How to Combine Employee Empowerment with Operational Discipline? Gulati's 3P Framework

How to Combine Employee Empowerment with Operational Discipline? Gulati's 3P Framework

🔥NEW According to Professor Ranjay Gulati, executives and managers have trouble resolving the tension between employee empowerment and operational discipline (in short: freedom and control). Freedom refers to trusting employees to think and act independently in behalf of the organization. Such freedom is known to increase organizational commitment, improve organizational performance, and to be conducive to innovation. However, unlimited freedom and/or zero control might be inefficient and impractical.

That's why Gulati suggests a "refinement" of earlier work of Bartlett and Ghoshal, who suggested a model built on an engaging corporate purpose, flexible management processes and an employee development policy. In order to resolve the tension between employee empowerment and operational discipline in a more practical and user-friendly way, he suggests a 3P Framework:

1. PURPOSE - A single shared goal that sums up the "why" of the organization. It provides direction and meaning to everything the company and its employees do. See also How to Change Towards a Higher Organizational Purpose.
2. PRIORITIES - Behavioral rules that reflect the organization's goals. The company's strategic interests, enabling employees to act accordingly and focus their time and company's resources properly. See also CSFs and KPIs and MBO.
3. PRINCIPLES - A simple set of principles growing out the organization's purpose and priorities, and helping employees to choose among reasonable options in their day-to-day work. The principles may include positive guidelines for action as well as limits on certain behavior. It is important that the principles are neither defined too precise (that would prevent employee empowerment), nor should they be formulated so broad that they provide no useful guidance.

The author stresses the importance of periodic reviewing and tweaking the framework components (purpose, priorities and principles) using employee and managerial feedback. This connects it to practice and legitimizes it in the eyes of employees.

Drawback of the framework is it's fragility due to its vulnerability to dissolution and it's tendency - if unattended - to revert to bureaucracy. This should be prevented by conscious maintenance and by spending a lot of energy to keep the 3P's in the focus of both management and the employees, continually redefining, evolving and aligning them with the company's changing needs.
Sources:
Ranjay Gulati: "Structure that's not Stifling: How to Give your People Essential Direction - Without Shutting them Down" HBR May-June 2018, pp. 70-79
Christopher A. Bartlett and Sumantra Ghoshal, "Changing the Role of Top Management: Beyond Systems to People", HBR May-June 1995.

		Comments Sort by date Sort by rating Rating
		3 Joao Paulo Feijoo Portugal
	3 Ps and Ambidextrous Organization This framework fits neatly to the concept of organizational ambidexterity, with the 'freedom' side c... Sign up

		5 Henry Velasquez Manager, Colombia
	Empowerment versus Discipline Discipline and empowerment have been two important points to contrast in several studies. But the re... Sign up

		2 Bernhard Keim Business Consultant, Germany
	Too Simple Approach Replace Freedom by Creativity and Control by Coordination and you get a better framework for a viabl... Sign up

		4 Alan Student (University), China
	Innate Ability and Outside Control Freedom and control are both important to motivate employees and run a company. In my opinion, free... Sign up

		3 Jaap de Jonge Editor, Netherlands
	Struggling with Empowerment vs. Control I guess we can all see organizations with lots of “white collar” workers, both for profit and non-pr... Sign up

		5 Dr. Remenyi Coach, Austria
	Redefine Control In my work as a consultant the companies I consulted have found it necessary to redefine the usual c... Sign up

		2 Kappagomtula CL Professor, Malaysia
	Gulati's 3P Model Requires Good Organizational Ethos Ranjay Gulati's 3P model success depends upon the fineness with which the fulcrum (Ed:~ center) of t... Sign up

		1 Jayaram Business Consultant, India
	Aspects of Balance Freedom <> Control Most organisations seem to have missed the balance of Gulati. My experience is that most of the tim... Sign up

		2 Patric Siesing Consultant, Sweden
	Focus on the Freedom and Control that is Needed I think that what is needed should guide the solution: What is the control about? What is reall... Sign up

		1 Armando Aramayo Business Consultant, Peru
	Empowerment Must Emphasize Discipline If the rules are clear and everyone knows that they must be followed, empowering certain people is a... Sign up

		4 Fredrick Odenge Turnaround Manager, Kenya
	Employee Empowerment versus Operational Discipline It is a wonderful thing to empower employees in any organization. This gives them freedom to execute... Sign up

		1 Bernhard Keim Business Consultant, Germany
	Follow the Golden Rules @Fredrick Odenge: Follow the 1st Golden Rule: "Treat others at least as good as you want to be trea... Sign up

		3 Patric Siesing Consultant, Sweden
	Cultural Biases in Empowerment versus Discipline Well, it also depends on the culture. My point of departure is Swedish. Where it is not easy to fire... Sign up

		1 Josephat Olwal Ngesah Kenya
	Empowerment versus Control for Millennials What you all have said is true. Our organizations are-not straight jackets (ed: ~restraining clothin... Sign up

		1 Maurice Hogarth Consultant, United Kingdom
	Employee Empowerment Against Unwanted Anarchy In order to balance wanted empowerment against unwanted anarchy, the essence would seem to be: ... Sign up