*Empowerment and Motivation

EmpowermentEmpowerment giving people authority to do whatever is necessary to satisfy customers, and trusting employees to make the right choices without waiting for management approval.A sincere belief and trust in people.

Examples of EmpowermentManaging work as individuals or teamsMaking traditional managerial business decisionsGoing outside of job descriptions to help customersTaking risks for the good of the organization even at a short-term cost

Management Action Needed for Empowerment Identify and change organizational conditions that make people powerless, andincrease peoples confidence that their efforts to accomplish something important will be successful.

Theoretical Basis for Empowerment Customer satisfaction is correlated to employee satisfactionEmployee attitudes correlate strongly to higher profitsEmpowerment leads to improved motivation and morale, as well as better quality, productivity, and speed of decision making

Empowerment and Quality

Principles of EmpowermentEmpower sincerely and completelyEstablish mutual trustProvide employees with business informationEnsure that employees are capableDont ignore middle managementChange the reward system

Reasons for FailureManagement support and commitment is nonexistent or not sustained.Empowerment is used as a manipulative tool to ensure employees complete tasks and assignments without giving them any real responsibility or authority.Managers use empowerment to abdicate responsibility or task accountability, accepting accolades for successes and assigning fault to others for failure.Empowerment is deployed selectively, segmenting the workforce into those who are empowered and those who are not.Empowerment is used as an excuse to not invest in training or employee development.Managers fail to provide feedback and do not recognize achievements.

*Successful EmpowermentProvide education, resources, and encouragementRemove restrictive policies/proceduresFoster an atmosphere of trustShare information freelyMake work valuableTrain managers in hands-off leadershipTrain employees in allowed latitude

MotivationMotivation - an individuals response to a felt needViewsExtrinsicIntrinsic

*CompensationEffect on motivationMerit versus capability/performance based plansGainsharing

Recognition and RewardsMonetary or non-monetaryFormal or informalIndividual or group

*Effective Recognition and Reward StrategiesGive both individual and team awardsInvolve everyoneTie rewards to qualityAllow peers and customers to nominate and recognize superior performancePublicize extensivelyMake recognition fun

Work EnvironmentQuality of working lifeAncillary services

Empowerment and Theories of MotivationJob Characteristics Theory Acquired Needs TheoryGoal-Setting Theory

Hackman-Oldham Model

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