The Myth
Whether workers should be treated as thinking human beings depends
(is "contingent") on the type of work they do. For example, it is useless -- even
counterproductive -- for employees doing routine, highly standardized work to be
involved in decisions about the work.
The Finding
There is a widely accepted theory that the way people should be
managed depends on the type of work they do. While this makes sense in principle, it
breaks down when examined with respect to where the theory has most frequently been
applied, namely, the application of participative management methods in different
work settings. The basic idea is that when there is no apparent need to think, don't
ask workers to do it. This makes participative management inapplicable to most
blue-collar manufacturing jobs but highly relevant for professional tasks. The
authors of The Enthusiastic Employee say that the problem with this bit of
"common sense" is that it is contradicted by the legion of extraordinarily participative
initiatives in manufacturing plants throughout the world. For example, what is one
to make of the extensive use by Japanese manufacturing companies of worker
participation in shop-floor decision making and the large positive productivity
and quality results that have thereby been achieved? The fact is, the authors
claim, there is no category of worker for whom involving workers in decisions --
asking them to help through thinking -- is not appropriate.
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