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Empowerment

  • 1.  Empowerment

    Posted 06-17-1999 02:58
    Mike asked: <Can anyone give me the names of companies who are
    generally regarded as ones that espouse and practice
    EMPOWERMENT with its workforce?>

    Check out Semco in Brazil owned by Ricardo Semler: W. L. Gore &
    Associates in Newark, Deleware; and the Mondragon Cooperatives in Spain.

    ********************************************************************
    Susan M. Osborn, Ph.D., Consultant & Adjunct Faculty Member: Chapman
    Univ., National Univ., Univ. of LaVerne, & Univ. of Phoenix.
    Author: THE SYSTEM MADE ME DO IT! A LIFE CHANGING APPROACH TO
    OFFICE POLITICS. Sacramento CA; www.netcom.com/~sosborn/


  • 2.  Empowerment

    Posted 06-22-1999 04:22
    David Boje said, "Workplace democracy is the only true empowerment!"

    Re: this position, suggest looking at self-managed teams, especially the
    Norwegian Industrial Democracy Project. July/August issue of
    FAST COMPANY MAGAZINE has a relevant article about Norsk Hydro, titled,
    "The Way to Enough." (www.fastcompany.com)

    ********************************************************************
    Susan M. Osborn, Ph.D., Consultant & Adjunct Faculty Member: Chapman
    Univ., National Univ., Univ. of LaVerne, & Univ. of Phoenix.
    Author: THE SYSTEM MADE ME DO IT! A LIFE CHANGING APPROACH TO
    OFFICE POLITICS. Sacramento CA; www.netcom.com/~sosborn/


  • 3.  Empowerment

    Posted 06-22-1999 13:08
    A useful definition of and taxonomy for empowerment can be found in
    "Empowerment: A matter of degree," by R C Ford & M D Fottler, Academy of
    Management Executive, 1995, 9(3), 21-31.


  • 4.  empowerment

    Posted 06-22-1999 14:43
    David, Thank you (and everyone else on the list) for your thoughts
    about empowerment and empowering organizations. I tend to agree with you
    (and Alvesson and Willmott) that some of what is touted as empowerment
    may actually narrow worker involvement and control. What interests us in
    our study, however, is how companies that espouse at least the rhetoric of
    empowerment (if not actual practices) manage to introduce and implement
    large, highly centralized IT systems (such as ERP systems like SAP). At
    the discursive level this makes for an interesting dilemma: in a context of
    "empowerment" how to introduce systems that fundamentally centralize
    information and control. Those of you who have studied this problem know
    that many IT managers have resisted the implementation of ERP systems
    precisely
    because it has required them to rip out their own locally designed and
    implemented systems and given them less control. In this scenario
    organizational
    elites face a difficult rhetorical challenge: how to get workers to buy
    into such
    systems without blantantly contradicting the discourse of empowerment.

    This is what we would like to investigate. It is also why we are interested
    in companies that are seen as or that see themselves as empowering their
    workforce. How do they reconcile the rhetoric of empowerment with the
    realities of implementing ERP systems that require a high degree of
    compliance and "discipline" (a word that has been used several times
    in various studies to describe how workers must interact with ERP systems
    if they are to function properly)?

    We have a nice list of companies that are seen as empowering. We welcome any
    others that people know about and would be willing to send us (regardless
    of whether they are implementing ERP systems).

