Ch. 8, pg. 234, post #4
Reading through Stan Deetz's four steps toward work-place democracy, I can't help but think to myself, "this is where I want to work."
The first step stresses workplace autonomy, a concept that I highly value. Not only is being micro-managed unmotivating, but I believe that people will work harder if they know their personal success is resting in no one's hands but their own. In addition, since each employee is held accountable for their decisions, they are less likely to make bad ones.
This second step also falls under the autonomy umbrella. Nothing bugs me more than when the decisions about how to do things are made by the people who don't actually do the job. One thing I really value about the company I work with now is that everyone starts on the sales floor which means that if I'm having a problem selling than I could go talk to our store manager because I know she's been in the same position I have.
The third step I think is the most important because people can't do their job without the right information. I agree with Deetz's that so often our day is filled with meaningless memos and newsletter which is just a huge waste of time. Instead, managers and employees should have a good enough relationship that they are able to talk openly about the business and how it is affecting society and the planet.
Finally, I think it is important that if a company tells their employees that they are going to be included in the decision making process that they actually include them, not just half-ass it. Workers aren't stupid, they can tell when their managers make out like they are using a participative style of management but then turn around and make decisions that are opposite of what the employees agreed on.
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I completely agree with you! I work much better when I have a say in how I do things, and do not have to follow buereaucratic processes for each step I take during the day. By allowing workers to have more cognitive involvement in the tasks they are completing, organizations help them feel powerful, and therefore motivated to continue producing quality results. Improving these parts of the communication process can help the entire organization improve quality and measure success.
ReplyDeleteI don't think anything bothers me more at work than when managers don't have a clue as to how to solve a problem or even understand the existance of a problem. I was miserable for too long in a job where every issue that came up fell on the deaf ears of management, yet at every staff meeting they attempted to convince us that they were working hard to "make things better." I have so much more respect for a manager when I know that they really see the work environment and pay attention to what happens on a day-to-day basis, instead of whtever they happen to notice when they stck their heads out of the office door.
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