Chapter 9: Empowerment and Quality

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Questions and Answers

What is the definition of empowerment in the workplace?

Empowerment is the expansion of employee knowledge, tasks, and decision-making responsibilities.

Name one factor that can motivate employees along with empowerment.

Ownership of stock.

How does employee participation affect business success?

Employee participation has a positive impact on business success, rarely being negative or neutral.

What are some potential signs that a workplace may need more empowerment?

Signs include high absenteeism, lack of loyalty, low pride, and poor communication. Signup and view all the answers

What is one historical aspect of the quality movement relevant to workplace empowerment?

The historical roots of the quality movement emphasize the importance of employee contributions to quality improvement. Signup and view all the answers

What is the main concept of workplace empowerment in relation to decision-making?

In an empowered workplace, decision-making involves checking with those affected instead of relying solely on leadership approval. Signup and view all the answers

How does communication impact effective leadership according to the content?

Effective leaders tailor their communication to their audience and recognize that they are always conveying a message, even non-verbally. Signup and view all the answers

What are the three 'needs to know' for employees?

Employees need to know the grand plan, what is expected of them personally, and receive feedback on their performance. Signup and view all the answers

What should be considered when planning an effective meeting?

Consider having a valid reason for the meeting, setting clear objectives, and ensuring all participants receive relevant materials in advance. Signup and view all the answers

According to Rene McPherson, what factor is most crucial in leadership?

The character and actions of leaders are deemed the number one factor for effective leadership. Signup and view all the answers

What is the primary teaching of Edwards Deming regarding quality over time?

The more quality that is built into a product or process, the less it costs over time. Signup and view all the answers

According to Deming, what two sources contribute to quality problems?

Faulty systems and the production worker. Signup and view all the answers

How did Henry Ford's assembly line affect the automobile production time?

It reduced the chassis assembly time from 13 hours to 1 ½ hours. Signup and view all the answers

What practice does Deming suggest to eliminate dependence on quality inspection?

He advocates for eliminating dependence on mass inspection for quality. Signup and view all the answers

What was Frederick Winslow Taylor's contribution to management?

He developed the first monetary incentive system and is recognized as the father of modern management. Signup and view all the answers

What are the four E's emphasized by Jack Welch for effective leadership?

High personal energy, ability to energize others, edge to make tough decisions, and ability to execute strategy. Signup and view all the answers

How did Jack Welch reform management practices at General Electric?

He eliminated bureaucratic management, implemented the workout process, spread ideas across the company, and rewarded good ideas. Signup and view all the answers

What principle of an empowered workplace emphasizes the importance of viewing people as the organization's most valuable resource?

Invest in people. Signup and view all the answers

What is the significance of recognizing accomplishments in an empowered workplace?

It provides symbolic rewards that show employees they are valued. Signup and view all the answers

Why is decentralizing decision-making important in an empowered workplace?

It places decision-making responsibility where the information is and closer to the customer. Signup and view all the answers

Study Notes

Chapter 9: Empowerment and the Quality Imperative

The chapter discusses empowerment in the workplace and the quality imperative.
Learning objectives include identifying practical steps for empowering others and developing a high-performance workplace, understanding the historical roots of the quality movement, and improving performance through quality initiatives.
Empowerment in the workplace is defined as expanding employee knowledge, tasks, and decision-making responsibilities.
Employee participation consistently has a positive impact on business success.
Employee ownership of stock, combined with participation, can motivate employees.
Questions to diagnose the need for empowerment include employee disinterest, high absenteeism/turnover rates, low loyalty/team spirit, communication breakdowns, lack of pride, excessive costs due to waste/inefficiency, and product/service quality issues.
Empowerment is driven by efforts to improve performance.
Global competition creates complex paths to success.
Strong management is needed to overcome significant obstacles, while employees address smaller obstacles.
Jack Welch, a General Electric CEO, emphasized four essential leader qualities: high personal energy, ability to energize others, edge in making tough decisions, and ability to execute strategy.
Welch's leadership emphasized and reformed company practices and culture, including eliminating bureaucratic management and introducing the workout process.
He also promoted the spread of ideas across the company and rewarded innovation and implementation.
Welch encouraged borrowing ideas from other companies.
Principles for an empowered workplace include trusting employees to achieve organizational goals, viewing employees as the most valuable resource, recognizing accomplishments and using symbolic rewards to show appreciation for employees, and decentralizing decision-making.
Decision-making should be located where the information and the customer are.
The text stresses the collaborative nature of work, emphasizing that teamwork leads to better outcomes.
Table 9.1 and 9.1.2 outline distinct examples of workplace decision-making styles in "Unempowered", "Out of Control," and "Empowered" scenarios.

