ABSTRACT
This chapter argues that since 1950 there has been a steady expansion of aspirations and interest in employee influence sharing in organisational decision making. The European Economic Community has taken upon itself to further the development of information disclosures, consultation and Industrial Democracy and several E.E.C. initiatives in this direction were taken in the course of the 1970s. The most widely read social science literature was concerned with an analysis of democratic decision behaviour and the term used most frequently in this context was "participation". Long-term strategic decisions relate to major capital investment, for instance and additional production line or a new plant and to company decisions about new products or services. Substantial differences exist between the metal-making manufacturing sector and the service sector covering banks and other financial institutions. The imposition of a rigid legal framework which would apply to all would fail to create optimum conditions for development.
