Involvement as a dilemma: between dialogue and discussion in team based organizations

Abstract

"This article describes an ongoing action research project in a public administration department working towards a more flat structure characterized by value-based management, team organization, and involvement. The article presents involvement as a multidimensional dilemma and describes how employees experience and cope with traditional and modern dilemmas, and how the borderline between them seems to be blurred. It also includes the AR-dilemma unfolding in the relation between the participants and us as actions researchers. The dilemmas are discussed in relation to Human Resource Management. The history of involvement is reflected as a historical transformation of participative democracy into participative management characterized by strategic communication." (author's abstract)