A survey of managers' attitudes towards employee empowerment in selected oil companies in Kenya

Abstract

Human Resource planning and development is dynamic and continues to face challenges with the changing times. In order for organizations to be able to cope with these changes, they must be flexible and respond to the evolutions that are part and parcel of everyday life. Organizations seek to maximize profits while minimizing costs, not only in raw materials but in their personnel as well. A useful model for building a self sufficient workforce centers. on some of these questions: how well are the employees trained to cope with continuous changes? How willing is the organization to relinquish power and share it among employees? How well is teamwork developed within the organization? what opportunities exist in these organizations for self growth? How well are the employees committed to the organizations goals and objectives? How does employee decision making affect the organization's day to day running? This research set out to survey the attitudes of managers towards employee empowerment in the face of recent and on going retrenchment which in effect translates to more work for fewer staff. The study used the survey design. The research was to determine the attitude of managers towards employees' empowerment in the oil industry in Kenya. The five leading oil companies were chosen for this research. The population of the study consisted of departmental oil managers of the leading oil companies, i.e. Mobil Oil Kenya, Kenol/Kobil Kenya, Caltex Kenya Ltd, ShelllBP Kenya Ltd and Total Kenya Ltd. Primary data was obtained using a structured questionnaire administered through the drop- and- pick-later- method. The questionnaire was divided into sections according to the research questions. There were 30 respondents which translated to 88% response rate. The data was analyzed using narrative frequencies and tables. The main findings were as follows: Majority of the respondents felt positively towards empowering their employees. In addition, employees' ideas have the potential to unleash innovation and profitability for the organization.