If not EMPOWERED - Not Productive…

We are all employees in different field and we are all in need of empowerment. How do you empower employee’s ma’am? A question that I wrote in a piece of paper for our college dean when I got negative response to our query for a seminar. For some reason, the academe lies on the contracts that generally express a NO EMPLOYER-EMPLOYEE RELATIONSHIP. Seminars aren’t covered in the contract. Even the 13^th month pay, dress allowance, etc. (how sad)….not unless we will finished our graduate studies and given a permanent position to the institution.

What "employee empowerment" boils down to is a philosophy that allows people to make decisions about their work, within certain broad guidelines. Simply put, it lets employees think for themselves. Now, some observers claim that empowerment comes from the employee, and to a certain extent that is true. However, I believe that true workplace empowerment comes from the employees and management working in tandem. The employee has to be willing to show initiative and take control of their work, but the college administration has to be in a position to encourage and allow employee empowerment—or it will never occur.

As a college instructor, first of all, I have to make my students understand what I am trying to achieve. I cannot do that by just ordering them to do this or that, without providing an explanation…well, I can, but that is the military way and students are not soldiers and so employees. They have not been through the intensive training that the military uses to break down the individual and rebuild into the type of soldier they need. Explain the university mission in a simple, straightforward way. It can be as simple as, "We're trying to make the best IT in the world," or "We're world leaders in software technology, and we want to stay that way." You do not have to ramble on about "leveraging our core vision" and "optimizing quality-driven geo-targeted bandwidth," or "gap analysis," even though all that may be integral to any organizations strategy. Just give it to them straight. They will appreciate that.

School administrators should see and acted to be willing to give of themselves, in the sense that they have to a) provide assistance that is appropriate to the problems faced by the employees, b) carry out any requested assistance competently and completely, c) encourage employees, and d) provide feedback or correction on results.

When properly handled employee empowerment is a win-win situation all around—because by making employees more productive, it also makes the school more productive. By tapping into the knowledge and energy of your employees, you not only take advantage of the "many heads are better than one" thesis, you get to focus on your own most profitable tasks—the reason you are getting paid the big amount in the first place.

If sometimes I am seem unwilling to take initiative to empower myself it is obvious that I do not have the training I need to do my work with confidence, I need to get trained. We, the contractual and even permanent employees  need to be confident not only that we are allowed to do the job, but also that we can do the job. That is another foundation of workplace empowerment. Uncertainty hampers both empowerment and the productivity that comes with it.

Basic education is not enough; it is crucial, but it just prepares a person for their career. As an employee, I need hands-on training, so that I can gain experience in handling the specialized aspects of particular tasks. But how? My salary isn’t even enough for my family? How can I be empowered without the school assistance? I told myself “maau pa cla” when one of the topic sharers told us that he was sent to a seminar that was shouldered by his employer and it really empowered him a lot. Their only other option is to toss me out there to sink or swim as best as I can. This approach to "empowerment" is inherently wasteful, not just because it limits the development of my personal competency at particular tasks (and thus my productivity), but also because it blows a hole in the schools productivity levels. Even if the individual learns to swim, it will take a while—and if they sink, you are back to square one.

Once trained, the school started delegating tasks to them and makes them aware that it is up to them to get the job done

The intelligent manager takes a person's abilities into account and does not overburden them. On the other hand, a little encouragement can result in a significant increase in productivity; and to some extent, increased productivity and empowerment feed off each other.

Finally, a message to the academe that I serve best, if you want your employees to continue to feel empowered, reward them for their productivity. Otherwise you are telling them you do not appreciate their contributions and down goes productivity, because what is the point of working hard? For some, a verbal "pat on the back" will do, and such recognition is the least that you should offer. For most people though, money's a prime motivator. A nice bonus or a gift card is always appreciated.

first entry "Strategic Planning Model"

         I was enrolled with a conflict schedule. I was advised by Sir X to personally and humbly talk to the professors handling the conflict subjects. He gave me the chance because he knew that it would be my last subjects for my MIT course. I felt blessed after I talked to my prof in data structure subject because she kindheartedly understood my standing. Happily I walked myself to the next room for other subject thinking on how to explain the approved conflict schedule. Inside the room sitting a man in front of the class which I taught would be hard for me. With the name in a one fourth sheet of paper, the class was told to answer the simple mathematical equation written on the board. Confidently I passed my paper with the answer in it and it was accidentally correct. My name was called with the question about my simple background and my impression to RSG. There I started to introduce myself and since I was given the chance to talk so I decided to open up the conflict schedule and explained why I was granted to have it that way. It sounds like NO NO to my ear when I saw his negative opinion. Convincing him looks like really hard to do but when I told him that only the seminars and fieldtrip subject was affected and since we will not be having class with the subject so I had his approval. I should say “thank you” to RSG for the second time.

