This study aims to determine the state of employee participation in decision-making within the public enterprises of communication in Rwanda. More particularly, it is aimed at mapping out the extent of employee participation in the decision-making process in this area, to identify whether employees desire to participate in decision-making and to find out whether they would prefer to participate directly or act through a representative. It also aims to determine the form(s) of participation practised in the public enterprises of communication, to identify impediments to the participation of employee in decision-making and based on the results suggest recommendations in order to further promote employee participation in the decision-making procedure within this area. The research focuses on employee participation in the decision-making process in the public enterprises of communication in Rwanda. A questionnaire related to employee participation in decision-making was administered to a sample of 96 employees, but only 82 employees filled and returned the questionnaire. Various data analyses techniques were performed measure the state of employee participation in decision-making in general, and the extent of employee participation in the decisionmaking procedure within the public enterprises of communication in Rwanda in particular. The results revealed that the degree of employee participation in decision-making is very low and only senior managers (department managers) have access or rights to participate in the decision-making process. However, those who do not have opportunities to influence decisions made at the workplace manifest a great desire to participate in the decision-making process, and for a considerable number, this tends to be concerned with decisions daily affecting their own job. It was noted that the main obstacles to the participative process within the public companies of communication in Rwanda are the following: a lack of interest, a lack of initiative and support to the participation process from the government, an authoritarian approach via centralisation system of authority and control, managers especially general directors who are unwilling to share decision-making power with employees, manager's enterprise hesitates to accept employees as valuable partners in making decisions, and inadequate understanding of employees concerning their new roles in management of their enterprises. Therefore, employees did not recognise an educational level as an obstacle to their participation. / Thesis (M.Com.)-University of KwaZulu-Natal, 2004.

M.Comm. / Empowerment is one of the most discussed topics relating management style, culture, structural change and employee satisfaction. Once a company has introduced an employee empowerment strategy, there is very little guidance on how to determine if the strategy is effective and successful. Management is defined as getting things done through other people. What is to be done is not exactly described or- prescribed. No tasks are defined, the definition is generic and should fit all organisations, structures and people (Pretorius, 1997:1). However, over time a lot of management theories have evolved in describing the "how" of management. Together with these approaches, structures, cultures and management styles have formed that were and are still in use by companies today. The world has evolved from an Industrial Age to an Information Age where information is freely available. In an ever-increasing pace of change, most companies are changing the structure, culture and management styles in which they operate to keep up to improve market share, communications and productivity. Most bigger and older companies grew up in the era of structured power. This hierarchical structure of power has its origin in the Industrial Age. The emphasis was on mass production, standardisation, specialisation, stability and security. But even that has changed as "change" become the buzzword for survival. There has been a move in the late eighties and nineties, where change is the only constant. It is influenced by a total new set of needs, and left with the need for different attitudes, behaviour, management style and modus operandi. Responsible empowerment is seen by some as an essential part change management, because it can lead to both increased productivity, quality and employee satisfaction. Since there may be as many negatives talked about employee empowerment as there are positives, it is clear that empowerment does not work for all organisations. It is one of the most difficult aspects of continual improvement to implement (Stebbins, 1998). Involving people in the decisions they make, to make them feel responsible and accountable for their work is something that takes time, patience and perseverance. The idea of employee empowerment has considerable appeal to the participating business leaders and many are convinced that empowerment offers substantial potential benefits to companies,

