A520.5.3.RB_HansardCarey

A520.5.3.RB

There are many different definitions of empowerment. The textbook defines empowerment as, “providing freedom for people to do successfully what they want to do, rather than getting them to do what you want them to do”.  (p. 443) The empowerment article also mentions that power is an important component of empowerment and that increasing employees’ power is increasing the probability that they will  “produce the results that they want for themselves”.  (p. 74) In this aspect, the text and the article have similar viewpoints.

Empowerment, explains the authors of the text, allow employees to feel both confident and competent. This allows for the organization the employee works for to be stronger and employees to be more flexible and autonomous. Empowering employees is a tricky process that requires several steps, according to the text, and not simply declaring one day that the employees are empowered. 9 steps are referenced in the text. They are: 1. Articulating a clear vision and goals. Employees need to understand exactly what they are responsible for accomplishing.  2.  Fostering personal mastery experiences. Employees need to feel like they can be successful at tasks within the organization. 3. Modeling. Managers should either exhibit a desired behavior for the employee or pair him/her with someone who does. 4. Providing Support. Managers must be sure to offer encouragement to employees both verbally and by doing things like recognizing them publicly for their accomplishments. 5. Emotional arousal.  Ease employees’ fears and replace negativity with positive feelings in the workplace. 6. Providing information. Being sure that the employee has information that is strategic within the organization helps him feel empowered. 7. Providing resources. Managers should be sure that the employee has the equipment necessary to achieve the desired goals. This includes everything from receiving the proper training to having basic supplies and technology. 8. Connecting to outcomes. Managers must make sure that employees see the process through from beginning to end. It is important they see the end result of their hard work. 9. Creating confidence. Employees should feel that the manger and the organization are trustworthy.

In the article “Empowerment: Rejuvenating a potent idea”, Russ Forrester suggests that companies’ attempts to empower their employees fail for many reasons. These include many aspects. The first is moving too fast toward empowerment and leaving many employees unsure of how to handle their new power and managers unsure about what to do with newfound lack of power. Organizations also expect that the employee will be intrinsically motivated to do the job and do not take into account that people do things for different reasons. The next reason that attempts to empower employees fail  is if that they assume that everyone and every decision that has to be made is equal.  Some people do not want power within the organization and feel uncomfortable with it. In addition, organizations tend to embrace a piecemeal approach to empowerment and leave out many of the important factors necessary for success. Finally, accountability is not taken into consideration. Who is going to be responsible of something goes wrong?

The author has some of the same ideas on how to successfully empower employees as the textbook does.  Managers should recognize that some individuals are innately more powerful than others.  Like the text, Forrester suggests investing in training the employees and providing information about the organization that is not know by everyone. The article also suggests that the manager give the employee more control over the allocation of resources. Another commonality is pairing the employee with a successful mentor. The article goes one step further by also suggesting that relationships be built with the customers. It is also imperative that organizations recognize that employees are different and do not all want the same level of power within the organization.  Organizations should focus on a strategy that doesn’t take all of the control away from the manager. This involves providing the employee with what if scenarios, allowing power to trickle down over time, and delegating low-risk assignments to the employee first.

I think that the article was more interesting than the text because it pointed out many of the reasons that attempts to empower employees fail. It is important to understand why failure occurs so that a solution can be determined and an effective solution can be implemented. Both the text and the article share some of the same opinions about how to successfully empower employees within an organization.