Higher Business Management - Empowerment

Empowerment can be defined as delegating responsibility to a subordinate in the organisation.

What are the benefits?

Hopefully by being engaged and involved in decision making, employees will be more motivated and their productivity will be higher. This in turn will create more loyalty among the employees and they will feel as if they have the trust of the firm and that they are making a valuable contribution. Employees will gain new skills through this process and that will inevitably ensure that they are in better shape for career progression and promotion.

And what are the disadvantages?

Not every employee will see delegation and empowerment as a good thing. In fact some might actively seek not having responsibility and the stress that comes with it. Other employees may simply be not up to the job and struggle with the extra responsibility. Finally, competition may result between employees as they vie for their managers approval.

Higher Business Management - Empowerment

"Never tell people how to do things. Tell them what to do and they will surprise you with their ingenuity."

General George Smith Patton, Jr.

Empowerment is a term coined to mean giving more responsibility to employees. It is a form of delegation.

This has both advantages and disadvantages:

Advantages

• decision making should be quicker as it is the employees at the centre of decision making
• staff motivation is increased as they feel valued and important
• staff are better suited for potential promotion
• the workforce become more skilled
• the workforce's problem solving skills increase

Disadvantages

• Managers may not trust staff to make decisions
• it can be expensive to train staff
• not every employee wishes responsibility
• there are financial implications as staff will have to be paid for some extra responsibilities

The harshest critics of Empowerment believe it is more work for less money!
For more reading or information on the theory and concept of Empowerment, look up the works of Management Guru Rosabeth Moss Kanter.