D.Com. (Industrial Relations) / This study contains the results of an investigation that was undertaken to determine managers' perceptions with respect to readiness for productivity bargaining. In the chapters dealing with the theoretical aspects, the author has defined productivity, analysed the factors that have an impact upon productivity and discussed the relationship between productivity, collective bargaining and worker participation. Remuneration systems, performance and productivity improvement were also discussed. A critical evaluation of productivity bargaining in practice was done in order to illustrate the abovementioned theoretical concepts from a practical viewpoint. A conceptual model of organisational change factors which determine the readiness for productivity bargaining and a questionnaire which was derived from it, was developed and provided the basis for the empirical research. Using the questionnaire and statistical analysis, the perceptions of management at different levels of seniority and who negotiate with trade unions on a decentralised or centralised basis within different industries in the PWV-geographical area, were tested in order to determine whether there are significant differences regarding readiness for productivity bargaining. The questionnaire addressed the following main dimensions: worker participation, productivity awareness and productivity bargaining and management behavior and values within the bargaining relationship. Three hypotheses were formulated and tested statistically. Firstly, the hypothesis was stated that there are significant differences between the perceptions of management at different levels of seniority regarding readiness for productivity bargaining. They would perceive readiness for productivity bargaining differently since it is expected that they would be at different levels of readiness for this form of collective bargaining. In order to ascertain whether the hypotheses are valid or not, a questionnaire was completed by 15 executive managers, 61 senior managers and 79 middle managers. The questionnaire was constructed using seven-point interval scales where the respondent could indicate one as extreme~y negative and seven as extremely positive in response to each item. Responses were grouped per management category in order to test the perceptions of managers at different levels of seniority regarding readiness for productivity bargaining. Use was made of a MANOVA, an ANOVA and a one-way F-test (Scheff~) and no significant differences were found between the perceptions of managers at different levels of seniority regarding readiness for productivity bargaining. The second hypothesis was formulated and stated that there are significant differences between the perceptions of managers regarding readiness for productivity bargaining in organisations with decentralised and centralised bargaining forums. The author suspected that the degree of centralisation or decentralisation of the bargaining process could have an influence on readiness for productivity bargaining. In order to determine whether the hypothesis (as stated) was correct, all responses in the two bargaining categories were compared with each other. The results were tested using the Hotelling T2 test and the author confirmed empirically that there are no significant differences between the perceptions of management which make use of different (centralised versus decentralised) bargaining forums. Thirdly the hypothesis was stated that there are significant differences between the perceptions of management regarding readiness for productivity bargaining in different industries. It was expected that industries would differ in terms of managers' perceptions of· the abovementioned aspect, but there was uncertainty as to whether these differences would be significant regarding productivity bargaining. Using a MANOVA, an ANOVA and a one-way F-test (Scheff~) it was determined that there are significant differences between the perceptions of ~anagement in different industries regarding readiness for productivity bargaining. Qualitative data which was obtained from Human Resources Managers, trade union representatives, academics/consultants and other authorities on the subject during a series of personal interviews conducted during the Pilot-study, was confirmed by the abovementioned empirical findings. The general conclusion is that there is not a readiness for productivity bargaining amongst managers in the PWV-geographical area. In order to develop this readiness, several actions are required as part of an integrated productivity strategy. Specific actions include a self-audit during which managers evaluate the present and desired levels of worker participation, productivity awareness and -bargaining and their own behaviour and values within the bargaining relationship. These recommendations are discussed in detail in the last chapter. A chapter was dedicated to the formulation of guidelines for management and organised labour regarding productivity.

The object of this dissertation is to argue a case for industrial democracy as a corollary to political democracy; to examine the historical development towards worker participation in the management of industry as conceived by the British Labour Movement, and to assess the capabilities and limitations of these achievements. Chapter One provides an initial theoretical discussion on the problem of what industrial democracy may be taken to mean by examining the views of various theorists on the topic. The chapter also offers a set of defining characteristics of industrial democracy, in particular the separation of ownership from control and the sole right to participate in the control of industry as being derived from the function of labour. Chapter Two charts the ascendancy of British Trade Unionism and the development of collective bargaining as the single mechanism of worker representation to the exclusion of strategies for industrial democracy. The tentative demands for some form of industrial democracy from the 1960's are explained in terms of worsening economic conditions, Britain's forthcoming entry into the E.E.C, and a: radicalization of the Labour Movement. These factors, it is argued, provided the main stimulus for the Bullock inquiry on industrial democracy. Chapter Three deals in some detail with the Royal Commission on Industrial Democracy, 1977. The main proposals put before the Committee are outlined together with the supporting evidence, and discussion is given to the Committee's rationale behind the proposals it eventually recommended. Reaction to the publication is discussed with regard to the Labour Government, the Confederation of British Industry, the Trade Union Movement, the media and academics. Chapter Four is concerned with the weaknesses of the Bullock Report and with the limitations on any future development of industrial democracy in Britain. Two "formative" Labour Governments (1929-31 and 1945-51) received particular attention and their inevitable failure is explained through a critical focus on Fabian ideology. It is argued that Fabianism has prevented a coherent and committed Labour Party policy on industrial democracy in the past and will continue to act against any possibility of future legislation on the subject. Similar treatment is given to the nature of trade unions whose insistence on the preservation of collective bargaining also works against the development of a unified labour demand for full industrial democracy. The final concluding chapter offers some analysis of moves towards workers' control in other countries. It concludes, however, that while Fabianism and collective bargaining remain sacred cows of the British Labour Movement the potentiality for real industrial democracy in Britain remains weak. / Arts, Faculty of / Political Science, Department of / Graduate

