Part 1: Delegation
This is the act that involves assignment of tasks to individuals so that they may execute the tasks on behalf of the assigning parties. It is done to give the tasks to those people who have professional capabilities or to reduce the work burden on the assigning parties (The Management Center, 2012). An example of delegation is the assignment of organizing an outdoor sales function for a corporation. In this case, a manager can delegate the organization of such event to one employee. This delegation would give the manager a chance to concentrate on other important duties while the employee organizes the event. Such a delegation would involve three major components in order to be effective. One component is that the manager and the employee must agree on expectations (The Management Center, 2012).
There has to be an agreement between the manager and the staff member on the expectations of the entire event. For instance, the manager should inform the employee on the amount of sales expected from the outdoor event. In addition, the manager must spell out the design and the course that the event will take on the outdoor day. Secondly, these two parties must stay engaged. Such an engagement will ensure that the work is on track so that it is well coordinated and successful. Constant communication is necessary at this point. In addition, the manager must create a sense of accountability and learning. The employee must understand the responsibility and duties for the project. Both of them must stay positive and take it is a learning opportunity to be applied in the future. In order for the delegation to be successful, there has to be conversation and flexibility (The Management Center, 2012).
Part 2: Employee empowermentSection 1: Definition
Employee empowerment involves the creation of a working environment where an employee can make decisions that deal with some specific work situations. These decisions are crucial to an organization and employee empowerment gives the employee a direct responsibility and duty to make decisions regarding these situations. Organizations use employee empowerment to increase employee responsibility, improve their work life quality and their overall morale (Emerson, 2012). Involving employees in organization decisions leads to their empowerment and makes them loyal, productive and their confidence increases.
Section 2: Pros from the employee perspective
One of the pros of employee empowerment is that it gives the employees a chance to exploit their skills and creative capabilities in their daily duties. Since empowerment results in increased responsibilities, employees get a chance to engage their skills in such duties (Emerson, 2012). In addition, employees get a chance to execute duties at a high level; which increases their expertise and experience. Brainstorming to generate new ideas occurs and it lead to creative solutions. Employees gain exposure and experience which assists in their career foundation. The other pro of employee empowerment is that such employees have a great sense of freedom. Such employees feel accomplished and motivated at the workplace. This is because empowerment makes them feel that they are a part of the organization. They feel that success for the organization is their success (Emerson, 2012).
Section 3: Pros from the perspective of the supervisor
The first pro for employee empowerment to the supervisor is that it improves productivity of employees. Employees are empowered, and, as a result, they feel that their input is valued highly. Due to this positive feeling, employees improve idea sharing with their supervisors. This sharing makes the work of the supervisor easy, and it improves the output from the supervisor.
The second pro for employee empowerment is that it increases the accountability of employees. This accountability prompts the employees to produce high quality work. In return, supervisors are relieved from any micromanagement of projects since the level of trust in their employees’ increases. Another benefit to supervisors is that it reduces their conflicts with employees. This factor arises because empowerment of employees increases their contribution. There emerges respect among employees and their supervisors and hence chances of conflict are minimized (Emerson, 2012).
Section 4: Relationship between employee empowerment and theories X and Y
Employee empowerment relates with the theory that is used by management to a large extent. If the management applies theory X, it is of the opinion that employees should be pushed around to deliver results. The management feels that employees have no ambition and that they don’t like responsibility. Such a managerial approach relates to employee empowerment in that empowerment levels are low. This is because the management believes that such employees will have low production levels.
However, if managers apply theory Y, they will adopt employee empowerment. This is because such managers believe their employees have a sense of direction and committed to organizational goals. Since the decision making process involves consultation of employees with their supervisors and a supervisor with managers, employee empowerment alters this entire process (Emerson, 2012). Empowered employees make decisions by themselves, and this hierarchical approach is broken.
Section 5: Employee empowerment and unionized environments
Employee empowerment does not work well in unionized work environments. This due to pay demands and protests by union members. These efforts reduce the chances of success of employee empowerment. Instead of taking responsibility, such employees concentrate on the union efforts (Emerson, 2012).
References
Emerson, A. L. (2012). The Benefits of Employee Empowerment. The New York Times, 33-35.
Lipscomb, D. (2013). Perspectives on Empowerment of Employees. The Wall Street Journal, 65-67.
The Management Center. (2012). Basic Delegation. Managing Specific Tasks, 9-11.
