Empowerment - A Management Style

Introduction

Empowerment – a management style for the millennium?

Over the past two or three years, within the UK, a new word has entered the realm of human resource development: empowerment. Recently I was regaled by a group training manager, from within the financial services sector, proudly extolling the new approach his board had implemented in relation to staff training, viz. all future training would be solely and directly linked to the achievement of the corporate strategy and business plan. Coupled with this employees were to be trained in Empowerment (the initial capital was his). It transpired, eventually, that line managers were directed as to which member of staff should attend which training programme. Furthermore the evaluation of training did not involve the line manager in any way. Clearly an organization in which there was a general misunderstanding about the true meaning of empowerment as a concept; nor is it alone in this. A significant number of organizations appear to believe the theory of empowerment (the Oxford English Dictionary definition of which includes such words as authorize, license, permit, delegate) requires managers to make it clear to their staff what is required, the bounds of authority and the resources available to complete the task. In other words: managers should be taught the process of delegation and thereafter things, somewhat miraculously, will change for the better. This notwithstanding the fact that business schools and in-company trainers have spent the last 30 years teaching both the theory and benefits with, it would seem, a singular lack of success; if one judges by the number of companies still managed as autocracies. The management training focus of the immediate future must become that of improving individual (and workgroup) performance to meet business objectives. The traditionalist view of leadership (management) – that the follower waits to be directed by those in charge – is moribund. The new and more effective leader will be the one who establishes the objectives, clarifies the limits of authority and autonomy and enables individuals to take responsibility for the achievement of the objectives in their area. On

Ralph F. Long

The author Ralph F. Long is a Director of Managing Change Effectively Ltd, Milford on Sea, Hampshire, UK, with considerable experience in the twin fields of Strategic Planning and Human Resource Development. His especial skill is that of enabling organizations to combine the solving of the immediate, most pressing management problems with the acquisition of practical managerial and people skills that can be applied without delay to the working environment. Abstract Presents a composite case study covering four years’ work with a variety of companies across the industrial spectrum although mainly within the Health-care Sector. Provides working definitions of both empowerment and corporate culture and sets down key essentials to success. Shows the relationship of the annual strategic plan and annual individual performance-related appraisal processes in the achievement of company objectives. Establishes the importance of top to bottom involvement in empowerment and the outcomes to be attained.

Empowerment in Organizations Volume 4 · Number 3 · 1996 · pp. 5–15 MCB University Press · ISSN 0968-4891

© 1996, Ralph F. Long

5

Empowerment – a management style for the millennium?

Empowerment in Organizations

Ralph F. Long

Volume 4 · Number 3 · 1996 · 5–15

occasion the leader will join in the group endeavor; even to the extent of subjugating his/her own leadership to that of the group. The working definition of empowerment would seem therefore to be:

• they’re only interested in the size of their pay packet; • we’ve always done it this way; • we’ve tried it before and it didn’t work then; • it’s not my job. (2) Commitment – at one level this implies a sense of duty and obligation to the company which employs one. It means, therefore, that everyone in the enterprise from the managing director downward accepts responsibility for the successful achievement of the corporate objectives and is operationally and directly involved in the managing of the undertaking. At another level it is the motivation (determination) to achieve a personal goal or maintain a belief. When both levels coalesce there is a continuous improvement of the product or service offered to the customer (internal as well as external) and of the performance and skills of the individual leading to growth at both corporate and employee levels. (3) Involvement is the keystone of corporate success. There is much evidence to prove that involving individuals in the planning processes appropriate to their ability and status ensures a high level of success in the achievement of the business plan. Equally where employees are involved in the identification, discussion and agreement of personal objectives (in relation to the corporate plan) there is a desire to ensure that the tasks for which one is responsible are carried out efficiently and effectively.

Building the climate wherein employees at all levels will want to be fully involved in and totally committed to the successful achievement of the overall Corporate Objectives thereby developing both the organizational and personal performances/potential.

Organizations as well as individuals need to be empowered; as the case study below indicates. There are, however, a number of important issues to be dealt with if empowerment is not to become just another flavor of the month concept to be superseded by the next, more attractive, hypothesis.

