Revision:AQA A2 Business Studies Unit 4 - Employee Participation

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Quality Circles

These were invented in Japan with the practice of Kaizan or continuous improvement. This is where employees meet up during lunch breaks or outside work time to discuss how the factory can be improved. Employees are often paid for their time in these meetings and it motivated them to help the management improve for their own benefit. Solutions are presented to the management for action to be taken.

Worker Directors

This is a form of participation at the very highest levels of the business. It is where one of two employees are elected by their fellow employees to represent them on the board of directors. The employee representatives therefore participate in decision making processes that have an effect on the company as a whole. This is a motivational factor for employees and it encourages them to help their peers and is a way of getting views across to senior management.

Works Councils

These are committees made up of employees and employers that meet up to discuss issues that effect the company as a whole. Work councils usually discuss issues such a training, investment and working practices. Issues such as pay will not he discussed here because trade union representatives would have to be present and these are internal only meetings.

European Works Councils

By law, any company that has branches in 2 or more EU countries must set up European works councils. The idea is that it regulates conditions across the E.U. therefore combating Multinationals looking to maximize (often unfairly) opportunities in the less developed states in the EU. The councils discuss much the same topics as normal work councils just on a larger scale, company structure, acquisition and closure of plants etc.

Concerns about EWC’s

The main concern with regard to the European Works Councils is the cost that is involved in setting them up. All representative s(that’s 2 from each country and members of central management) must be flown to the meeting and catered for whilst there. The Unilever meetings cost the company around $50,000 a go.

Autonomous Work Group

An Autonomous work group is a team of people who are given a high level of responsibility for their own work by the management. This might be done for a specific project and the members of the group will be allowed to decide on who does what and in what time period, how the project is organized and also whether it is necessary to hire new members and who they should hire. Again motivation is the prime benefit because people will relish the increase responsibility and will look to repay the faith shown in them by doing a good job.

Employee Shareholders

this is when Employees are given the opportunity or asked to buy shares in the company. This therefore makes them part owners of the company and therefore they are made to be interested in the performance of the company as a whole as well as just their own performance. This should therefore increase peoples performance and also help employees to help others as they now have a vested interest in the performance of everyone in the company.

Fostering Industrial Democracy

Industrial democracy is where the employees in a business or industry can make their views heard and influence the way the business/industry is run. The importance of what employees has to offer has been recognised by mangers and therefore they look to foster democracy so as the reap the rewards of it. By managing in democratic manner, perhaps in accordance to Macgregor’s Theory Y style of managing ht managers will be able to encourage democracy among their workers therefore being able to improve the business from the point of view of the employees and well as the employers.

Teamwork pros and cons

Teamwork can be a good method of building morale in a business. If a team achieves something together then they can celebrate as a group and it encourages employee relations to improve therefore helping the business to become more efficient and improve. However. Teams can have friction in them and people do not always get on meaning that progress can be hindered due to clashes of personality. Also, if decisions are made as a team then the decisions making process can often be slowed up because people are unable to all agree on a course of action.

Also See

Read these other AQA A2 Business Studies Unit 4 revision notes:

• Privatisation
• SWOT Analysis of the UK
• Balance Sheets
• Limitations of Accounts
• Profit and Loss Accounts
• Revenue and Capital Expenditure
• Market Analysis and Decision Making
• Marketing Maths
• Marketing Objectives and Decision Making
• Marketing Budgets
• Corporate Planning
• Management of Change
• Invention, Innovation and Design
• Network and Critical Path Analysis
• Business and the Law
• Employee Participation
• Human Resource Management
• Performance Measurement

Comments

These notes are aimed at people studying for AQA A2 Business Studies Unit 4, but will also be suitable for other courses and exam boards.

Originally submitted by eksman on TSR Forums.