Importance of Communication

Accurate, timely, and thorough information, most preferably from immediate supervisors, is crucial to employees.
Effective leaders communicate constantly, even outside of verbal interaction.
Closed office doors can communicate a negative impression.
Tailoring communication to specific audiences is key to successful leadership.

Filling the "Need to Know" Gap

Employees need a clear understanding of the company's grand plan (purpose, values, strategies), personal expectations, and regular performance feedback.
Effective communication is crucial to meet this need, with a top-to-bottom approach vital for consistent messaging.
Leaders are accountable for effective communication throughout the organization to ensure that everyone understands their expectations.

Communication Problems and Solutions

Seven key rules for effective meetings include scheduling meetings only when necessary, setting objectives and agendas in advance, inviting appropriate participants, providing relevant materials, and selecting convenient meeting times and locations to boost productivity.
Leaders must consider elements like communication distance and emotional factors or trust.
Meeting size, structure and conflicts are also important elements affecting communication.

Leadership Challenge

Rene McPherson emphasizes employee well-being, highlighting people as the most important asset.
Leader characteristics and behaviors are seen as crucial, and Rene McPherson emphasizes that leaders must genuinely value and respect their employees for effective leadership.

Leadership Challenge, 2

Colin Powell's leadership principles include having a vision, being demanding, checking on small details, crediting the team, being calm and kind, fixing mistakes, and maintaining optimism.

The Quality Movement

Global competition requires companies to focus on quality.
Consumers demand high-quality products and services.
A talented, committed, and empowered workforce is necessary to meet increasing demands.

The Quality Movement, 2

Key ingredients of quality management are participatory leadership, continuous process improvement, and effectively using groups to solve problems.
Experts performing their jobs are necessary for quality management, impacting personal development within a company.
- Quotes from recognized industry figures are used within the text to enhance the quality of the information provided.

W. Edwards Deming

Deming made significant contributions to the quality movement, particularly by influencing Japanese restructuring.
His award, the Deming Prize, recognizes outstanding contributions to quality control.
Deming's influence expanded from educating production staff on statistical quality control to motivating management to focus on personal commitment to quality.
Deming emphasized building quality into products, thus saving costs and time in the long run by reducing production errors.
He also stated the importance of having good systems and process, consistent purpose, and statistical measurements to reduce production variation.
He championed teamwork across workers and managers.

W. Edwards Deming, 2 & 3

The Deming Chain Reaction diagram illustrates the feedback loop: quality and improved efficiency leading to higher market satisfaction and business success.
Deming emphasized the importance of consistency, high standards, minimizing dependence on inspection for quality, reducing supplier counts, acknowledging system-level quality issues, improved job training, and robust supervision to improve company outcomes.
Deming emphasized the importance of breaking down department barriers, avoiding fear with open communication, eliminating numerical goals and slogans, employing statistical methods, removing barriers, providing training, and emphasizing management commitment.

Philosophical Roots of the Quality Movement

Frederick Winslow Taylor's Principles of Scientific Management laid the foundation for industrial engineering and modern management.
His creation of the monetary incentive system formed the basis for scientific management.