The practicalities of empowerment The corporate culture of the organization – best defined as: “our confidence in and acceptance of the way things are done around here because that is the way we are” must be one which will support and enable the successful application of the empowerment process. Simply put, the management style of the future must change in order to enable the growth of the empowering culture. There are three closely inter-linked essentials which are the key to success: (1) Attitude is the pivotal point of any progressive idea and relates to the psychological stance (or frame of mind) of an individual or group of individuals in respect of a concept, central theme or idea. In general, one’s attitudes are learned from those in authority over one (parents, teachers, managers) and are reinforced, pygmalion-like, by subsequent experience – unless or until some other different experience enlightens with a new message entirely. There is no such thing as a bad attitude – one either leans toward or away from the issue. However, there are a number of outmoded attitudes and beliefs possessed by managers and staff alike which frequently become the obstacles to any form of innovation or change. For example: • it’s not invented here; • they’ll do as they’re told;

Empowerment – a case study This case study covers a period of four years working with clients across a range of industry although mainly within the Health-care Sector. The companies varied from small to medium sized and it is, in point of fact, a composite study of the paralleled experiences which occurred during that time and highlights what was (and therefore can be) achieved with the “right” approach, both from management and consultant. 6

Empowerment – a management style for the millennium?

Empowerment in Organizations

Ralph F. Long

Volume 4 · Number 3 · 1996 · 5–15

The building blocks The corporate culture of empowerment has three major aspects, each of which is totally interrelated and interdependant of the other: (1) The strategic business plan. Generally covering a three-five-year timescale, it is the place where the corporate vision for the future is written down; together with an operating plan encapsulating a series of goals to be achieved in year one of the overall plan. (2) Performance-related appraisal and reward. It is important to let staff know their responsibilities – directly related to the achievement of the strategic plan – in terms of the tasks to be carried out by individuals and the performance standards against which rewards and benefits are to be aligned. (3) Training and development. The process by which the skills and experience are to be provided to employees to meet the current and future needs of the organization and to allow the realization of individual potential.

• should ensure that all decisions are corporate in nature and not impositions from that firm of consultants who did not properly understand our business, • must ensure that the learning extracted from any business or training activity is properly managed and applied for the benefit of the company and its employees. The process The actual reason for the engagement of our consultancy varied from company to company. For example, one client required a review of their people management policies as part of their progression to Investors in People accreditation. Another company desired the design and operation of a senior management presentation skills program to ensure a greater number of tender opportunities were converted into signed contracts to supply. Yet another wanted the development and implementation of a staff appraisal scheme. All this served to reinforce my own, long-held, belief that companies are like people – individual and unique – even when in the same business or market sector. Our standard approach to servicing the client’s need was, in essence, an adaptation of the Kolb Learning Cycle[1] (see Figure 1). The work groups with whom we worked were encouraged to share their experiences to date and, after due reflection, produce a joint concept for managing the future prosperity of the organization. The work groups had a variety of guises and constituents, depending on the circumstance and tasking; sometimes the board of directors (or other appropriate management level),

The consultants’ stance Our normal practice as a consultancy is to deal directly with and through the managing director/chief executive of the client company since it is his/her vision for the future which is to be implemented. Ultimately, he/she is also the owner of any problem affecting its successful achievement (and is thereby responsible for its resolution) and, equally, the commitment to any change has to be initiated – and seen to be underwritten – by the person at the top. The consultancy style employed throughout is one of facilitation, i.e. enabling the client company and its employees to exchange information and opinions in a helpful and nonthreatening manner, because it is the client organization which: • must identify, define and own the problem then select and implement the most appropriate solution to deal with it, • has the sole responsibility for the production and implementation of the policies and procedures by which the business overall is to be managed, • must identify and remove the attitudinal blocks which prevent progress and innovation, • must build the cultural climate in which the concept of empowerment can be fostered and grown,

Figure 1 Kolb learning cycle (adaptation) Managerial experiences

Implemented learning

Shared reflections

Rationalized conceptualizations

7

Empowerment – a management style for the millennium?

