Employee Empowerment and Motivation Essay Example for Free

Employee Empowerment and Motivation Essay Employee empowerment is the process of enabling or authorizing an individual to think, behave, take action, and control work and decision making in autonomous ways. It is the state of feeling self-empowered to take control of ones own destiny (Heathfield, n.d., 1). In other words, giving the employees the power and ability to make decisions that affect not only their department but the company as a whole as well. Empowerment has become an increasingly used human resources (HR) catchphrase when analyzing the corporate world of today. Empowerment of the employees can increase employee morale, improve company performance, and improve employee relations, however is not an overnight process. All levels of employees, supervisors, and executive management have to work together and be properly prepared in order to make an empowerment program successful. Improving Employee Morale In many corporate organizations, the lower level employees often feel unappreciated and underutilized. Often, employees can feel like just another number, destined to do the same thing day after day with all decisions being made by upper management. When companies adopt an employee empowerment approach, these feelings can be reduced or even eliminated. Allowing, and even mandating employees to have a say in company decisions makes them feel important to the success of the company. Employees want to be heard and they want their opinions to matter. The most effective morale booster is for an employee to see his or her idea become a company policy. When this happens, the employee feels more valued and being recognized as an important contributing part to the company. Improving Company Performance Another benefit of employee empowerment programs is usually a noticeable improvement in company performance. The simple explanation for this fact is that employees who are most familiar with the day-to-day processes have the best hands on knowledge to be able to implement educated changes and improvements to those processes. Often, many members of management and the corporate officers are hired into their jobs based on education and experience with other companies; they often never worked their way up within the current company and have therefore, never experienced the day-to-day processes. Therefore, decisions made by those officers are often solely based on hypothetical situations and projected  profits; they are often so focused on the bigger picture that they overlook the details. However, when the employees performing the job are asked to make decisions, they look at from the bottom and up and take those forgotten details into consideration. Improving Employee Relations When employees are not involved in company decisions, often they operate within their own confined department. Often, the employees take actions without thinking about the repercussions of their actions to other departments; this is done mostly out of lack of communication of what those repercussions might be and not understanding how each process inter-relates. When employees are given the empowerment to make company decisions, it encourages open communication. Once employees know that they are going to be held responsible for their decisions and that those decisions will impact the whole company, they will take the time to work with other departments to investigate how things affect the company as a whole. This serves to not only achieve better decision making but also opens lines of communication and strengthens the company feeling of being more of a family unit. Making Preparations For Employee Empowerment Although employee empowerment seems like a simple concept, it cannot be implemented without preparation. All levels of employees within the company must be prepared and in agreement with the idea in order to make it work. Expectations must be communicated from the top most levels of management down to the base employees and vice versa in order for empowerment to work. Flat OrganizationOne of the first steps in successful employee empowerment programs is the flattening of the organization structure and its organizational chart. When the organization has too many decision makers and not enough line employees, conflict is inevitable and empowerment will not be successful. This change in organization may include the restructure of elimination of jobs to eliminate the dictatorial chain of command and bring all employees closer to the result. This transference of responsibility to the employees allows management to focus on other things such as researching new ideas and processes that are presented by the employees. Employee and Management ResistanceWhenever a company adopts an employee empowerment program, resistance from all levels is expected. Supervisor and Management level employees will often resist empowerment programs because they feel are giving up control that they worked hard to achieve. The human nature to enjoy a feeling of control and empowerment threatens that control. Supervisors and managers must be counseled in advance to make sure that they understand that their input is still crucial and important and that empowerment of their employees will be for the betterment of all parts of the company. One would think that employees would jump at the chance to participate in employee empowerment programs. However, many employees often balk at the opportunity. They often lack the self-confidence to make decisions they know will affect the whole company. Others believe that empowerment is just another word to justify piling more responsibility on the employees. According to Abrahamson (2004) in which he discussed how organizations can go through change overload and how employees can experience change fatigue and burnout. To prevent this, employees must be convinced of the positive effects of employee empowerment. The company must strive to make the employees understand that the program is being implemented because the company values their experience and opinions and truly values their input. EducationOften, both management and employee resistance is caused by the feeling the employees do not have the knowledge needed to make the proper decisions for the company. Education is the key answer to this fear. By educating the employees about the company as a whole and the operations of those outside of their own department, confidence in the employees decisions is heightened. Education about the empowerment process in general will also help to quell fears by clearly defining everyones role within the company following the changes so that everyone knows what is expected of them and is confident with their future within the company. Conclusion Employee empowerment is an important part of the successful operation of todays organizations. By allowing the employees to have in an  input in company decisions not only lifts their morale, but more use of their experience and knowledge with day-to-day operations to make better decisions. This allows the company to service their clients better and ensure the continued success of the company within their market. Companies looking to start empowerment programs should take the time to educate employees completely and discuss the program benefits with all employees at all levels. This will help ensure that all employees are committed to the program and to ensure its success. â€Æ'References Abrahamson, E. (2004), Change Without Pain. Boston: Harvard Business School Press, Retrieved April 4, 2009 from http://www.referenceforbusiness.com/management/Tr-Z/Trends-in-Organizational-Change.html. Heathfield, S.M. (n.d.). Human resources: Employee empowerment. Retrieved April 4, 2009 from http://humanresources.about.com/od/glossarye/a/empowerment_def.htm.