    Regards,

    Mike Elmes
    mbelmes@wpi.edu




    >Date: Mon, 21 Jun 1999 18:36:32 -0600
    >From: David Boje <dboje@NMSU.EDU>
    >Subject: Empowerment List
    >
    >Michael,
    >
    >I have been reading the empowerment list ideas with interest. There is in
    >the literature a vast difference between the HR empowerment examples (Gore,
    >Ritz Carlton, etc.) and kinds of empowerment that critical and postmodern
    >theorists are writing about. The critical postmodernists (CP) approach
    >focuses upon workplace democracy and even the cooperative governance of the
    >firm by workers. The view of Alvesson and Willmott (Making Sense of
    >Management - Sage) is that the HR empowerment approach is actually
    >disempowerment, a move away from worker control over the governance of the
    >firm, containing only a narrow focus on work task control.
    >
    >As an example of workplace empowerment I would suggest examples such Robert
    >Owens cooperative movement. See Dennis Lawrence (The Third Way: The Promise
    >of Industrial Democracy, 1988 Routledge). One example is the 1843
    >establshiment of a British workers' cooperative which by 1914 established
    >1,400 retail stores owned 500 factories with sales of $650 million. They set
    >up their own banks and insurance. Workers divided the surplus based upon
    >purchses made. The factories of the English Wholesale Cooperative Society
    >were reportedly worker-governed, as were each of the retail stores. See also
    >Daniel Bloomfield's Modern Industiral Movements. 1920 NY the H. W. Wilson
    >Company. The Mondragon of Spain is a more contemporary example of worker
    >empowerment, where workers elect any managers who may be needed. Workplace
    >democracy is the only true empowerment!
    >
    >Good luck on your study.
    >
    >david


  • 5.  Empowerment

    Posted 07-01-1999 17:23
    David Bojes wrote (some time ago, before I got my summer e-mail sorted
    out...<G>):

    >... There is in
    >the literature a vast difference between the HR empowerment examples (Gore,
    >Ritz Carlton, etc.) and kinds of empowerment that critical and postmodern
    >theorists are writing about.

    It seems to me there may be at least one other kind as well, although I
    haven't seen much focussed documentation on the subject yet. In
    high-growth firms, there often seem to be conditions that encourage
    participants to make extraordinary contributions. Indeed, I think one can
    argue that those extra contributions may be one of the factors that enables
    firms (or other organizations) to grow, since they reflect a voluntary and
    only partially conpensated contribution to the firm's resources. As those
    super-contributions accumulate, so does the residual resource complement of
    the firm. Conversely, when people do not make such contributions, a firm
    stagnates.

    The cooperative organizations which David mentions do seem to engender a
    similar (but different I think) type of particpant contribution. Max
    DePree (Leadership Jazz) suggests that leaders need to pay special
    attention to creating environments in which participants can contribute
    their best talents. What a difference that should make in productivity,
    compared to most organizations! Keith Schilit (Rising Stars and Fast
    Fades) identified several characteristics of firms that have been able to
    sustain well-above-average growth rates, and several of them reflect
    empowerment tenets.

    While interesting, these works continue the literature David mentions, by
    way of philosophical and ideological principles, and case histories -- but
    they do not provide rigorous empirical tests of alternative hypotheses or
    direct links from empowerment behaviour to individual and organizational
    performance.

    I have a pilot study underway this year, tracking ca. 100 startups from the
    Class of 1994 forward. Preliminary results suggested that growth rates
    will strongly correlate with various empowerment and reward attributes, but
    I don't expect it to be conclusive due to the relatively small size and the
    exploratory purpose of the study.

    Do List members know of other empirical tests of organizational performance
    in which empowerment is deliberately assessed as a causal variable? If
    there are such studies, what kinds of results have been demonstrated?

    Tom Bryant.


    *+*+*+*+*+*+*+*+*+*+*+*+*+*+*+*
    Thomas A. Bryant, Ph.D.
    Visiting professor, Rutgers University, 1998-99
    The State of New Jersey Chair in Entrepreneurship and Small Business
    Tel: (973) 353-1062. Rutgers e-mail: tabryant@andromeda.rutgers.edu

    Past-Chair, Entrepreneurship & Family Business Division, Administrative
    Sciences Assn. of Canada
    Senior Research Fellow, The Institute for Enterprise Education

    President, Brystra Consultants, P.O. Box 125, Waterloo, ON N2J 3Z9
    Tel: (519) 746-6225; e-mail: brystra@golden.net


  • 6.  Empowerment

    Posted 07-01-1999 20:49
    To the list,

    I'm not very familiar with the area, but what Dr. Bryant seems to be describing
    here might be lablled as Organizational Citizenship behavior???? Am I missing
    something, or should he look into the Org. Citizenship literature for examples
    of such employee behaviors?