Empowerment in Organizations

Ralph F. Long

Volume 4 · Number 3 · 1996 · 5–15

to take account of market forces, technology and the economy to remain in business. The actual process employed occupied a total of three days; although there was a break of one month between the second and final day. The corporate aim (sometimes referred to as the corporate vision) answers the questions: • What does the organization do or intend to do? • Whom does it intend to do it for? • Why does it intend doing it?

sometimes a vertical slice from top to bottom and sometimes supervisory/shopfloor level of employee. While we were nondirective, nondidactic in operation we would, nonetheless, confront/challenge woolly-minded thought processes. The underlying intent was to build effective management teams which would enable the organization to achieve its corporate goals successfully. It was Galileo who said (some 250 years ago) “No one can teach anyone anything – we can only help them to learn.” In other words people are in charge of their own learning which they – and only they – can develop and enrich through their own experience. Therefore paralleled with the strategic planning and Human Resource Development (HRD) aspects of managing the business was the achievement of the secondary objective, always with the prior agreement of the managing director, viz. that of providing opportunities from which all those involved in the process could learn.

From this is derived the mission statement – a single punchy sentence which must be communicated to employees at all levels within the organization. Not surprisingly it is at this point that the EMT discovered that their individual perceptions of the business and the direction it should take were at variance – sometimes quite considerably so. Virtually without exception it was necessary to call a halt to the discursive process after some 40 or so minutes – the time required for the team members to realize and accept the degree of diversity/adversity – and commence identification of the organizational goals. These fall under the following headings: • Market goals – the definition of the business the company is in and the market position it intends to hold. A fair amount of discussion is generated here since the EMT members have a considerable diversity of ideas/opinions regarding the type of products or services which should be offered to or are required by the customer. • Excellence goals – identification of those things which, if done well by all involved in the enterprise, will set the organization apart from its competitors. • Operational goals – definition of that which must be undertaken both cost effectively and efficiently in order to remain in business. • Stake-holder goals – those actions which must be directed toward people or other organizations which are important to the future of the company.

Strategic and operational planning Without exception our discussions with managing directors revealed that, no matter what the problem of the moment may or may not have been, a major obstacle was the lack of a strategic plan. It is vital to the success of the enterprise that the executive management team (EMT) – (we coined the term because in some organizations it was a board of directors, in others it was the owner/managing director plus the management level immediately below him/her) – has a very clear view of where the future of the company lies. All too frequently we found that the first communications breakdown within organizations occurred at this point. The managing director or chief executive’s vision of the corporate future was not always known, understood or even shared by the other directors on the board. The net result was a management team which not only pulled in different directions but often was also adversarial in operation. The first step therefore was the production of the corporate aim and strategic plan which would ensure its successful achievement. It should be bourne in mind that the strategic plan process, although covering a 3 to 5 year period, must be carried out annually. Successful businesses are teleometric in operation, namely: they must continually adjust the corporate aim

At this point, usually reached about 45 minutes before lunch on day one, the EMT is ready to begin the strengths, weaknesses, opportunities and threats (SWOT) exercise out of which falls the objectives of the Operating Plan (year 1). It is also about now that collectively they recognize 8

Empowerment – a management style for the millennium?

Empowerment in Organizations

Ralph F. Long

Volume 4 · Number 3 · 1996 · 5–15

the need to begin working as a team and the fact that each has some talent/potential in terms of team roles (à la Belbin) not hitherto noticed. In one company the finance director turned out to be very much a people-oriented person and eventually became the EMT member responsible for the development of the company’s people policies; including the implementation and management of the company appraisal scheme. By the end of day two the management team had produced a significant package: • a corporate aim and mission statement, • a set of organizational goals dedicated to the achievement of the aim, • identified internal strengths and external opportunities to be set against the weaknesses and threats facing the company, • a series of operational objectives to be achieved in year one of the strategic plan, • a list of the tactical activities necessary to the achievement of the above together with a list of who of the EMT was to be responsible for each objective and the identification of other key persons to be coopted where necessary.

something we did for ourselves – why? The somewhat dry rejoinder from another of their number was: Probably because we didn’t do it ourselves in the first place. Performance-related appraisal Two important themes fall out of the strategic plan. The first is the excellence goal(s) which establishes a requirement for the identification of performance standards for each and every employee. The other – the operational goal(s) – establishes a need to let staff at all levels know what their jobs consist of and the degree of responsibility/autonomy each person may be given. The initial reaction of most client companies was to talk in terms of job descriptions and staff appraisals. Our guidance, almost invariably, was they should think in terms of producing a process which encapsulated both and was geared to continued and automatic development. This was based on our concern over the variety of opinions expressed by HRD specialists regarding what constituted an ideal job description. In point of fact something less than 20 per cent of all company directors actually have a job description and less than 40 per cent of employees actually have an up-to-date job description. In other words our experience led us to regard the job description as something which tended to relate to a dated job function rather than the living job role required by the strategic plan. With regard to staff appraisal we involved the EMT and the next senior-most level of management in the process of examining a variety of current appraisal schemes as a first step to defining what they required from a company specific scheme. In general these groups decided that most of the schemes were: • based on arbitarily decided targets, • seen as a means of telling staff they were not performing, • rarely related to the corporate plan, • subjective rather than objective in context, • weighted in favor of pre-defined tick-in-box comment, • failing to establish why targets were not met.