Insanity in Shakespeares Hamlet - The Madness of Hamlet Essay

The Madness of Hamlet    William Shakespeare, in the tragedy Hamlet, designed two characters who exhibit symptoms of madness: Ophelia and the prince. Hamlet states his own madness as intentional, purposeful, for the carrying out of the ghost’s admonition. But does Hamlet’s pretended insanity actually touch on real, actual insanity from time to time, or is it consistent? Phyllis Abrahms and Alan Brody in â€Å"Hamlet and the Elizabethan Revenge Tragedy Formula† consider the madness of the hero to be completely feigned and not real: Hamlet is a masterpiece not because it conforms to a set of conventions but because it takes those conventions and transmutes them into the pure gold of vital, relevant meaning. Hamlet’s feigned madness, for instance, becomes the touchstone for an illumination of the mysterious nature of sanity itself. (44-45) Hamlet’s first words in the play say that Claudius is "A little more than kin and less than kind," indicating a dissimilarity in values between the new king and himself – introducing into the story a psychological problem, a refusal to conform, which lays the groundwork, or previews, the upcoming pretended madness. As the future king of Denmark, the hero is expected to maintain a good working relationship with the present king, Claudius. But this is not so. Even before the apparition of the ghost, Hamlet has a very sour relationship with his uncle and stepfather, Claudius. Hamlet’s first soliloquy deepens the psychological rift between the prince and the world at large, but especially women; it emphasizes the frailty of women – an obvious reference to his mother’s hasty and incestuous marriage to her husband’s brother: Must I remember? why, she would hang on him,   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   As if... ...: Hamlet. Ed. Harold Bloom. New York: Chelsea House, 1986. Rpt. of â€Å"O’erdoing Termagant: An Approach to Shakespearean Mimesis.† The Yale Review 63, no.3 (Spring 1974). Foakes, R.A.. â€Å"The Play’s Courtly Setting.† Readings on Hamlet. Ed. Don Nardo. San Diego: Greenhaven Press, 1999. Rpt. of â€Å"Hamlet and the Court of Elsinore.† Shakespeare Survey: An Annual Survey of Shakespearean Study and Production. No. 9. Ed. Allardyce Nicoll. Cambridge, Eng.: Cambridge University Press, 1956. Rosenberg, Marvin. â€Å"Laertes: An Impulsive but Earnest Young Aristocrat.† Readings on Hamlet. Ed. Don Nardo. San Diego: Greenhaven Press, 1999. Rpt. from The Masks of Hamlet. Newark, NJ: University of Delaware Press, 1992. Shakespeare, William. The Tragedy of Hamlet, Prince of Denmark. Massachusetts Institute of Technology. 1995. http://www.chemicool.com/Shakespeare/hamlet/full.html

