Employee Empowerment and Organisational Effectiveness: A Conceptual Framework

Abstract

Unprecedented transformation in the business environment has forced the modern organisations to adopt innovative management practices and systems to remain sustainable in today's turbulent economy. One such management practice that has become very popular today is ‘empowerment’. Employee empowerment as an organisational programme involves providing a framework for the workforce to unleash, develop and utilise the skills and knowledge to the fullest extent possible. This is only possible in an empowered organisation characterised by the presence of an effective communication and delegation, flexibility and adaptability authentic organisational culture and above all a favourable empowerment climate. This paper seeks to review the existing models and perspectives of employee empowerment and organisational effectiveness. In the context of the study, a conceptual model was established which seeks to explore the relationship between employee empowerment and organisational effectiveness. The purpose of the study is to expand the theoretical and conceptual understanding of employee empowerment. The concept of employee empowerment is a composition of structural empowerment and psychological empowerment where the former has an influence over the later in the first place. Then the model seeks to explain the relationship of each of the perspective (structural as well as psychological) with organisational effectiveness.