An investigation of employee empowerment as an organisational culture in the South African public sector

Abstract

This paper examines how employee empowerment impacted the South African public sector. A qualitative research approach was utilised based on the narratives and stories of seven employees operating in the Eastern Cape Province of South Africa from the Department of Economic Development, Environmental Affair Tourism (DEDEAT) and East London Industrial Development Zone (ELIDZ) gathered through the use of in-depth interviews. It was found that the concept of empowerment has not been fully institutionalised in the Public sector. The research suggests strategies that managers can adopt to assist instutionalise Employee empowerment in the Public sector. This study extends and advances the literature on employee empowerment and more particularly psychological empowerment. The study found employee empowerment to be a vital tool to improve service delivery in the Public sector. However, it was found that more personalised approaches like delegation and mentorship can be institutionalised for psychological empowerment purposes. In general, the findings indicated that Employee empowerment has a positive influence on organisational performance and service delivery.