Suggestion schemes and 'open-door' policies

half of the firm using performance appraisal did not involve the subordin~te at all, while only eight firms involved three levels of management-subordinate, superior, and his superior-in participative discussion. These figures and tendencies seem even more valid in British industry.
Suggestion schemes and 'open-door' policies
Formal upward communication is often the minimum required by the system in operation. The resulting amount and nature of informal communication can be a direct reflection of the unfulfilled needs, desires, or aims of the people involved. By using informal communication, the subordinate can:
(1) initiate the communication; (2)
(3)
control the process; seek the best channel.
All formal feedback methods can be tested by these three parameters. Meetings usually fail on all three counts, while suggestion schemes are somewhat better in that the first factor is met. Personal contact is often the best method but only when the superior in sensitive to the view of others. Similar faults in suggestion schemes, opinion polls, etc., have been documented by other writers, and certainly 'failure' rates have been as high as 90 per cent, whereas the Socony Mobile Company computed an 800 per cent cash return on their suggestion scheme, other firms have put forward the following disadvantages.
(a) Many companies pay on all suggestions to avoid
disappointment.
(b) Many suggestions would have come without the
scheme.