Workers' participation continues to be an important and much debated, even contested, subject in industrial relations and human resource management. It is also a topic which evolves as the labour force becomes more educated, the economy more international and technology more advanced. It remains a culturaly inspired issue as the prevalent system of workers' participation in any given country abundantly reflects underlying societal and social values, which make each system, or the lack thereof, a unique experience and happening. This book is mainly based on country reports (Austria, Belgium, France, Germany, India, Italy, Japan, Latin America, Poland, the Netherlands, the USSR and the United States), giving a wealth of information. It focuses on the private sector and in this context it presents the story of Poland and the USSR at their initial steps in the privatization of parts of their economies.