VOLUME 2 NUMBER 1
1994
The Cultural Implications of
Empowerment
Sarah Cook
Empowerment – The Pitfalls
Recent trends in many organizations to
downsize, de-layer and flatten their structures
in response to market forces and in an attempt
to increase efficiency and customer
satisfaction, have brought with them the need
to empower employees lower down the
organization to do jobs previously done by
their superiors. For many companies, the
concept of empowerment is seen as the key to
unleashing employee potential and to
increasing efficiency and effectiveness. Yet,
without thorough preparation, coaching,
training and support, the empowerment
process can be unfulfilling both for the
organization and for its employees.
Typical problems which organizations
encounter in empowering employees include:
● lack of real commitment by senior
management to the process. Senior
managers may endorse empowerment but
do nothing through their actions to set a
positive example to their subordinates;
● lack of real communication about the
benefits of empowerment, why the
organization is adopting this approach and
Empowerment in Organizations, Vol. 2 No. 1, 1994, pp. 9-13
MCB University Press, 0968-4891
9
how it will help the company achieve its
aims;
● failure to explain and train managers on
the role they have to play and how they
can facilitate and enhance the
empowerment process;
● managers who view empowerment as a
sophisticated form of delegation: getting
someone else to do the job for them rather
than giving their subordinates
responsibility for the job;
● ambiguity of roles and responsibilities
among all levels of employees;
● lack of training for members of staff who
take on new responsibilities;
● lack of a team environment and support
network for employees where problems
and issues are discussed and shared
openly;
● ill-will between those groups of workers
who are empowered and those who are
not;
● disillusionment that nothing really changes
as a result of empowering the workforce.
These problems and many like them, which
organizations encounter when they adopt the
concept of empowerment, are typical of
companies who do not recognize the cultural
 EMPOWERMENT IN
ORGANIZATIONS:
AN INTERNATIONAL JOURNAL

implications of devolving responsibility to

employees. Traditional
style of management
Empowered
style of management

Senior
managers
The Cultural Implications of Self-managing teams of workers
and facilitators

Empowerment Middle managers

Every organization has its own culture –

“the way we do things around here”. Some Workers

aspects of culture are visible to the outsider

– the way employees dress and talk, the
look of the environment, the way people Figure 1.
work. Other aspects are more intangible Traditional Management versus Empowered
– the subjective features such as how Management
senior managers treat their people, how
welcoming the organization is to outsiders, Creating a Supportive Environment
the motives and values that are common Many organizations in the financial sector
to the organization. Empowerment can were managed up until the end to late 1980s
threaten many of the traditionally held in a controlled, inward-looking and
views of employees within an organization centralized fashion. This reflected the market
and challenge the way things are done. conditions of comparatively steady growth
One northern-based food manufacturer, and a stable and unchallenged environment.
for example, began the process of In the mid 1980s an increase in
empowerment by moving away from the competition, deregulation and changes in
traditional multi-layered and hierarchical technology meant that many financial
style of management. It encouraged institutions faced an increasing number of
managers to form self-managing teams, threats and opportunities. The inflexible and
reporting structures were abolished and traditional style of management and
individuals were given responsibility for paternalistic approach to employment became
controlling their own work area (see Figure inappropriate in a climate of increasing
1). This proved a painful experience for challenges (See Table I).
many managers and members of staff who
were used to a working environment with
clear boss-subordinate reporting structures Managed Empowered
and where the managing director had been workforce workforce
very much in control. Little direction was
given to employees during the first stages of Control v Freedom to act
empowerment, and communication in the
Hierarchy v Democracy
company was poor.
Paternalistic v Entrepreneurial
The initial reaction of employees, in this
example, demonstrates that although Rigidity v Flexibility
empowerment gives employees freedom to Inward focussed v Customer focussed
act, the empowerment process does not bring
long-lasting effects unless they are trained Table I.
and supported. Control versus Empowerment in the Workforce

