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  • 1.  "empowerment" -- which companies???

    Posted 06-16-1999 15:38
    Can anyone give me the names of companies who are
    generally regarded as ones that espouse and practice
    EMPOWERMENT with its workforce?

    I need this as part of some research I am about to
    undertake on the intersection between IT (in particular,
    ERP implementation)and an "empowered" context.

    Please contact me via email.

    Thanks very much!

    Mike Elmes







    **********************************************************
    + Michael B. Elmes, Ph.D.
    - ^ Associate Professor in
    / \ ^ Organization Behavior and Theory
    / ^ \ / \ Department of Management
    U_/ \_U --- WPI
    | | HHH 100 Institute Road
    | 000 | HHH Worcester, MA 01609, USA
    | 000 |/ \ Phone: 508 831 5182
    | 000 / \ Fax: 508 831 5720
    |___ / ^^^ \ Email: mbelmes@wpi.edu
    _/___HHH___\_

    **********************************************************


  • 2.  "empowerment" -- which companies???

    Posted 06-16-1999 16:25
    Michael,
    I think you'll find some interesting information on: Wal-Mart,
    Harley-Davidson, Bama Pie, Inc., Lincoln Electric and many others.
    "The Portable MBA" (Harvard University Press??) has a book on TQM that
    discusses several businesses that utilize empowerment.
    If I were at the office I could give you a few more books with ISBN. If
    you'd like more information, feel free to email me at the address below.

    Ken Miller, Instructor Health Care Management
    College of West Virginia
    kmiller@cwv.net

    -----Original Message-----
    From: Management Education and Development Discussion
    [mailto:MG-ED-DV@MAELSTROM.STJOHNS.EDU] On Behalf Of Michael Elmes
    Sent: Wednesday, June 16, 1999 3:38 PM
    To: MG-ED-DV@MAELSTROM.STJOHNS.EDU
    Subject: "empowerment" -- which companies???

    Can anyone give me the names of companies who are
    generally regarded as ones that espouse and practice
    EMPOWERMENT with its workforce?

    I need this as part of some research I am about to
    undertake on the intersection between IT (in particular,
    ERP implementation)and an "empowered" context.

    Please contact me via email.

    Thanks very much!

    Mike Elmes







    **********************************************************
    + Michael B. Elmes, Ph.D.
    - ^ Associate Professor in
    / \ ^ Organization Behavior and Theory
    / ^ \ / \ Department of Management
    U_/ \_U --- WPI
    | | HHH 100 Institute Road
    | 000 | HHH Worcester, MA 01609, USA
    | 000 |/ \ Phone: 508 831 5182
    | 000 / \ Fax: 508 831 5720
    |___ / ^^^ \ Email: mbelmes@wpi.edu
    _/___HHH___\_

    **********************************************************


  • 3.  "empowerment" -- which companies???

    Posted 06-16-1999 18:02
    At 03:37 pm 16/06/99 -0400, you wrote:
    >Can anyone give me the names of companies who are
    >generally regarded as ones that espouse and practice
    >EMPOWERMENT with its workforce?
    >
    Burswood Resort Casino in Western Australia. The hotel part of the resort
    won a major award for the empowerment program that they developed and
    implemented.

    Alan :-)
    ----------------------------------------------------------
    Alan Wilson ~ Facilitated Solutions
    Speaker & Trainer to the Meetings Industry


  • 4.  "empowerment" -- which companies???

    Posted 06-16-1999 19:56
    I would certainly nominate our "home town" company, Toyota, as a classic
    case study of implementing, training / fostering, nurturing, and
    encouraging "empowerment" regarding the work force. (Excuse me, I should
    have said work TEAMS.)

    .....Theo
    __________________________________________
    Theo. R. Leverenz, Ph.D.
    EPPA Consulting
    1116 Comanche Trail
    Georgetown, KY 40324-1071
    Voice: (502) 867 - 0157 Pager: (606) 244 - 5314
    ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

    ___________________________________________________________________
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  • 5.  "empowerment" -- which companies???

    Posted 06-17-1999 03:48
    Michael Elmes wrote:
    >
    > Can anyone give me the names of companies who are
    > generally regarded as ones that espouse and practice
    > EMPOWERMENT with its workforce?
    >
    > I need this as part of some research I am about to
    > undertake on the intersection between IT (in particular,
    > ERP implementation)and an "empowered" context.
    >
    > Please contact me via email.
    >
    > Thanks very much!
    >
    > Mike Elmes
    >
    > **********************************************************
    > + Michael B. Elmes, Ph.D.
    > - ^ Associate Professor in
    > / \ ^ Organization Behavior and Theory
    > / ^ \ / \ Department of Management
    > U_/ \_U --- WPI
    > | | HHH 100 Institute Road
    > | 000 | HHH Worcester, MA 01609, USA
    > | 000 |/ \ Phone: 508 831 5182
    > | 000 / \ Fax: 508 831 5720
    > |___ / ^^^ \ Email: mbelmes@wpi.edu
    > _/___HHH___\_
    >
    > **********************************************************Michael,
    Although not a company to loudly acclaim their efforts in this
    direction, empowerment, which is a qestion of degree, has been
    developing through a cascade approach at Merck-Lipha (Lyon based,
    France). Those companies that are generally regarded as espousing
    "empowerment" generally do a good job talking about what they do..others
    just do.

    To Michael and others in the group,
    I'm conducting a doctoral research program on the specific role of
    middle management in steering change (TQM/Strategic Management approach)
    and problems perceived/solutions found in cross-disciplinary
    communication/negociations. Anyone wishing to exchange observations on
    any of the above points would be more than welcome.
    Have a great day,
    Krista FINSTAD
    Professional Consultant / University Lecturer/ Phd student
    (anglo-Canadian based in France)


  • 6.  "empowerment" -- which companies???

    Posted 06-17-1999 04:18
    Mike

    I wish respondents would give references, otherwise following the leads
    is pretty difficult. Further, empowerment has to be seen in context:
    empowerment of what?

    There's an interesting brief example of it in relation to career
    development at the Skipton Building Society:
    Worts, Chris (1996) 'Building a society with special skills' People
    Management 2(2), 25 January, pp.36-8.
    This practitioner journal frequently carries articles referring to this
    theme.

    You can find an interpretation of the Skipton in my book:
    Naylor, John (1998) Management, London, FT Management, pp. 484-5
    Yet if you want the detail, go to the original.


    John Naylor
    Liverpool Business School


  • 7.  "empowerment" -- which companies???

    Posted 06-17-1999 17:29
    New Zealands show piece on empowered work teams is Fletcher Wood
    panels in Kumeu, Auckland. they have won many awards for their
    workteam approach.
    Lyn Murphy
    Manukau Business School
    Manukau Institute Of Technology
    Private Bag 94006
    Manukau
    New Zealand
    Ph 0064-9-274-6009
    Fax 0064-9-273-0707
    email lmurphy@manukau.ac.nz


  • 8.  "empowerment" -- which companies???

    Posted 06-17-1999 21:05
    Ritz Carlton, Atlanta, got a lot of prominence a few years ago as a company
    taking empowerment to new heights. I remember reading that every employee
    at the hotel (including bus boys and room maids) had the authority to spend
    up to $2000 to satisfy a guest's needs, no (or not many) questions asked.
    You will need to check the current status though.

    Vinod Jain

    Vinod K. Jain, Ph.D.
    Director, International Business Programs
    Assistant Professor of I.B. and Strategy
    College of Business Administration
    Bowling Green State University
    Bowling Green, OH 43403
    Tel: (419) 372-9649
    Fax: (419) 372-2875