Worker participation and the acceptance thereof is well established in first world countries. In third world countries it is still a relatively new concept which tends to rely on legislation for its existence and continuing function. Where a free-market economy is in place, labour market forces and management attitudes tend to affect the practice of worker participation. This research explores the multi-dimensional nature of workers' attitudes towards worker participation in an international company operating in the Republic of Bophuthatswana. A questionnaire using the hypothetical conversation technique and a dichotomous scale was developed and administered to a sample of 300 male industrial workers. Ten dimensions were proposed and subjected to a factor analysis. The results of the factor analysis revealed a unidimensional scale which suggested an underlying general attitude. This was used as a "general attitude" scale. Only two of the original dimensions were found to have some factorial validity. These three scales were subjected to an item analysis to establish their internal consistency. The biographical data in the questionnaire and the three scales were subjected to a correlation study and a regressional analysis to determine what relationship existed between the biographical variables and the attitudinal scales. This was done to explore the three scales. It was found that only tenure affected all three scales; tenure and not age was the variable that affected workers' attitudes the most.

Recent theories of democracy agree in rejecting the 'classical' theory and in giving only a minor place to popular participation. Attempts to defend the 'classical' theory have failed to show that the rejection is unjustified given the empirical evidence of the political apathy of the ordinary man. Chapter 1. The theory of a very influential forerunner of recent theorists, Schumpeter, is discussed. The work of Mayo, Dahl and Sartori, theorists concerned to establish the defining characteristics of democracy, is examined. They agree that the essential feature is the electoral competition of leaders. So long as a certain minimum of the electorate periodically vote nothing further is required of them. Sartori argues that apathy is "nobody's fault". Three theories of stable democracy, complementary to those of the first group of writers, are discussed. Berelson, Almond and Verba, and Eckstein are concerned with the attributes of the citizen and the forms of non-political authority structures required for a stable democratic system. It is argued that all the writers considered adhere to a common theory of democracy: the contemporary theory. The critics of this theory argue a) that despite claims to the contrary, a new normative theory has been produced: b) that the 'classical' theory has been misunderstood. Chapter II. It is argued that although facts and values can be distinguished from each other there is no unbridgeable, logical gulf between tnem; rather a two-way relationship exists and values are 'vulnerable' to facts. Further it is argued that it is not possible for political theorists to use certain key terms, e.g. political equality, in a purely descriptive sense. An evaluative background is needed to make particular interpretations intelligible. The evaluative framework of the contemporary theory of democracy, which includes a model of tne ideal (private) citizen, is discussed. The notion of one 'classical' theory of democracy is shown to be a myth. The contemporary theory descends from 'classical' theorists (e.g. Bentham) who held the sane narrow, protective view of participation. Other 'classical' theorists held a very different view of participation. Chapter III. On the basis of a discussion of the participatory theories of two 'classical' theorists, Jean-Jacques Rousseau and J.S. Mill, and one twentieth century theorist, G.D.H. Cole, it is argued that the significant contribution to democratic theory of the theorists of participation is the recognition of an inter- relationship between the form of, and operation of, political institutions and the attributes of individuals interacting within them. The major hypothesis of these theorists is that participation is educative, in the widest sense of that term. The psychological impact of participation, and the political control it gives to citizens, means that the more men participate the better able they are to do so; the political system becomes self-sustaining. In Mill's and Cole's theories it is argued that if citizens are to participate at national level then they need 'practice' in more familiar spheres. Cole argues that the most important area for such participation is industry, so that industrial authority structures must therefore be democratised. Chapter IV. Despite criticisms of the contemporary theory of democracy no attempt has been made to provide even the beginnings of a modern participatory theory of democracy that retains the essentials of the earlier theories. It is argued that the crucial variable in the political socialisation process is the authority structures of familiar spheres of social life, the most important area being industry. The