Empowerment: A matter of degree

Executive Overview Without question empowerment is THE topic of the day. Articles, books, consultants, and seminars all offer the practicing manager ideas, techniques, methods and reasons to immediately put this new powerful employee motivation/productivity tool to work. Yet, there is still a fair amount of ignorance as to what exactly employee empowerment is, how it might be implemented, and exactly what can be gained through its implementation. In this article we attempt to define empowerment, lay out a process by which it can be assessed, and offer an implementation strategy for managers.