The intervening period of one month between days two and three was used by the various teams to identify what had to be done in respect of each objective, by whom, within what timescale and at what cost. The final day of the strategic plan was entirely given over to exchanging information related to the Operational Plan objectives and to agreeing the level of resources (people, money, materials and time) to be committed to their achievement. Several things worthy of note were: first, the EMT was not only pulling in the same direction and committed to success but individuals were also more supportive of one another to the extent of offering specific assistance whenever. Second, some clients, in the medium to large company arena, went so far as to establish the strategic plan process at major departmental level; the activity to be carried out immediately following the corporate exercise. Third – and of considerable satisfaction to the consultants involved – was that the team members saw the plan as theirs; conceived, nurtured and grown by themselves. Indeed on one occasion the following question was posed: We’re paying these guys (the consultants) a lot of money to do

At the end of two very intensive days the groups had produced a rough draft of their ideal scheme; its intent, procedures for operation, 9

Empowerment – a management style for the millennium?

Empowerment in Organizations

Ralph F. Long

Volume 4 · Number 3 · 1996 · 5–15

necessary paperwork, plan for implementation (generally commencing with a pilot scheme at director/senior management level), programmed training for all those to be involved in the process and date for review and amendment prior to general implementation. There was also total commitment to the view that any scheme implemented should be simple to operate and should: • apply to employees at all levels, including directors, • identify the actual job of each employee for the year ahead, • set down agreed performance standards to be achieved, • show the relationship between the strategic plan and job, • provide a job related problem-solving mechanism, • enable training and career development assessments, • provide a performance feedback mechanism for the board, • require the minimum paperwork – ideally one/two sheets, • have the commitment of all employees.

(2)

(3)

In essence the scheme designed involved both manager and immediate subordinate in a process of discussion and agreement related to the job and the scales against which performance achieved would be measured. Moreover, without exception, the term appraisal was dropped from the scheme title. Indeed most participants tended toward the title Individual Performance Review (or variation thereof) and saw it as the company operating plan expressed in individual terms. The procedure was simple and of five main activities: (1) Briefing and stage 1 of preparation. The annual review cycle is initiated – usually by the central personnel function – and line managers undertake a short briefing meeting with each of those employees for whom they have responsibility. At this meeting a date for the actual review is agreed; generally four weeks in the future. Both parties now have two weeks to prepare themselves in respect of the subordinate’s work. This involves a review of the preceding year – identifying the successful

(4)

(5)

10

achievements, reasons for targets not made and suggestions for improving performance. It also provides opportunity for subordinate to highlight situations created by more senior managers which prevented achievements being satisfactory. (Since this was a retrospective review it would only take place in the second and succeeding years following implementation.) Both now turn their attention forward to the coming year and identify aspects of the subordinate’s job which are seen as having a greater emphasis now, standards of performance to be achieved with any deadlines/ target dates are listed. Equally important is the identification of the resource support, training and developmental needs required by the subordinate to achieve suggested targets. Some idea of priority is required here to enable beneficial discussions later. Stage 2 of preparation. Two weeks before the agreed review date, the two exchange their preparation notes/worksheets; primarily to enable the answers and other information research to be undertaken. Collection of information. Both subordinate and manager have two weeks to review what has been produced by the other and to compile the necessary answers and information to deal properly and effectively at the review. One example which springs to mind is in the arena of training. Too often at appraisals the subordinate has requested some training program and the line manager has not been in possession of the appropriate level of knowledge in this respect. Equally when staff have indicated they wish to be considered for advancement, the manager has had no idea of what suitable opportunities are in the offing. The review meeting. The tenor of the review meeting is one of discussion, problem solving, exchanging ideas and, finally, agreement of both the performance produced in the preceding year and targets and standards agreed for the coming year. Training programs and development opportunities are identified and agreed on. Follow-up process. Overall the performance review scheme is seen as a live operating plan in individualistic terms and therefore is

Empowerment – a management style for the millennium?

