Employee empowerment has become a buzzword in today's business. But empowerment means different things to different people. It is a process that has to be initiated and supported all through by the top management, for achieving visible results. Earlier efforts had mixed results as freedom was seen as a reactionary force meant to counter top management hegemony. "Empowerment" today means striking a mutually accepted balance that gives a shared sense of responsibility. It makes the employers and employees partners working for common goals. The art of achieving results through empowerment would hence mean finding ways to tackle counteractive forces and chart out a common path.

Employee empowerment has been touted as the panacea for all the disillusionment and disenchantment that seeps into the cadre of organizations due to a variety of reasons. Different people have interpreted the term "empowerment" differently. Empowerment in its simplest sense means "increasing freedom" given to the workforce of an organization. The employees become the decision makers and the strategy of the organization is to let the front line people handle the issues that directly concern and impact their work and the firm performance. So, it encourages a sense of common purpose among the stakeholders of the organization.

The concept of empowerment represents a paradigm shift. The felt need for a hierarchical, top down form of control in the workplace is replaced by an acknowledgment that the workforce is as interested in the growth and well-being of the organization as the management might be. There is an acceptance of the fact that empowerment will improve the quality of work life of the employees. This, in turn, will translate into tangible and intangible benefits for the organization.

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