Decentralization and Participative Management

Some people get the idea that the more decentralized an organization is. the more democratic or participative it is in terms of managers sharing decision-making with subordinate employees. This is not necessarily true. Decentralization, however, involves pushing some decision-making down the line to subordinate managers, and. In this sense, it develops more participation in decision-making. However, this does not mean that all subordinates will participate in all decision-making. In the first place, as has been noted, decisions on some matters are reserved by upper-level managers and others may be made only by the top managers and, in some cases, even by the board of directors.

In the second place, delegation to subordinate managers of authority to make decisions at their respective levels does not mean that these managers will allow their subordinates to share in top-level decision-making. Some managers at upper levels may be highly participative or democratic in the way they make decisions, and others may not be. Essentially, decentralization and participative management arc different matters.