Successful Empowerment Strategies 5
Unsuccessful Empowerment Strategies 8
The following analysis covers the history of empowerment as a tool for developing more effective work teams in the organization in the introduction. The introductory analysis also provides a variety of definitions regarding the concept of empowerment ranging from those that view it as an effective tool for creating higher levels of performance to those that view it as mere rhetoric. The main body of the analysis is divided into two sections. The first section covers in detail successful strategies for implementing empowerment in the workplace for developing more successful teams. Concepts such as management mindset, corporate culture and design, and work team requirements for successful implementation of empowerment. The second section addresses many of the typical obstacles and implementation measures which have proven unsuccessful in using empowerment as a means of developing more successful teams. Concepts such as management inability to delegate, poor organizational facilitation, and others are covered here. A conclusion follows which offers a variety of recommendations geared toward ensuring that empowerment is effectively implemented and works to create teams that are more effective. These recommendations cover aspects of both management and team members that need addressed if implementation of empowerment is to be successful and actually lead to increased levels of group effectiveness and performance.
The concept of empowered work teams is no longer new, but many speculate whether or not empowerment actually makes for more effective groups or teams of employees. During the 1970s and early 1980s it became obvious that a new economy was developing, one that was technology dominated and encompassed freer levels of trade than ever before. It also became obvious that the traditional form of management, i.e. the hierarchical, ch...