# Introduction ecision making is an important management process in any organization. Without decision, nothing can be properly planned or accomplished. Decisions may be simple and with sufficient foresight or complex and with lack of foresight. Modern management techniques encourage the use of participative decision making, stressing that productive and efficient results can come out of this decision process. The management technique allows its employees, individuals or groups to take part in decision making. This is refers to as participative management. (Marchant, 1971) Since participative management pushes decision making down to lower levels, the top level managers need to develop their competence, expertise and experience. It does not believe in punishment as a tool of control. The group is supportive of the individuals/employees comprising it and intended to fulfill the organizational objectives. (Lynch, 1972) The increase in theories of participative management and with increasing recognition that employees often have something valuable to contributes beyond the accepted level of their normal work, many organization are now actively seeking ways of getting employees to participate more in decision affecting them on how work can be done more easily, better and faster. Management has discovered that there are tangible values in soliciting and using the ideas of people at all levels in the organization. (Ezennaya, 2011). Nigeria needs leaders that are rational in decision making and decisive in action (Olukoju 2014) Decision making is an important management process in any organization. Modern management techniques encourage the use of participative decision making, stressing that productive and efficient results can come out of this decision process. The management technique allows its employees, individuals or groups to take part in decision making. This is refers to as participative management. (Marchant, 1971) The issue of participative management decision making exist in the Nigerian industrial set-up is very controversial. Some organization in Nigeria practice participative decision making through legislation. On the other hand, some management writers in Nigeria are of the opinion that it does not exist and where it does is not real. The general objective of this study is to understand the concept of participative management and employee perspective in an organizational setting; their impact on decision making process on productivity. # II. # Methodology This research work was conducted using questionnaire as the instrument of data collection, and data were analyzed using Chi square method to interpret the results to arrive at the results, findings, conclusion and recommendation. # a) Specific Objectives The general objective of the study is to examine participative management as an approach to management of an organisation with the aim of understanding the level of participation, the attitude of management and employees toward the approach and the impact of participative management on organisational performance. However, the specific objectives are as listed below: 1. To examine the attitudes of management and employees towards participative management. 2. To determine the practice of participatory management model in the organization. 3. The impacts of practice of participatory management on the organization? Assess the impact of participative management on the organizations; the study is centrally useful to the organizations which make them understand the concept and application of participative management. It will encourage researchers to develop interest in the field and participative management practice. # III. # Research Questions 1. What are the attitudes of management and employees towards participative management? 2. How does the practice of participative management model do exist in organization? 3. What are the impacts of practice of participatory management on the organization? a) Hypothesis H 0 : There is no significant change towards the attitude of management of employees on the adoption of participative management. H 0 : There is no existence of practice of participative management in the organization. H 0 : There is no significant impact of practice of participatory management on the organization. IV. # Literature Review According Aquians (2007) The emergence of participative management is inevitable when emphasis is laid on individual and work groups. Allowing labour to participate in decision making primarily to increase productivity was a new form. The need for a high degree of participation depends on the national culture of the followers (javidan et al., 2006) Participative management expand the amount of autonomy at work by disseminatin information, decentralizing decision making, and involving surordinate in variety of work arrangement (Locke, 2009).employee participation in decision making has a positive effect on performance to the extent that it increases self-efficacy and the discoveries of task relevant strategies. Employee involvement can be best defined ad giving each worker more control over his or her job. This requires participative management. (Decenzo & Robbins, 2010). The positive tradeoffs, from the employee's perspective, are that although there is greater risk and less individual development from participative decision making, there should be opportunities to develop as a generalist and acquire new skills as we as financial gain. (Greer 2003). With Participative management employees can make meaningful contributions that result from their broader understanding of the production environment. # (Greer 2003). How organisation involves employees Succeeding when facing multiple tasks, often on a number of project of, requires more employees at all levels to delegate some activities and responsibilities to other organisational member. This means that employees need certain amount of authority to make decisions that directly affect their work. (Decenzo V. # Conceptual Framework Participative management: A process that aims to encourage staff members to the commitment and involvement in the organization's success (Rabynz, 2001). # a) Components of Participative Management Participative management, being one of the human relations techniques, lays much emphasis on satisfying a greater proportion of people's needs at work. It is considered conducive to