Employee empowerment - meaning

Employee empowerment is critical in the CQI philosophy and means that employees have the authority to make well-reasoned, data-based decisions. In essence, they are entrusted with the legal power to change processes through a rational, scientific approach. 

Teams are often used to empower employees. Empowerment is a means of involving every employee in the improvement process. The purpose of this is to make improvement everyone s responsibility. A company which empowers its workers recognizes that they can make improvements faster if everyone who works for the firm is contributing to the improvement efforts. 

Petersen discusses the concept of limited empowerment versus total empowerment. Limited empowerment suggests we live within some ground rules. We all play with the same rules that make the game fair and safe. Most football rules are, in fact, safety rules, and most teams find them easy to follow. Limited empowerment means management establishes some ground rules for everyone to follow (Petersen, 2001, p. 63). Employees are empowered within this framework to participate in decision making for improving safety performance. 

Associates (workers, employees) must have the education and training to perform proficiently, meaning safely, efficiently, and productively. In this information era, they must learn how to function in new and demanding organization structures and handle team membership and empowerment, computer and communication technology, statistical techniques, problem-solving systems, and so much more. 

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