rk (Goh, 1998; Moravec, Jphannesen, & Hjelmas 1997). Participatory management has many time and effort costs and these must be weighed against the amount of good such systems provide. There are some circumstances where participative management tools must be modified or not undertaken (Foster-Fishman & Keys, 1997).There are certain elements needed for participative management to be successful. Clear leadership and commitment from upper level leaders are crucial. Furthermore clear communication of specific goals and objectives are also essential ingredients (Goh, 1998). Political subcultures need to be considered and addressed so that efforts to gain input are not subverted (Collins, 1995). One compelling argument is the need for management to go out of their way to make sure the process of implementing employee involvement is perceived as a fair process. By engaging the rank and file for input, explaining why certain decisions are made, and providing new rules and roles that are expected this objective can be realized (Kim & Mauborgne, 1997).Of historical interest is an article by Bussel (1997) where the author provides the historical account of an early participative management attempt by William Hapgood to run his condensed soup company. Ahead of his time in the 1920s Hapgood believed that the key to improving productivity and efficiency was to use a more humanistic and employee self-governance scheme. Although his efforts failed this attempt and contribution to new ways of thinking are important.The size of an organization also impacts on the effectiveness of the participative management design. Bryson (1999) used a nationally representative British workplace survey to assert that smaller companies benefit more from a direct communicative style. Individual recognition by payment for specific accomplishments is also more effective in firms with less than 200 employees. However Bryson also found that bottom-up decision making...
