Date of Award

1992

Document Type

Thesis

Degree Name

Master of Business Administration

Department

Business

First Advisor

Joe Ancona

Second Advisor

James McHugh

Third Advisor

John C. Hinrichs

Abstract

This thesis will focus on the study of the effectiveness of previous efforts by American companies to create a truly empowered workplace.

Employee empowerment is when employees are given the necessary authority to make decisions and initiate improvement actions within their own work areas and expertise. Employees are encouraged, through respect and trust, to exercise self-direction and self-discipline.

American companies are facing the prospect of massive changes in the basic culture that underlies how they do business. Their markets are changing and global competitors have caught them off guard, forcing them to change the way they do business to survive.

American companies cannot afford to remain passive in the coming years. The economy will either fully integrate itself into the new and evolving global market, or large parts of it are likely to be left behind as foreign competitors gain a greater share of the global market.

One major key to their success will be determined by each company's ability to take advantage of their most valuable resources, their employees. Another will be how successful they are in educating their managers on how to promote empowerment within the workplace.

The purpose of this study is to investigate how successful St. Louis area companies have been in promoting empowerment within their workplaces. Through a survey, this study will attempt to reveal employees feelings of how empowered they really are. Specifically, it is hypothesized that as American companies approach the 21st century, they should begin to recognize employee empowerment as a key motivator to increase worker productivity in a highly competitive global economy.

The survey was conducted in St. Louis and surrounding areas. The sample consisted of both men and women working at various levels of skill, education and income. One hundred and forty-seven (147) respondents participated in the study. Data was analyzed according to percentages of responses.

Results of the analysis produced considerable evidence to cause concern that, to-date, companies have not effectively empowered their worker. Within the sample pool, employees showed considerable dissatisfaction with their companies and managers attempts to empower them.

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