Employee Empowerment, Leadership &

Change, Team building & Teamwork,

Communication & Interpersonal
Relations, Education & Training

Course Instructor:
Dr. Syed M. Ahmed, Ph.D.
College of Engineering & Computing
Florida International University, Miami, Florida
Major Topics

Employee Empowerment

Leadership and Change

Team Building & Team Work

Effective Communication

Education & Training

Employee Empowerment
Employee Empowerment Defined…

Employee Empowerment is Employee Involvement

that matters.
It could also be defined as controlled transfer of
authority to make decisions and take actions.
What is needed?
Successful implementation of empowerment requires
change in corporate culture.

Does this mean Abdication?

NO. Empowerment involves actively soliciting input from
those closest to the work and giving careful thought to
that input.
Rationale

An aspect of Working Smart

Empowerment is the key to

motivation & Productivity.

It enables a person to develop

personally & professionally.
Inhibitors of Empowerment

Resistance from Employees & Unions

Resistance from Management
Insecurity
Personal Values
Ego
Management Training
Personality Characteristics of Managers
Exclusion of Managers

Workforce Readiness
Organizational Structure & Management Practices
Management’s Role in Empowerment &
Implementing Empowerment
Management’s Role:
Commitment
Leadership
Facilitation
Implementing Empowerment:
Development of Suggestion Systems (Fig 8.3)
Considering the Employees Point of View
Putting Vehicles in Place
Brainstorming
Nominal Group Technique (fig 8.4)
Quality Circles
Suggestion Boxes
Walking & Talking
Suggestion Systems - 1

Management’s Role:
Establishing Policy
Setting Up the System
Promoting the Suggestion System
Evaluating & Implementing suggestions
Rewarding employees
Improving the system..
Improving Suggestion Processing
Improving Individual Suggestions
Problem Identification
Research
Idea Development
Suggestion Systems - 2

Evaluating Suggestions
Though Employees make suggestions, final analysis is still
to be made by manager.
Thus, Establish a formal rating system for evaluating
suggestion systems.

Handling Poor Suggestions

Listen Carefully
Express Appreciation
Carefully explain your position
Encourage feedback
Look for Compromise
Achieving Full Participation

Removing Hidden Barriers

Negative Behavior
Poor Writing Skills
Fear of Rejection
Inconvenience

Encouraging new Employees

Coaching Reluctant Employees
Assess
Investigate
Match
Choose
Manage
How to Recognize Empowered
Employees
Taking Initiative

Identifying Opportunities

Thinking Critically

Building Consensus
Empowerment

Avoiding Traps:
Defining Power as Discretion & Self- Reliance
Failing to Properly Define Empowerment for Managers &
Supervisors
Assuming Employees Have the skills to be Empowered
Getting Impatient Making the Transition from
Traditional Approach
Beyond Empowerment
Leadership & Change
Leadership Defined

Leadership is the ability to inspire people to make

a total, willing and voluntary commitment to
accomplish or exceeding organizational goals.
Leaders must
Overcome resistance to change
Broker the needs of Constituency groups
Establish an ethical framework
Characteristics
Balanced Commitment
Positive Role Model
Good Communication Skills
Persuasiveness
Leadership for Quality

Principles:
Customer Focus
Obsession with Quality
Freedom through Control
Looking for Faults in Systems
Teamwork
Continuing Education & Training

The Juran Trilogy:

Quality Planning
Quality Control
Quality Improvement
Leadership

Motivation & Inspiration:

Understanding Individual
Needs
Understanding Individual
Beliefs

Leadership Styles:
In a total Quality setting, the
most appropriate style might
be called participative
leadership taken to a higher
level
Building & Maintaining a Following

Popularity & the Leader

Not all good leaders are popular. Vice Versa applies.
Leadership Characteristics
Sense of Purpose, Self-Discipline, Honesty, Credibility,
Commonsense, Stamina, Commitment, Steadfastness.
Pitfalls
Trying to be a buddy, Having an Intimate relationship
with an employee, Trying to keep the same when
supervising former peers.
Paradigms of Human Interaction
Win/Win, Win/Lose, Lose/Lose, Win
Leadership Vs Management

Leadership & Management are two distinctive and

Complementary systems of action.
Management Leadership
 Coping with Complexity  Coping with Change

 Planning & Budgeting for  Setting the Direction for

Complexity
 Develops capacity to
carry out plans through
organizing & staffing
 Ensures accomplishment
of plans through controlling
& Problem Solving
change
 Aligns people to work
toward the vision
 Motivates & Inspires
people to want to accomplish
the plan
Leadership, Ethics, Change

Leadership & Ethics:

Setting high standards of ethical behavior is an essential
task of leaders in a total quality setting.

