Some Social Psychological Effects of Direct and Indirect Participation in Ten Swedish Companies

Sweden has introduced schemes of participation widely in its industrial and business organizations. We present in this article data concerning some of the social psychological effects of two forms of participation, indirect and direct, in ten Swedish factories. Indirect participation entails decision making through representatives of the employees; direct participation entails decision making by the employees them selves. Theories propose that participation has the effect of enhancing member reactions such as sense of commitment, favourable attitude and satisfaction in the company and of reducing dysfunctional reactions such as absenteeism. The data from these companies appear consistent with the above theories insofar as direct participation is concerned but not with respect to indirect participation. The data support the view that participation is likely to have the predicted effects on the reactions of members to the extent that participation is felt as a personal experience. Members are likely to feel committed and satisfied, first and foremost to the extent that they perceive themselves personally to have authority to make decisions; second, and in lesser degree, to the extent that they perceive their immediate work group to make decisions, and hardly at all to the extent that they perceive that decisions are made by representatives. These findings are consistent with conclusions drawn earlier by a number of researchers. They are inconsistent with the expectation underlying the laws of participation in Sweden (and in most other countries of Europe) insofar as these laws mandate indirect participation exclusively and are formulated with the expectation that such participation will have the positive psychological outcomes that many advocates of participation claim.Peer Reviewedhttp://deepblue.lib.umich.edu/bitstream/2027.42/68871/2/10.1177_017084068300400303.pd

What Do Good Global Leaders Do?

Online version of the journal, not peer reviewe

What Do Good Global Leaders Do?

Online version of the journal, not peer reviewe

The Challenge of Managing Boundary-Spanning Research Activities: Experiences from the Swedish Context: The challenge of managing boundary spanning research

Contemporary and future challenges when managing research involve coping with emerging prerequisites which include, among other things, a new knowledge production discourse, new research funding methods and new ways for international collaboration. Managers for boundary-spanning research activities need to combine the sometimes opposing logics and perspectives of the multiple stakeholders-the individual researchers searching for independence, sustainability and freedom and others searching for integration, relevance and predictability. Based on a collaborative research set-up including interviews, discussions and workshops with major Swedish research funding agencies, research program managers, experienced industry partners and key stakeholders, the paper identifies six main managerial challenges: (i) lack of focus on research management and unsatisfying prerequisites, (ii) weak identity and low status of the role of the research managers, (iii) few incentives for research management, (iv) lack of leadership development opportunities for researchers, (v) multiple (and sometimes contradictory) expectations from different stakeholders, and (vi) sustained funding. Finally, the managerial implications of these challenges for universities and funding agencies are discussed

The Challenge of Managing Boundary-Spanning Research Activities: Experiences from the Swedish Context: The challenge of managing boundary spanning research

Contemporary and future challenges when managing research involve coping with emerging prerequisites which include, among other things, a new knowledge production discourse, new research funding methods and new ways for international collaboration. Managers for boundary-spanning research activities need to combine the sometimes opposing logics and perspectives of the multiple stakeholders-the individual researchers searching for independence, sustainability and freedom and others searching for integration, relevance and predictability. Based on a collaborative research set-up including interviews, discussions and workshops with major Swedish research funding agencies, research program managers, experienced industry partners and key stakeholders, the paper identifies six main managerial challenges: (i) lack of focus on research management and unsatisfying prerequisites, (ii) weak identity and low status of the role of the research managers, (iii) few incentives for research management, (iv) lack of leadership development opportunities for researchers, (v) multiple (and sometimes contradictory) expectations from different stakeholders, and (vi) sustained funding. Finally, the managerial implications of these challenges for universities and funding agencies are discussed