The Power Behind Empowerment: Implications for Research and Practice
构建了一个四维权力模型，解释企业赋权项目常失败的原因，并为主流、批判和福柯视角下的权力研究提供整合分析，对管理者和研究者改进赋权实践有参考价值。
The 1990s have been called the “empowerment era,” yet growing evidence suggests that empowerment programs often fail to meet the expectations of both managers and employees. To provide a better understanding as to why empowerment programs often fail and to suggest how such failures may be averted, we examine the power behind empowerment. Ironically, although power and empowerment are inextricably linked, much of the work on empowerment in the business literature has been devoid of any discussion of power. We present a four-dimensional model which shows the multifaceted way in which power works. In it, we observe the similarities and differences in the ways that different theorists have approached the study of power, notably those ascribing to mainstream, critical, and Foucauldian perspectives. We then use this power model as a lens with which to examine empowerment practices in business. This analysis suggests a number of possible reasons for the failure of business empowerment programs and provides directions for future research and practice which might address these shortcomings.