Leadership & Change

Have a clear vision & corresponding goals
Exhibit a strong sense of responsibility
Be an effective communicator
Have a high energy level
Have the will to change
Change

Employees & Mangers on Change

Difficulty in Change  Different perceptions of
employees & managers.
Hence, proper atmosphere should be created to
accommodate change.

Restructuring & Change:

Be smart & Empathetic
Have a Clear Vision
Establish Incentives that Promote the Change
Continue to Train
How to Lead Change?

Change Facilitation
Model:

A critical aspect of
leadership in today’s
globally oriented
organization involves
leading change.
Team Building & Team Work
Overview of
Team Building & Teamwork - 1
What is a Team?
A team is a group of people with a common, collective
goal.
Rationale for Teams
Primary reasons for advocating teamwork are:
Two or more heads are better than one.
People in teams get to know each other better, build trust &
as a result help each other.
Teamwork promotes better communication.
A group of people become a team when the following
conditions exist:
Agreement exists as to the team’s mission
Members adhere to the team ground rules
Fair distribution of responsibility & authority exists.
Overview of
Team Building & Teamwork - 2
Types of Teams
Department Improvement Team
Process Improvement Team
Task Force
Learning to Work Together
Factors influencing teamwork:
Personal Identity of Team members
Relationships among Team members
Identity within the organization
How to be a Member?
Gain Entry, Be Clear on the Team’s mission, Be well
prepared and participate, Stay in Touch.
Overview of
Team Building & Teamwork - 3
How to be a Leader?
Be clear on the team’s mission
Identify success criteria
Be action centered
Establish the ground rules
Share Information
Cultivate Team Unity
Team Excellence & Performance
Interdependence, Stretching tasks, Alignment, Common
Language, Trust/Respect, Shared Leadership/
Followership, Problem-solving skills, Confrontation/
Conflict-handling skills, Assessment/Action, Celebration.
Building Teams & Making them Work

Following are the factors that influence team

building & should be taken care of:
Makeup & Size of Teams
Choosing Team Members
Responsibilities of Team Leaders
Other Team Members
Creating Teams Mission Statement
Developing Collegial Relationships
Promoting Diversity in Teams
Four Step Approach to Team Building

Assessing Team Needs

Planning Team-Building Activities

Executing Team-Building Activities

Evaluating Team-Building Activities

Character Traits & Teamwork

Following are few character traits required for

Teamwork:
Honesty
Selflessness
Dependability
Enthusiasm
Responsibility
Cooperativeness
Initiative
Patience
Resourcefulness
Punctuality
Perseverance
Teams are not Bossed
– They are Coached
Bosses approach the job from
“I’m in charge – do as you are told perspective”.
Coaches are
facilitators of team development and continually
improved performance.
Following are a few characteristics of a Coach:
Clearly Defined Character
Team Development/Team Building
Mentoring
Mutual respect
Human Diversity
Handling Conflict in Teams

Resolution Strategies for Team Conflicts:

Plan & Work to establish a balanced culture

Establish clear criteria

Don’t allow individuals to build personal empires

Encourage & Recognize risk-taking behavior

Value constructive dissent

Assign people of widely differing perspectives

Reward and recognize both dissent & teamwork

Structural Inhibitors of Teamwork

Commonly found structural inhibitors to teamwork

in organizations are:
Unit Structure

Accountability

Unit Goals

Responsibility

Compensation & Recognition

Planning & Control

Rewarding Team &
Individual Performance

An organization’s
attempt to
institutionalize
teamwork will fail
unless it includes
implementation of an
appropriate
compensation
system
Effective Communication
Defnition of Communication

Communication is the transfer of message

( information,idea,emotion,intent,feeling or
something else) that is both received and
understood.
Effective Communication

Effective Communication means that the message

is received ,understood and acted on in the
desired manner. It is higher order of
communication.
Strategies to communicate the
importance of quality
1) Be optimistic and tie quality to the
organization’s strategic direction
2) Consider the points of view of all sides when
formulating your message.
3) Be positive ,honest and consistent-give every
one the same message.
Defnition of Listening

Listening means receiving the message,corretly

decoding it and accurately perceiving what it
means.
Inhibitors of effective listening

Lack of concentration
Interruption
Preconceived ideas
Thinking ahead
Interference
Improving the listening skills

Upgrade your desire to listen

Ask the right question
Judge what is really being said
Eliminate listening errors
Communicating in Writing (Helpful
Rules)
Plan before you write.
Be brief.
Be direct.
Be accurate.
Practice self – editing.
Strategies for improving
communication
Keep up to date.
Prioritize and determine time constrains.
Decide whom to inform.
Determine how to communicate.
Communicate and follow up.
Check understanding and obtain feedback
Education & Training
Overview of Education,
Training & Learning - 1
Training is
An organized, systematic series of activities designed to
enhance an individual’s work-related knowledge, skills, and
understanding.