    William
    (William.Sharbrough@citadel.edu)

    >David Bojes wrote (some time ago, before I got my summer e-mail sorted
    >out...<G>):

    >>... There is in
    >>the literature a vast difference between the HR empowerment examples (Gore,
    >>Ritz Carlton, etc.) and kinds of empowerment that critical and postmodern
    >>theorists are writing about.

    >It seems to me there may be at least one other kind as well, although I
    >haven't seen much focussed documentation on the subject yet. In
    >high-growth firms, there often seem to be conditions that encourage
    >participants to make extraordinary contributions. Indeed, I think one can
    >argue that those extra contributions may be one of the factors that enables
    >firms (or other organizations) to grow, since they reflect a voluntary and
    >only partially conpensated contribution to the firm's resources. As those
    >super-contributions accumulate, so does the residual resource complement of
    >the firm. Conversely, when people do not make such contributions, a firm
    >stagnates.

    >The cooperative organizations which David mentions do seem to engender a
    >similar (but different I think) type of particpant contribution. Max
    >DePree (Leadership Jazz) suggests that leaders need to pay special
    >attention to creating environments in which participants can contribute
    >their best talents. What a difference that should make in productivity,
    >compared to most organizations! Keith Schilit (Rising Stars and Fast
    >Fades) identified several characteristics of firms that have been able to
    >sustain well-above-average growth rates, and several of them reflect
    >empowerment tenets.

    >While interesting, these works continue the literature David mentions, by
    >way of philosophical and ideological principles, and case histories -- but
    >they do not provide rigorous empirical tests of alternative hypotheses or
    >direct links from empowerment behaviour to individual and organizational
    >performance.

    >I have a pilot study underway this year, tracking ca. 100 startups from the
    >Class of 1994 forward. Preliminary results suggested that growth rates
    >will strongly correlate with various empowerment and reward attributes, but
    >I don't expect it to be conclusive due to the relatively small size and the
    >exploratory purpose of the study.

    >Do List members know of other empirical tests of organizational performance
    >in which empowerment is deliberately assessed as a causal variable? If
    >there are such studies, what kinds of results have been demonstrated?

    >Tom Bryant.


    >*+*+*+*+*+*+*+*+*+*+*+*+*+*+*+*
    >Thomas A. Bryant, Ph.D.
    >Visiting professor, Rutgers University, 1998-99
    >The State of New Jersey Chair in Entrepreneurship and Small Business
    >Tel: (973) 353-1062. Rutgers e-mail: tabryant@andromeda.rutgers.edu

    >Past-Chair, Entrepreneurship & Family Business Division, Administrative
    >Sciences Assn. of Canada
    >Senior Research Fellow, The Institute for Enterprise Education

    >President, Brystra Consultants, P.O. Box 125, Waterloo, ON N2J 3Z9
    >Tel: (519) 746-6225; e-mail: brystra@golden.net

    ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
    William C. Sharbrough, Ph.D.
    Associate Professor of Business Administration
    The Citadel
    171 Moultrie Street
    Charleston, SC 29409

    Office (843) 953-5164 FAX (843) 953-6764 or Home (843) 763-8512
    E-Mail: SHARBROUGHW@CITADEL.EDU

    ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~


  • 7.  Empowerment

    Posted 07-01-1999 21:21
    Organizational Citizenship? Who coined that term, and how is it different
    than the innumerable other descriptive terms for organizations where
    employees give their best? Is there literature and/ or research into this?

    Ed Brenegar
    Leadership Resources
    Hendersonville, N.C.

    ----- Original Message -----
    From: William Sharbrough (2-5164, h-763-8512)
    <William.Sharbrough@CITADEL.EDU>
    To: <MG-ED-DV@MAELSTROM.STJOHNS.EDU>
    Sent: Thursday, July 01, 1999 8:49 PM
    Subject: Re: Empowerment


