Business
environment is highly volatile, ambiguous and competitive. These frequent
changes in the business environment have forced organizations to evaluate their
management systems more frequently to remain competitive in the business
environment.
People/
employee empowerment is one of common and central theme in management and
leadership practices that enable organization to become more competitive (Breeding,
2008).
Generally, decision making of an organization is managerial responsibility. But
in some cases due to this decision making process many important decisions get
delay. Employee empowerment is a term which uses to express ways that
non-managerial staff members can make decisions without consulting their
management.
Empowering of people
quicken the decision making process and many important decisions can be made on
time for the betterment of organization.
Figure 1: Empowerment process
Source: (Dizgah et al., 2011)
Studies
have revealed that empowered employees are committed, loyal and conscientious.
Empowering make employees feel that they are valued. Everyone wishes to get
admired. Also empowerment is a culmination of many ideas and tenets of employee
satisfaction. Especially in industries where employees and customers directly
interact, management could experience that empowered employees bring more
business by making customer satisfied which convert customer satisfaction to
greater profits (Hitt et al., 2001).
Table 1: Steps to empower employees
Source: (Randolph, 2000)
|
Step
|
Description
|
|
Identification of reason of
empowerment
|
Normally upper management engages in
empowerment process. It is their responsibility to identify the reason and
associated benefits to handover decision making authority to lower levels of
employees
|
|
Selection of employees to empower
|
While some employees wish to be
empowered some are unwilling to have additional responsibilities.
Organization authority should identify correct skilful employees who can make
correct decisions and able to have additional responsibilities.
|
|
Provide required information
|
The management should provide
necessary information on responsibilities, authority. Also employees should
aware the performance criteria of additional responsibilities and rewards for
their achievements. Other than that empowered employees should know
organizations issues and some sensitive information which make employees to
make most suitable decision.
|
|
Provide training to employees
|
Empowered employees should aware the
basics of cost and revenue. Employees should make free to decide how clients
are handled.
|
|
Inspire individual initiatives
|
An employee who inspired is highly
productive resource. Hence management of the organization should take actions
to motivate those employees through rewards. Hence empowering is a two way
process both parties are benefited.
|
Figure 2:
Dimensions of psychological empowerment
Table 2:
Factors which drives organization towards employee empowerment
Source: (Baird & Wang, 2010)
|
Factor
|
Description
|
|
Encourage creativity and innovation
|
-
Employees contribution is valued
-
Employees encourage to meet
organization objectives
-
Have possibility to improve systems
and process
-
Innovative and creative processes
enhance the organization efficiency
|
|
Increase productivity
|
-
Empowered employees are
productive since they are free to make decisions
-
Response time is less
-
Work as a part of self-managed
teams
-
Hence improve organization
productivity
|
|
Align both employees’ and organization
goals
|
-
Empowered employees have clear
view of organizational goals and strategies
-
Understand their role and value
-
Employees are satisfied and
display enthusiasm towards the job
-
Hence both parties’ goals are
aligned
|
|
Assist employee retention
|
-
Autonomy is given for employees
-
Feel secure on their jobs
-
Help to develop skills and
knowledge
|
|
Quality of work
|
-
Employees feel empowered to
deliver high quality work
-
Lesser the response time enhance
the customer satisfaction
-
Empowerment philosophy enable
company to give innovative service with high quality
-
Empowered employees take personal
pride in their work and perform their job properly
-
Quality of service together with
effectiveness leads to gain competitive advantage
|
All
in all the practical issues of people empowering is also there that management
of organizations hesitates to implement those practices. Other than that the
organizations with flat structures do not tend to empower people and the
decision making process is a solely a management responsibility. But employee
empowerment is one of significant HRM practice which produces satisfied
employees to the organizations where the effectiveness and organization
performance is easily enhanced. As the human resource is most valuable asset of
an organization, satisfied employees make organization more productive and
efficient while enhancing customer satisfaction.
References
Baird, K. & Wang, H., 2010. "Employee
empowerment: extent of adoption and influential factors. Personnel Review,
39.
Breeding, R., 2008.
"Empowerment as a function of contextual self-understanding: The effect
of work interest profiling on career decision, self-efficacy and work locus
of control. Rehabilitation Counseling Bulletin, 51(2).
Chow, I., Low, S.
& Hong, J., 2006. "The impact of development expects empowerment and
organizational support on creating service staff performance. International
Journal of Hospitality Management, 25, pp.478-95.
Dizgah, M.R.,
Mehrdad, G.C., Farzin, F. & Sajjad, S.K., 2011. Employee Empowerment and
Organizational Effectiveness in the Executive Organizations. Journal of
Basic and Applied Scientific Research , 1(9), pp.973-80.
Hitt, M.A., Bierman,
L., Shimizu, K. & Kochar, R., 2001. Direct and moderating effects of
human capital on strategy and performance in professional service firms: A
source based perspective. Academy of Management Journal, 10(1),
pp.13-28.
Randolph, W.A., 2000.
Re-thinking empowerment: why is it so hard to achieve. Organizational
Dynamics, 29(2), pp.94-107.
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