ly well and opinions of
any proposal will vary considerably. For example, it is widely believed that
the national interest is best served by allowing the market and, hence,
individuals+ self-interests to govern societal interactions. But a nation
comprised only of self-interested people is not necessarily a community or a
civil society, especially if market competition and organizational responses
to competition cause further work dislocations, declines in wages, and
increased inequality. On the other hand, history has demonstrated that
approaches ignoring the important role that markets must play in the economy
have neither produced prosperity nor alleviated social problems or
One proposal that may balance both economic and social objectives is the
encouragement of work systems based on employee participation in decision
making. For purposes of this essay, participation refers to the existence of
organizational structures or mechanisms that give employees a voice in
workplace decisions. Inherent in the idea of giving employees a voice is the
notion that they desire to participate and will work harder and smarter in
return for participation opportunities. This is not a new idea. To some
extent, it is obvious because ongoing changes in the nature and locus of
work will increasingly require responsible workers to act in partnership for
organizations to succeed economically. Participation is one of the practices
that organizations can use to achieve sustainable economic competitive
advantage. There is growing evidence that participation is a crucia...