When people can take reasonable action without needing to wait for approval, improvements take place more quickly. In addition, people are more likely to observe problems and fix them, because they have more personal involvement. Increased responsibility leads people to become more involved in their jobs, which makes it less likely they will move to another organization. That saves money in several different ways - for example, by cutting back on recruiting and training costs, and by avoiding the disruption of personnel changes. When people are involved in their jobs and invested with the power to do what they know best, large-scale change is also more likely, because all the local, small changes needed to support the large change are easier to implement.
People can see what needs to be done, and act accordingly.
There is lots of evidence that, when people are given clear direction, authority, and responsibility, it usually works out well. The job enrichment literature is full of examples of cases where, for example, having employees check and fix their own work reduces costs and increases speed. The principles have been applied to everyone from janitors to engineers. After all, the problem in most change efforts is not coming up with ideas - it's getting action. What you can do While people tend to think employees can only be empowered by senior managers, many of the limits on our personal power at work are caused by our own perceptions.