Empowerment
Empowerment refers to increasing the
political,
social or
economic strength of individuals. It often involves the empowered developing
confidence in their own capacities.
Sociological empowerment often addresses members of groups that social discrimination processes have excluded from decision-making processes through - for example - discrimination based on
race,
ethnicity,
religion,
gender. Note in particular the empowerment-technique often associated with
feminism:
consciousness-raising.
In the sphere of
management and organizational theory, "empowerment" often refers loosely to processes for giving subordinates (or
workers generally) greater discretion and resources: distributing control in order to better serve both customers and the interests of employing organizations. (This use of the word appears somewhat at odds with other usage, which most often assumes the empowerment of groups and of individuals to better serve their
own interests.)
One account of the history of workplace empowerment in the
United States recalls the clash of management styles in railroad construction in the
American West in the mid-19th century, where "traditional" hierarchical East-Coast models of control encountered individualistic pioneer workers, strongly supplemented by methods of
efficiency-oriented "worker
responsibility" brought to the scene by
Chinese laborers. In this case, empowerment at the level of work
teams or brigades achieved a notable (but short-lived) demonstrated superiority. See the
views of Robert L. Webb.
Empowerment in the workplace is regarded by critics as more a
pseudo-empowerment exercise, the idea of which is to change the attitudes of workers, so as to make them work harder rather than giving them any real power, and Wilkinson (1998) refers to this as "attitudinal shaping". However, recent research suggests that the opportunity to exercise personal discretion/choice (and complete meaningful work) is an important element contributing to
employee engagement and well-being. There is evidence, Thomas and Velthouse (1990), that initiative and motivation are increased when people have a more positive attributional style. This influences self-belief, resilience when faced with set-backs, and the ability to visualise oneself overcoming problems. The implication is that 'empowerment' suits some more than others, and should be positioned in the broader context an 'enabling' work environment.
In
economic development, the empowerment approach focuses on mobilizing the
self-help efforts of the poor, rather than providing them with
social welfare.
In the arena of
personal development, empowerment forms an
apogee of many a system of
self-realisation or of
identity (re-)formation. Realising the
solipsistic impracticality of everyone
anarchistically attempting to exercise
power over everyone else, empowerment
advocates have adopted the word "empowerment" to offer the attractions of such power, but they generally constrain its individual exercise to potentiality and to feel-good uses within the
individual psyche. The concept of personal development is seen as important by many employers, with emphasis placed on continuous learning, increased self-awareness and
emotional intelligence. Empowerment is ultimately driven by the individul's belief in their capability to influence events.
Thomas, K. W. and Velthouse, B. A. (1990) Cognitive Elements of Empowerment: An 'Interpretive' Model of Intrinsic Task Motivation. Academy of Management Review, Vol 15, No. 4, 666-681
Wilkinson, A. 1998. Empowerment: theory and practice. Personnel Review. [online].Vol. 27(1): 40-56. Available from: Emerald on the World Wide Web:http://hermia.emeraldinsight.com/vl=2601464/cl=84/nw=1/fm=docpdf/rpsv/cw/mcb/00483486/v27n1/s3/p40 [Accessed 16.02.2004].
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Decentralization*
Self-ownership*
Employee engagement