Scientific Management and the Model-T

Henry Ford's assembly line revolutionized manufacturing by placing machines and workers in a sequence to assemble cars without interruption, significantly improving efficiency.
This led to a massive decrease in chassis assembly time from 13 hours to 1.5 hours.

Human Relations School

Harvard University's research at Western Electric's Hawthorne plant revealed the significance of social factors and group norms in motivating and driving productivity, overshadowing the importance of financial incentives.
Social issues and norms more heavily influenced worker motivations and performance than physical conditions, finances, or even task security.

A Human Relations Pioneer

William Procter believed that workplace psychology influenced workplace productivity and proposed an employee stock ownership plan that encouraged workplace investment.
The benefits of this plan included improved worker loyalty, increased productivity, and enhanced brand reputation.

Experiments in Participative Management

Several organizations, including Texas Instruments, AT&T, General Foods, and Proctor & Gamble, experimented with participative management approaches.
Techniques included work simplification, job enrichment, team-based operations, and group work, which contributed to improving productivity and morale.
- Case studies from various organizations have been highlighted to illustrate successful outcomes.

Experiments in Participative Management, 2

Effective participative management shared common characteristics, including positive management attitudes toward workers, viewing employees as valuable assets, improving worker scope and responsibility, providing human relations and problem-solving techniques, and establishing pathways for advancement.

Quality Synthesis

Quality improvement philosophies acknowledge both classic and behaviorist management approaches, acknowledging the balance between structured and social management approaches.
The synthesis of different views in management produces both a practical and a flexible approach to problem-solving and efficiency improvement.
This diagram highlights the integration of scientific and human relations perspectives.

Improving Performance through Quality Initiatives

U.S. companies recognized the need for adopting total quality management approaches to achieve world-class standards in product and service quality.
The traditional method focused on final inspection, whereas total quality management emphasizes prevention-based strategies.
Total quality management models achieved improvements in business productivity, employee relations, productivity, customer satisfaction, market share, and profitability.
Several business examples and positive quantifiable results were reported in the text.

Improving Performance through Quality Initiatives, 2 & 3 & 4 & 5 & 7

Adoption of total quality management resulted in measurable improvements in areas, including overall business productivity, and fostering better employee relations, and higher productivity, greater customer satisfaction, increased market share, and significantly improved profitability. Companies successfully using total quality management methods emphasized priorities on meeting customer needs, incorporating company values into operations, training and empowering employees, integrating systematic procedures to promote ongoing improvement and providing positive reinforcement as key components for increasing performance.
The success of TQM initiatives demonstrates that a shift in company focus and practices can produce significant positive effects for various components of the organization.
The intrinsic philosophy of TQM involves a shift in paradigm which emphasizes that continuing to perform actions in the same way will result in maintaining the same outcome.

Continuous Improvement Today

Contemporary quality initiatives rely on various tools such as Six Sigma quality (statistical tools for analyzing product defects), Lean manufacturing (approach to improving business performance), and well-conceived, communicated and executed checklist procedures.
Formalized quality standards, like ISO standards, further promote global quality, industrial and commercial prosperity through formalized quality standards.
Continuous improvement involves using accurate data, meaningful analysis, and creative thinking, with detailed measurement of input and outputs as vital components of an improved workflow.

Continuous Improvement Today, 2 & 3 & 4

Modern continuous improvement involves standardized performance in various areas such as customer focus, leadership emphasis, employee relations, process improvement, management systems, continuous process improvement, data-driven decision making and mutually beneficial supplier partnerships. These standards help successful businesses continue to build their performance, productivity and long-term stability. Successful initiatives to improve product and service performance demonstrated management commitment, employee buy-in, detailed training, practices execution and consistent positive reinforcement.

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Description

This quiz explores the key concepts of empowerment in the workplace and the quality imperative from Chapter 9. It covers practical steps for fostering empowerment and improving organizational performance through quality initiatives. Assess your understanding of the historical roots of the quality movement and the factors driving employee engagement and success.