Quality Management for Organizational Excellence Lecture/Presentation Notes By: Dr. David L. Goetsch and Stanley Davis Based on the book Quality Management for Organizational Excellence (Sixth Edition)

Eight: Employee Empowerment MAJOR TOPICS Employee Empowerment Defined Rationale for Empowerment Inhibitors of Empowerment Management’s Role in Empowerment Implementing Empowerment How to Recognize Empowered Employees Beyond Empowerment to Enlistment

Eight: Employee Empowerment (Continued) Empowerment means engaging employees in the thinking processes of an organization in ways that matter, involvement means having input. Empowerment means having input that is heard and used, and it means giving employees ownership of their jobs. Empowerment requires a change in organizational culture, but it does not mean that managers abdicate their responsibility or authority.

Eight: Employee Empowerment (Continued) The rationale for empowerment is that it is the best way to increase creative thinking and initiative on the part of employees. This, in turn, is an excellent way to enhance an organization’s competitiveness. Another aspect of the rationale for empowerment is that it can be an outstanding motivator. The primary inhibitor of empowerment is resistance to change. Resistance may come from employees, unions, and management. Management-related inhibitors exclude insecurity, personal values, ego, management training, personality characteristics, exclusion, organizational structure, and management practices.

Eight: Employee Empowerment (Continued) Management’s role in empowerment is best described as commitment, leadership, and facilitation. The kinds of support managers can provide include having a supportive attitude, role modeling, training, facilitating, employing MBWA, taking quick action on recommendations, and recognizing the accomplishments of employees. The implementation of empowerment has four broad steps: creating a supportive environment; targeting and overcoming inhibitors; putting the vehicles in place; and assessing, adjusting, and improving. Vehicles include brainstorming, nominal group technique, quality circles, suggestion boxes, and walking and talking.

Eight: Employee Empowerment (Continued) A workforce that is ready for empowerment is accustomed to critical thinking, understands the decision-making process, and knows where it fits into the big picture. Enlistment is empowerment in which ownership is not just allowed, but expected.