Bagali, MM Bagali, Empowerment, Culture, Management, High Performance Work systems

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The Making of an Empowered Workforce:
Demystifying a Case of Practicing Indian Organisation
M M Bagali, PhD in HR
Professor of Management and Human Resources,
Coordinating, Research in Management,
JAIN University,
319 / 17TH CROSS / 25TH MAIN / 6th PHASE / JP NAGAR,
Jain University/ Bengalore -560 078 / India
Tel: 80 43430400 / Fax: 080 26532730
mm.bagali@jainuniversity.ac.in
http://in.linkedin.com/in/mmbagali
Abstract
Demystifying POWER of Empowerment: A Case of well designed HR practices
During turbulent days, organizations are increasingly seen to innovate
ways to manage business. One of these innovations is in the area of
developing and managing potentials of human resources, which often results
in achieving a sustained organizational growth. The question is how to
develop HR towards global standards. On the other, various strategies are
being adopted by business organizations in this regard. One also sees a
paradigm shift from an approach understood as ‘welfare approach’ to that
of an approach commonly known as the ‘empowerment approach’. This approach
of employee empowerment has seen interesting outcomes and hence has been
accepted almost all across the world. Management experts have placed a lot
of stress on the need for empowering workforce in organization.
Empowerment is seen as investing power and vesting full authority with
almost every employee in an organisation, which enables employees to do
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what needs to be done rather than do what they are told to do. Empowerment
as a strategy has been successfully practiced in the west. Its role still
needs to be viewed in the Indian context.
But, do organizations in India have changed their deep-seated mind set in
empowering employees and giving complete liberty and freedom to decide
organisation destiny. The answers could vary. But, too many companies ask
workers to act like owners without truly giving them the authority to do
so. Thus, the study demystifies the power of empowerment.
The Study:
The present work is an empirical study of an Indian Organisation in the
experiment of employee empowerment by an entrepreneur, per se. It
highlights some unique strategies adopted for managing human resources
whose efforts have paid large dividends to the company. The business
organisation has succeeded in achieving global standards in its output.
The workforce is committed as well as efficient.
This work makes an attempt to advocate the cause of employee empowerment
and calls upon practitioners to shift their practices towards
orientation to empowerment with the assumptions that: Individual and
organizational achievements can be gained through sense of belonging; a
sense of organizational life through climate shapes behavior and moulds
positive attitude towards organizational growth; access to information
about the mission, value, goals and objectives of an organisation is
positively related to empowerment; and empowerment at workplace makes
leaders redundant.
Method of Study:
Infact, this study has examined a variety of angles and images in
practicing employee empowerment and has tried to understand the fallouts
of such practices at Polyhydron Private Limited (PPL), an engineering
organization (1981), manufacturing Radial pistons pumps, Hand operated DVC
and Pressure switches. The virtues which the study tested included the
sense of accountability; trustworthiness; bureaucratic approach; building
commitment in workforce; communication system; degree of freedom;
management styles and ethos; feedback system; climate of honesty;
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industrial democracy; knowledge sharing; leadership approach; ownership
culture; participative approach; climate of politics; power distribution;
work relationships; responsibility sharing; shared values; etc.
Empowerment was found to be a phenomenon, which is not independent. The
research saw various shades of organizational ethos and practices that
lead to empowerment with the strong belief that if an
The Results:
The company has been following innovative practices in development and
management of its human resources. In the words of an employee … ‘we all
dream of excellence, we all think of excellence and we all deliver
excellence’. Excellence in this organisation has become an accepted way of
life and every individual strives to achieve it because of the prevailing
empowered culture.
Empowerment is not only sharing responsibility and power, but on
the macro level includes other systems, practices and ethos, which
forms vital components of empowerment process. A macro observation
on these systems leaves the impression that the style of
functioning adopted by PPL organisation is something unique and
truly note-worthy, particularly
when one sees it in the Indian context. The common attitude of the
labour community that ‘we are paid to work’ is an obstacle to such
practices. But, the trends, as seen in this organisation were just
the reverse. This has been possible as the management approached
the issue of empowerment from the point of view of entire
organisation and developed a system. One may, therefore conclude
that, if empowerment has to come through, the organisation has to
adopt a system that will embrace the entire organisation.
The experiment has come a long way. Today, the results of such
efforts are far reaching. The organisation can safely boast of
having highly motivated and committed workforce; it has employees
who handle their responsibilities professionally; capable to take
independent decisions; a low employee turnover; and a disciplined-
confident workforce with open and transparent behavior. The
industrial climate is also free from disputes. All these practices
make for the good image organisation carries today in the market.
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Contribution of the work: Setting New HR Way:
The study has been undertaken to come out with concrete practices
and paradigms for overall enhancement and development of human
resources and organisation as a whole. Infact, a) a holistic
approach to study empowerment practices in creating high
performance work force has been the core attempt throughout the
study, with the development of valid tool; b) several valid
empowering areas have been identified to put to practice on larger
canvas with standardized empowerment scale; c) there has been an
attempt made to draw up theories, development of model and how
empowerment should be practiced step by step. The model specifies
the priority area of instituting empowerment in developing global
standard strategies & practices; d) how to create a challenging and
satisfying work environment; and e) what defines a good culture and
identified which work place culture actually worked.
End Note:
Empowerment system at workplace is an important contribution to
organizational effectiveness and growth. It is mental and emotional
involvement of employees that encourages them to contribute to
goals by sharing equal responsibility. It has numerous limitations,
but, when its pre-requisites are met and the amount and type used
reasonably fit the situation, it offers potential for higher
productivity, greater job satisfaction, constant growth, continuous
improvement and other innumerable long-term benefits. A structure,
procedure, institutional framework for such empowering practice
requires careful and balanced study on MACRO level. The present
study has answered several questions in creating a World Class
Organization, a High Performing Workforce and crystallizing the
reasons …… “WHY TOP” performing companies are different. Thus, the
study demystifies the power of empowerment.
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