StudentShare
Contact Us
Sign In / Sign Up for FREE
Search
Go to advanced search...
Free

Empowerment as an Unrealistic Concept - Essay Example

Cite this document
Summary
The paper "Empowerment as an Unrealistic Concept" discusses the disadvantages and advantages of empowerment by applying appropriate theories and practices of organizational motivation. Empowerment is a controversial matter as there are many advantages and disadvantages relating to empowerment. …
Download full paper File format: .doc, available for editing
GRAB THE BEST PAPER91.1% of users find it useful
Empowerment as an Unrealistic Concept
Read Text Preview

Extract of sample "Empowerment as an Unrealistic Concept"

Running Head: EMPOWERMENT EMPOWERMENT IS AN UNREALISTIC CONCEPT By Empowerment Is an Unrealistic Concept According to the Business Dictionary, empowerment entails different management practices that involve sharing information and rewarding employees. These practices help guide employees to take initiative to solve problems so that they can provide better services and performance within the organisation (On Safe Lines Consultancy, n.d., p. 2). Empowerment relates to the idea of giving employees useful resources and authority, as well as making them accountable for their actions. Empowerment is quite a controversial matter as there are many advantages and disadvantages relating to empowerment. The following paper critically discusses the disadvantages and advantages of empowerment by applying appropriate theories and practices of organisational motivation. Empowerment has grown popular amongst various management teams across the world (Robbins et al., 2011, p. 573). This widespread acknowledgement of its positive impacts on organisational output led to the development of a new management style. However, it is worth noting that empowerment is more than delegation as others see empowerment as an opportunity to reduce their workload. Employee empowerment is a common and often effective management strategy (On Safe Lines Consultancy, n.d., p. 6). Employee management gives employees a sense of autonomy and responsibility for decisions they make. Independence and responsibility should increase organizational responsiveness to issues as well as increase productivity. Employee empowerment also creates greater commitment towards the company’s goals since employees can take responsibility and make decisions on behalf of management. However, various factors an organisation can consider during empowerment include coordination throughout the organisation (On Safe Lines Consultancy, n.d., p. 4). Coordination largely calls for decentralized decisions and removal of approval from top management. The relationship between the employee and manager may become tenser as the boundaries of authority can be blurred at times. Trust is essential for empowerment to occur in an organisation (On Safe Lines Consultancy, n.d., p. 2). Management must develop a positive and productive environment that encourages employees to use their common sense and individual judgements. As a result, management strengthens the bond between managers and employees and makes the organisation more productive (Robbins et al., 2011, p. 573). In the process, a strengthened manager-employee bond results in an increase in earnings growth due to employee input. It is crucial for employees to remain satisfied at all times as they would be more confident in the company and their roles in it (Robbins et al., 2011, p. 573). Satisfaction helps managers form workgroups and work together with subordinates to enhance productivity. Another reason the employees do well in the organisation is because they enjoy what they are doing and have been given autonomy (On Safe Lines Consultancy, n.d., p. 4). Empowering the employees can help maintain a healthy workforce that sets themselves goals to work towards rather than having an increased amount of tasks as this could lead to an unsatisfied workforce. Motivation Theory Practices Practicing motivational theories also reveals the unrealistic nature of empowerment in organisations (On Safe Lines Consultancy, n.d., p. 5). Motivational theory practices by renowned organisational behaviourists Abraham Maslow, Frederick Winslow Taylor, Elton Mayo, and Frederick Herzberg. According to Maslow, only the five basic needs motivate human beings to work. This theory allowed Maslow to create a pyramid that showed how these needs, hierarchy of needs, affected employee motivation (Robbins et al., 2011, p. 573). An example of a modern organisation that employs the Maslow theory of motivational practice is international grocery and overall products retailer Tesco. Tesco uses the hierarchy of needs to motivate its staff members to retain their positions at the organisation (Grout & Fisher, 2011, p. 147). Maslow further argued that accomplishing one level in his pyramid motivates the organisation to accomplish the next one. Taylor developed another