10

In line with many other businesses facing a
tough trading environment, financial
institutions such as the Prudential
Corporation took the decision to change their
organizational structure in order to meet the
needs of their customers better. Over a
gradual period of time, Prudential changed its
structure to one of operating divisions,
focused on specific business areas. Each
division was given the freedom to respond
quickly to their particular marketplace. This
involved a certain amount of downsizing
which was an understandably difficult task,
given that the prevailing culture was one of
“jobs for life”.
Prudential has invested heavily in training
and development to equip its employees with
the skills required in the new workplace
environment. Changes in the structure of the
sales force, for example, to focus the role of
the sales person, were supported by an
extensive retraining program.
Empowerment is at its most effective when
it is linked to achieving the organization’s
goals. Senior management need to agree a
mission or vision for the organization which
focuses on the customer and recognizes that it
needs the resources and creativity of its
employees to meet its aims. The belief in the
power of employees to add value to the
performance of an organization is a
prerequisite step in breaking the traditional
culture of hierarchy and control within a
company.
Create a vision
Agree communication values
Devolve responsibility Create teams
Monitor and review
Figure 2.
The Steps in the Empowerment Process
VOLUME 2 NUMBER 1
1994
Here is one financial institution’s mission
statement:
Our goal is to be the world’s best investment
bank to create exceptional returns for our
clients, our people and our shareholders. Our
people are the source of our competitive
advantage. We will distinguish ourselves by
creating an environment that promotes
teamwork and innovation, by developing and
utilising our employees’ abilities to the fullest
and by treating each other with dignity and
respect.
The statement of purpose of an organization
must be communicated effectively to
employees. Senior managers have an
important role to play in explaining the
mission of their company and in facilitating
the performance required of employees to
achieve its aims.
Organizational Values
An organization’s mission must also be
underpinned by its values.
Giving employees room to operate and
trusting them to make decisions may
challenge many traditionally held views
within an organization. Empowerment will
only work when it is well thought-out and
strongly linked to the organization’s values.
Organizations can assist employees to
understand the core values through
communications and training programs as
well as integrating the core beliefs into all
organizational actions.
One UK subsidiary of a US-based software
manufacturer, for example, recently held a
series of one day workshops for all its
Train Improve
employees where the values of the company
processes and their implications on how people
conducted themselves at work were
explained. The reaction of employees was
very positive as the workshops created an
opportunity for people to clarify what the
organization stood for. Values or beliefs
11
 EMPOWERMENT IN
ORGANIZATIONS:
AN INTERNATIONAL JOURNAL
endorsed by many organizations who adopt
the empowerment route include the
promotion of customer service, two-way
communication, teamwork and integrity.
The Role of the Manager
A fundamental change in the culture of the
organization as a result of empowerment is
the role the manager needs to adopt to
facilitate the process (see Table II).
Restructuring at Nationwide Building
Society, for example, left a group of regional
managers with responsibility for an increased
number of branches. The old school managers
adopted a “hands-on” approach to the time
they spent with their direct reports at branch
level. The newer empowered managers took a
more facilitative approach to the problem and
encouraged a different relationship with their
branch managers so that they in turn felt
empowered to act.
The coaching role of the manager in an
empowered organization, however, can be a
difficult one to adopt unless managers in turn
are given training and support.
Teamwork
Teamwork is an important element in
assisting employees to take on new
responsibilities as it creates a supportive and
open environment. Like the Prudential
Corporation, companies such as Rank Xerox,
Pre-empowerment Post empowerment
Police Coach
Chairperson Facilitator
Team leader Team player
Controller Enabler
Table II.
The Role of the Manager
12
Dupont and the Stock Exchange have devoted
much time and effort to the promotion of
teamwork within their organizations as a
means of enabling empowerment to take
place. These organizations have found that
the benefits of adopting a team approach
include the creation of a greater commitment
to company aims and values, increased
efficiency and effectiveness, as well as
improvements in communication. Rank
Xerox, for example, has created teams of six
to ten staff who have responsibility and
accountability for operational tasks. They are
self managing and have control over their
working conditions, group appraisals and
incentives.
The teamwork approach also has benefits
in terms of process improvements. Braintree
District Council, nominated UK’s top council
for quality, has formed over 100 teams from
its 1,100 employees. The teams meet on a
monthly basis to identify areas in which they
can eliminate error and waste and to pinpoint
improvements which can be made to service
quality. The teams are empowered to act on
their suggestions. In addition to cost and
quality benefits, the team structure has helped
improve cross-divisional communication.
Training Support
Experience shows that employees need
guidance and training to help them take on
new levels of responsibility.
One financial institution, for example,
wished to engender a greater sense of
responsibility in its support staff. A series of
training events was devised, which
encompassed topics such as:
● awareness of the history and structure of
the company;
● product knowledge;
● customer awareness;
● teamwork;
 VOLUME 2 NUMBER 1
1994
● assertive communication skills;
● time management;
● telephone skills;
● problem solving techniques.
Over the course of a year, support staff were
thus able to develop their knowledge, skills
and attitudes in a learning environment which
encouraged them to identify areas for
improvement and to take action to address
these. This was a far cry from the “it’s not my
problem” mentality which had prevailed in
the company before this time.
Improving Processes
Many organizations have taken the
opportunity of reassessing their systems and
procedures to make them more customer
friendly. Direct Line Insurance is an example
of a company which has created a
competitive niche through a fundamental
rethink of the way the UK insurance market
operates. Direct Line offers a cost-effective
service to the public by not dealing with
brokers – the traditional middle-men in the
insurance market – but rather dealing
directly with the public. In doing so, their
staff need to be equipped and empowered to
offer excellent standards of customer service.
Empowerment, therefore, offers
organizations an opportunity to streamline
their operations to make them more efficient
and effective. This in turn can mean a major
departure from the traditional structure of the
organization.
Continuous Improvement
The empowerment process gives
responsibilities to people to make decisions
13
affecting their work place – not once but on
a continuous basis.
A further initial implication of creating an
empowered workforce, therefore, is the
necessity it brings with it to allow
employees constantly to review and improve
the very things which operate within an
organization.
Conclusions
The author’s experience proves that the
cultural implications of empowerment are
profound and have a much greater impact
than many organizations envisage at the
onset of the process. Empowerment has a
fundamental effect on the way an
organization operates, and on its skill base,
attitudes and beliefs.
To be successful, the empowerment
process must be supportive of individual
learning and self-development, of risk and
failure. Above all, it must be seen as a long-
term process and one which adds value to
the performance of the organization and
ultimately its customers.
Sarah Cook is author of Training for
Empowerment, published by Connaught
Training. She is a Director of the Customer
Care specialist, The Stairway Consultancy,
located at Richmond Bridge House, 417-421
Richmond Road, Twickenham, Middlesex
TW1 2EX. Tel: 081 744 9936; Fax: 081 744
0469.