Introduction to Participatory Management; Running a Project, an NGO, a Department or a Firm by Phil Bartle, PhD Module Introduction. Documents Included in this Participatory Management Module: Participatory Management, methods to encourage staff in decision making; The Participatory Management of People, more than economic resources; Participatory Management and Positive Attitude, we all make mistakes; Using Job Descriptions, enhancing participatory management; Participatory Management Meetings, removing the groans; Annual Review, a tool of participatory management; Preparing a Work Plan, a key tool for participatory management; Techniques of Encouragement, converting criticism to guidance; and Tips for Managers and Mobilizers, parallels in participation. Management is just too important to be left only to the managers Participatory Management: This module aims to provide guidance for setting up management systems, especially for NGOs, assistance projects, departments and firms. The module includes material on various methods of increasing the participation of staff in the management of organizations, benefits of the method, and training related to increasing that participation. The core document on participatory management lists some of the reasons why a manager should work towards increasing the participation of staff in management meetings. The document then describes a few of the mechanisms available for doing so. The most important of these is the admonition to "pay attention" to staff, and thus to ensure a two way flow of communications. Some of those mechanisms have separate documents set out for them so as to be discussed in more detail. They include management meetings, using job descriptions, preparing a work plan, positive attitude, encouragement, and annual reviews. An important message is that it is how job descriptions are used, for review, negotiation and contracting, that make them a tool of participatory management, not the job descriptions themselves. The meetings document proposes a radical change in how meetings are conducted. This module is closely related to the module on Management Training, which is an introduction to management for non-managers. --» «-- If you copy any text from this site, please link it back to http://www.scn.org/cmp/ Updated: 2003 May 16