Employee Empowerment and Industrial Relation

Industrial  relations  is an  expression  used  not  only  for relationship  between employer and trade unions but also involving government with the aim of defining policies, facing labour problems.

Industrial relations include following concept.

• Rules for employment management
• Rules and regulation.
• Role of State Government bodies.
• Harmonious relations and technology.

Empowerment  mean   to   enable,   to   give   power,   to   allow   or   to   permit. Empowerment   as   an   act   of   building,   development   and   increasing   power. Empowerments  as  a  motivational  concept  associated  with  enabling   rather   than delegating.  

Employee empowerment is an important motivational tool in organization.

• A flatter organization structure facilitating dispersion of authority.
• Participative decision –making and allied activities in the organization.
• Open communication systems and exchange of information.
• Resource sharing.

Empowering  employees  no   longer   remains  an  optical  decision,  but  has  become necessity to make organization flexible and adoptable to the volatile environment. Why  are  more  and  more  companies empowering  employees?  One  reason   is  the need of quick decisions by those people, who are most knowledgeable about the issue. Often those at lower organizational levels. If organizations are  to  successfully complete   in a dynamic global economy. They have to be able to make decision and implement changes quickly. Another reasons is   the   reality   that  organizational  downsizing  during   the   last  part  of   the   twentieth century left many managers with larger spans of control. In order to cope with the increased work demands manager had to empower their people. If  an  organization   implements  employee  empowerment  properly:  -  the productivity   gains,   quality   improvement   more   satisfied   customers,   increased employee motivation and improved morale. But the primarily role of management is “to  support  and  simulate   their  people,  co-operate   to  overcome  cross   functional barriers, and work to eliminate fear within their own team.”

Success with empowerment Saturn a highly successful American Car manufacture, empowered its employees by the  work   team.  Even   the  design  process   involves  a  high  degree  of  employee participation.   In   the   Saturn   case,   empowerment   became   directly   linked   to responsibility, and employees make suggestion how to improve processes. The process of empowerment will differ from organization to organization depending on their.

1. Concept of empowerment
2. Organizational objectives and strategies.
3. Resource and financial position.
4. Attitudes towards customer & employee
5. Employee’s knowledge skills.

It   is   a   philosophical   concept   that   organizations   have   to   buy   into:-   for  many organization  include some. Important facts – values, leadership,  job structure and reward system.

Process of empowerment divide into 3 steps.

• Studying the working environment of the employees.
• Redefining tasks and reallocating resources.
• Focusing on the psychological & motivational needs of employee in empowered position.

Empowerment has come to play a major role in corporate excellence. Empowerment  means  giving   the  employees   the  authority   to  make  decisions  and providing them with financial resources to implement their decisions.

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