Empowerment in Organizations

Ralph F. Long

Volume 4 · Number 3 · 1996 · 5–15

enable feedback on skills to be more meaningful to the recipient. Although sometimes accused of re-inventing the wheel, for us the validation of the method was in the fact that the learning message for the individual was all the more powerful for it having resulted from his/her own efforts. It was our view that training could only truly add value when it was directly relevant to the work tasks of the individual. This meant ascertaining, relative to the session topic/title, what it was that each delegate expected to gain from attendance and focussing on those particular aspects. Where a workshop was one in a continuum then the first session was almost always a review of the action plan (see below) and the level of achievement attained. Action plans. Every training workshop was completed by requiring each delegate to produce and share with his/her fellow delegates an action plan to be implemented with effect from the next working day and based on one or two especial aspects of the learning obtained during the program. For some delegates it would be quite as simple as catching a subordinate doing his/her job right and giving positive praise in public. For yet others it might be somewhat complex, involving a number of other colleagues. The overall idea, which involved immediate line managers, was to highlight what the individual intended to do (and develop) with the learning obtained. Training notes/handouts. Nearly always the training notes given to those attending were the resultant of their own participation – as far as possible using their own words, opinions, ideas and guidelines (where these were produced). Here again the theory was that we are more likely to use that we have ourselves produced – even in reference – than something devised by the trainer which may or may not accord with our own perceptions. An unlooked for benefit of this approach was the tutor/facilitator – who needed to be that much more aware of the proceedings in order to encapsulate the delegates’ input actually developed his/her own skills at the same time as delegates were developing theirs. The skill of the facilitator was very much in ensuring that all the knowledge/skills areas were adequately covered.

reviewed regularly – at agreed times – by the two people who are its signatories. Without exception, over a period of two/three years, managers and staff became more effective in the achievement of the corporate objectives. Equally it was found that this process provided the ideal means of communicating the strategic and operating plan – insofar as it affected the individual subordinate – down throughout the company. Staff became more aware of their responsibilities and more directly involved in the business of the company which employed them. The annual training plan and budget was greatly facilitated since it could now be derived from the needs identified during the review process and was directly related to the operational requirements of the business. Training and development Discussions with client companies indicated a preference for in-company training programs which would provide knowledge and skills which could be implemented in the workplace on the morning following the training. For example an effective communications skills program should be focussed on workplace problems and solutions rather than to providing the theory of communicating practice. It was with this factor very much in mind that training workshops – as opposed to training courses – were devised and designed in conjunction with the MD and the senior management team containing the following elements: Pre-workshop preparation. All delegates were expected to prepare themselves in order to gain maximum benefit from training sessions. This could mean activities as varied as identifying and listing the qualities of leaders/managers or undertaking some pre-session reading, e.g. delegates for the effective time management program were required to read The One Minute Manager prior to attending. On occasion completion of a self-assessment questionnaire was required, the results of which would be analysed and discussed during the wokshop. The workshop session. This was, with few exceptions, conducted in a very nondirective, nondidactic manner. The maximum use was made of syndicate exercises with attendant feedback/discussion during which experiences and learning therefrom was shared/extracted. Where appropriate CCTV was used generally to 11

Empowerment – a management style for the millennium?

Empowerment in Organizations

Ralph F. Long

Volume 4 · Number 3 · 1996 · 5–15

Program evaluation. We were not entirely in favor of the generally used post-course questionnaires or happiness sheets in this context since they were likely to be completed in the end of course euphoria and indicated only the immediate feelings of the delegates. In the colder, harder light of day those attending often realize the true value of the messages imparted or see the charisma of the tutor for what it was. The true worth of any training program can only be measured in terms of value-add where the cost of the actual program is set against the actual savings which come from improved performance. Client companies were urged to carry out the exercise lest training become seen within their organizations as little more than an act of faith. In general, companies were required to identify what was happening prior to the training event and the shortfall/overspend in terms of product or service. Then they measured the degree of change by a variety of means: • comparative levels of customer satisfaction, • increase in sales; whether new or repeat, • improvements in product or service generated by employees, • increase in bottom-line profit.