    > To the list,
    >
    > I'm not very familiar with the area, but what Dr. Bryant seems to be
    describing
    > here might be lablled as Organizational Citizenship behavior???? Am I
    missing
    > something, or should he look into the Org. Citizenship literature for
    examples
    > of such employee behaviors?
    >
    > William
    > (William.Sharbrough@citadel.edu)
    >
    > >David Bojes wrote (some time ago, before I got my summer e-mail sorted
    > >out...<G>):
    >
    > >>... There is in
    > >>the literature a vast difference between the HR empowerment examples
    (Gore,
    > >>Ritz Carlton, etc.) and kinds of empowerment that critical and
    postmodern
    > >>theorists are writing about.
    >
    > >It seems to me there may be at least one other kind as well, although I
    > >haven't seen much focussed documentation on the subject yet. In
    > >high-growth firms, there often seem to be conditions that encourage
    > >participants to make extraordinary contributions. Indeed, I think one
    can
    > >argue that those extra contributions may be one of the factors that
    enables
    > >firms (or other organizations) to grow, since they reflect a voluntary
    and
    > >only partially conpensated contribution to the firm's resources. As
    those
    > >super-contributions accumulate, so does the residual resource complement
    of
    > >the firm. Conversely, when people do not make such contributions, a firm
    > >stagnates.
    >
    > >The cooperative organizations which David mentions do seem to engender a
    > >similar (but different I think) type of particpant contribution. Max
    > >DePree (Leadership Jazz) suggests that leaders need to pay special
    > >attention to creating environments in which participants can contribute
    > >their best talents. What a difference that should make in productivity,
    > >compared to most organizations! Keith Schilit (Rising Stars and Fast
    > >Fades) identified several characteristics of firms that have been able to
    > >sustain well-above-average growth rates, and several of them reflect
    > >empowerment tenets.
    >
    > >While interesting, these works continue the literature David mentions, by
    > >way of philosophical and ideological principles, and case histories --
    but
    > >they do not provide rigorous empirical tests of alternative hypotheses or
    > >direct links from empowerment behaviour to individual and organizational
    > >performance.
    >
    > >I have a pilot study underway this year, tracking ca. 100 startups from
    the
    > >Class of 1994 forward. Preliminary results suggested that growth rates
    > >will strongly correlate with various empowerment and reward attributes,
    but
    > >I don't expect it to be conclusive due to the relatively small size and
    the
    > >exploratory purpose of the study.
    >
    > >Do List members know of other empirical tests of organizational
    performance
    > >in which empowerment is deliberately assessed as a causal variable? If
    > >there are such studies, what kinds of results have been demonstrated?
    >
    > >Tom Bryant.
    >
    >
    > >*+*+*+*+*+*+*+*+*+*+*+*+*+*+*+*
    > >Thomas A. Bryant, Ph.D.
    > >Visiting professor, Rutgers University, 1998-99
    > >The State of New Jersey Chair in Entrepreneurship and Small Business
    > >Tel: (973) 353-1062. Rutgers e-mail: tabryant@andromeda.rutgers.edu
    >
    > >Past-Chair, Entrepreneurship & Family Business Division, Administrative
    > >Sciences Assn. of Canada
    > >Senior Research Fellow, The Institute for Enterprise Education
    >
    > >President, Brystra Consultants, P.O. Box 125, Waterloo, ON N2J 3Z9
    > >Tel: (519) 746-6225; e-mail: brystra@golden.net
    >
    >
    ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
    ~~~~
    > William C. Sharbrough, Ph.D.
    > Associate Professor of Business Administration
    > The Citadel
    > 171 Moultrie Street
    > Charleston, SC 29409
    >
    > Office (843) 953-5164 FAX (843) 953-6764 or Home (843) 763-8512
    > E-Mail: SHARBROUGHW@CITADEL.EDU
    >
    >
    ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
    ~~~~
    >


  • 8.  Empowerment

    Posted 07-01-1999 21:57
    Ed,
    I don't know who coined the term, but there certainly is a literature and research.  For a review try:

    Philip Podsakoff et al., (1993), "Organizational Citizenship Behaviors and Managerial Evaluations of Employee Performance: A review and suggestions for future research" Research in Personnel and Human Resource Management , Vol 11, 1-40

    Cheers
    Dave
    --
    ________________________________________________________________________
    David E. Morgan,  Ph.D.       Email: d.morgan@unsw.edu.au
    School of Industrial Relations and Organisational Behaviour,
    University of New South Wales,
    Sydney, 2052, Australia.
    Ph +61 2 9385 2181 (w) +61 2 9489 1448 (h)  Fax. +61 2 9662 8531
    ________________________________________________________________________
    Ed Brenegar wrote:

    Organizational Citizenship?  Who coined that term, and how is it different
    than the innumerable other descriptive terms for organizations where
    employees give their best?  Is there literature and/ or research into this?

