Involving Employees in Firms in Russia

This is a very well thought out and researched article on how companies in Russia can become more efficient by empowering their employees. The analysis of problems and steps for improvement is generally spot on. The article falls a bit short in underestimating the cultural and historical traditions of rule and management in Russia, which will likely significantly delay the implementation of these practices in many organizations. As the article states, Russians are used to very strong leadership and centralized decision making. That's the way life was in Russia for hundreds of years and politically still is. It's important to remember free market, decentralized decision making, and democracy in general have been in Russia for only 20 years.

I believe that most managers over 40 are simply too set in their ways to give up a significant amount of power. Additionally, older employees generally will not strive to be empowered, and to be part of the decision making process. The older generation is not used to having their voices heard, and older managers don't necessarily look for input. I am Russian and work with Russian and Belarusian citizens on a daily basis, so I have some experience with these issues. However, I also believe that the younger generation is eager to be more involved and will ultimately drive employee empowerment, as younger managers take over.

There is no denying the benefits of employee involvement. It increases employee commitment, improves decision making and the quality of work, and frees up time for top management. My boss has a very "hands off" management style but does welcome feedback, which benefited my development as an employee and generally resulted in better quality work. It's definitely worth making the push for employee involvement and empowerment but the process will take time and may require a generational change within some organizations. In the long run, the change is inevitable, since having empowered and involved employees is a huge competitive advantage. Companies that fail to adapt will eventually lose to competitors that adapted.

The benefits having multiple processes for employees to provide feedback and suggestions are well analyzed in the article. It's good to have both large 'town hall' meetings as well as informal, personal ways to submit suggestions. My company uses a program called Yammer, which is a corporate social media tool. Any employee can make a post under a specific topic, which can then be viewed and discussed by other employees. It's a great way to propose and review suggestions. I also agree that it's very important for employees to get an answer regarding their suggestions. In my organization, several employees stopped providing suggestions after management failed to implement the improvements and didn't provide a reason for doing it. The reason was a simple lack of resources, but this wasn't clearly