Something very strange is occurring in organizational management. Over the past decade or so, numerous rigorous studies conducted both within specific industries and in samples across industries have demonstrated the enormous economic returns obtained through the execution of what are variously labeled as high involvement, high performance, or high commitment management practices... But even as positive results pile up, trends in actual management practice are often moving exactly opposite to what the evidence advocates.. (Pfeffer, J. 1998 The Human Equation: Building Profits by Putting People First, p. xv. Boston, Harvard Business School Press) Is this true? Do managers say they want employees to be empowered and engaged and then fail to fully provide the opportunities necessary for high involvement?
