A mid-sized printed-circuit-board manufacturing company gained substantial profits in the initial phase of implementing employee empowerment. Management support and ‘new employee-driven competitiveness’ allowed the company to save a large amount of money. The new management was however, not supportive enough due to which the empowerment program eventually dissolved.
As a quality manager, it is pertinent to understand the reasons for management resistance. Halfhearted support from the new management could be due to several reasons such as “insecurity, personal values, ego, insufficient and ineffective management training, personality characteristics of managers, and exclusion of managers” (Goetsch and Davis 121). In order to gain commitment from the management, one of the initial steps that can be undertaken is to establish communication with the new management and get acquainted with their attitude.
On doing so, the next step could involve educating the managerial personnel about employee empowerment and defining the processes involved. They should also be acquainted with management’s role in successful implementation of the program and how important it is for achieving the company’s goals. Besides, proper training should be imparted to all managerial personnel who are new to the program. They should be trained to effectively use employee empowerment to become critical thinkers and good decision makers (Goetsch and Davis 127).
The management should also be allowed to present their views on the program and offer alternatives to the processes adopted. If, however, managers feel left out they should be allowed to participate and feel included in the program. Meanwhile, perspectives, attitudes, and skills of every member of the new management team should be diligently dealt with. Lastly, all these steps should be implemented patiently and given adequate time to show results.
Works Cited
Goetsch, David L and Stanley B Davis. Quality Management for Organizational Excellence: Introduction to Total Quality. 7th ed. Upper Saddle River, N.J.: Pearson Education Limited, 2014. Print.