easily with the question why when expressed by subordinates. It frequently seemed to work best in young businesses, both in terms of trading and managerial age, which were amenable to and ready for change and which already had the basis of participative management in being. If people truly are a company’s most valuable asset then the empowerment culture must be the current most important investment to be made by the stakeholders. The main benefits of such an investment are likely to be: (1) Clarity of objectives. In any enterprise it is an imperative that those involved should have a clear understanding of where the organization is headed and their own role in the achievement of the objectives. The strategic and operating plan process certainly ensured that the EMT all pulled in the same direction. This was equally true in the autocratically managed company. With appropriate communication downwards employees were aware of where the company was headed, their part in the process and what it was worth to them. (2) Involved, motivated and innovative staff. One client, a large plc in the construction industry, had implemented a performance appraisal scheme – not unlike that described above – for all staff employees which was effective in the improvement of company performance overall. A small but significant percentage of hourly paid employees (drivers, laborers, crane operators etc.) were excluded from the scheme; mainly because the sameness of their jobs did not appear to lend itself to the devised scheme. However, some two years or so down the road this minority group began to question why, if they were as vital to the corporate success as everyone else, were they not accorded the same appraisal activity – (shades of Elton Mayo and Hawthorne). A representative group of these persons were invited to assist in the devising of a performance appraisal scheme which would not only take account of their particular needs but would also parallel the staff scheme. At the end of the subsequent day-long workshop this group had not only produced a very acceptable scheme which was an improvement on the original but had also set down a series of

The value of these changes was set against the cost of the training and a cost benefit exercise carried through.

Conclusions The natural question at this point is: Has it been successful? For most of our clients the answer was: Yes it has! Although given the individuality of each company, the base had to be relative to increased performance within the market place/niche. For the few for whom the process failed to work, the reason, in general, was that they were organizations which, for many years, had been managed in a totally autocratic manner. The culture of encouraging subordinates to become involved in the day-to-day operation in such companies was beset by most of the reasons ascribed to the failure of delegation – the major being fear – on both sides of the managerial divide. In these companies it was often easier to revert to autocratic behavior rather than live 12

Empowerment – a management style for the millennium?

Empowerment in Organizations

Ralph F. Long

Volume 4 · Number 3 · 1996 · 5–15

with more junior levels of staff were overlooked. In most companies this tended to breed a resentment among those who found their appointments cancelled at the last minute and generated a belief that those people up there simply did not understand the problems at the sharp-end. We do not claim that the process of empowerment naturally engenders a proactive style of manager however, it does seem to produce a listening manager who is capable of responding positively to the people situations within the organization as they arise. This was vividly manifested during a twoday training program we were running for a major client which was aimed at giving unit managers an awareness of marketing skills relative to the services available within their units. The first day was a difficult one with a degree of resistance to new concepts that had not previously been experienced. It was not until dinner that evening – hosted by one of the directors of the company that things became clearer. Perhaps because of

performance standards (best and least acceptable) for each of the trades employed. Additionally they determined – unlike the senior managers who had helped design the staff scheme – the responsibility for the success of the scheme overall was as much theirs as it was that of the managing director. Another client – in the health-care industry – had achieved such a good empowerment culture throughout the company that the junior staff in one of the nursing homes produced a Charter for Staff Support (see Table I). While the management team within the home were aware of the happening it was initiated and carried through by the employees. Moreover it was intended to review and amend the Charter on an annual basis to enable newly recruited staff to have an input to subsequent revisions. (3) More effective management response culture. We found quite frequently that senior levels of management were under so many pressures that basic good manners when dealing Table I Charter for Staff Support

Teamwork and comradeship We will demonstrate an understanding of one anothers’ roles and work together to achieve the same goals. There will always be a sense of “togetherness, unity and equality” Communication Communication will always be open and honest. Information will always be given. Staff have the right to be listened to and to be heard. We do not accept “buts” or “excuses” Respected and valued We expect to be respected and valued as individual human beings. We are all as important as one another. We have the right to receive praise for a job well done, and to accept constructive criticism, which is given in a sensitive and tactful way. We will accept people for who they are, not what they are Compromise and cooperation We will seek to be aware of others’ feelings and values. We will always establish the facts before reaching conclusions. We will always offer help not hindrance. As far as possible discussion will always precede decisions. We will allow individuals “time-out” after experiencing particularly difficult situations Sense of humor We will try not to take ourselves so seriously that we cannot laugh at ourselves. We will laugh with people never at people. Humor will help us cope with sometimes difficult situations Encouragement We will endeavor to create an environment which promotes personal growth and development. We will encourage others to face difficult situations in the knowledge that help will always be available

We all have a role to play but in any situation this role may change We will be flexible at all times 13

Empowerment – a management style for the millennium?

