Submitted by :
Zuha Fayyaz 22-10
Malaika Khan 22-14
Tooba Muhammad Ali 22-24
Saman Naeem 22-42
Shehzeen Fatima 22-44
Aliza Rani 22-46
Eisha Kanwal 22-48
Malaika Illyas 22-66
Khadija Khalid 22-84
Ayesha Yaseen 22-96
Alizah Noor 22-104
Qurratulain Nasir 22-110
Submitted to :
Ma’am Sana Munir
Course Title :
Contemporary World
Topic:
Employee Empowerment
Session:
BBA 2022-2026
Semester+Section:
3rd B
Date of Submission:
Empowerment
Team work
1. Discuss empowering employees.
2. Distinguish the five types of teams.
PREPARED FOR
3. Identify team characteristics.
4. Evaluate team cohesiveness
norms.
5. Describe team conflict.
By
AYESHA YASEEN
JANUARY 10, 2024
The Definition of Employee Empowerment
"Employee empowerment" is a term that is used to express the ways in which non managerial staff members can
make decisions without consulting their bosses or managers. These decisions can be small or large, depending
upon the degree of power with which the company wishes to invest [Link] empower employees by
sharing company information and decision-making authority and by rewarding them for their performance—as
well as the company’s.
Sharing Information and Decision-Making Authority:
One of the most effective methods of empowering employees is to keep them informed about
the company’s performance.
Empowering through Information Sharing:
One powerful method of empowerment is maintaining transparency and open communication about the company's
performance. The case of KIND Healthy Snacks exemplifies this approach, where employees are not only kept
informed but are also encouraged to think like owners. This fosters a sense of ownership, loyalty, and trust among
team members. The transparency in decision-making processes and a culture that values employee feedback make
every team member feel involved and invested in the company's success.
Empowering through Decision-Making Authority:
Companies like Toyota and Lebanon Valley Brethren Home exemplify empowerment by giving employees broad
authority to make decisions that align with the company's vision and strategy. Toyota empowers front-line
assembly workers to halt production and address issues on the assembly line, fostering a culture of problem-
solving and continuous improvement. Similarly, in a healthcare setting, Lebanon Valley Brethren Home empowers
caregivers at all levels to make decisions that enhance the quality of residents' lives, creating a personalized and
homely environment.
Linking Rewards to Company Performance:
Employee ownership serves as a powerful motivator, aligning the interests of employees with the company's
[Link] Stock Ownership Plans (ESOPs) and stock options are two common strategies.
Employee Stock Ownership Plan:
Over the last two decades, there has been a decline in the total number of ESOP plans but an increase in the number
of participants. More than 14 million workers participate in approximately 7,000 employee stock ownership plans
(ESOPs). These plans benefit employees by giving them ownership stakes in their companies, leading to potential
profits as the value of their company increases. Under ESOPs, the employer buys shares of the company stock on
behalf of the employee as a retirement benefit. The accounts continue to grow in value tax-free, and when
employees leave the company they can cash in their stock shares. Employees are motivated to work harder and
smarter than they would without ESOPs because as part owners, they share in their company’s financial success.
More than 76% of companies surveyed that offer ESOPs report an increase in employee [Link] retirement
plans, ESOPs must comply with government regulations designed to protect pension benefits. Because ESOPs can
be expensive to set up, they are more common in larger companies than in smaller ones. Privately held companies
represent over 90% of ESOP ownership, while publicly held companies represent less than 10%. One danger with
ESOPs is that if the majority of an employee’s retirement funds are in company stock and if the value falls
dramatically, the employee like other investors will be financially harmed.
Stock Options:
Stock options, granted to employees at various levels, offer the opportunity to directly benefit from the company's
success. While there are risks involved, such as stock price volatility, these ownership strategies have been shown to
increase employee productivity and motivation.
TEAMS
A team is a group of people with certain skills who are committed to a common purpose, approach, and set of
performance goals. All team members hold themselves mutually responsible and accountable for accomplishing
their objectives. Teams are widely used in business and in many not for-profit organizations, such as hospitals and
government agencies.
Basic Types of Teams:
There are five basic types of teams:
1: Work teams
2: Problem-solving teams
3: Self managed teams
4: Cross-functional teams
5: Virtual teams
Work Teams:
About two-thirds of U.S. firms currently use work teams, which are relatively permanent groups of employees. In
this approach, people with complementary skills perform the day-to-day work of the organization.
