20-09-2017, 01:13 PM
The term empowerment means giving employees power and authority to make decisions on their own. When people are allowed to work with minimal interference from their superiors and are given the authority and responsibility to make decisions, they are said to be empowered. Employees can be empowered by ensuring their participation in decision making. Participation is defined as the mental and emotional involvement of people in the group's activities, which encourages them to take responsibility and contribute to the achievement of the group's goals.
Participation proves to be advantageous to the organization in many ways. It improves the quality and quantity of production. It also improves employee motivation levels, decreases attrition rate and absenteeism, and improves communication within the organization. Other less tangible benefits are fewer conflicts, lower stress levels, greater commitment to goals, and less resistance to change. Certain prerequisites are essential for participation; for example, adequate time must be allowed for participation and the potential benefits of participation must be greater than the costs involved. To participate effectively, employees must also have relevant skills and abilities, and must be interested in that particular area of work. Participants should be able to exchange their ideas with each other and should not perceive the process as a threat to their position or status. The degree of participation also depends on the area of freedom of work for that particular department. There are many programs that can be used to encourage employee participation. Some programs involve employees only to a modest extent, while other programs require a substantial amount of employee participation.
The most common participation programs are advisory management, suggestion programs, quality and TQM circles, middle management committees, industrial democracy and self-management teams. One or more of these programs can be used within the same organization. Advisory management refers to the practice of managers to obtain feedback and input from employees on certain decision-making issues.
The suggestion programs are formal plans developed by the organization that invite employees to give suggestions for improvement at work. Quality circles are voluntary groups, made up of employees trained in statistical techniques and problem-solving skills. They try to generate ideas to improve the working conditions and productivity of the organization. The TQM approach is a continuous effort to involve all employees of an organization in the search for new ways to improve their operations. This approach is to train employees in statistical methods and give them the opportunity to develop a broad problem-solving and group-decision-making capacity. Middle management committees provide junior managers with the opportunity to understand a particular problem and recommend solutions for it. The board of junior directors carefully studies and analyzes the problem and presents its recommendations to senior management. Industrial democracy is a participation program in which the participation of workers at various levels is mandatory by the government, especially for those decisions that affect workers.
Self-management teams engage in broad group discussions and use the group's ideas and influence to make decisions. Participation has some limitations. Due to the complex technology and organizational structure of the current job configuration, some people may have difficulty participating in different and varied organizational issues. Problems can also arise when employees make suggestions in areas where they are not really competent.
Employees can expect consultation on each issue, regardless of whether they have the experience or not, and when they are not consulted, may feel resentful. Some superiors may also have difficulty relating to their subordinates, as they may feel that their traditional authority is threatened. They may feel uncomfortable in their roles as coaches and facilitators. Another serious drawback of participation is that it could be used to manipulate employees.
Participation proves to be advantageous to the organization in many ways. It improves the quality and quantity of production. It also improves employee motivation levels, decreases attrition rate and absenteeism, and improves communication within the organization. Other less tangible benefits are fewer conflicts, lower stress levels, greater commitment to goals, and less resistance to change. Certain prerequisites are essential for participation; for example, adequate time must be allowed for participation and the potential benefits of participation must be greater than the costs involved. To participate effectively, employees must also have relevant skills and abilities, and must be interested in that particular area of work. Participants should be able to exchange their ideas with each other and should not perceive the process as a threat to their position or status. The degree of participation also depends on the area of freedom of work for that particular department. There are many programs that can be used to encourage employee participation. Some programs involve employees only to a modest extent, while other programs require a substantial amount of employee participation.
The most common participation programs are advisory management, suggestion programs, quality and TQM circles, middle management committees, industrial democracy and self-management teams. One or more of these programs can be used within the same organization. Advisory management refers to the practice of managers to obtain feedback and input from employees on certain decision-making issues.
The suggestion programs are formal plans developed by the organization that invite employees to give suggestions for improvement at work. Quality circles are voluntary groups, made up of employees trained in statistical techniques and problem-solving skills. They try to generate ideas to improve the working conditions and productivity of the organization. The TQM approach is a continuous effort to involve all employees of an organization in the search for new ways to improve their operations. This approach is to train employees in statistical methods and give them the opportunity to develop a broad problem-solving and group-decision-making capacity. Middle management committees provide junior managers with the opportunity to understand a particular problem and recommend solutions for it. The board of junior directors carefully studies and analyzes the problem and presents its recommendations to senior management. Industrial democracy is a participation program in which the participation of workers at various levels is mandatory by the government, especially for those decisions that affect workers.
Self-management teams engage in broad group discussions and use the group's ideas and influence to make decisions. Participation has some limitations. Due to the complex technology and organizational structure of the current job configuration, some people may have difficulty participating in different and varied organizational issues. Problems can also arise when employees make suggestions in areas where they are not really competent.
Employees can expect consultation on each issue, regardless of whether they have the experience or not, and when they are not consulted, may feel resentful. Some superiors may also have difficulty relating to their subordinates, as they may feel that their traditional authority is threatened. They may feel uncomfortable in their roles as coaches and facilitators. Another serious drawback of participation is that it could be used to manipulate employees.