ABSTRACT
This chapter explores the reasons for management interest in EPV. One reason can be that the law demands compliance, for example to protect employees. A second reason is defensive: employers introduce their preferred EPV to counter employee incursions or as management-controlled alternatives to union-backed collective participation. A third reason, with a human relations history extending back to Elton Mayo, can be to humanise work for the putative benefit of both employees and employers. Work humanisation is also associated with strategic HRM models, specifically those stressing ‘best practice’ and ‘best fit’. The principal strategic models are examined, along with the contribution of HR to management practice. Finally, the business case for individualised performance-centred involvement is presented.
The most favoured EPV approaches adopted by management focus on communication; job restructuring, for example through empowerment; involvement, focusing on personal superior–subordinate relations such as performance appraisal; financial involvement; and combination initiatives typified by high-performance work systems. Specific management-derived initiatives, such as financial participation, are considered in depth in later chapters.