Most of Walmart’s major vendors maintain offices near its headquarters in Bentonville, Arkansas. Typically, the
vendor offices operate as work teams, and the heads of these vendor offices often have the title of “team leader.”
Problem-Solving Teams:
A problem-solving team is a temporary combination of workers who gather to solve a specific problem and then
disband. They differ from work teams in important ways, though. Work teams are permanent units designed to
handle any business problem that arises, but problem-solving teams pursue specific missions. To reduce customer
confusion about what to purchase for an activity, Lululemon, famous for its yoga
inspired athletic apparel, formed a problem-solving team. In the past, pants were organized from tightest to loosest.
With increased competition in the athleisure arena (which Lululemon invented), its pants, which come with a
sticker price of $98 or more, are now organized according to sensation. Based upon the activity, the selling points
of each garment are explained by each sensation, which describes the performance quality of the pant. These
sensations include hugged sensation, naked, relaxed sensation, tight sensation, and held-in sensation.
For example, naked pants are designed to fit very tightly, and they’re ideal for yoga, whereas hugged sensation is
form-fitting but not skintight, and good for exercise. Typically, when a problem is solved, the team disbands—but
in some cases, the team may develop or take on a more permanent role within the company.\
Self-Managed Team:
A work team empowered with the authority to decide how its members complete their daily tasks is called a self-
managed team.
A self-managed team works most effectively when it combines employees with a range of skills and functions.
Members are cross-trained to per form each other’s jobs as needed. Distributing decision-making authority in this
way can free members to concentrate on satisfying customers. Whole Foods Market has a structure based on self-
managed work teams. Company managers decided that Whole Foods could be most innovative if employees made
decisions themselves. Every employee is part of a team, and each store has about ten teams handling separate
functions, such as groceries, bakery, and customer service. Each team handles responsibilities related to setting
goals, hiring and training employees, scheduling team members, and purchasing goods to stock. Teams meet at
least monthly to review goals and performance, solve problems, and explore new ideas. Whole
Foods awards bonuses based on the teams’ performance relative to their goals.
Cross Functional Team:
A team made up of members from different functions, such as production, marketing, and finance, is called a cross-
functional team. Most often, cross-functional teams, which consist of people with different strengths from various
company departments, work on specific problems or projects, but they can also serve as permanent work team
arrangements. The value of cross-functional teams comes from their ability to bring different perspectives—as well
as different types of expertise—to a work effort. Communication is key to the success of cross functional teams. At
3M, famous for its Post-it Notes, the CEO discovered that a refocus of the company’s new product research and
development efforts meant getting 3M scientists to communicate early in the new-product sequence with marketing
and manufacturing employees.
Virtual Teams:
group of geographically or organizationally dispersed co-workers who use a combination of telecommunications
and information technologies to accomplish an organizational task. Because of the availability of e-mail,
videoconferencing, and group communication software, members of virtual teams rarely meet face to face. The
principal advantage of virtual teams is that they are very flexible. Employees can work with each other regardless
of physical location, time zone, or organizational affiliation. Because of their very nature, virtual teams that are
scattered across the globe can be challenging to manage. But companies that are committed to them believe that the
benefits outweigh the challenges. See the “Judgment Call” feature for a discussion of the benefits and challenges of
virtual teams.
Team Characteristics
Effective teams share a number of characteristics. They must be an appropriate size to accomplish their work. In
addition to size, teams also can be categorized according to the similarities and differences among team members,
called level and diversity.
Team Size:
Teams can range in number from as few as 2 people to as many as 150 people. In practice, however, most teams
have fewer than 12 members. Although no ideal size limit applies to every team, research on team effectiveness
indicates that they achieve their best results with about six or seven members. A group of this size is big enough to
benefit from a variety of diverse skills, yet small enough to allow members to communicate easily and feel part of a
close-knit group.
Example: Jeff Bezos, CEO of Amazon, has a two-pizza team rule that states teams shouldn’t be any larger than
what two pizzas can feed. Small teams make communication easier; however, as group size
grows, conversations and interactions are less meaningful.
Team Level and Team Diversity:
Team level is the average level of ability, experience, personality, or any other factor on a team. Businesses
consider team level when they need teams with a particular set of skills or capabilities to do their jobs well.
For example: An environmental engineering firm might put together a team with a high level of experience to
write a proposal for a large contract.
team diversity represents the differences in ability, experience, personality, or any other factor on a team.