    Ed Brenegar
    Leadership Resources
    Hendersonville, N.C.

    ----- Original Message -----
    From: William Sharbrough (2-5164, h-763-8512)
    <William.Sharbrough@CITADEL.EDU>
    To: <MG-ED-DV@MAELSTROM.STJOHNS.EDU>
    Sent: Thursday, July 01, 1999 8:49 PM
    Subject: Re: Empowerment

    > To the list,
    >
    > I'm not very familiar with the area, but what Dr. Bryant seems to be
    describing
    > here might be lablled as Organizational Citizenship behavior????  Am I
    missing
    > something, or should he look into the Org. Citizenship literature for
    examples
    > of such employee behaviors?
    >
    > William
    > (William.Sharbrough@citadel.edu)
    >
    > >David Bojes wrote (some time ago, before I got my summer e-mail sorted
    > >out...<G>):
    >
    > >>...  There is in
    > >>the literature a vast difference between the HR empowerment examples
    (Gore,
    > >>Ritz Carlton, etc.) and kinds of empowerment that critical and
    postmodern
    > >>theorists are writing about.
    >
    > >It seems to me there may be at least one other kind as well, although I
    > >haven't seen much focussed documentation on the subject yet.  In
    > >high-growth firms, there often seem to be conditions that encourage
    > >participants to make extraordinary contributions.   Indeed, I think one
    can
    > >argue that those extra contributions may be one of the factors that
    enables
    > >firms (or other organizations) to grow, since they reflect a voluntary
    and
    > >only partially conpensated contribution to the firm's resources.  As
    those
    > >super-contributions accumulate, so does the residual resource complement
    of
    > >the firm.  Conversely, when people do not make such contributions, a firm
    > >stagnates.
    >
    > >The cooperative organizations which David mentions do seem to engender a
    > >similar (but different I think) type of particpant contribution.  Max
    > >DePree (Leadership Jazz) suggests that leaders need to pay special
    > >attention to creating environments in which participants can contribute
    > >their best talents.  What a difference that should make in productivity,
    > >compared to most organizations!  Keith Schilit (Rising Stars and Fast
    > >Fades) identified several characteristics of firms that have been able to
    > >sustain well-above-average growth rates, and several of them reflect
    > >empowerment tenets.
    >
    > >While interesting, these works continue the literature David mentions, by
    > >way of philosophical and ideological principles, and case histories --
    but
    > >they do not provide rigorous empirical tests of alternative hypotheses or
    > >direct links from empowerment behaviour to individual and organizational
    > >performance.
    >
    > >I have a pilot study underway this year, tracking ca. 100 startups from
    the
    > >Class of 1994 forward.  Preliminary results suggested that growth rates
    > >will strongly correlate with various empowerment and reward attributes,
    but
    > >I don't expect it to be conclusive due to the relatively small size and
    the
    > >exploratory purpose of the study.
    >
    > >Do List members know of other empirical tests of organizational
    performance
    > >in which empowerment is deliberately assessed as a causal variable?  If
    > >there are such studies, what kinds of results have been demonstrated?
    >
    > >Tom Bryant.
    >
    >
    > >*+*+*+*+*+*+*+*+*+*+*+*+*+*+*+*
    > >Thomas A. Bryant, Ph.D.
    > >Visiting professor, Rutgers University, 1998-99
    > >The State of New Jersey Chair in Entrepreneurship and Small Business
    > >Tel: (973) 353-1062.  Rutgers e-mail: tabryant@andromeda.rutgers.edu
    >
    > >Past-Chair, Entrepreneurship & Family Business Division, Administrative
    > >Sciences Assn. of Canada
    > >Senior Research Fellow, The Institute for Enterprise Education
    >
    > >President, Brystra Consultants, P.O. Box 125, Waterloo, ON  N2J 3Z9
    > >Tel: (519) 746-6225;  e-mail:  brystra@golden.net
    >
    >
    ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
    ~~~~
    > William C. Sharbrough, Ph.D.
    > Associate Professor of Business Administration
    > The Citadel
    > 171 Moultrie Street
    > Charleston, SC 29409
    >
    > Office (843) 953-5164  FAX (843) 953-6764  or Home (843) 763-8512
    > E-Mail:  SHARBROUGHW@CITADEL.EDU
    >
    >
    ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
    ~~~~
    >