Benefits and Drivers Paper

Benefits and Drivers Paper MGT/445 Organizational Negotiations March 24, 2013 Kudler Fine Foods is a food company that specializes in selling fresh grocery products with simple ingredients used to make gourmet meals. Nearly everything a customer could want would be found within Kudler Fine Foods. Currently Kudler Fine Foods operates from three locations each offering the same service. The company is a privately held, but seeks to offer stock publicly to increase capital. The increase in revenue will allow Kudler Fine Foods to pursue avenues of innovation that can increase profit margins and spark new growth.In this paper Team A will be exploring the internal and external driving factors that influence the innovation at Kudler Fine Foods as well as an overview of how these practices benefit the company. This information is important in ensuring that Kudler Fine Foods will be able to meet their organizational objectives. Kudler Fine Foods’ will continue to make it the companyâ⠂¬â„¢s main priority to provide customer satisfaction with the selection of fresh products. Kudler Fine Food External Drives of InnovationExternal innovation is the comparison of a company’s own to a competitor’s product or service. The external drives of innovation within Kudler Fine Foods are frequent shopper program, website, and catering. Kudler Fine Foods has created a program for their customers where they sign up to receive news about the stores events, featured products, and sales (Apollo Group, Inc. , 2011). With competitors they do not provide such access to information for frequent customers they receive preventing customers from knowing critical news the organization makes presenting.With the Kudler Fine Foods website formatted into a way not only local customers can view, but also customers outside of the counties to view the website. The website has also developed an e-commerce system that will provide the organization with ability to automate all invento ries and ordering systems to track sales and order replacements made (Apollo Group, Inc. , 2011). The last external innovation of Kudler Fine Foods from other organizations is catering the organization provides (Apollo Group, Inc. , 2011). The catering aspect has ot been fully constructed into the business organizational structure, so their approach will stand out from other competitors. Their goal is to provide a link to customers on their website that will allow them to view and order specifics requirements for the event needed to be catered. The website will provide every aspect of what meals, desserts, amount needed, specific arrangements or design the customer desires for the event. With other competitors they require customers to come into the store location to make arrangements, whereas Kudler Fine Foods is providing options for the busy individual to make arrangements via Internet.Internal Drivers of Innovations Internal drivers are events that occur inside the business sect or; the drivers are the success of any organization. The internal drivers of innovation for Kudler Fine Foods are the experienced, helpful, knowledgeable staff, and how they strive to make their customers experience delightful as well as a pleasing shopping outing. The first internal driver is the experience, and this is about Kudler Fine Foods ensuring they provide customers with a good experience to grow the business.To grow the business and to make sure, they have a good experience the employees must be helpful and knowledgeable to their customer base. It is important for management and the staff to focus on the internal drivers that will ensure the success of the organization. According to Kudler Fine Foods mission statement, they shop around the world for the finest products. Kudler’s management team goes through extensive lengths to ensure they have the best products for their customers who aspire to purchase the finest epicurean delights. Innovation, Design, and Creati ve ThinkingThere has been several years’ worth of Survey Results from the Sales and Marketing department at Kudler Fine Foods. From 2011 and 2012, invaluable sources of information directly from the customers telling Kudler Fine Foods exactly the types of changes they would want like to see in the company, and it is always important to give the customer exactly what they are asking for. There are some areas that can be confirmed that Kudler is definitely on the right track, such as the high customer approval on the available store hours and the knowledgeable service staff is consistently high on customers surveyed.Unfortunately, there are other areas where customers are clearly stating that they are unhappy with the price of the merchandise and are not receiving courteous customer service on a consistent basis. Some area surveys will show that customers are satisfied with the decor and product selection at these stores, which are definitely areas of opportunity for improvemen ts to get higher customer satisfaction. Brainstorming with local owners and managers on the survey areas where the ratings are low probably would result in some good ideas or suggestions that could be implemented across the chain.After reviewing the customer’s survey results, it becomes all the more important to focus on increasing efficiency. This can be a cost reduction on the goods sold at Kudler Fine Foods, which seems to be on the top of the list of complaints by current customers over the last several years. Increasing efficiencies could include minimizing food stored and un-sold at each store, finding ways to keep low shelf-life on products in efforts to decrease cost.This might have some impact on the available products but could be weighed as to which products sell the most and lease by using some software programs for point of sale purchases and reports. By analyzing the sales and shelf-life of goods at Kudler Fine Foods, it is possible that product price could be d ropped if fewer products were wasted by going bad and not being sold in-time at some stores. Innovation is a huge factor in determining Kudler’s success. To be competitive in the market, Kudler has to think outside the box.What will get people in the doors and what is going to keep them coming back? In today’s society there are so many options and choices that, one bad experience can cause a customer to never return. Innovation is what is going to keep consumers coming back. Being able to market effectively and get people in the doors is the first step. Keeping them coming back is a whole new challenge in itself. Hiring people with creative thinking, innovation, and good marketing skills will help Kudler Fine Foods stay a step ahead of the rest and keep consumers come back for more.Kudler Fine Foods recognizes the need for innovation and acts upon the creativity of not only their employees but also their customers as well. Kudler ensures that their on-site staff is ope rational, knowledgeable, and experienced, thereby providing support throughout innovations such as website design improvements, new catering concepts, and frequent shopping programs. Customer feedback through surveys, prove that Kudler is providing services that customers appreciate but also have identified areas that may be improved upon.Kudler Fine Foods strives to meet their organizational objectives by continually seeking innovations that will expand their customer base and ensuring that they remain a favorite among the current clientele. ? Reference Apollo Group, Inc. (2011). Kudler Fine Foods. Innovation, Design, and Creativity – Overview. Retrieved from, OI/361 – Innovation, Design, and Creativity for a Competitive Advantage course website. ScandinavianMinds. com. (2009). Innovation: Internal & External. Retrieved from http://www. scandinavianminds. com/innovation-internal-external

