Last semester in Organizational behavior and Theory, I remember we spoke about self-managing teams. I think self-managing teams give individuals that power to make decisions and be apart of the company process by making a difference and being involved. The This is the total opposite of being in a workplace that has lots of micromanaging, which I think can hinder productivity and employees belief that their managers trust them. Sometimes I think teams may struggle with the boundaries of its authority and trouble with developing methods to manage its performance. I see it as having "too many cooks in the kitchen". Self-management for teams involves a team assuming a set of new roles and responsibilities; roles and responsibilities that have traditionally been the exclusive duties of managers.
Everyone in the group is encouraged to contribute by communicating and promoting their ideas, by adding on to the ideas of others and by exercising judgment to narrow down ideas or options. Everyone recognizes that since the group makes decisions and develops action plans, the group will also be held accountable for the outcomes of their management actions. I think giving individuals this type of empowerment can help with productivity and progress of the individuals and the company itself.
This article is about the 10 principles of employee empowerment...It goes step by step giving examples to management.
http://humanresources.about.com/od/managementandleadership/tp/empowerment.htm
I agree with the view that empowering employees can lead to higher productivity and creativity. Although, the added responsibility and visible accountability isn't for everyone. To some, the added responsibility may lead to increased stress, which can be counter-productive. I think this needs to be a choice, not a mandated process.
ReplyDeleteI completely agree with your statement that micromanaging can hinder productivity. Employees should be given the opportunity to be trusted and complete tasks on their own without being watched. Empowerment is absolutely essential for employees to be truly involved and for creative thinking and ideas to flow.
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