Employee Empowerment:
Organizational Achievement Through Employee Engagement
Management of Human Resources MGT-331-CL02
Ronnie Ramirez
April 20, 2014
Dr. Kathryn Adamson, PhD.

TABLE OF CONTENTS
I. Introduction 2
II. Issues Addressed 2-5
III. Analysis of Issues 5-6
IV. Conclusion 7
V. References 8-9

Introduction
Employee empowerment is the process of enabling and authorizing employees to contribute ideas, recommendations, and concepts, relating to their job (Richards, 2014). Employees are a group of intelligent, and creative individuals full of potential needing an outlet to demonstrate their true value through contributions to an organization. By empowering people in the workforce an environment is created in which people have an impact on decisions and actions that affect their jobs and the organization as a whole (Richards, 2014). Empowerment creates employees that are committed and loyal as well as develops sense of belonging initiating a sense of pride in their work, resulting in a goal oriented employee fostering engagement in organizational objectives.
Empowerment encourages motivation and contribution to the organization as well as enhancing employee retention. Empowered employees want to learn and share ideas, and they become solid representatives of the organization taking a lead position and advancing their skills and knowledge base through education (Adams, Praveen, & Wilson, 2006). For an organization to secure the benefits of employee empowerment, leadership must make the effort to generate an environment where employee empowerment is desired and developed. With a culture of empowerment established, organizational success can be improved trough the innovative thoughts and actions of personnel.
Issues addressed
Launching a change from the normal work culture to one of empowerment can become a situation where both managers and employees feel intimidated. Managers may feel they will lose control of their departments while employees may feel they will lose support or may feel anxious about acquiring this new standing which they may feel unqualified. It is therefore important for the manager to demonstrate that they value and trust their employees, as well as realize. Displaying appreciation for employee uniqueness is the first step in achieving trust and loyalty. The appreciation displayed will help people feel that they are part of the organization, not only their individual job (Niehoff, Moorman, Blakely, & Fuller , 2001, p. 97). By allowing the characteristic of trust and valuing the individuals, both the manager and employee can experience a sense of control and support. Insuring all employees know and have access to the organization's overall mission, vision, and strategic plans, and including them in the actual planning and accepting their input on the overall planning, will lead them in a direction that will display their commitment and competency (Allen, 2012).
Involvement of employees in the goals and direction of the organization are imperative in the empowerment of the employee. Contributions from employees add value, knowledge, ideas, insight and experience that could be missed without their involvement. With the participation of employees in goal setting procedures they can evaluate and make realistic goals. These goals would therefore be measurable and observable. With the goals set to and recognized as achievable by individuals, the personal choice of advancing skills and knowledge would fall on the employee.