ABSTRACT
The problem of participation arises whenever there is a “bottom up” demand for access to an area of action and decision-making, or a “top down” need on the part of those who already exercise power over certain areas of action and decision-making to extend access and the ability to act in those spheres to others. The difference between the Fordist and post-Fordist theories lies in the fact that whereas participation in the Fordist model cannot go beyond the requirements stated in the job description, the post-Fordist worker’s participation is wider, and includes a discretionary component which is decisive for the system’s efficiency. In this framework, participation is an entirely individual matter; workers’ participation, in its extent and quality, depends only on their “strategic” abilities, or in other words on their ability to gain access to spheres of action and decision-making by circumventing or ignoring the formal rules.
