Authors: Eleni Triantafillidou

Title: Determinants and effects of employee involvement and participation practices in multinational Organizations

Abstract

Nowadays Organizations undergo changes, have to face challenges and need to understand changes, adjust to the environment and take advantage of opportunities and circumstances to survive. Environment poses a number of challenges such as global competition, diversity, the rapid advancement of technology, the flourishing of e-commerce and business, changes in customer needs, growing employee expectations for meaningful job duties and opportunities for personal and professional development. In this new environment Organizations are constantly changing and transforming into learning Organizations. The learning Organization promotes communication and collaboration, is constantly experimenting, and improving, relying on open information, encouraging adaptability and participation of all employees by enabling ideas to emerge from anywhere and helping the Organization seize opportunities and manages crises effectively. The economic basis of the modern economy is information, not machinery. Knowledge and information are emerging as the most important form of capital for an Organization. Employees have the knowledge needed to keep an Organization competitive. The terms "information society" and "knowledge economy" reflect the widely accepted view that knowledge, learning and innovation are the driving forces for improving the productivity and competitiveness of businesses and the economy. In today’s global environment,multinational Organizations operate in all sectors and services of the economy, employee human resources in more than one country, coordinate their activities in a variety of ways, make strategic decisions and share a network of knowledge. Employee involvement and participation include a variety of management forms and practices that could be examined as levels, types, forms, initiatives and could be seen as a feature of Human Resources Management. Through employee participation employees are given the opportunity to share their experience, ideas, make suggestions and achieve goals. Employee participation is a substantial element in planning, building and implementing new and successful management strategies that improve effectiveness and competitiveness. Among the factors that determine employee and participation practices are organizational size, competition, organizational structure, the sector or service that the business operates, organizational culture, business strategy, leadership, the origin of the company, the management approach, the degree of internationalization, the levels of decision making, the company philosophy, the managerial style, the degree of formalism and the employee – management relations. Employee involvement and participation affect the degree of organizational commitment, organizational engagement, enhancing employee motivation, employee morale, employee creativity and perceived organizational justice and could lead to knowledge sharing behavior with a positive effect on organizational learning. Besides, employee participation assures access to top level management, satisfying the employee’s right to information, consultation with foreign colleagues, fosters employee - management cooperation and trust, facilitates communication, supports organizational change, improves strategic planning, and contributes to the development of corporate culture improving organizational growth and sustainability. The purpose of this study is to analyze the determinants and effects of employee involvement and participation practices in multinational Organizations as part of Employee Relations and Human Resources Management function.