               

          I started to listen the organization analysis topic with a smile. The idea that was discussed was in the circle of vision, mission, goals and objectives of an organization and strategic planning model. I can still remember how I failed to one of my exam during my college days because of not memorizing the school VMGO. I had a change for a removal so I did my share. Yeah I had VMGO memorized because it’s the only ticket to pass the removal exam but after that, VMGO was addressed to recycle bin of myself operating system.

                Years gone by so fast that shifted my life to a new partition of life existence. Change was there constantly. I’ve experienced working in different companies without even reading its VMGO.  It’s just like I’m working my task and have it done, complied all the necessary things that was set forth to me by the company. VMGO was still in nowhere to be recognized as guiding light to my work and to the company I served. Now I settled myself in the academe as a facilitator. I’ve been teaching in three years time and counting but never crossed my mind about living and embracing the school VMGO until my professor brilliantly deliberate its importance. First question was “do you know your organization VMGO?” it happened that I myself do not even memorized the academe VMGO. Somewhat a slap on my face and showed that for all those years of working I never recognized the core purpose of the school. I felt ashamed to myself. But healthy discussion directed me to see the parallel universe of endless success if all the employees will embrace organizations VMGO and works with it.  

                Now let’s talk about strategic planning model of an organization. Having VMGO set, organization must be always flexible enough to face changes and challenges that will open up more windows of opportunities. A strategic planning model is more about a different approach to the project. It's about stepping back from the execution-mode in order to examine and evaluate it from a different angle. I have some observation in my workplace specifically pertains to course offering and update. We had offered Computer Science course which I believe must be given a thorough review to its curriculum. There was no update to it for the past five years. Some subjects are not really helping in shaping the students future as it isn’t applicable anymore. Aside from that, the school doesn’t have enough facilities to cater major subjects of the course. I guess the school should make a strategic plan, implement changes, welcome new ideas like offering new courses like BSIT,BSIM or BSIS. 

             We must accept things that cannot or impossibly achieved. Strategic planning model show the possible outcome of a certain project and with a different approach you will have more options to consider rather than focusing on one direction that could have no room for re-engineering. Organization or even a person will not grow and cannot compete if by mind afraid to meet and accept the challenges that changing world has to offer.

            As saying goes “if you fail to plan, you plan to fail”. Everything about strategic planning will largely depend upon the people who never planned to fail and how they are capable of handling unwanted changes or in any way can affect the project. One should have endless option that can address changes and can embrace it. In my workplace I can really say that we really need to revisited and refine solutions to address the problem especially to the department offered courses.  

Managers are people who do things right and leaders are people who do the right thing.

  

            January 7, was the first day of my graduate school class for the year 2012. I was 15 minutes early before my first subject at 8 o’clock . Most of my classmates are late for our first subject since they taught that we would not meet the class anymore as we already decided on what to do for our seminars and fieldtrip last class meeting but it wasn't that fixed. Our professor was just observing us while he gave us the time to think about the realization of our plan for our trip to Laguna as the other students coming to the class late. Before 10’oclock , time for Organizational analysis subject, the professor gave us a sermon about time management and stretching on how we behave as IT people in our respective organization.

The question was raised by a university professor for us to ponder, “Can we become a leader— can we become a manager?” All the students are required to make their own point of view with regards to the topic.

             “Can we become a leader? Can we become a manager?” for me the answer is yes. From my short experience during my colleges’ days, I became the leader of some school organization so little to mention, namely Informatics Students Society, Institute of Engineering and Informatics Society and even Student Supreme Government. As a leader you must not only be motivated to succeed, you have to be able to motivate others to succeed. You are not just a leader in your professional life but many of us have people that look to us in our personal lives. Now skipping the past tense of my life, I am presently connected to Surigao del Sur State University – Tagbina campus.

            Surigao del Sur State University have six campuses namely SDSSU Tandag – main campus, SDSSU – Catilan campus, SDSSU – Cagwait campus and SDSSU - Tagbina campus where i am associated with. The School is much more like a fluid network of interaction than a bureaucratic structure. The branches are powerful, exciting and dynamic entities. There is frequent cross-fertilization of ideas, and a regular exchange of information, especially between campus directors and the university president. Much effort is devoted to creating shared appreciations and understandings of the nature of the organization and its mission, but always within a context that encourages an open, evolving, learning-oriented approach to the university. The school is constantly trying to find and create the new initiatives, ideas, systems and processes that will contribute to its success. It is a kind of adhocracy, finding and developing its form as it goes along.

          School branches have a campus director and for me represents the bee by work and the university president act as the lion by nature of work. Somehow its hard for me say what is the most important among the two. I guess both the bee and the lion characteristics must go hand in hand. 

          As a college instructor, I, sometimes act as a bee and sometimes a lion. Applying both the characteristics of manager - bee and leader - lion will give a good result to oneself not just in the workplace but in the whole organization.