The new management "buzz" word! The solution to workplace management problems?
In the traditional hierarchical organization major information flow is from the lower levels upward, and decisions flow downward. Decisions should be made on the basis of the best information available. When in doubt, and if the situation permits, wait!
In the "empowerment" game, information flow is supposed to flow to the decision maker from all directions. The decisions are supposed to be made by the one closest to the problem or decision situation. They are supposedly in the best position to make the decision. Management is "monitoring" the situation and outcome.
Mr. Baron (Baron 1986, 302) states: "In order to function, adjust to ever-changing external conditions, and attain their major goals, modern organizations require the free and orderly flow of information. And the movement of such information, in turn, requires some form of communication."
Mr. Baron continues with:
The importance of communication in organizational settings is suggested by the following fact: practicing managers actually spend more of their time engaging in this process than in any other single activity. Indeed, some findings suggest that speaking to others, listening to them, or reading words they have written occupies up to 80 percent of their entire day!1 The central importance of communication is also indicated by the events that follow when something goes wrong with this process--when the flow of information within an organization is interrupted, faulty, or inadequate.
As will soon be apparent, communication is a complex process, affected by a wide range of factors. Further, as...., it is subject to all-too-many sources of error, inaccuracy, and distortion.
Samples of behavior in existing, real organizations are presented elsewhere under "Topical" (Employment) and "Life Lines" (Family Goals, Leadership, and Commitment) on this site. In view of my own observations and the opinions expressed to me by others, I believe I have the answer to both questions posed at the beginning of this page.
Yes!
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Motivation and Bogus Empowerment
