Employee empowerment and organizational commitment: A study of the food manufacturing sector in Zimbabwe

Abstract

The study was based on the Zimbabwe employee empowerment model that was initiated within the country in the 1980s. The model was meant to address employee empowerment disparities within the country’s different industries. The study that was in a case study format was carried out in four different companies in the food processing sector of Zimbabwe. The construct of employee empowerment was contextualized to include three areas which are decision-making, information-sharing and power sharing. The argument advanced was that involving employees in decision making, information-sharing and power sharing would result into the employees’ organizational commitment. After experiencing a number of obstacles, data was obtained and analysed. The results indicated a positive relationship between decision-making and organizational commitment; and information sharing and organizational commitment. The relationship between power sharing and organizational commitment was generally negative. Key words: Employee empowerment, employee involvement, organizational commitment, decision-making, information sharing, power sharing, Zimbabwe.