THE LIMITS OF EMPOWERMENT

Dr. Yonatan Reshef
Faculty of Business
University of Alberta
 

Empowerment can introduce inconsistencies into an organization, e.g. top-down implementation of a program to increase internal commitment

Not all employees/managers embrace empowerment

Empowerment can run contrary to human nature

Empowerment is limited - it is not a license given to employees to run the organization as they please

Not every job requires empowered employees 

Empowerment is a part of a system and should be consistent with the organization's HRM system

Empowerment is penultimate to performance

Empowerment is not superiors abdicating their own responsibilities