Employee Empowerment

In the paradigm of management, empowerment is viewed as losing authority and control over people and resources. Generally, people resent being driven, controlled and being seen as part of company equipment. This breeds apathy in employees towards the organisation’s intents in the market place and destroys accountability.

Empowerment is a contested concept which can be defined in many ways depending on peoples understanding and ideas. Adams (2003)

Employee empowerment is defined as giving employees a degree of autonomy and responsibility for decision-making. The benefits are

When it comes to worker empowerment, Chad believes that “all managers should realize no matter what industry, that when you empower your employees and give them greater responsibility you create an environment that gives employees greater job satisfaction. It has been my experience that greater job satisfaction for employees often translates into better production from the employee which is good for the company” (C. D. Cerkoney, Personal Communication, February

How can employees be empowered and its benefit in the work place. pg 192 enabling

The single most important component associated with managing a successful organization, entails the empowerment of employees. People that are empowered are able to make smart decisions without always having to rely on authority, to point them in the right direction. Creating an empowered organization involves interest in the workplace; minimal absence from work, high retention rates; loyal and motivated team members; as well as efficient results and effective communication amongst team members. In the book, The Wonderful Wizard of Oz

Empowerment is an essential characteristic of human service professionals. It is further studied in the journal article, “Job Characteristics and Organizational Predictors of Psychological Empowerment among Paraprofessionals within Human Service Organizations: An Exploratory Study” written by Vicki Wallach and Charles W. Mueller (2006). Having work environments that cultivate an empowered work force is vital. As well as, advocating for effective interactions with clients, co-workers, and staff. Although, human service organizations are faced with service obligations within the restrictions of limited financial resources and increasing job demands, they are still interested in empowerment (Wallach & Mueller, 2006, p. 96).

Empowerment is when individuals are given greater control over decisions and actions that will affect their health. Empowerment is important when working in partnership within health and social care settings, as it can allow honest relationships to develop between service users and professionals. Hence without empowerment, partnership working is not effective or

Structural empowerment Purdy et al. state “is the notion that removes conditions that foster dependence and powerlessness within an organization that will result in a positive employee behavior and improve performance” (Effects of work environments on nurse and patient outcomes) which would cause a better working environment to work in. That being said I agree that being able to feel as you have power as a nurse to be able to be able to say things and control a little of how you work makes a nurse feel great about themselves as if they don’t just have to watch and write down all that the patient does or what the doctor say, it is like they actually have a voice in the matter. “Psychological empowerment is defined as the psychological state employees must experience for empowering interventions to be successful” (Smith Lesley, Andrusyszyn and Laschinger Effects of workplace incivility and empowerment on newly graduated nurses_ organizational commitment). I would have to agree because if you have a good mind set about things even if it the worst thing in the world it will not seem like it is. Having a good mind set conquers all things. Smith et al. say that “the empowering interventions are as followed meaning, confidence, autonomy and impact” (Smith, Andrusyszyn and Laschinger Effects of workplace incivility and empowerment on newly graduated nurses_ organizational commitment). It is so true the mind if you really think of it is made up of these things, and these are the things that get most people through the day. For example having confidence in your work will make you feel as if you can do anything at work as long as it is legal and you are able to do. I would say that they are on to something and that something would be that if you have empowering employees the nurses work environment would not be so difficult to do with and there would be a more nurses willing to work and the work environment would become like home

In many companies, operational employees also need information to handle tasks and make decisions that were assigned to supervisors. This trend, called empowerment, gives employees more

284). Before an employee can begin to feel empowered, an open and safe environment must already be established. Employees must be given the freedom to make accountable decisions and encouragement to make these decisions. Some types of encouragement that can be provided to the employees are recognition, assured feedback, and guidance/support (Yoder-Wise, 2015). Empowered staff strive to obtain goals and provide quality service.

Empowerment can be beneficial in helping people realize their full potential and be inspired to act on their confidence. Empowerment gives a person decision making power and ultimate control over their circumstance. It can change other’s perspective on one’s competency and capability to act. Empowerment may not always be a good thing, because it can bring forth impulsive, and later regrettable, actions. Nevertheless, empowerment can put a person in an almost euphoric state of mind, where they have the courage to do the things that are important to them.

Empowerment is a simple idea, but often misunderstood or misused by many. "It means granting latitude of action for how the work is done to those who do the work.” (R.E Sibson, Strategic Planning for Human Resources Management). This paper will define, describe and discuss Employee Empowerment used in today’s team based organizations. The paper looks at how this concept affects the company's diverse workforce. I will discuss the potential impact of these practices and the performance.

Empowerment is an important tool for progression and FWD needs to exercise it often when expecting employees to work together towards a global objective. Empowerment can be defined as providing employees the chance to exercise autonomy in making decisions (Vogt, 1997), which is rarely implemented at FWD.

With a culture of empowerment established, organizational success can be improved trough the innovative thoughts and actions of personnel.