WHAT IS MEANT BY THE TERM EMPOWERMENT? DOES EMPOWERING A SUBORDINATE NECESSARILY MEAN THAT THE PERSON GRANTING POWER IS LOSING POWER? CAN AN ACT OF EMPOWERMENT INCREASE A MANAGER OR LEADER’S POWER?
CONTENTS
1.0 OVERVIEW OF THE ASSIGNMENT 1
1.1 Background 1
1.2 Scope of Discussion 2
1.3 Objectives 2
2.0 EMPOWERMENT IN THE BUSINESS ORGANIZATION 3
2.1 Understanding Empowerment 3
2.2 Steps of Empowerment in the Organization 5
3.0 DOES EMPOWERING A SUBORDINATE LEADS TO THE LOSING OF POWER OF THE PERSON GRANTING THE EMPOWERING POWER? 7
4.0 CAN AN ACT OF EMPOWERMENT LEADS TO INCREASE MANAGER OR LEADER’S CONTROL? 10
5.0 CONCLUSION 12
BIBLIOGRAPHY 14
OVERVIEW OF THE ASSIGNMENT
1 Background
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According to Nesan and Holt (1999), the collective definition of empowerment is “the process of giving employees the authority to take decisions, relating to their work processes and functions, and within the limits provided by management but requiring them to assume full responsibility and risks for their actions”.
Empowerment, however, is not an act or physical incident. It is employees’ perception that they believe in and (actually do) control what happens to their work processes and that they are capable of controlling those processes efficiently and effectively (Holt, 2000). Stephen Covey stated that “an empowered organization is one in which individuals have the knowledge, skill, desire and opportunity to personally succeed in a way that leads to collective organizational success.”
2 Steps of Empowerment in the Organization
Empowerment is a process that increases organizational power by including team working, sharing and solidarity. This relationship is based on trust which is considered as an output of empowerment. Empowerment deals with employees’ cognitive growth which enables them to control their fundamental behaviour towards their work environment. Implementation of empowerment is a holistic reorganization of the way a business thinks and does things (Page,
The purpose of this paper is to create a concept analysis and identify a nursing concept that is within a nursing theory. A concept analysis is a process where concepts and their characteristics are researched and clarified. The eight steps on conducting a concept analysis include selection of a concept used in a nursing theory, identification of the aims or purposes of the analysis, identification of possible use of the selected concept, determination of defining attributes, identification of model cases, identification of antecedents and consequences, and lastly definition of empirical referents (Walker & Avant, 2011). The nursing concept selected for this paper is “empowerment” within the nursing profession. The nursing theory from which the empowerment concept was obtained is Kanter’s Theory on Structural Empowerment. In order to empower someone, an individual needs the tools and resources to feel powered. According to Laschinger, Gilbert, Smith, & Leslie (2010), Kanter defines power as the ability to mobilize information, resources and support to get things done in an organization. The role of management is to provide employees with power tools that empower them to maximize their ability to accomplish their work in a meaningful way. Kanter goes on to describe two primary empowerment structures in organizations, first being the structure of opportunity and second the structure of power. The structure of opportunity relates to job conditions that provide
Empowerment always includes power, as it is absolutely necessary. In the field of social work, empowerment involves the partnership model in which power is developed “with and among”, rather than power “over” consumers. (Cox, et Al 2008) Wetzel and Inglehart demonstrated the Human-Empowerment model in which it is demonstrated empowerment is essential to democracy, because it is only effective if power is vested within the people. Empowerment in nursing stresses that in order for a nurse to empower their patients, they must also surrender power. (Gibson, 1991) Seen in all three disciplines, partnership is a process of enabling people to choose to take control over and make decisions about their lives and critical to empowerment. It is also a process which values all those involved. It is a democratic concept, fighting for the advancement of social justice and freedom of choice. Value of self and others is an important attribute in empowerment, and is essential for application of the concept. It is a very positive, proactive concept that requires effort from all sides of the relationship, whether that is nurse to patient, or teacher to student, or
In many ways, empowerment embodies principles effective managers and leaders have practiced for years. Two new driving forces in business, increased diversity and high-speed change, magnify the need for empowerment. Empowering people is now indispensable for effective personal productivity and maximum team success.
Employee empowerment is defined as giving employees a degree of autonomy and responsibility for decision-making. The benefits are
Maslow's hierarchy of needs provides a foundational theory. It states that all employees have some basic needs that must first be satisfied in order to provide the framework for further motivation and empowerment.
Introduction - “Empowerment” means you can boost someone’s confidence and promote choice among the service users. It is important to have empowerment in a care home as it can help the service users voice their opinion and make important issues known.
Empowerment of individuals is important when planning care as this is the way in which a health or social care worker will encourage an individual to make decisions and take control of their own life. Empowerment is a process that builds a person's self-esteem and confidence in their ability to make decisions. This can also be linked to promotion of
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
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
Introduction: In the given statement "simply put, teams will be the primary building block of performance in the high performance organization of the future. As a result, effective top managers will increasingly worry about both performance and the teams that will help deliver it" (p. 239, The Wisdom of Teams). Authors Jon R. Katzenbach and Douglas K. Smith conversed with several individuals in more than thirty organizations to figure out where and how groups function best and how to upgrade their adequacy. They uncover: The most critical component in group success who exceeds expectations at group authority. Furthermore, why they are infrequently the most senior individuals Why company wide change relies on upon groups. Furthermore, more comprehensive and demonstrated compelling, The Wisdom of Teams is the fantastic first stage of making groups an effective apparatus for accomplishment in today 's worldwide commercial center.
Empowerment and delegation are differentiated in the way that a supervisor must be empowering in relationships with employees by delegating properly to the fullest extent of his or her capabilities. Empowerment is no more than that old standby delegation.
Empowerment is an issue that is imperative to the change process. We touched on the idea of empowerment while exploring power, and politics in the workplace. Empowerment is important in regards to The Heart Of
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 addresses the power inequality inherent in subordination. Food and Beverage manager Michelle Cook is above Executive chef Ritchie Gravy in formal authority but she is subordinate because Ritchie is in a relational position of power over her. Empowerment, therefore, concerns releasing the shackles placed on floor staffs by kitchen staffs who have power in Café Hip. In this case, as management is empowering the
Empowerment goes beyond delegation by enabling individuals and teams to achieve results critical in today’s competitive markets where speed, response and customer satisfaction are the standard. Empowerment is a tool used by leadership to allow a team or an individual freedom and creativity to achieve operative or strategic goals. Final results or milestones are the measurements used to gauge success and the manager’s trust is key when empowering staff. Nevertheless, empowerment emphasizes outcomes where delegation emphasizes compliance to procedure or policy. Looking at the slight differences I feel you can delegate simple daily tasks, but to reach your organizational goals you must empower your staff when you delegate. Empowerment is seen when the staff takes ownership of the delegated task (McConnell, 1995).