EMPLOYEES’ PARTICIPATION IN DECISION MAKING AND ORGANIZATIONAL PRODUCTIVITY IN JULIUS BERGER NIGERIA PLC.

ABSTRACT

The paper is a perception survey of employees’ participation in decision making and organizational productivity in Julius Berger Nigeria Plc. Bonny Island. It defines employees’ participation in decision making as a process of sharing influence in decision making among individuals who are otherwise hierarchically unequal. It assumes that involvement of employees in decision making increases their commitment and organizational productivity. The research question addressed the extent of the relationship between employees’ participation in decision making and increased employees commitment and organizational productivity in Julius Berger Nigeria Plc. Bonny Island.
The place of study is Julius Berger Nigeria Plc. Bonny Island while the duration of study is between May 2012 and June 2013. A descriptive research design was used in executing the study using 200 randomly selected respondents from a population of 2000 employees for questionnaire administration. The sample size of 200 was judgmentally determin survey research design in generating the required primary data. Data collected were analyzed using descriptive and inferential statistics. Results from the data analysisindicated that significant relationship exists between employees’ participation in decision making and increased employees commitment and organizational productivity. The research therefore concludes that significant relationship exists between employees’ participation in decision making and organizational productivity in Julius Berger Nigeria Plc. Bonny Island and recommends among others: encouragement of work teams,training and re-training of employees, improvement of reward system and improvement of internal communication channels from 10% of the population size. The core aspect of the study is the use of cross-sectional

INTRODUCTION

Employees can affect organizational productivity positively when they are willing and committed to organizational goals. Willingness and commitment can be exhibited by employees towards their job if they are involved in decision making and participate in the affairs of the organization. Thus, for management to win the commitment of employees to get their job done properly, individual employees should not be treated in isolation, but must be involved in matters concerning them and the organization. When employees are involved in decision making, staff absenteeism is reduced, there’s greater organizational commitment, improved performance, reduced turnover and greater job satisfaction,It is for this reason that the management of Julius Berger Bonny Island allowed employee involvement in decision making on matters that affect them to elicit their commitment to organizational goals.

Employees’ participation in decision making has been widely recommended as a means of improving the quality of work life. However, when considering employees participation in decision making in the work place, one must differentiate between two levels. The first is horizontal participation- involves interaction between teams, co-workers, or peers. The second is vertical participation (direct and indirect) – involves interaction with one’s superiors.
Both types of participation are important components of the quality of work life. An organization which encourages both types will allow decision making at the lowest feasible hierarchical level. The implied goal is to provide an environment where an individual will have the freedom and autonomy to make choices which are related to his work environment and to improve the fit between his personality and the job demands as well as between his work and non-work domains. Participation in decision making strengthens the relationship between performance and the expectation of a satisfactory outcome through a better understanding of what the desired outcomes are and how they can be achieved as well as directs the energies of employees/work group towards the goals and objectives of the organization. Commitment to organizational goals may result from the sense of ownership or proprietary rights achieved through the participation process.

In granting employees opportunity to participate in decision making in its project execution,
Julius Berger Nigeria Plc., improves the quality of work life by altering the work environment to accommodate employees’ desires, as well as allowing them exercise greater control/autonomy over their work situation, thus creating opportunity for employees’ selfesteem/ actualization. It is against this background that it becomes pertinent to carry out organizational productivity in Julius Berger Nigeria Plc. Bonny Island.