motivation practice in 1856 arguing that income is the main motivator for employees (Grout & Fisher, 2011, p. 145). Taylor’s Theory of Scientific Management contended that employees do not characteristically take pleasure in work and require immediate supervision and management. As a result, managers ought to break down production into a set of small tasks (On Safe Lines Consultancy, n.d., p. 3). Consequently, managers should give their staff members proper training and equipment they need to work as proficiently as possible. Organisations that use Taylor motivational theory largely offer salaries without any benefits for nearly all employees (Robbins et al., 2011, p. 574). For instance, companies that offer sales and use salespeople to advertise and sell their products or services will largely employ Taylor’s model of employee motivation. Advantages of Empowerment The concept of empowerment can be advantageous to an organization and its members in several ways. First, empowerment can result in improved organizational awareness of problems and challenges. In the process, such awareness raises organizational output (Rubin & Babbie, 2012, p. 147). Secondly, empowerment can result in a more profound level of worker devotion to organizational objectives and mission. This advantage largely occurs because of workers’ abilities to take some level of ownership in the choices made towards goal accomplishment. The third advantage is the relief of management tension (Rubin & Babbie, 2012, p. 147). Empowerment fosters the shift of authority from managers to employees. This way, management allows employees to tackle the operations aspect of business. Another advantage of empowerment is developing a more skilled workforce (On Safe Lines Consultancy, n.d., p. 7). The fifth advantage is the reduction of delays and loss of time as decisions would be made quicker if the leader isn’t available. Sixthly, having a more productive and motivated workforce is advantage of employee empowerment (On Safe Lines Consultancy, n.d., p. 7). Disadvantages of Empowerment Empowerment too can be disadvantageous to an organization. First, empowerment can result in lower work proficiency since decisions might not be even and adjusted to suit organizational objectives (Robbins et al., 2011, p. 573). Second, empowerment can be problematic for coordination within the organization since decisions are no longer centralized and no top management. The third disadvantage is the formation of more tense manager and worker relationships due to the distortion of authority limits (Rubin & Babbie, 2012, p. 146). Empowerment can also make staff members unproductive as it forms more profound controls over workers. For instance, using workgroups to empower employees can bring about peer pressure, which in turn causes unproductivity (Grout & Fisher, 2011, p. 147). Another disadvantage is counter-productivity caused by attempts at employee empowerment. These attempts create greater authorities over employees (Rubin & Babbie, 2012, p. 147). For example, empowering employees through use of teams may create peer pressure. Some employees become too confident at work, which can lead to arrogance. Overconfidence causes conflicts between employees and managers and slowly leads to reduced productivity. In conclusion, empowerment is all about trying to raise the chances of accomplishing optimum employee productivity. This motive is philosophically and practically different from the conventional hierarchical organizations that can be fixed strongly on permanent cultures. These cultures often try to lower the risk of output and employee failure. Management should not treat empowerment like a flawless product because it has disadvantages. During such instances, conventional management skills of guidance and supervision will be necessary. References Grout, J and Fisher, L 2011, What You Need to Know about Leadership, John Wiley & Sons, New York, NY. On Safe Lines Consultancy, n.d. Empowerment, Management & Organizational Behavior. [online] Available at [Accessed on 16 December 2014]. Robbins, S, Bergman, R, Stagg, I, and Coulter, M 2011, Management, Sydney, Pearson Higher Education AU. Rubin, A and Babbie, E 2012, Brooks/Cole Empowerment Series: Essential Research Methods for Social Work, Cengage Learning, Los Angeles, CA. Read More
Cite this document
  • APA
  • MLA
  • CHICAGO
(“Empowerment is an unrealistic concept. Discuss Essay”, n.d.)
Empowerment is an unrealistic concept. Discuss Essay. Retrieved from https://studentshare.org/management/1672700-empowerment-is-an-unrealistic-concept-discuss
(Empowerment Is an Unrealistic Concept. Discuss Essay)
Empowerment Is an Unrealistic Concept. Discuss Essay. https://studentshare.org/management/1672700-empowerment-is-an-unrealistic-concept-discuss.
“Empowerment Is an Unrealistic Concept. Discuss Essay”, n.d. https://studentshare.org/management/1672700-empowerment-is-an-unrealistic-concept-discuss.
  • Cited: 0 times