Corporate America invests more than $45 billion

per year in training.
Sources of Training:
In house training
External Training or a combination of both.

Numerous Instructional methods like

video tapes, lecture, demonstration etc., are used to
provide training to employees
Overview of Education,
Training & Learning - 1
Types of training by Industry:
Customer Education
Sales Skills
Employee relations etc.,
Changing Role of Training
Mission of corporate Training is becoming the
maximization of competitiveness through continual
improvements.
Attitudes towards Training
Although interest levels don’t yet match those found in
European and Pacific Rim countries, attitude towards
training in North America are changing for better.
Rationale for Training

The rationale for training can be found in the need

to compete.
Following are the important factors for “need for
training”
Quality of the existing labor pool
Global Competition
Rapid & Continual Change
Technological Transfer Problems
Changing Demographics

Any kind of learning can benefit employees &

employers alike in ways that cannot be predicted.
Training needs Assessment

It is most important to:

Train those who need it most
Ensure that the training provided is designed to promote
the goals of the organization

Managers may become involved in assessing

training needs at two levels:
Organizational Level
Individual Level

The most structured approach managers can use

to assess training needs is the job task analysis
survey.
Providing Training
Strategies for maximizing training resources:
Build in Quality from the start
Design Small
Think Creatively
Shop around
Preview & Customize
Internal Approaches
Computer Based training, Group instruction etc.
External Approaches
Enrolling employees in programs provided by public
institutions.
Partnership Approaches
Training partnerships combine characteristics of the
above two approaches.
Evaluating Training

Evaluating Training begins with a clear statement

of purpose.

To know where training has improved performance,

managers need to know three things:
Was the training provided valid?
Did the Employees learn?
Has the learning made a difference?
Managers as Trainers & Trainees - 1

Principles of Learning:

People learn best when they are ready to learn

People learn more easily when what they are learning can
be related to something they already know
People learn best in a step-by-step manner
People learn by doing
The more often people use what they are learning, the
better they will remember and understand it
Success in learning tends to stimulate additional learning
People need immediate and continual feedback to know if
they have learned.
Managers as Trainers & Trainees - 2

Four Step Teaching Method:

Preparation
Presentation
Application
Evaluation
Managers as Trainees:
Quality basics
Strategic Quality management
Quality Planning
Quality Improvement
Quality Control
Workforce Literacy

Impact of Illiteracy on Industry:

Difficulty in filling high-skill jobs, lower levels of
productivity, higher levels of waste etc.,
What Industry Can Do
Industry in United States has found it necessary to
confront the literacy problem head-on.
Companies are doing this by providing remedial education
in the workplace.
What Managers Should Know about Literacy
Training
The need for workforce literacy will be a fact of life
with which managers will have to deal for some time to
come.
Improving Learning

Teaching Study Skills

Make a schedule and stick to it
Have a special place to study
Listen and take notes
Read assertively
Improve test-taking skills
Using Humor in Training
Properly used relevant humor can produce a more
favorable audience for the trainer.
Why Training Sometime fails?
Lack of participation in planning by management
Too narrow in scope
Orientation Training

Recurring errors associated with orientation

training:
Insufficient Information
Too much Information
Conflicting Information
Principles for providing effective training:
Base orientation topics on a needs assessment
Establish an organizing framework
Establish learner control
Make orientation a process, not just an event
Allow people and personalities to emerge
Reflect organization’s mission & culture
Have a system for improving & updating
Customer Training

An old adage states

“The customer is always right”

Customer education has several aspects:

Shaping customer expectations
Providing user support
Marketing

Customer expectations are shaped by the

promotional literature used in marketing the
product.
Customer training can also help market a product.
Ethics Training

Ethical behavior and the rationale for it can be

taught.
Ethics training is becoming increasingly important
As the pressures of succeeding in an intensely
competitive global marketplace grow.

Following are a few recommendations:

Stimulate discussion
Facilitate, don’t preach
Integrate ethics training
Highlight practical applications
Questions/Queries