Empowerment as an Unrealistic Concept - Essay Example

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