ESSAY: Employee Empowerment

Employee Empowerment.
Watch the Patagonia video below along with reading the Discussion Assignment 8.3, (p. 117) in Chapter 8. For this week’s post: 1. Discuss how an organization knows whether its suggestion system is worth the time and effort needed to make it work? 2. Your thoughts on how Patagonia empowers their employees and is it helping in a total quality setting?

ANSWER

Employee Empowerment

            An organization will know if its suggestion system is worth the effort and time needed for it to work if the system is likely to create a conducive working environment, improve business profitability, enhance employee motivation levels, and promote customer satisfaction rates. The system should also have a shorter payback period, and the company may use the Internal Rate of Return (IRR) to evaluate the attractiveness of the project/investment. More importantly, the organization should ensure that the system aligns with organizational goals, which is critical in improving the working environment, promoting organizational culture, and creating a sense of ownership and trust (Lasrado et al., 2017). In addition, the suggestion system is worth the effort and time if it results in increased work efficiency, eliminates waste, or improves safety and the quality of products and services. An organization can also know if it is worth investing in a system if its assessment indicates that the system is likely to cause increased teamwork, which fosters loyalty among employees. A company will also know if a system is worth it if there is enough management support, which is an indication of commitment and enthusiasm towards the program’s success (Froehlich et al., 2015).  

My Thoughts On How Patagonia Empowers Their Employees

            Patagonia employees feel appreciated because the business core values reflect their career ambitions. The company, to me, values employees’ contribution and feedback, which is necessary for any business to be successful. The onsite child care system helps parents to fully concentrate on their work.  Onsite child care is a system that I would also prefer because it makes employees give their best in the workplace. (Carter, 2020). Employee empowerment also results in giving workers time off to spend with their families, which is crucial in developing robust social and psychological wellbeing, which are essential in life. I think that employees who have no external distractions from their family life tend to concentrate fully on their work, resulting in better productivity (Carter, 2020). The separation of base pay and the bonus is also commendable because it motivates employees hence increasing productivity and efficiency. In addition, the introduction of two months paid leave each year is an excellent strategy meant to break the monotony and to give employees more time to concentrate on other….