PARTICIPATORY DECISION MAKING (PDM) AND ORGANIZATIONAL PERFORMANCE IN ABUJA
(A STUDY OF ABUJA PROPERTIES AND DEVELOPMENT COMPANY LIMITED)
ABSTRACT
Organizations operate within an environment characterized with intense competition and needs to utilize its human and material resources optimally to achieve its goals and objectives. The human resources in any organization is a vital aspect that needs not be neglected.
This is due to the role they play in coordinating other resources of the organization. Specifically, the refusal of work organizations to recognize the human factor in industrial production through greater involvement of employees in its management decision making would tend to create several human problems in this setting.
This thesis therefore looks at theparticipatory decision making and organizational performance with specific objectives of determining the impact of face to face decision making, collective decision making, pseudo decision making and paternalistic decision making on organizational performance. Data was sourced primarily and subjected to correlation and regression analysis with the aid of the e-view software. The result of the analysis shows that face to face decision making, collective decision making and paternalistic decision making are both positively correlated and influence organizational performance while pseudo decision making does not have any positive influence on organizational performance.
It is recommended that managers should put more effort in encouraging face to face participatory decision making in their organization because this will encourage their employees to come up with suggestions and useful decisions.
They should also engage workers on other forms of participatory decision making such as collective and paternalist decision making in their organization because it will enable the employees to see themselves as part of the organization.
TABLE OF CONTENT
CHAPTER ONE
INTRODUCTION
1.1     General Background to the Study    -
1.2    Statement of the Research Problem    -    -
1.3     Objectives of the Study    -    -    -    
    Research Questions    -    -    -    -
1.5    Research Hypotheses    -    -    -    -    -
1.6    Significance of the Study    -    -    -
1.7    Scope and Limitation of the Study
1.8     Organization of the Study -    -    -    
1.9     Operational Definition of Terms -    -
CHAPTER TWO
LITERATURE REVIEW
2.1    Introduction    -    -    
2.2     Conceptual Framework    -    -    -
2.2.1        Employee Motivation    -
2.2.2        Employee Empowerment    -    
2.2.3        Employee Commitment    -    
2.3     Historical Background of the Case Study (Abuja    
 Property Development Company    -
2.4    The Concept of Decision Making
2.4.1    Decision Making Process -
2.5    Participation in Decision Making (PDM) in Organizations    -
2.5.1     Teamwork    -
2.5.2    Financial participation    
2.5.3     Quality Circles (QCs)    
    2.5.4     Joint Consultative Committees (JCCs)    -    
2.6    Methods of Employee Participation in Decision Making    -    
2.7    Forms of Employee Participation: an Overview -    
2.8    Employee Participation in Decision Making and Culture    -
2.9    Approaches to Employee Participation in Decision Making    
2.10     Organizational Performance    
2.10.1        Outcome – Based on Evaluation
(Particularly for No-profits)    
2.10.2     Management by Objectives (MBO)    
2.10.3     Learning Organizations    -
2.10.4     Business Process Reengineering
2.10.5     Benchmarking    
2.10.6     Balanced Scorecard-    -
2.11   Related Concepts to Organizational Performance -    -    
2.11.1     Organizational Culture    -    
2.11.2     Healthy Organizational Culture    -    
    2.11.3      Characteristics of Healthy Organizational Culture    -
2.12    Organizational Development (OD)    -
2.13    Performance Management    -    -
2.14     Benefits of Employee Participation in Decision Making    -
2.15      Challenges of Participation in Decision Making    
2.16     Empirical Studies    -    
2.17     Theoretical Framework     -
CHAPTER THREE
METHODOLOGY
3.0    Introduction    -    -    -    -    -
3.1    Research design    -    -    -    -
3.2    Population of the Study    -    -    -    
3.3    Sample and Sampling Procedure    -    
3.4    Instrument for Data Collection     -    -    
3.5    Validity of the Instrument -    -    -
3.6    Reliability of the Instrument    -    -
3.7    Administration of the Instrument -    -    
3.8    Method of Data Analysis    -    -    -
CHAPTER FOUR
DATA PRESENTATION, ANALYSIS AND INTERPRETATION OF RESULTS
4.0    Introduction    -    -    -    -    
4.1     Presentation of Results     -    -
4.2    Questionnaire Analysis    -    -
    Descriptive Statistics    -    -
4.4     Correlation Matrix-    -    -
4.5     Regression Results    -    -    -
CHAPTER FIVE
DISCUSSION OF FINDINGS
5.0    Introduction    -    -    -    -
5.1    Discussion of Findings    -    -
CHAPTER SIX
SUMMARY OF FINDINGS CONCLUSION AND RECOMMENDATIONS
6.0     Introduction    -    -    -    -
6.1     Summary of Finding-    -    -
6.2     Conclusion    -    -    -    
6.3     Recommendation    -    -    
6.4    Contribution of Knowledge    
References    -    -    -
Appendix 1    -    -    
Appendix II    -    
Appendix III    -
                    CHAPTER ONE
INTRODUCTION
1.1 General Background to the Study
Organizations operate in the external environment characterized by intense global competition and technological innovation, and change (De Janasz et al., 2008). This has forced organizations to find ways to be more flexible, competitive and adaptive. This setting has “stimulated a need for employee who can take initiative, embrace risk, stimulate innovation and cope with high uncertainty” (Spreitzer, 2007). Employees are seen to be the main important asset in today’s organizations than ever before. And as a result, managers have shown an enormous interest in employee empowerment. With the belief that relinquishing centralized control will promote flexibility and decisiveness as well as employee commitment and a subsequent improvement in individual and organizational performance (Daft, 2001; Lashinger et al., 2001; Ozaralli; 2003).
