Is empowerment a valuable tool for increasing efficiency and effectiveness in todays organisations - Essay Example

Download file to see previous pages The researcher states that in the context of organizational and industrial psychology, employee empowerment refers to the enhancement of employee involvement of autonomy with an aim to increase their ability to make decisions. This helps the organizations to achieve its interests and agenda with ease and effectiveness. It entails giving the employees the necessary guideline and tools to help them acquire autonomy in decision making. This empowerment entails the responsibility and accountability of the employees to make decisions within the acceptable parameters. This practice is then entrenched in the organizational culture. In modern organizations, an empowered and motivated workforce is seen as essential to the profitability of an organization. Employee empowerment has been found to increase workers commitment to the organizational policies and goals. Employee empowerment can be viewed from two perspectives: the psychological perspective and the empowerment climate which is known to focus on the employee working environment. Psychological empowerment of employees focuses on the strength of the mental capacity of employees at the level of an individual. The empowerment climate tends to place emphasis on the employee working environment. The idea of using structures, practices, and employees in an organization to support employees was introduced by Scott and his friends. He argued that it is essential to create a conducive, working environment for employees for them to feel free to participate in the decision-making process and the goals of the organization. It refers to the work atmosphere and environment directly. According to Blanchard and Randolph, there are three principal practices that are associated with the working environment and the empowerment climate of employees. They include the team accountability, autonomy through boundaries and sharing of information. Organizational climate practices deal with individual behaviors and attitudes. ...Download file to see next pagesRead More