FAA Office of Aerospace Medicine
Civil Aerospace Medical Institute
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AVIATION MEDICINE REPORTS

Report No: DOT/FAA/AM-98/24

Title and Subtitle: Predictors of Perceived Empowerment: An Initial Assessment

Report Date: September 1998

Authors: Thompson, R.C.; Bailey, L.L.; and Farmer, W.L.

Abstract: Recent research suggests that employee empowerment is related to a number of variables besides organizational structure and the use of teams. The present paper examined a number of organizational context variables, obtained from three samples in two government agencies. Perceptions of empowerment were then predicted from these context variables. The results show that perceptions of communication are the strongest predictor of empowerment perceptions across samples. In addition, the size of the communication slope estimate (B value) did not differ across the sample. The results support the contention that context factors besides teams and restructuring are related to empowerment. Specifically, communication perceptions are consistently the strongest predictor across samples and measures. Future research should examine the mechanisms that relate communication and empowerment.

Key Words: Empowerment, Organization Climate, Communication

No. of Pages: 12