Empowerment Case

In social psychology, empowerment is the personal growth and developments were the qualities, efforts and values are inborn in the person himself (Kuokkanen, Kilpi, Helena, & Katajisto, 2003). Brown (1995) stated that empowerment is the method that is used to alter the workers ability to function (Brown, 1995). Furthermore, empowerment is a process of enabling people to control their environment and achieve self determination (Simmon & Parson , 1983).This may occur by accepting an individual change, interpersonal change , interactional change or changing the social structure to that have an effect on the person. Zimmerman (1995) described empowerment as a multi level build that happen at three levels; individual , organizational and community level. He defined psychological empowerment at the level of the individual and describes as the interface between a sense of personal control and efficacy (Zimmerman, 1995) .

Psychological empowerment was often connected with constucts such as self-esteem, self efficacy, competency and locus of control. It was corelated with four levels of cognition in a model such as meaning, competence, self determination and sense of impact as the basis for worker empowerment (Thomas & Velthouse, 1990).Commitment to an organisation is related positively with a variety of desirable work outcomes such as job satisfaction, motivation and performance and it is negatively corelated with absenteeism and turn over (Mathieu & Zajac, 1990).

Psychological empowerment can encourage people to enhance their self efficacy and also make them feel valued in the organization.Employees who are empowered are more devoted to the organisation , more responsible to their work and better able to fulfill job demands in an effective manner (Degner, 2005).

Sociologically, empowerment is the action of rise in the influence of a social group (Kuokkanen, Kilpi, Helena, & Katajisto, 2003). Rappaport defined , "empowerment as a world view that have a way to the solution of social problems and social policy a stemming from powerlessness" (Rappaport, 1981).Within the scope of social work, empowerment means to achieve necessary social and personal modification in ways that meet human needs.White (2002),examined and viewed empowerment in sociology as disparity in power, class and control through surviellance. One way that the government and organisation can ordain the social control is through the control of information (White, 2002).

Empowerment is socially constructed and is an, "outcome of changes in fundamental structures and relations of power" (Anderson, 1996),whether initiated by those in control or those being controlled.Cannoy (2008) stated that the primary weakness in the sociological literature is the in-built difference in power due to institutional structures and power relations (Cannoy, 2008).He also added that most organizations flourish within the socially constructed