EMPOWERMENT IN MANAGEMENT PRACTICE - THE EXPERIENCE OF POLISH ENTERPRISES

Abstract

Empowerment is a concept difficult to define in a clear and precise way. In the literature of the subject empowerment is referred to as a management strategy, management philosophy, management method, as an organizational phenomenon, as well as a process or a set of managerial activities and practices. Without a solution to the definitional dilemma, the authors treat empowerment as both a management concept, i.e. a set of coherent ideas to explain a specific fragment of organizational reality and a management method, which is a coherent set of organizational activities that some organizations have successfully implemented and turned into management practice. The purpose of this article is to present the scope and manners of implementation of empowerment as a management method in enterprises. The study was conducted in north-eastern Poland.