Employee participation in decision making has been recognized as a managerial tool for improving organizational performance by striving for the shared goals of employees and managers. This is actualized by way of allowing workers’ input in developing the mission statement, establishing policies and procedures, pay determination, promotion, and determining perks. Employee participation in decision making has become a significant topic in human resource management (HRM), and is regarded as one of the chief ingredients of employee voice, which many management scholars have observed to be a growing management concept (UK Essays, 2013).
A modern forward-looking business does not keep its employees in the dark about vital decisions affecting them. It trusts them and involves them in decision making at all levels. “Command and control” is no longer an adequate model. A more open and collaborative framework will exploit the talents of all employees (Hewitt, 2002). Employees must be involved if they are to understand the need for creativity and if they are to be committed to changing their behaviour at work, in new and improved ways (Singh, 2009; Kingir&Mesci, 2010).
Employee involvement in decision making serves to create a sense of belonging among the workers as well as a congenial environment in which both the management and the workers voluntarily contribute to healthy industrial relations (Noah, 2008). In order to increase the workers commitment and humanise the workplace with the intention of improving work performance and good citizenship behaviour, managers need to permit a high degree of employee involvement. Thus, the involvement of workers in decision making is considered as a tool for inducing motivation in the workers leading to positive work attitude and high productivity (Noah, 2008).
Several studies have shown that allowing employees to participate in decision making leads to increase in motivation, job performance, and organizational growth (Gollan& Wilkinson, 2007; Kim, McDuffie &Pil, 2010; Bhuiyan, 2010). However, many studies also have conflicting views on whether or not an increase in employee participation directly affects organizational performance. Some critics, such as Sashkin (1976) feel that participation is not only effective, but that its use by management is an ethical imperative. Locke and Schweiger (2001) believe that worker participation is merely a managerial technique that can be used effectively in certain situations.
However, researchers may be skeptical about the value and relevance of employee involvement in decision making to firm performance, Due to the fact that research on this area is still scanty in Nigeria, Nonetheless, growing HR research, particularly in the developed world, has pointed to the significant role that employees play in main decisions. It is in view of this that this study set out to examine the influence of employee participation in decision making and organizational performance in Nigeria.
1.2    Statement of the Research Problem
The spread of democratic value to virtually every society today has brought the need to examine the implications of this trend to other spheres of life. With respect to economic sector, employees are faced with the dilemma of how to cope with authoritative management in the work places while living in a democratic society which guarantee basic fundamental freedom.
    In addition, the denial of workers active involvement in decision making is held to be one of the major causes of the problems which are manifested daily in the work lives of the modern employees. The implication of these to employees of increasing exposure to a monetized society, rising education and wider contact among people resulting from the break-up of artificial barriers was to shift these aspirations to a more satisfying work experience, greater control over the organization of work, greater opportunity for personal development and wider scope in exercise of initiatives.
Specifically, the refusal of work organizations to recognize the human factor in industrial production through greater involvement of employees in its management decision making would tend to create several human problems in this setting. A worker is a social being who brings his personality, hopes, aspirations, anxieties, feeling and attitude to the work place. He seeks satisfaction and meaning in his work as he does in other spheres of life. However, when he finds that his work does not provide him with the opportunity to realize his potentials (for instance through strict management control) he tends to engage in negative behaviours like absenteeism, apathy, low commitment and low productivity. The implication of these negative tendencies resulting from strict management control has therefore raised serious concern among scholars interested in healthy industrial relations. Therefore, this study tries to find out the extent employees participation in decision making influences organizational performance.
1.3 Objectives of the Study
The broad objective of this study is to examine the influence of employee participation in decision making on organizational performance
The specific objectives of this study include:
To determine the extent to which face to face Participatory Decision Making affect organizational performance.
To examine the extent to which collective Participatory Decision Making affect organizational performance.
To examine the extent to which pseudo Participatory Decision Making affect organizational performance.
To determine the extent to which paternalistic participatory decision making affect organizational performance.
Research Questions
This thesis shall provide answers to the following questions:
Does face to face Participatory Decision Making haveanysignificant effect on organizational performance?
