Is Empowerment a Valuable Tool for Increasing Efficiency and Effectiveness in Todays Organisations - Assignment Example

Empowerment towards effectiveness and efficiency in today’s organizations Name of the Student: Name of the Instructor: Name of the course: Code of the course: Submission date: Is empowerment a valuable tool for increasing efficiency and effectiveness in today’s organizations? Introduction It is an apparent fact that the concept of empowerment has evolved into becoming core in the organizational set-up in the recent decades (Seibert et. al, 2004). Different scholars in diverse fields of academia, for instance, Elloy, (2012) have attributed this development to various factors, central to them being the heightened competition at the global level as well as changes in technology which have necessitated different organizations to institute substantial changes in the mechanisms under which they undertake the management of their employees. Against this backdrop, this paper will focus on the discourse on whether empowerment is a valuable tool for increasing efficiency and effectiveness in today’s organizations. Towards this end, this paper will argue that empowerment of the employees is an integral process towards attainment of elevated effectiveness and efficiency at the organizational level based on the fundamental role it plays in the achievement of these objectives in terms of impacting on the level of commitment and motivation of the employees, fostering innovation and creativity in the organization, equipping the employees to effectively respond to crisis confronting the organization as well as developing a positive organizational culture in the organization among other paramount contributions. Different sources will be used in this analysis, primary to them being academic sources like journals. At the end, this paper will point to the fact that it is plausible for different organizations to make extensive efforts to empower their employees which will be fundamental in informing both their short and long-term effectiveness and efficiency. It is imperative to first get an understanding into the definition of the concept of empowerment in order to have a comprehensive insight into the scope of this analysis. Definition of concept The concept of empowerment has received extensive interpretations by different scholars, but primarily in two dimensions. Firstly, empowerment has been perceived as a relational construct whereby it relates to the power of an individual or a collective over the co-workers, and the eventual transmission of such control and power from the personnel in the management echelons to the employee who has less authority in the decision making framework (Elloy, 2012). On the other hand, empowerment from the employees’ perspective has been viewed as a construct which comprises of cognitions which are necessary for the employees to deem themselves as empowered, which is generically been viewed as psychological empowerment (Elloy, 2012). Nonetheless, most contemporary researchers have accepted the notion by Thomas and Velthouse (cited in Elloy, 2012) that empowerment encompasses inherent task motivation and is made manifest through four primary cognitions namely competence, impact, sense of meaning as well as self-determination. Empowerment has been perceived as being integral, and being a formidable tool towards the attainment of effectiveness and efficiency in contemporary organizations based on its impact on different organizational aspects expounded in the subsequent sections. Commitment and motivation According to Sahoo et. al (2010), the empowerment of the employees in different organizations which is propelled by initiative which are founded on the principles of participative management and industrial democracy has been found to have a robust linkage between the participation of the employees with motivation and performance, job satisfaction, organizational achievement and the commitment of individuals. In this regard, the devolution of power from the top management to individual employees is chief in creating a sense of responsibility among the employees in terms of accomplishing various tasks within the organization. This is fundamental in helping the employees to explore diverse mechanisms which will enhance the performance both at the individual and departmental level. This is whereby if employees are given the power to implement different programs which are formulated through the incorporation of their input will ensure that they are greatly committed towards comprehensively executing them which has positive impacts on increasing the level of effectiveness and efficiency in the wider organization. Similarly, the participation of employees in the decision making process makes them feel that their input is valued in the organization which will increase their morale and motivation in achieving their allocated tasks which were collectively agreed upon with the management. In this regard, they will be ready to constantly communicate with the management and engage in collective problem solving. This fact is supported by Nijhof, Jong and Beukhof (1998) who inferred that the participation of the employees enhances the level of communication and cooperation among members of a particular organization which makes positive contributions towards team building. Thus, empowerment of the employees can be perceived as being key in increasing the level of effectiveness and efficiency in an organization. The following shows the correlation between strategic empowerment of the employees in an organization with their commitment. Figure 1.0: Relationship between strategic empowerment and commitment Source: Sahoo et. al (2010) Innovation and creativity Diverse literature has linked increased empowerment of the employees to elevation of innovation and creativity in an organization. This is evidenced by Elloy (2012) who cited different scholars like Spreitzer (1995), Conger and Kanungo (1988) and Kanter (1989) all of whom concurred that the empowerment of the employees is a fundamental initiative which is integral in an organization towards ensuring that there is enhanced innovation and creativity in an organization, both of which are key components towards the effectiveness of any particular organization. Similarly, Sahoo et. al (2010) determined that empowered employees are bound to report a higher level of job satisfaction and commitment but this trend is also integral in fostering heightened innovation and creativity among the employees (Carter, 2009). Thus, it is apparent that the empowerment initiatives at the organizational level are fundamental in cultivating a high level of creativity and innovation among the employees. It is also imperative to note that both creativity and innovation are key in increasing the level of efficiency and effectiveness in any organization based on several factors. Firstly, innovation ensures that new production or service delivery models are developed by the employees which are central in elevating the level of efficiency in an organization, for instance, more advanced communication models, mechanisms of getting feedback from the consumers, production methods and marketing channels among others. All these are central in increasing the level of efficiency at the organizational level