Empowerment

1
Empowerment

• Evaluate the concept of empowerment and its
  application in the workplace.

2
Employee empowerment

• is a process of employee involvement designed
  to provide employees with the opportunity to
  influence and where appropriate, take part in
  decision making on matters which affect them
• (Institute of Personnel Development)

3
Empowerment

• Delegation of authority
• Moving responsibility, control decision making
  authority down the organisation
• Leads to improved service, increased job
  satisfaction, loyalty, concern for others and
  increased staff retention (Miller)
• Taps into realising the talent of front-line
  staff
• Knowledge know how not just with management
• Environment of trust
• Solve problems without needing to consult with
  mgt
• Reduces need for managers managers become
  leaders
• Democratic
• Accountable for actions

4
Empowerment program

• Goal setting
• Define roles
• Coach/facilitator
• Support from above
• Participative climate/culture
• (Iverson)

5
States of Empowerment and Disempowerment (quoted
in Lashley 1997)
6
Task level empowerment

• Authority to make decisions relating to the
  immediate tasks of their jobs eg meeting customer
  needs on the spot
• (Lashley 1997)

7
Non-task empowerment

• Exercise of control over more strategic decisions
  eg deciding how to direct a marketing budget
• (Lashley 1997)

8
Risk taking

• Blame culture
• Risks mistakes

9
Definitions

• Employee involvement
• is a range of processes designed to engage the
  support, understanding and optimum contribution
  of all employees in an organization and their
  commitment to its objectives

McGunnigle
10
Employee Empowerment

• predominantly about encouraging front-line
  staff to solve customer problems on the spot,
  without constant recourse to management approval
  
• (Goldsmith et al,1997p 145)
• management strategies for sharing
  decision-making power
• (Bowen and Lawler, 1992) cited in Lashley,
  1996334

McGunnigle
11
Types of Empowerment

• Structured empowerment
• close control formal sets out clear
  boundaries clear rules passed on through
  training
•   
•    Flexible empowerment
• certain boundaries set expecting employees to
  use their experience/common sense to make
  decisions guidelines rather than rules

McGunnigle
12
Conditions for Successful Implementation of
Schemes

• Good employee relations
• Trust
• Openness
• Participative Style
• Top management Commitment
• Information flow
• Appropriate system
• Resources
• Time, Training, Facilities, Lost Output

McGunnigle
13
How Does Empowerment Affect The Power Balance ?

• Hyman Mason 1995 (cited in Salamon 2000) state
  
• empowerment becomes becomes a euphemism for
  work intensification (p387)
• They suggest that rather than giving power it
  gives responsibility to employees without extra
  reward and employers get a cost saving from
  delayering management

McGunnigle
14
How Does Empowerment Affect The Power Balance ?

• Hollinshead et al (1999) suggest of the
  employment relationship
• developments in the 1980s and 1990s suggest
  that the process only appears to give employees
  greater control and, in reality remains dominated
  and restricted by management (p324)
• Empowerment is still mostly an illusion
• (Argyris 1998 p98)
• management have defined the redistribution of
  power in very narrow termsstrictly within an
  agenda set by management
• (Wilkinson 1998)

15
Question?

• Who in a hospitality organisation should
  participate in
• Task level empowerment, and
• Non-task level empowerment?
• Is empowerment appropriate in the hospitality
  industry?

16
Attributes of the leader

• Dominant leadership style
• Need for control and certainty
• Tolerance for ambiguity and surprise
• Propensity to allocate power
• Patterns of behaviour are hard to break - but
  they can be changed
• What is your dominant style? Does this suit all
  employees and situations?

17
Attributes of the employees

• Capability, interest and acceptance of
  responsibility
• Allocate greater power to employees if
• They have the knowledge and experience
• They have an interest in the issue and
  appreciation of its importance
• They have an understanding of, and agree with,
  the goals of the organisation
• Desire autonomy, responsibility and growth
• Are able to tolerate uncertainty and ambiguity,
  as opposed to need for structure
• Have previous involvement in decision making

18
Attributes of the situation

• Urgency...
• Greater employee involvement is called for when
  information relevant to the problem is widely
  dispersed in the organisation and when employee
  acceptance is critical to the implementation of
  whatever decision is made
• Leaders communication of their involvement in
  the decision making process

19
Miller case Too Much Too Fast