To what extent does collective Participatory Decision Making affect organizational performance?
To what extent does Pseudo Participatory Decision Making affect organizational performance?
Does Paternalistic participatory decision making affect organizational performance?
1.5    Research Hypotheses
The following hypotheses will be tested based on the research questions and objectives
Ho1: Face to faceParticipatory Decision Making does not have any significant effect on organizational performance.
Ho2: Collective Participatory Decision Making does not have any effect on organizational performance.
Ho3: Pseudo Participatory Decision Making does not have any significant impact on organizational performance.
Ho4: Paternalistic participatory decision making does not have any impact on organizational performance.
1.6    Significance of the Study
The significance of this study will include the following:
Employees: employees of organizations will find this study useful in making them understand the benefits of employees participating in decision making that may enhance productivity and redirect their focus on their job.
Companies’ Management: the study will provide necessary information that will be useful to the companies’ management especially the top management level, as it will highlight the benefits the company stands to enjoy when employees make decisions concerning the growth of the establishment. Such freedom will help companies’ management take prompt action that will yield positive results.
Government: the study will be relevant to government institutions, ministries and stakeholders at it will enlighten them on the relevance of employee participation on government policies in order to make informed decision and rebrand their operations.
General public will find it useful not only because it identify the challenges of implementation, investigating the issue could provide additional insights and perhaps evidence on the relative effect of employee’s participating in decision making in the. This will surely enrich the literature on this issue.
Academics: the study will serve as a blue print for present and future researchers who intend to carry on similar research work on the same subject matter.
1.7    Scope and Limitation of the Study
Particularly this research work focuses on the influence of employee participation in decision making in Nigeria organizations using Abuja properties and development company limited as the case study, the study will take a cursory look at the issues surrounding employees participation in management decision making, with a view to proffering solutions for future benefits. The study will examine other areas concerning organizational performance, performance management and the benefits accrued to the organization if employees participate in decision making.
It is almost customary that some limitations are often encountered in course of research work, these affect the quality and quantity of data collected. The following limitations were encountered in the course of this study:
Data Collection: Limitations were encountered in drawing generalizations to reflect what is tenable in all of Abuja Properties and Development Company Limited branches in Nigeria. However, it is not feasible for the researcher to get across all of the branches cutting across the entire country, hence the choice of Abuja office.
Reliability of data: Data to be collected might not be true as some respondents feel reluctant to answer the questionnaire. Some may tick for the sake of ticking an option, but not because they understood what they ticked. The implication is that there is bound to be some form of bias response making the data unreliable.
1.8     Organization of the Study
Chapter One: The chapter one of this study brings to the fore the general introduction of the study. It introduces the subject matter of Employee Participation in Decision Making on Organization Performance in Nigeria. Also the research problems encountered during the course of the study was stated, the objectives which will hope to achieve in this study is also stated, Research questions and hypothesis that could guide during the course of the study was formulated. The significance of the study was also justified in the study. The scope of the study and limitations was also stated and the chapter was concluded by giving some operational definition of terms.
Chapter Two: this chapter focuses on review of related literature on the topic. It contains the conceptual framework and theoretical framework coupled with other related literature to back up the study.
Chapter Three: illustrates the methods that will be used in executing the research. It contains the research design, study sample, sampling procedure and method of data collection.
Chapter Four: presents the data collected from the field administration and interpretation of results.
Chapter Five: gives the discussion of the findings on the study while
Chapter six: concludes the project with the summary of findings, conclusion and recommendations made that can be put into consideration.
1.9     Operational Definition of Terms
Motivation: it is the energizing force that induces, motivate and maintain an individual behaviour toward accomplishing organization goals.
Decision making: The selection from among alternative of a course of action. It’s an art of considering and making ajudgement concerning a particular issue or issues.
Productivity: Productivity is the relationship between the amount of one or more inputs and the amount of outputs from a clearly identified process. It is the output unit/per labour input into the production process given the level of existing resources and technology (Imaga.1996)
Employees: These are workers employed to perform jobs in an organization     under an obligation which they receive income as exchange for efforts contributed to the growth of the organization.
Management: management includes the activities of setting the strategy of an organization and coordinating the efforts of its employees or volunteers to accomplish its objectives through the application of available resources, such as financial, natural, technological, and human resources it is also the process of planning, organizing, staffing, leading, directing, coordinating and controlling available resources toward achieving a target goal and objective.
Participation: This will be regarded as the process by which people contribute ideas towards the solution of problems affecting the organization and allied matters.
Employee Participation: This will be taken to be when those below the top of an enterprise hierarchy take part in the managerial function of enterprise.
Job Performance: process of reviewing how job duties and responsibilities have been executed. The work related activities expected of an employee and how well those activities were executed. Many business personnel directors assess the job performance of each employee on an annual or quarterly basis in order to help them identify suggested areas for improvement.
Job satisfaction: This can be defined as a pleasurable or the appraisal of ones job or job experience.