CHECK THESE SAMPLES OF Empowerment as an Unrealistic Concept

Evaluation methods for the proposed IAMS framework, model, and system

Methods of Evaluating Expert and User Opinions empowerment Evaluation Method An empowerment evaluation method would focus on helping a particular group of stakeholders, either clients seeking service through the IAMS or providers of the IAMS services.... In addition, empowerment method takes into consideration feedback from different stakeholders (Fetterman and Wandersman, 2007).... Expert evaluation with empowerment method therefore gives evaluators more....
11 Pages (2750 words) Thesis

Managing & Leading Change

The current case analysis is undertaken following the organizational development (OD) Model for Change, as proposed and modified by Senior and Hollings respectively.... In accordance with the model, there will be five major aspects of the paper.... hellip; According to the discussion for the sake of clarity and ensuring that the presentation is orderly, only the first three stages are going to be considered....
13 Pages (3250 words) Essay

Impact of Empowerment and Trust on Effective Organizational Development

Lawler (1994) referred to employee empowerment as one of the most important tenets of TQM.... This paper "Impact of empowerment and Trust on Effective Organizational Development" deals with the long-term survival of many manufacturing and service organizations that is considered to be inextricably linked to the ability to produce goods and services that meet customers' quality expectations.... A positive relationship between leadership and commitment and employee empowerment (leading to job satisfaction) with customer satisfaction is assumed....
8 Pages (2000 words) Research Paper

Strategy Intent

The concept of “strategic intent” was propounded by Hamel and Prahalad in 1989, which produced a rippled effect in the galleries of corporate and strategic management.... The over-ambition of companies to succeed in all departments of business made them obsessed with the concept of global leadership irrespective of their capabilities; Hamel and Prahalad had given a different name to this desire of corporations to lead worldwide as “strategic intent”....
6 Pages (1500 words) Essay

Empowerment is an unrealistic concept

This study argues that the empowerment is an unrealistic concept and explores the reasons companies have not fully implemented the employee empowerment to enjoy the perceived advantages.... Employee empowerment involves conscious policy decision to develop workforces and engage them in more decision-making practices (Luttrell, Quiroz & Bird, 2007, p....
8 Pages (2000 words) Essay

Decision making and problem solving concepts and principles

The principles and concepts assist managers in making the day to day decisions.... Problem solving thus, involves making the concepts and principles explicit (Metcalfe, 2014)....
4 Pages (1000 words) Research Paper

The Reality and Rhetoric of Empowerment

This paper "The Reality and Rhetoric of Empowerment" discusses employee empowerment as certainly not a new idea since more than a decade ago, Beard (1993) had become jaded enough with the concept to say that empowerment is one of the concepts which some people take as a fad.... At the same time, there are other ideas that support the concept such as the process of Total Quality Management, the concept of employee retention/satisfaction as well as reward management and increased motivation or the culture of the company....
7 Pages (1750 words) Literature review

Impact of Empowerment and Trust on Effective Organizational Development

Lawler (1994) referred to employee empowerment as one of the most important tenets of TQM.... This paper "Impact of empowerment and Trust on Effective Organizational Development" focuses on the fact that today the long-term survival of many manufacturing and service organizations is considered to be inextricably linked to the ability of these organizations to produce goods.... nbsp;… Thomas and Velthouse (1990) define empowerment "as intrinsic task motivation that manifests itself in four cognitions reflecting an individual's orientation to his or her work roles....
8 Pages (2000 words) Research Proposal
sponsored ads
We use cookies to create the best experience for you. Keep on browsing if you are OK with that, or find out how to manage cookies.
Contact Us