high staff morale to provide more delegation, to pus decision making lower down the staff hierarchy, and to involve staff in setting their own objectives and in evaluating their achievements. Participative management structures and styles create conditions at work which enable staff to realize theory potential, make greater use of their professional training and thus improve the effectiveness of the service offered. The involvement of staff in decision making process of the organization and having increased awareness of the organization's purpose, depend upon two important factors: leadership style and organizational style. (Olum 2004). # b) Leadership Leadership behaviors lead to highly motivated staff. Subordinates rely upon the leadership skills of their superior to show them how to achieve their needs of motivation, rewards and ability to perform their allocated tasks. Leaders resolve interpersonal differences. Formal systems are simplified and attempts are made to create a more open, reactive organizational environment. The need for leadership qualities turns more towards the ability to plan and analyze feedback is emphasized. The leader's role is not diminished but it is changed it its nature. Participative leadership involves employee participation in management; subordinates are consulted for their opinions as part of the decisionmaking process. (Olum 2004). # c) Organizational Style Whether the participative management approach can really work depends upon the type of organization and its functioning. An open organization is more likely to encourage participative management than a mechanistic one. The emphasis in organizational communication from top to bottom through informal groups, team and party meetings is laid on self-starting qualities, the capacity of staff to develop themselves in their own jobs and to grow professionally. The organizational style of functioning should encourage that people at work need to satisfy their basic needs for material support and security. Participative decision making has its effect on the organization's objectives. (Olum 2004). # d) Participative Management Style Hajzer (2011) characterizes participative management style and freedom at work with these four main features: 1. Commitment: Employees voluntarily commit to do their tasks; they are willing to negotiate about the objectives and procedures. 2. Mastering: Autonomy and meaningfulness, the three need that create the system. The more built for them, the stronger the intrinsic motivation of employees. The more of them are present, the higher intrinsic motivation of employees. # Self-Management: The arrangement is made such that it is not necessary manager that manages others. # Engagement: The more you manage to meet the needs of mastery and autonomy, the more people feel involved and have a greater desire to work. The system is not only functional and self-governing, but there it passion, and creativity, freedom and independence. Another authors asserted that employers' perception of the outcomes of various types of participation was an important factor to influence their willingness to introduce workers' participation. The study ascribed the increasing popularity of the most employee involvement programmes to the wide variety of benefits that they offer employers such as improved performance and productivity, lower costs, motivation, increased morale and job satisfaction, reduction in conflicts, industrial peace and stability, etc. Direct participation in work-related decisions was found to increase organisational performance and productivity, whereas indirect participative practices had positive effects on job satisfaction and reduction in industrial conflict (Wimalasiri and Kouzmin 2000). However, this author emphasized and mentioned the importance of team work and urged the need of strengthening team function in an organisation. He observed that the co-operative behaviour among the employees is an outcome of their professional and organizational commitment and will go a long way in promoting the participative nature of the organization (Lee 2001). On the another dimension of participative management, this researcher observed that the communication practices and information sharing relationships between unions and employers as well as between employers and their employees constitute an important ingredient in the creation of an environment of trust and confidence. They were vital to the practice of genuine collaboration and the development of meaningful participation. Effective participation was the result of effective communication between management and employees, preferably involving a two-way communication flow. Relevant information is required as needed for adequate decision-making and to build employee confidence in the management system, so managers' attitudes to secrecy and prerogative must change. The range and type of communication media, access to participative structures, the degree of involvement of workers, the breadth of issues over which employees were consulted and the extent of their influence are additional dimensions to which careful attention must be paid (Markey et al. 2002). Some authors examined the positive effects of worker participation on the productivity of business organisations. This evidence is conformed, under certain conditions, by the motivational, industrial, and business relations paradigms. The study significantly mentioned the 'O' theory of industrial relations. Otherwise called as the Ownership theory, it emphasis on the need to provide labour with access to ownership, together with a policy of participative management which improves the quality of decision-making of the organisation and will have an implication on the destiny of the organization (Gutierrez and Carlos 2002). In the similar direction, some researchers observed that there was an important relationship between business strategy, the use of participative management practices, and industrial relations systems, practices and outcomes. Types of strategy that have implications for the use of employee participation systems were differentiation and cost leadership strategies (Michie and Sheehan 2005). The same authors observed that there was an important relationship between business strategy, the use of participative management practices, and industrial relations systems, practices and outcomes (Michie and Sheehan 2005). A research conducted on an investigation of the existing level of worker participation in management decision-making within the Nigerian work environment. The study involved a survey in which a total of 227 nonmanagement employees drawn from two work organizations in Lagos attended. The results showed that employees in both organizations demonstrate a high interest in participation in the decision-making process within their respective workplaces. It was observed that there was significant relationship between education and age of the employees and employees' involvement in decision-making as well as between frequency of employees' consultation and their organisational commitment. The study revealed a growing desire of non-management employees in the Nigerian work environment to exercise greater involvement in the decision-making process of their enterprises (Noah 2008). Similar research conducted examined the contribution of 'workplace forums' towards the practice of participative management in South Africa. The study gathered the perceptions of management representatives regarding the reasons for the establishment, the process of establishment, as well as the functioning of workplace forums (WPF) in their respective organizations. The results indicated that WPF have contributed to workers' participation in a big way. The study recommended that management should create a climate in which more WPF can be established (Walt 2008). The research design adopted for this work is survey research. Sample of the population was drawn # e) Test of Hypothesis The research used question number 1, 2, 3, and 4 of the questionnaire to test hypothesis 1: # H 0 : There is no significant change towards the attitude of management and employees on the adoption of participative management. # Fo Fe Fo -Fe (Fo -Fe)² Fe (Fo -Fe)² # Decision Rule Reject null hypothesis if the computed value is greater than the table value. Accept alternate hypothesis if the computed value is greater than the table value. Degrees of freedom = (R-1) (C-1) = (6-1) (4-1) = 15. Level of significance = 0.05. At 0.05 level of significance and 15 degree of freedom the table value is given, as 12.592. # Decision Since the computer value (32.58) is greater than the table value (12.592), therefore reject the null hypothesis and accept the alternate hypothesis. This affirmed that there is significant change towards the attitude of management and employees on the adoption of participative management. The research used question number 4, 6, 7, and 8 of the questionnaire to test hypothesis 2. # H 0 : There is no existence of practice of participative management in the organization. # Decision Rule Reject null hypothesis if the computed value is greater than the table value. Accept alternate hypothesis if the computed value is greater than the table value. Degrees of freedom = (R-1) (C-1) = (6-1) (4-1) = 15. Level of significance = 0.05. At 0.05 level of significance and 15 degree of freedom the table value is given, as 12.592. # Decision Since the computer value (34.66) is greater than the table value (12.592), therefore reject the null hypothesis and accept the alternate hypothesis. This affirmed that there is existence of practice of participative management in the organization. # H 0 : There is no significant impact of practice of participatory management on the organization. Degrees of freedom = (R-1) (C-1) = (6-1) (4-1) = 15. Level of significance = 0.05. At 0.05 level of significance and 15 degree of freedom the table value is given, as 12.592. # Decision Since the computer value (27.722) is greater than the table value (12.592), therefore reject the null hypothesis and accept the alternate hypothesis. This affirmed that there is significant impact of practice of participatory management on the organization. # VI. Conclusion and Recommendation a) Conclusions Employee participation has been found to have favorable effects on employee attitude, commitment, and productivity even on the efficiency of the managers. Consequently, participative management is seen as an inevitable mechanism in organizations. However, before this could be done or undertaken, a thorough examination of the organization policy should be looked into and amended to affect this situation. Based on the findings Participative management is a pivotal element in enhancing performance of employees and productivity of must business oriented organisation. It is therefore, requires fundamental recognition in the day to day interactions between employer and employee. # b) Recommendations In this study, some recommendations have been made to increase the importance and benefits of participative management approach in an organization. Today in a competitive business environment that changes very fast, more and more companies realize the importance of human resources and their quality. Improving of quality of human resources helps them to increase productivity and overall efficiency of their activities (Rebe?ák, 2013). We support the opinion that higher participation of employees in decisionmaking or any company activities leads to higher satisfaction at work and higher commitment and engagement. Our research confirmed that the level of employee participation is still low in many companies which mean that the potential of employees is not used, as well as their creativity and initiative. We recommend to companies the consideration of including empowering techniques into management education programs that will develop managers in involving employees into decision -making and using of their potential more in the workplace. 1) Managers should put more effort in encouraging their participative management approach in decision making process. 2) Managers should increase the frequency and level of workers participation in decision making considering the fact employees are part of the organization set up. 3) Organization should take holistic approach to participative management. 4) Organizations are encouraged and incorporate Islamic perspective of participative management. 5) Considering the importance and benefits of participative management especially in the growth and stability of an organization. Finally, the researchable aspects of the concept of participative decision making have not been exhausted in this work. 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