Employee EmpowermentIntroduction ImportanceFactorsCase StudyActivity1Responsibility and Ownership.Working independently towards common objectives.Understanding Why? so that guidelines can be applied.Weighing the impact of decisions on all affected stakeholders.An earned privilege. It is not a given right!!

What Empowerment Is?DefinitionTo empower, means to enable, to allow or to permit, and can be conceived as both self-initiated and initiated by others.

It can be defined as: Empowerment is the process of enabling employees to set their own work-related goals, make decisions and solve problems within their spheres of responsibility and authority.

Empowerment is the process of sharing power with employees. Bateman & Snell: 2003

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I LOVE MY WORK AND I LOVE WHERE I WORK45You have to give power to gain power.

Give Power Away

Assign important tasks.Provide autonomy and discretion.Give visibility and recognition.Help build strong relationships.

How To Give Power AwayTime to respond is shortFirst line employees must make many decisions.There is great-untapped potential.Employees feel much more control over their lives.Empowered people do not feel like victims.

Need of EmpowermentCHARACTERISTICS OF EMPOWERMENTEmployees feel empowered and respectedProcess of personal developmentDifferent from delegation of authorityEmployees are trusted and valuedOpen and responsive cultureEmployee assumes managerial and staff responsibilityEmpowering not means someone else to loose it.

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MANAGERS RESPONSIBILITIESActions must speak louder than wordsTrust peopleGive challenging workSeek answers from employeesAllow employees to play a bigger role

10Participation: workers must be encouraged to take the initiative.

Innovation: management must encourage employees to try out new ideas and make decisions

Information: employees must have free access to information and resources that they need to nurture their talents.

Accountability: empowered employees should be held accountable for results is to see that they are giving their best efforts.CONDITIONS11CORE DIMENSIONS12SELF- EFFICACYA sense of personal competenceBelief that I have the ability to perform the taskBelief that I am capable of putting forth the effortBelief that no outside obstacles will prevent me from accomplishing the task

13SELF-DETERMINATIONTo be self determined means to experience a sense of choice in initiating and regulating ones own actionsA sense of personal choiceChoices about the effort to be expendedChoices about the pace of the work

14PERSONAL CONSEQUENCESSense of having impactImpact is the degree to which an individual can influence strategic, administrative, or operating outcomes at workFeeling of active control-brings the environment into alignment with wishesFeeling of passive control- wishes are brought onto alignment with the environment

15TRUSTSense of securityFeeling that I shall be treated fairly and equitablyEncourage the development of relationshipAllows people to act in a confident and straight forward manner

16Express confidence in employees abilities.Hold high expectations concerning their performance.Allow employees to participate in the decision-making process.Allow employees freedom and autonomy in how they perform their jobs.Use position power in a positive way and limit the use of coercive power.Set inspirational and managerial goals for employees.

Ways of Employee EmpowermentEnhances beliefs of employees that they are influential contributors to the organizational success.Employees perceive meaning in work.Employees feel competent.Employees derive a sense of self-determination.Employees believe that they have an impact on important decisions.

Significance of EmpowermentInvolvementQuick decision-makingSolving complex problems360-degree FeedbackVariable Rewards with some Group ComponentError ToleranceEnhanced CommunicationGeneralists Managers and EmployeesTrust and Support of Management

Pre-requisites of Employee EmpowermentEMPOWERMENT PROCESS20FACILITATORS OF EMPOWERED TEAMORGANIZATIONAL VALUES/ LEADERSHIP ACTIONHUMAN RESOURCES SYSTEMS (EG: REWARDS, TRAINING)ORGANIZATION STRUCTURE JOB DESIGNEMPOWERMENTCONTINUOUS IMPROVEMENT ACTIONSCOMPETITIVE QUALITYPRODUCTIVITYCUSTOMER SERVICE21Degrees of EmpowermentTotal management control- No employee discretionParticipatory management- management generally controls the work & the context, but allow employees to make some decisions (typically minor ones)Self-management- Employees make most decisions pertaining to their work and work settingOrganizational improvement through employee empowerment First, empowerment can strengthen motivation by providing employees with the opportunity to attain intrinsic rewards from their work, such as a greater sense of accomplishment and a feeling of importance. Intrinsic rewards such as job satisfaction and a sense of purposeful work can be more powerful than extrinsic rewards such as higher wages or bonuses. The second means by which employee empowerment can increase productivity is through better decisions. Especially when decisions require task-specific knowledge, those on the front line can often better identify problems.

TOYOTAToyota Motor Company empowers some of its employees to identify and help remedy problems occurring during product assembly. An automobile coming off Toyota's assembly line with a paint defect is seen as an opportunity to delve into the root cause of the defect, as opposed to merely fixing the defect and passing it on to distributors for resale.

ChallengePlease write One Word ForEMPOWERMENT

Does empowerment work?TRUE or FALSE?TRUE or FALSE?26