The Age of Participation: Amazon.ca: Patricia McLagan, Peter Block, Christo Nel: Books

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Book Description

s people reject authoritarian government, bureaucracy and the denial of human rights. Featuring an opportunity for readers to participate by progressively completing an organization assessment, this book is a practical, experience-based handbook for instituting, sustaining and nurturing the changes necessary today.

From the Back Cover

McLagan and Net explain why participative governance is a major issue of our times, affecting all areas of our lives: education, business, government, families, and community organizations. In The Age of Participation they focus on participation in the workplace, blending theory and practice in numerous examples and industry models. They look closely at every role in the organization - from suppliers and customers to executives and unions - and deflate the fears and misperceptions that sabotage change. Finally, they show why the shift to participation can't and won't occur unless all of us are willing to go through the personal changes needed to thrive and survive in a workplace and a world that is vastly different than the one in which we were born.

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First Sentence
SINCE THE 1950s and increasingly in the 1980s and 1990s, organizations have been trying to break into new performance arenas. Read the first page

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4.0 out of 5 stars A Good Read!, May 8 2001

By

Rolf Dobelli "getAbstract" (Switzerland) - See all my reviews
(TOP 1000 REVIEWER) (REAL NAME)

This review is from: The Age of Participation (Hardcover)

Companies like to say that they encourage their employees to participate thoroughly in the business, but when it comes to actually handing over power to their subordinates, many executives balk. Patricia McLagan and Christo Nel say that companies and bosses that refuse to take the participatory plunge are doomed to extinction. In The Age of Participation, they present the concept of participation - the active involvement of all employees or citizens in every aspect of running an organization - as a worldview, not just a business method. Sure the book contains more than its share of platitudes, but it is well written and never dry. And it balances its more utopian pronouncements with some practical observations about the performance of companies that have implemented participatory strategies and some insightful points on the role of common sense in business decision making. We [...] recommend this book to executives and mid-level managers, particularly change managers and human resource professionals.

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Amazon.com: 4.0 out of 5 stars (2 customer reviews)

1 of 1 people found the following review helpful

4.0 out of 5 stars A Good Read!, May 8 2001

By Rolf Dobelli "getAbstract" - Published on Amazon.com

This review is from: The Age of Participation (Hardcover)

Companies like to say that they encourage their employees to participate thoroughly in the business, but when it comes to actually handing over power to their subordinates, many executives balk. Patricia McLagan and Christo Nel say that companies and bosses that refuse to take the participatory plunge are doomed to extinction. In The Age of Participation, they present the concept of participation - the active involvement of all employees or citizens in every aspect of running an organization - as a worldview, not just a business method. Sure the book contains more than its share of platitudes, but it is well written and never dry. And it balances its more utopian pronouncements with some practical observations about the performance of companies that have implemented participatory strategies and some insightful points on the role of common sense in business decision making. We [...] recommend this book to executives and mid-level managers, particularly change managers and human resource professionals.

1 of 2 people found the following review helpful

4.0 out of 5 stars An important book on workplace governance, Oct 15 1997

By A Customer - Published on Amazon.com

This review is from: Age of Participation (Tr) (Paperback)

ON THE PLUS SIDE...this comprehensive book does an excellent job of distinguishing between authoritarian and "participative" workplaces. The authors argue persuasively that the former, though dominant, are inadequate for the quality and productivity requirements of our times. In addition, they note the ethical superiority of participation. ON THE MINUS SIDE...I was disappointed with the book's treatment of two key concepts: "stakeholders" and "consent of the governed" (employees). To my mind, McLagan and Nel deal with consent too lightly and with involvement of all stakeholders too heavily. The result is that "participative" struck me as far short of "democratic" (though no doubt even the former will seem drastic to those mired in authoritarianism). Yet I suspect the authors believe that prosperity and morality require a democratic work world. THE BOTTOM LINE? One reader's strong recommendation that the *The Age of Participation* be widely read and discussed.

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The Age of Participation [Hardcover]

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