Chapter 8

Employee Empowerment

Objectives
After reading the chapter and reviewing the materials presented the students will be able to: Understand employee empowerment. Give the rationale for empowerment. Implement empowerment. Recognize empowered employees. Go beyond empowerment to enlistment.

Employee Empowerment Defined

Involved employees are asked for their input, but are not given ownership of their jobs. Empowered employees are given ownership of the process and they are responsible for the products or services generated by those processes. Empowered employees take pride in their work and the resulting product or service produced by it. Ownership creates a sense of urgency to continually improve processes, products, and services and to strive for customer delight because their signature is on the work. An empowered employee will care even more about the quality of the work than the supervisor or CEO.

Empowerment Does Not Mean Abdication

Empowerment involves actively soliciting input from those closest to the work and giving those individuals ownership of their jobs. If done properly it will enhance rather than diminish the managers power. Empowerment also lets managers focus more on the larger decisions because empowered employees do not have to bring up every little problem that comes up.

Rationale for Empowerment

The rationale for empowerment is that it represents the best way to bring the creativity and initiative of the best employees to bear on improving the companys competitiveness. Employees generate ideas for solutions, particularly when given the opportunity to regularly discuss their ideas in a group setting that is positive, supportive, and mutually nurturing.

Empowerment and Motivation

Empowerment is about getting employees to help themselves, each other, and the company. It helps employees develop a sense of ownership of their jobs and of the company. This in turn leads to greater willingness on the part of employees to make decisions, take risks in an effort to make improvements, and speak out when they disagree.

Inhibitors of Empowerment
1. Resistance from Employees and Unions: Resistance to change is natural. Even positive change can be uncomfortable for employees because it involves new and unfamiliar territory. If union leaders think it will diminish the need for their organization, they may throw up roadblocks. 2. Resistance from Management: Some reasons behind management resistance to empowerment are: insecurity (need to retain power over employees), personal values (employees should do what they are told), ego (I am the boss), insufficient and ineffective management training (cling to old approaches), personality characteristics of managers (task oriented rather than people oriented), and exclusion of managers (excluded managers may resist). 3. Workforce Readiness: Empowered employees who are not prepared for the responsibilities involved can be worse than not empowering them at all. Educate the employees before empowering them.

Organizational Structure and Management Practices

Too many layers of managers who can say no between employees and decision makers who can say yes will inhibit and eventually kill risk taking and employee initiative. Are employees who offer constructive criticism considered problem solvers or troublemakers? The free flow of constructive criticism is a fundamental element of empowerment.

Managements Role in Empowerment

Everything management does to promote empowerment should have the goal of establishing a creative, open, nonthreatening environment in which involved, motivated, dedicated employees can flourish. The three words that best describe managements role in empowerment are commitment, leadership, and facilitation. The managers role in empowerment consists of demonstrating the following types of support behaviors: exhibiting a supportive attitude, being a role model, being a mentor, being a trainer, being a facilitator, practicing management by walking around, taking quick action on recommendations, and recognizing the accomplishments of employees.

Brainstorming
Participants are encouraged to share any ideas that come to mind. All ideas suggested are recorded. After all ideas are recorded the evaluation process begins. Participants are asked to go through the list, weighing the relative merits of each. The process is repeated until the group narrows the choices to the specified number.

Quality Circles
A quality circle is a group of employees that meets regularly for the purpose of identifying, recommending, and making workplace improvements. A key difference between quality circles and brainstorming is that quality circle members are volunteers who convene themselves and conduct their own meetings. Quality circles meet regularly before, during, or after a shift to discuss their work, anticipate problems, propose workplace improvements, set goals, and make plans.

Walking and Talking

MBWA (Management by Walking Around): Simply walking around the workplace and talking with employees can be an effective way to solicit input. An effective way to prompt employee input is to ask the right questions and to use open ended questions.

Beyond Empowerment to Enlistment

Employee enlistment goes beyond empowerment in that it not only allows employees to own their jobs and to innovate but also expects them to do so. Make it clear to employees that their ownership is not just wanted and needed but also expected. Make ownership a criterion in the performance appraisal process. In meetings, expect employees to be engaged. Make enlistment a guiding principle in the organizations strategic plan.

Summary
Involved employees are asked for their input, but are not given ownership of their jobs. Empowered employees are given ownership of the process they are responsible for and the products or services generated by those processes. The rationale for empowerment is that it represents the best way to bring the creativity and initiative of the best employees to bear on improving the companys competitiveness. Workforce Readiness: Empowered employees who are not prepared for the responsibilities involved can be worse than not empowering them at all. Educate the employees before empowering them. Everything management does to promote empowerment should have the goal of establishing a creative, open, nonthreatening environment in which involved, motivated, dedicated employees can flourish. A quality circle is a group of employees that meets regularly for the purpose of identifying, recommending, and making workplace improvements. MBWA (Management by Walking Around): Simply walking around the workplace and talking with employees can be an effective way to solicit input. Employee enlistment goes beyond empowerment in that it not only allows employees to own their jobs and to innovate but also expects them to do so.

Home Work
Answer Questions 1, 10, 13 on page 122. 1. Define the term empowerment, being sure to distinguish between involvement and empowerment. 10. What is a quality circle? 13. Distinguish between empowerment and enlistment.