as well as placing the organization in a favorable niche in a highly competitive market. This is fundamental in the achievement of sustained competitive advantage in the market. On the other hand, innovation and creativity result in development of higher quality products by an organization which are tailored towards meeting the dynamic consumer needs in the market. Thus, the increased empowerment of the employees which in turn translates to increased creativity and innovation results in production of products endowed with higher quality which is key in increasing the effectiveness of any institution in meeting the demands of the consumers in the highly differentiated market. Thus, it is plausible to argue that empowerment of the employees which results in elevated creativity and innovation among the employees plays a large part in cultivating effectiveness and efficiency in an organization. Organizational culture In a generic sense, organizational culture can be perceived as a set of norms, principles, beliefs and behavioral manner at the organizational level, a combination of which give an organization a distinct character (Willcoxson & Millet, 2000). Diverse researchers in business strategy have asserted that a strong organizational culture is a robust source of increased effectiveness and efficiency in an organization, either private or public. Thus, the empowerment of the employees in any organization in regard to the devolution of power from the managerial level to the individuals in the lower echelons of management has been found to be critical in the process of gradual development of an organizational culture based on trust, openness, confidence as well as transparency (Sahoo et. al, 2010). In addition, the process of empowering the employees gradually culminates in the establishment of some sense of departmental autonomy whereby every departmental head feels responsible for the performance of their departments and employees and thus works towards forging a closer interpersonal relationship with their employees. They will thus work towards common objectives based on the fact that the employees are involved in the decision making process which will result in an organizational culture of trust, interdependence and common sense of purpose, all of which are integral to the performance of the overall organization. In addition, empowerment of the employees entails their participation in the decision making process. In this regard, Yukr and Becker (2006) determined that the participation of the employees in these processes will eventually result to the establishment of a positive organizational culture characterized by strong values which are founded on reward and recognition of new ideas, information sharing as well as fair and constructive judgment of ideas. The gradual development of this culture at the organizational level is critical towards the long-term effectiveness of the organization. Crisis management It is imperative to note at this point that the major characteristics of crises in disregard of their type or form are qualities like shortage of information, absence of swift solutions to problems, surprise, loss of control and sometimes spread of panic in an organization (Areiqat & Zamil, 2011). There is a close linkage between the level of empowerment and the way the entire organization is in a capacity to deal with a certain crisis confronting it, for instance, the recent global financial slump in 2008. Firstly, research has revealed that empowered employees are usually in a position to detect a looming crisis and give an early warning to the management which is critical in strategizing for an early intervention before this crisis gets out of hand. Thus, empowered employees are bound to recognize changing trends in the organization among other unusual occurrences and give early warnings which are key in managing these events (Areiqat & Zamil, 2011).This in turns results to long-term effectiveness and efficiency of an organization amid diverse dynamics and market volatility. On the other hand, based on the fact that empowerment of the employees entails their constant exposure to decision making and problem solving processes, the occurrence of a crisis event in absentia of the overall manager or departmental head will result in a situation whereby the employees will be able to act swiftly and avert the possible detrimental impacts of this crisis in terms of loss of revenue, breakdown in production and consumer dissatisfaction among other effects which can be diabolical to both the short and long-term effectiveness of the entire organization. In addition, Areiqat & Zamil (2011) determined that empowerment of the employees is critical in the sound planning and management of a crisis based on the fact that it facilitates in directing the inclination of workers towards inventive thinking into solving the crisis and also enables them to be in a position to act with sobrietywhile in difficult situations. This is also chief in contributing towards the effectiveness and efficiency of the organization based on the fact that the empowered employees will be in a position to come up with inventive solutions to surmount a certain challenge which is integral in the short and long-term efficiency at the organizational set-up. Conclusion From the preceding discourse it is apparent that empowerment has evolved to become central in many organizations in the contemporary world. This paper has argued that empowerment is a valuable tool for increasing efficiency and effectiveness in today’s organizations. This is based on the impact of empowerment in increasing the commitment and motivation of the human resource, fostering creativity and innovation in the organization, forging a positive organizational culture as well as being integral in crisis management processes in different organizations. It is thus plausible for different organizations to make extensive efforts to empower their employees which will be fundamental in informing both their short and long-term effectiveness and efficiency. References Areiqat, A.Y. & Zamil, A.M. (2011). The Role of Empowerment in Crisis Management in Business Organizations. Asian Journal of Business Management, 3(3), 188-195. Carter, J.D. (2009). Managers Empowering Employees. American Journal ofEconomics and Business Administration, 1(2), 39-44. Elloy, D. (2012). Effects of Ability Utilization, Job Influence andOrganization Commitment on Employee Empowerment:An Empirical Study. International Journal of Management, 29(2), 627-632. Nijhof, W.J., Jong, M.J. &Beukhof, G. (1998). Employee Commitment in Changing Organizations: An Exploration. Journal of European IndustrialTraining, 22(6), 243-248. Sahoo, C.K. et. al (2010). Employee empowerment and individual commitment: Ananalysis from integrative review of research. Employment Relations Record, 10(1), 40-56 Seibert, S.E. et. al (2004).Taking empowerment to the next level:A multiple-level model of empowerment,performance, and satisfaction. Academy of Management Journal, 47 (3), 332–349. Willcoxson, L. & Millet, B. (2000). The Management of Organizational Culture. Australian Journal of Management & Organisational Behaviour, 3(2), 91-99 Yukr, G.A. & Becker, W.S. (2006). Effective Empowerment in Organizations. Organization Management Journal, 3(3), 210-231. Read More