Blackwell Reference Online

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may be defined in many specific ways, but in common is the idea of providing people the “power” necessary to fulfill their job responsibilities without having to secure approval from others (i.e., supervisors). With empowerment, control over the means of getting the job done is left with the person doing the job, creating greater control over the results produced. This responsibility for producing results leads to greater ownership on the individual's part for both the input and output of production. Some argue that empowerment is nothing new but, for example, just today's equivalent for previous management concepts such as participative decision‐making, team building, job enrichment, and the like. Others argue that empowerment is “oversold,” really nothing more than a buzzword or slogan; or that it is an overrated concept that ignores or minimizes, among other things, political realities and workload increases. Furthermore, failures in implementation have led to feelings ranging from disappointment to disillusionment and anger about empowerment. Research has found that empowered employees, teams, and organizations outperform their less democratic and more bureaucratic counterparts. Some common misconceptions about empowerment are: (1) managers and leaders lose power by empowering others; (2) empowered people do not need leaders; and, (3) empowerment and delegation are synonymous. ... log in or subscribe to read full text