At Bedowin Hotels, management offers a money-back guarantee if the customer isn't satisfied with everything. They also empower every employee to do what it takes to keep the guests happy-no manager approval is needed. Employees are engaged and feel in control of their positions. They also feel that they really impact the company's bottom line. Define psychological empowerment. How does a person feel when he or she is empowered? What can a manager do to empower his or her subordinates?

Question

What will be an ideal response?

Answer 1

Psychological empowerment occurs when employees feel a sense of meaning, competence, self-determination, and impact at work. If an employee feels that his or her work has meaning, is competent, and has some control (self-determination), then he or she is very likely to feel highly efficacious and perform at a high level. Figure 12.6 illustrates some of the key inputs to empower others and the resulting outcomes. Empowering others is not simple, but what makes it easier is that the same levers can be used to influence empowerment across levels of an organization. Figure 12.6 illustrates some of these: structural empowerment, individual differences, job characteristics, managerial support, leadership, and organizational support.