For Example: Director of Diversity and Inclusion for Google, Yolanda Mangolini is focused on expanding the
tech giant’s concept of diversity. Goals include hiring initiatives to expand the pool of tech candidates, fostering a
fair and inclusive culture, and bridging the digital divide. To recruit more computer science students of color from
historically black colleges and universities (HBCUs), Google has opened “Howard West” on its campus in Silicon
Valley in California. Twenty-five college juniors majoring in computer science from all HBCUs are chosen to
spend 12 weeks immersing themselves in tech culture while receiving instruction and training from Google
engineers.
Stages of Team Development
According to Bruce Tuckman, an educational psychologist from Ohio State University, team development and
behavior typically progresses through five stages:
1: Forming
2: Storming
3: Norming
4: Performing
5: Adjourning
Stage 1: Forming
Forming is an orientation period during which team members get to know each other and find out the behaviors that
are acceptable to the group. Team members begin with curiosity about expectations of them and whether they will
fit in with the group. An effective team leader provides time for members to become acquainted.
Stage 2: Storming
The personalities of team members begin to emerge during the storming stage, as members clarify their roles and
expectations. Conflicts may arise, as people disagree over the team’s mission and jockey for position and control of
the group. Subgroups may form based on common interests or concerns.
At this stage, the team leader must encourage everyone to participate, allowing members to work through their
uncertainties and conflicts. Teams must move beyond this stage to achieve real productivity.
Stage 3: Norming
During the norming stage, members resolve differences, accept each other, and reach broad agreement about the
roles of the team leader and other participants. This stage is usually brief, and the team leader
should use it to emphasize the team’s unity and the importance of its objectives.
Stage 4: Performing
While performing, members focus on solving problems and accomplishing tasks. They interact frequently and
handle conflicts in constructive ways. The team leader encourages contributions from all members. He or she
should attempt to get any nonparticipating team members
involved.
Stage 5: Adjourning
The team adjourns after members have completed the assigned task or solved the problem. During this phase, the
focus is on wrapping up and summarizing the team’s experiences and accomplishments. The team leader may
recognize the team’s accomplishments with a celebration, perhaps handing out plaques or awards.
Team Cohesiveness and Norms
Team cohesiveness is the extent to which members feel attracted to the team and motivated to remain part of it.
This cohesiveness typically increases when members interact frequently, share common attitudes and goals, and
enjoy being together.
Massachusetts based Team Bonding is a company specializing in creating customized corporate retreats and team-
building experiences. Clients like American Express, Disney, and Apple can choose among a variety of events,
including a high-tech scavenger hunt using tablets and smart phones, a corporate Project Runway, building a
remote-powered robot, and photo and video challenges.
Team norm is a standard of conduct shared by team members that guides their behavior. Norms are not formal
written guidelines; they are informal standards that identify key values and clarify team members’ expectations. In
highly productive teams, norms contribute to constructive work and the accomplishment of team goals.
At Texas based retailer The Container Store, employees come first. CEO Kip Tindell believes strongly that if his
employees are paid better and given excellent training, they will take care of their customers. Each new employee
receives one week of intensive training and more than 263 hours of formal training during his or her first year with
the company. Team norms include supportive and spontaneous ways in which employees take time to recognize
and support the efforts of co-workers.
Team Conflict
Conflict occurs when one person’s or group’s needs do not match those of another, and attempts may be made to
block the opposing side’s intentions or goals. Conflict and disagreement are inevitable in most teams. But this
shouldn’t surprise anyone. People who work together are naturally going to disagree about what and how things are
done. The job of the manager is to create an environment in which differences are appreciated and in which
a team of diverse individuals work together productively. Diversity training programs can reduce conflict and
increase inclusion and tolerance among a diverse group of team members. By creating awareness of differences in
culture, knowledge, and skills, greater cohesiveness is usually a result.
Cognitive conflict focuses on problem related differences of opinion, and reconciling those differences
strongly improves team performance. With cognitive conflict, team members disagree because their different
experiences and expertise lead them to different views of the problem and its solutions.
Affective conflict refers to the emotional reactions that can occur when disagreements become personal rather
than professional, and these differences strongly decrease team performance. Because affective conflict often
results in hostility, anger, resentment, distrust, cynicism, and apathy, it can make people uncomfortable, cause them
to withdraw, decrease their commitment to a team, lower the satisfaction of team members, and decrease team
cohesiveness. So, unlike cognitive conflict, affective conflict undermines team performance by preventing teams
from engaging in activities that are critical to team effectiveness.