Music And The Second World War - 1666 Words

Music and the Second World War Adam Griffin South Piedmont Community College Music Appreciation 110 – Mr. Campbell â€Å"In World War II, jazz absolutely was the music of freedom, and then in the Cold War, behind the Iron Curtain, same thing. It was all underground, but they needed the food of freedom that jazz offered† – Herbie Hancock. Looking back into history, you could create a timeline of events with nothing but song titles. Music was not just music, it was a lifestyle. Every major event in history has numerous songs that go along with or describe the happening. In the following paragraphs, I will describe aspects and elements of music for pre-World War II, World War II, and post-World War II. One could say that music was a form of expression throughout the times of war, and the songs produced during this time period clearly express all aspects of life before, during, and after the war. Pre-World War II had a huge impact on the course of our nation and our world; not only musically speaking, but also in the terms of historical events. During this time we saw events such as the Wright brother’s first flight of an airplane in 1903, Ford Motor Co. introducing its first Model T vehicle in 1908, World War I from 1914 to 1918, the stock market crash in 1929 resulting in the start of the great depression, the beginning of World War II in Europe in 1939, and the end of the great depression in 1940. When musically speaking of this time period, one style stands outShow MoreRelatedThe Role of Music during World War II736 Words   |  3 PagesMusic played a major role in the way people lived during the World War II era. It affected the way people coped and the way people grieved. While this era was a very serious and bleak time, people still found joy in music. World War II was the first war to happen in the age of electronically mass distributed music. 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