Empowerment in Organizations

Ralph F. Long

Volume 4 · Number 3 · 1996 · 5–15

the informality of that situation many of the unit managers began airing their grievances. The following morning the Director and the Lead Consultant went to see the Managing Director. The result was his authorization to suspend the training program and to gather the extent of the dissatisfaction ready for presentation to himself and the rest of the board and senior management team later that afternoon. The emotions were dealt with by the consultants in the first part of the exercise and thus the afternoon discussions were calm and factual; with statements of the feelings engendered expressed rather than demonstrated. Subsequently the Managing Director produced a standard of managerial behavior to be applied toward employees at every level within the company (see Table II). (4) Empowerment breeds effective teams. The culture wherein empowerment operates is also the culture in which effective management and work teams are developed. Team members identify their roles and potential and are committed to the achievement of

success. They are supportive one of another and highly confident in their own abilities. This was evidenced by the main board of an international plc which made the following statement to the management boards of each of its eight regions: We see ourselves as the Bankers and we look for an adequate return on our investment. Give us the detail of how you will use our resources for the benefit of your region and, ultimately, the company and we will give you the assistance necessary to the achievement of that plan.

Significantly all regions achieved their targets and the effect on the organization was an increase in profit by £2,000 per head per year for each of four years. (5) The evolution of a total quality management culture. Many senior managers in companies believe that the quality standards BS 5750/ ISO 9002 are more concerned with quality assurance and quality control. Many more are in favor of the total quality management concept because it is felt that this embraces not only product/service quality but, more

Table II Management Charter

The following list has been compiled for directors and senior managers as a guide to the professional standards of management which are expected by our unit managers and other junior staff: 1 Appointment should always be arranged when staff time is required. When unannounced visits are made there should be no obligation on staff to dedicate time to the visitor 2 The importance of punctuality should be recognized. Where last minute changes to plans are inevitable the person being visited should be made aware as quickly as possible 3 When making telephone calls confirmation of person’s availability should always be sought and an indication should be given of the amount of time required 4 When requesting action by staff the priority and timescale should always be made clear 5 Respect and understanding should be shown at all times for the normal working routines of each home 6 The company line management structure, including areas of responsibility, should be made clear to all staff 7 Key company issues should be communicated to staff on a regular basis 8 Special requests should not be made of staff without reference to their line manager(s) 9 When formal requests are made for decisions/action a response should be given as quickly as possible and regular feedback should be given about progress 10 Due to the level of service being provided, it is recognized that breaches of confidentiality at any level are unacceptable 11 Praise and credit should be given whenever it is deserved and any criticism should always be constructive 12 As early as possible in advance of planned marketing visits the unit manager should be given a detailed briefing and should be involved in the planning of the visit 14

Empowerment – a management style for the millennium?

Empowerment in Organizations

Ralph F. Long

Volume 4 · Number 3 · 1996 · 5–15

importantly, the overall quality of management in all its aspects. The climate of empowerment provides the opportunity for companies to involve the appropriate levels of staff in the process of improving the quality of product or service offered to the customer; internal as well as external to the company. It is an acknowledged tenet that:

highlighted the problems created by the current system and they produced a revised (improved) scheme for his consideration. Suffice it to say the resultant was implemented in toto. Empowerment is the culture which underpins the concept of TQM This means that corporations and individuals within corporations take responsibility for the achievement of the corporate goals and the realization of potential. It is not a culture which occurs overnight. It requires commitment and hard work. The rewards, however, are more than worthwhile for all involved in the enterprise. It is the management style for the millennium and beyond.

No employee starts the first day of his/her new job determined to do as bad a job as possible but it is the way the company manages and deals with this person which causes any subsequent problem.

One client experienced problems with a newly opened unit which eventually were laid at the door of the recruitment process. The managing director decided to involve the unit managers attending the problem solving session of a general management training program. The requirement was to review corporate recruitment and induction processes for newly appointed unit managers. Their combined experience

Reference 1 Kolb, D.A., “Management and the learning process”, Californian Management Review, Vol. XVIII No. 3, Spring 1976.

15