     

     



  • 9.  Empowerment

    Posted 07-02-1999 07:09
    An update on the OCBs for those interested,
    • Dennis Organ and , Julie-Beth Paine, 1999, "A new kind of performance for industrial and organizational psychology: Recent contributions to the study of organizational citizenship behavior" (Cooper, Cary L. and Robertson, Ivan T., Eds),  International review of industrial and organizational psychology, Vol. 14, 337-368.
    • Philip M. Podsakoff and Scott B. MacKenzie, 1997, " Impact of organizational citizenship behavior on organizational performance: A review and suggestions for future research' Human Performance, Vol 10(2), 133-151
    Dave

    David Morgan wrote:
     Ed,
    I don't know who coined the term, but there certainly is a literature and research.  For a review try:

    Philip Podsakoff et al., (1993), "Organizational Citizenship Behaviors and Managerial Evaluations of Employee Performance: A review and suggestions for future research" Research in Personnel and Human Resource Management , Vol 11, 1-40

    Cheers
    Dave
    --
    ________________________________________________________________________
    David E. Morgan,  Ph.D.       Email: d.morgan@unsw.edu.au
    School of Industrial Relations and Organisational Behaviour,
    University of New South Wales,
    Sydney, 2052, Australia.
    Ph +61 2 9385 2181 (w) +61 2 9489 1448 (h)  Fax. +61 2 9662 8531
    ________________________________________________________________________
    Ed Brenegar wrote:

    Organizational Citizenship?  Who coined that term, and how is it different
    than the innumerable other descriptive terms for organizations where
    employees give their best?  Is there literature and/ or research into this?

    Ed Brenegar
    Leadership Resources
    Hendersonville, N.C.

    ----- Original Message -----
    From: William Sharbrough (2-5164, h-763-8512)
    <William.Sharbrough@CITADEL.EDU>
    To: <MG-ED-DV@MAELSTROM.STJOHNS.EDU>
    Sent: Thursday, July 01, 1999 8:49 PM
    Subject: Re: Empowerment

