Keeping Management′s Door Open: How to Establish an Open‐door Policy that Works

Suggests that an open‐door policy is one of the means organizations use to improve communication with employees, enhance trust and motivation, and reduce the need for unionization, though it is problematic and difficult to implement. Points out that a major difficulty is employees′ perceptions of the barriers that exist between them and management; additional obstacles involve behavioural as well as organizational issues. Discusses the pay‐offs associated with open‐door policies, together with the difficulties and dangers involved. Outlines the elements which characterize an effective policy and describes examples of policies that have been demonstrated to work in practice.