The world is moving too fast for the old, traditional means of control. Customers are demanding more than ever. The rapid advances in technology are making it necessary to adapt constantly to change. Rapid change has shortened the window for data to be of value to the organization; thus, employees must be empowered to analyze those data effectively and to respond quickly. Competitive advantages tend to be temporary ones. It is an era of intense change, where flexibility and innovation are required to compete effectively. The "push" of increased competition and the "pull" of new opportunities, both very much driven by advanced technology, make full utilization of human resources necessary. Employees must be encouraged to take the initiative to decide, act and learn in "real time". This means embracing shared values as a guide to behaviors. "As speed, quality, and productivity become ever more important, corporations need people who can instinctively act the right way, without instructions, and who feel inspired to share their best ideas with their employers”.
The empowered employee ultimately acts like one who is self-employed, with responsibility for both results and career In effect, the motivation comes from within and is based on needs for self-efficacy .Employees feel empowered when they have a sense of influence, competence, meaningfulness and choice. This is the power of tapping intrinsic motivation, associated with commitment as an internalized desire to take personal responsibility for work efforts and results. When commitment is obtained from employees aligned with the firm's core ideology, significant authority can be given to those on the front line for responsiveness to the marketplace
Today's customers and competition require fast, flexible responses. There is little or no slack in the organization and its relationship to the marketplace. Employees have to decide and act in "real time". When any mistakes are made, they need to get immediate feedback and learn from the experience. Moreover, organizations are increasingly being designed according to holographic properties .Consequently, it is necessary to empower the person at the point of contact with the customer or supplier to provide satisfaction when it means the most. Today's advanced information technology makes this possible. As customers demand faster, higher quality responses from companies, firms move towards teams which embrace customers, suppliers, and other outside partners. This is part of the trend in organization towards horizontal structures. Such design principles and a culture of empowerment are intertwined, because the goal is a proper system of motivation and control Empowerment works best when there is an emphasis on organizational learning, incorporating the sharing of information and self-control according to performance feedback. This is what energizes the new horizontal designs.
The purpose of organizing horizontally is to achieve cross-functional integration. The effect is that teams bridge departmental boundaries and co-ordinate specialties. Thus, customers and suppliers can be satisfied by activities of units that exist, but may not appear as boundaries to be bridged; there is elimination of awkward "hand-offs" from one unit to another. When information is moved horizontally, hierarchy and division of labour do not get in the way of execution. Units are organized by processes that add value, and today's information technology permits frequent measurement of results for feedback to those doing the work enabling any necessary adjustments. Ultimately, the new design principles work if people who are empowered take responsibility for their performance. This ownership can be stimulated by sharing information and encouraging participation in creating the shared vision/mission