democratisation of this area makes possible the transformation of the existing political culture. The evaluative framework of a modern participatory theory of democracy is discussed, including its wide definition of the 'political' itself. The theory argues that all men are potentially political animals; what is missing at present is the institutional setting to develop this potentiality. Chapter V. Recent "empirical" democratic theory has ignored the important fact that the existing pattern of political participation is linked to class position. Furthermore, the social and psychological characteristics correlated with low rates of participation are not a random collection of items but form a non-participation syndrome; a syndrome having both cognitive and psychological aspects. The empirical data in The Civic Culture support the argument of the participatory theory that the workplace is crucial for political socialisation. Other important, but neglected, evidence on this point is reviewed. It is argued that the typical social- isatlon process of the working class citizen, culminating, crucially, in socialisation in the workplace, accounts for the psychological aspect of the syndrome. The (inter-related) cognitive aspect of the syndrome is that apathy arises becaude participation in the existing system seems pointless to the ordinary citizen. This aspect of the explanation is supported by a reinterpretation of working class respondents' replies to scales designed to ensure political efficacy, and "authoritarianism" in the sense of commitment to democratic norms. Chapter VI. The available evidence on participation in industry has been neglected by students of political socialisation and democracy. The argument that leisure is now more important than work is shown to be unconvincing. Participation at the lower (shop floor) level and the higher management level must be distinguished. Ihere is a good deal of evidence to show both that the ordinary worker wants more participation at the lower level and that it is feasible. Evidence on experiments with participation at this level, and the collective contract in the mining and automobile industries is reviewed. The arguments of the participatory theory is also supported by experiments with small groups and by the writings of many modern management theorists who argue that lower level participation is essential for real efficiency in the enterprise. Chapter VII. Most definitions of participation in industry are very imprecise, and 'participation' and 'democracy' are often used as synonyms, so that clarification is necessary. Pseudo-participation and two forms of participation (in decision making) are distinguished: partial and full participation. The claim that democracy in industry already exists is rejected. It is shown that it is a mistake to equate 'democracy' and 'participation'. To influence both aspects of the non-participation syndrome higher level participation is required. Three British examples of higher level participation are discussed, at Glacier Metal, John Lewis Partnership, and the Scott Bader Commonwealth. In general this, and other evidence, indicates that workers have little interest in higher level participation. But too hasty a conclusion should not be drawn, as evidence also indicates that the lower level in the enterprise acts as a 'training ground' for the higher, so that a system combining opportunities at both levels would be required for the maximum interest and activity. Chapter VIII. For an example of an attempt to democratize industry over a whole economy one has to turn to the Yugoslav system of workers' self management. One major problem in assessing the system is the role of the Communist League. It is argued that though important this does not completely nullify the self-management structure. Another important factor is the economic reforms of 1965, especially since they have helped to increase the influence of 'experts' within the enterprise and within the workers' council itself.

published_or_final_version / Business Administration / Master / Master of Business Administration

M.Ed. (Educational Management) / Please refer to full text to view abstract

M.Com. / Participative management has been hailed as the strategic choice to overcoming problems at the workplace. It has become a buzzword for management in the 1980s, and yet has not become entrenched far enough in South Africa to say that participative management practice is, and has been a success ...

Fock Kwong Yin Henry. / "June 2004." / Thesis (Ph.D.)--Chinese University of Hong Kong, 2004. / Includes bibliographical references (p. 196-211). / Electronic reproduction. Hong Kong : Chinese University of Hong Kong, [2012] System requirements: Adobe Acrobat Reader. Available via World Wide Web. / Electronic reproduction. Ann Arbor, MI : ProQuest Information and Learning Company, [200-] System requirements: Adobe Acrobat Reader. Available via World Wide Web. / Electronic reproduction. Ann Arbor, MI : ProQuest dissertations and theses, [200-] System requirements: Adobe Acrobat Reader. Available via World Wide Web. / Mode of access: World Wide Web. / Abstracts in English and Chinese.