Suchergebnisse

Empowerment of employees has been a primary concern of business for many decades, under thepremise that involvement of employees in decision making leads to superior performance and results.Acceptance of the practical value of empowerment by colleges and universities is more recent andmore rare, despite the centrality of ideas such as faculty governance and recognition of the faculty'sessential role in the academic enterprise. Empowerment in academe is defined as the processwhereby stakeholders are encouraged and supported in utilizing their knowledge, skills, and creativityto embrace ownership and accountability for the well being of their department and institution. Theprocess requires stakeholders to collaborate in order to establish clear goals and expectationsfocused on the institution's vision and mission but within agreed-upon boundaries. This alignment ofdepartmental and institutional goals is a key ingredient of empowerment, one that Black (1987) calls"enacting the vision" in organizations.