Preferences for Decision‐Making Responsibilities Indicated by Skilled Blue‐Collar Workers

Except for a few notable exceptions, such as Zupanov and Tannenbaum, Arzensek, Ramsay and Bertsch and Obradovic, most studies on workers' participation appear to ignore the fundamental point that workers have a greater preference to participate in some areas of the decision‐making process than others. The workers' propensity to participate depends upon the ability and interest of workers. Arzensek's study indicated that a higher percentage of workers are interested in participating in personnel and social decisions than in economic decisions (Shuchman's terminology). Hespe et al, in a pilot study of steel workers in Sheffield, found similar results. This supports the concept that workers are more interested in participating in decisions which immediately affect them, rather than decisions which affect other parties, and may relate to long term matters. However, Dyson says that “people are not really much more interested (than their parents) in being consulted: but they would prefer to be told rather than ignored”.