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Political Science Labor & Industrial Relations

Workplace Democracy

An Inquiry into Employee Participation in Canadian Work Organizations

by (author) Donald Nightingale

foreword by Max Clarkson

Publisher
University of Toronto Press
Initial publish date
Dec 1982
Category
Labor & Industrial Relations, Workplace Culture, Organizational Behavior
  • eBook

    ISBN
    9781442655980
    Publish Date
    Dec 1982
    List Price
    $28.95

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Description

This book begins with a historical review of how authority in the Canadian workplace has changed over the past century. It proceeds to outline a theory of organization which provides a broad conceptual framework for the empirical analysis which follows. This theory is based on five concepts: the values of organizational members; the administrative structure of the organization; the interpersonal and intergroup processes; the reactions and adjustments of organization members; the social, political, economic, and cultural environments of the organization.

A sample of 20 industrial organizations was selected to examine the effects of significant employee participation and to test the theory. They are matched pairs: ten permit some form of participation, and ten—similar in size, location, industry, union/non-union status, and work technology—follow conventional hierarchical design.

The resulting data demonstrate that greater productivity results from employee participation in decisions relating to their work, in productivity bonuses, and in profit sharing and employee share-ownership plans.

About the authors

Donald V. Nightingale is a consultant and former professor at the School of Business at Queen's University.

Donald Nightingale's profile page

The late Max B.E. Clarkson was the Director of The Clarkson Centre for Business Ethics and Professor Emeritus, Faculty of Management, University of Toronto.

Max Clarkson's profile page