Empowerment

Abstract: This research begins to develop and validate a multidimensional measure of psychological empowerment in the workplace Second-order confirmatory factor analyses were conducted with two complementary samples to demonstrate the convergent and discriminant validity of four dimensions of empowerment and their contributions to an overall construct of psychological empowerment Structural equations modeling was used to examine a nomological network of psychological empowerment in the workplace Tested hypotheses concerned key antecedents and consequences of the construct Initial support for the construct validity of psychological empowerment was found Directions for future research are discussed

Abstract: * 1. The Case for Participation as Tyranny - Bill Cooke and Uma Kothari * 2. 'People's Knowledge', Participation and Patronage: Operations and Representations in Rural Development - David Mosse * 3. Institutions, Agency and the Limitations of Participatory Approaches to Development - Frances Cleaver * 4. Pluralism, Participation and Power: Joint Forest Management in India - Nicholas Hildyard, Pandurang Hegde, Paul Wolvekamp, Somasekhare Reddy * 5. Participatory Development at the World Bank: The Primacy of Process - Paul Francis * 6. Beyond the Formulaic: Process and Practice in South Asian NGOs - John Hailey * 7. The Social-Psychological Limits of Participation? - Bill Cooke * 8. Insights into Participation from Critical Management and Labour Process Perspectives - Harry Taylor * 9. Participatory Development: Power, Knowledge and Social Control - Uma Kothari * 10. Beyond Participation: Strategies for Deeper Empowerment - Giles Mohan * 11. Participation as Spiritual Duty: Empowerment as Secular Subjection - Heiko Henkel and Roderick Stirrat * Bibliography

Abstract: This paper evaluates the measurement of womens empowerment in the context of three interrelated dimensions: resources agency and achievements. Several studies are analyzed to stress important methodological points. Resources is here understood to refer not only to material resources but also to the various human and social resources which enhance the ability to exercise choice. Individual and structural change are interdependent in processes of empowerment. The idea of choice must be qualified so that it incorporates the structural dimensions of individual choice according to two criteria: the criterion of alternatives relates to the structural conditions under which choices are made while the criterion of consequences relates to the extent to which choices made have the potential for transforming structural conditions. By definition indicators of empowerment cannot provide an accurate measurement of changes in womens ability to make choices; they can merely indicate the direction and meaning of change. Finally there are problems in measurement and conceptualization associated with capturing particular kinds of social change. Thus giving women access to credit creating constitutional provisions for political participation or equalizing educational opportunities is unlikely to empower them automatically; instead it will create a vantage point from which to view alternatives; this in turn constitutes the precondition for the establishment of a more transformatory consciousness.

Abstract: Despite increasing attention on the topic of empowerment, our under-standing of the construct and its underlying processes remains limited. This article addresses these shortcomings by providing an analytical treatment of the construct and by integrating the diverse approaches to empowerment found in both the management and psychology literatures. In addition, the authors identify certain antecedent conditions of powerlessness and practices that have been hypothesized to empower subordinates.