation (NER) in the UK, Employee Representation in Non-Union Firms scrutinise NER′s impact on organisations ...at both macro and micro level. The book provides new insights into the impact of NER on managerial objectives and the employee objective of influencing managerial decisions. It takes on board important developments such as European Union Directives and assesses the effectiveness of NER bargaining, consultation and representation in comparison to that of the unions. The book is underpinned by a review of the existing literature on NER and examination of its current practice using survey data and original case analysis.
Purpose - The aim of this paper is to investigate relationships between strategic planning practice, management participation and strategic planning effectiveness.Design methodology approach - A ...total of 87 questionnaires were collected from privately owned firms working in Egypt. Regression analysis was used to test the hypotheses.Findings - Strategic planning practice, but not management participation, is significantly associated with strategic planning effectiveness. Further, both strategic planning practice and management participation jointly enhance the effectiveness of strategic planning.Research limitations implications - Longitudinal data would be needed in order to prove that causal relationships exist. The common method bias restricts the inferences that can be drawn from this study. It would be useful to explore whether the results hold when other integrative variables are taken into consideration.Practical implications - A wide use of strategic planning tools is one important element in organizational success.Originality value - Little research has so far examined the use and worth of strategic planning tools in organizations. One function of this paper is to re-visit this area of research. It does so in one of the areas that have largely been neglected in past research in Arab countries.