    > To the list,
    >
    > I'm not very familiar with the area, but what Dr. Bryant seems to be
    describing
    > here might be lablled as Organizational Citizenship behavior????  Am I
    missing
    > something, or should he look into the Org. Citizenship literature for
    examples
    > of such employee behaviors?
    >
    > William
    > (William.Sharbrough@citadel.edu)
    >
    > >David Bojes wrote (some time ago, before I got my summer e-mail sorted
    > >out...<G>):
    >
    > >>...  There is in
    > >>the literature a vast difference between the HR empowerment examples
    (Gore,
    > >>Ritz Carlton, etc.) and kinds of empowerment that critical and
    postmodern
    > >>theorists are writing about.
    >
    > >It seems to me there may be at least one other kind as well, although I
    > >haven't seen much focussed documentation on the subject yet.  In
    > >high-growth firms, there often seem to be conditions that encourage
    > >participants to make extraordinary contributions.   Indeed, I think one
    can
    > >argue that those extra contributions may be one of the factors that
    enables
    > >firms (or other organizations) to grow, since they reflect a voluntary
    and
    > >only partially conpensated contribution to the firm's resources.  As
    those
    > >super-contributions accumulate, so does the residual resource complement
    of
    > >the firm.  Conversely, when people do not make such contributions, a firm
    > >stagnates.
    >
    > >The cooperative organizations which David mentions do seem to engender a
    > >similar (but different I think) type of particpant contribution.  Max
    > >DePree (Leadership Jazz) suggests that leaders need to pay special
    > >attention to creating environments in which participants can contribute
    > >their best talents.  What a difference that should make in productivity,
    > >compared to most organizations!  Keith Schilit (Rising Stars and Fast
    > >Fades) identified several characteristics of firms that have been able to
    > >sustain well-above-average growth rates, and several of them reflect
    > >empowerment tenets.
    >
    > >While interesting, these works continue the literature David mentions, by
    > >way of philosophical and ideological principles, and case histories --
    but
    > >they do not provide rigorous empirical tests of alternative hypotheses or
    > >direct links from empowerment behaviour to individual and organizational
    > >performance.
    >
    > >I have a pilot study underway this year, tracking ca. 100 startups from
    the
    > >Class of 1994 forward.  Preliminary results suggested that growth rates
    > >will strongly correlate with various empowerment and reward attributes,
    but
    > >I don't expect it to be conclusive due to the relatively small size and
    the
    > >exploratory purpose of the study.
    >
    > >Do List members know of other empirical tests of organizational
    performance
    > >in which empowerment is deliberately assessed as a causal variable?  If
    > >there are such studies, what kinds of results have been demonstrated?
    >
    > >Tom Bryant.
    >
    >
    > >*+*+*+*+*+*+*+*+*+*+*+*+*+*+*+*
    > >Thomas A. Bryant, Ph.D.
    > >Visiting professor, Rutgers University, 1998-99
    > >The State of New Jersey Chair in Entrepreneurship and Small Business
    > >Tel: (973) 353-1062.  Rutgers e-mail: tabryant@andromeda.rutgers.edu
    >
    > >Past-Chair, Entrepreneurship & Family Business Division, Administrative
    > >Sciences Assn. of Canada
    > >Senior Research Fellow, The Institute for Enterprise Education
    >
    > >President, Brystra Consultants, P.O. Box 125, Waterloo, ON  N2J 3Z9
    > >Tel: (519) 746-6225;  e-mail:  brystra@golden.net
    >
    >
    ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
    ~~~~
    > William C. Sharbrough, Ph.D.
    > Associate Professor of Business Administration
    > The Citadel
    > 171 Moultrie Street
    > Charleston, SC 29409
    >
    > Office (843) 953-5164  FAX (843) 953-6764  or Home (843) 763-8512
    > E-Mail:  SHARBROUGHW@CITADEL.EDU
    >
    >
    ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
    ~~~~
     



  • 10.  Empowerment

    Posted 07-06-1999 07:28
    --You Wrote:
    Organizational Citizenship? Who coined that term, and how is it different
    than the innumerable other descriptive terms for organizations where
    employees give their best? Is there literature and/ or research into this?

    Ed Brenegar
    Leadership Resources
    Hendersonville, N.C.
    ***************************

    Yes, there is a body of research on this topic. A search on
    PsycInfo database at any university library will turn up articles on the topic
    of Organizational Citizenship. The term refers to positive employee behaviors
    in assisting fellow employees or the organization (generally above and beyond
    that required in the employment contract per se).

    Abe Schoenewolf
    Manager, Process Improvement
    Canadian National Railway


  • 11.  Empowerment

    Posted 07-06-1999 07:53
    Thanks, Abe.
    ----- Original Message -----
    From: B.A.(Abe) Schoenewolf <Abe.Schoenewolf@CN.CA>
    To: <MG-ED-DV@MAELSTROM.STJOHNS.EDU>
    Sent: Tuesday, July 06, 1999 7:28 AM
    Subject: Re: Empowerment


    > --You Wrote:
    > Organizational Citizenship? Who coined that term, and how is it different
    > than the innumerable other descriptive terms for organizations where
    > employees give their best? Is there literature and/ or research into
    this?
    >
    > Ed Brenegar
    > Leadership Resources
    > Hendersonville, N.C.
    > ***************************
    >
    > Yes, there is a body of research on this topic. A search on
    > PsycInfo database at any university library will turn up articles on the
    topic
    > of Organizational Citizenship. The term refers to positive employee
    behaviors
    > in assisting fellow employees or the organization (generally above and
    beyond
    > that required in the employment contract per se).
    >
    > Abe Schoenewolf
    > Manager, Process Improvement
    > Canadian National Railway
    >