Empowerments chances seem dim for many reasons off the top of my head.
As stated earlier in this group, most managers (not all) are "control
freaks". Put another way, based on the Myers-Briggs Type Indicator data
collected over many decades, all have J preferences (80-90%). This
preference makes it tough to let go of control issues.
Another thought is that as Wheatley says organizations want order and
predictability...giving up the "illusion" of control I believe scares the
hell out of most managers.
When managers current reality gets bad enough (span of control too great,
perhaps) the may have no other alternative but to "empower" their
employees, however, what I have seen it really turns into not being able
to manage their employees has closely as they would like - setting up what
Blanchard called the "Leave Alone - ZAP" style of management.
How's that for starters on a Sunday morning!!
On 17 May 1996, Keith Cowan wrote:
> The source of heat appears to be Joan's belief that empowerment
> is the answer and Brock is quite pessimistic on the ability of
> management to SEE what is not working.
>
> I believe that empowerment can be very effective when properly
> nurtured by senior management. But, if Brock is correct, then
> empowerment is not likely to flourish in many organizations.
--Bill Hendry | work e-mail: sfidba@thpl.lib.fl.us Organizational Development Consultant and Trainer Hillsborough County, FL (813) 276-2727, fax (813) 276-2197
Learning-org -- An Internet Dialog on Learning Organizations For info: <rkarash@karash.com> -or- <http://world.std.com/~lo/>