Employee Empowerment = World Peace

How’s that for a title? 

According to research done by author Gretchen Spreitzer, a professor at the University of Michigan’s Ross School of Business, the answer may be yes.  Of course, there are skeptics, but Spreitzer isn’t alone in making the case that “enlightened management” is good for society.  (Click here to read an article about this in the Boston Globe.)

As you read this article, keep the following questions in mind:

Do empowered, satisfied employees tend to live in open, peaceful societies?

Can businesses that practice enlightened management or provide employee empowerment create social change in the most combative of societies?

If employees are encouraged to voice their opinions, will they be more satisfied at work and translate that satisfaction into the societies in which they live?

Do employees believe management wants them to be empowered, speak their minds, and be part of the company’s overall team effort?

I hope you will read this article.  Professor Spreitzer and others involved in this discussion quote Milton Friedman, Montesquieu, and some folks I’ve never heard of but are no doubt plenty smart.  Some of what they talk about is intellectually stimulating, perhaps challenging.  The bottom line, however, is that what they’re talking about is common sense.  They’re also talking about how human resources professionals, as well as other business leaders, can make a big difference in the workplace and the world.