Empowering oorganizations

As organizations are increasingly asked to operate effectively they tend to focused on “outcome centred” management approaches. This implies the capacity to move from centralized bureaucratic structures to interrelated but self-governing programme/projects teams. (see projectized organization; learning organization). A consequence of this shift of managerial focus is that managers need to foster an organizational process so that the employees assume responsibility of well defined tasks of which she/he knows the purpose and the connection with the tasks of colleagues.

Employee empowerment in an is creating an environment where others are equipped and encouraged to make personal decisions and to feel that they are in in charge of the outcomes of the tasks for which they have assumed responsibility. Employee empowerment can be achieved where the organizational culture aims at generating a strong and healthy communication climate and where M&E processes are aimed at fostering organizational development and learning.

In organizations where senior managers do not empower junior managers decisions are continuously passed up the hierarchy for resolution. Valuable time is lost and creativity is stifled.

Empowerment can be achieved only if both the "giver of power" (i.e. the higher hierarchical level and the "receiver of power" (i.e. the lower hierarchical level) agree upon this process and both assume upon themselves the consequential responsibilities. An empowering management needs to be a "Participative Management", i.e. a management system whereby managers include employees in the main decision making processes. Employees tend to be empowered by being part of the management process. Employees become more vested and committed to the decisions made. In this approach to management is the time required for consultation is an organizational investment.

Just as a philosophy of empowerment has implications for the people who make up an organization, it also has implications for organizational structures. Specifically, it calls for organizations to be more decentralized, to share more information, to have in place a system of contingent rewards, to be team-based, and to align itself with its goals and values. Such an organization will become an environment adequate for the development of an empowered workforce.

Employee empowerment is a key element of organizational development, and so , even is is meant to be a positive change, it is still a change and therefore its management has to carefully considering the typical dynamics of organizational and individual change.

A basic assumption of this manual is that the best managerial style for the development aid organization is designing and managing itself and its culture in such a way as to make itself :

a projectized organization;
a learning organization
an employee empowering organization

Only organizations that are projectized and that empower their employees create a communication climate such as to work strategically, collaboratively and cost-effectively, being innovative and accountable.