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The world is changing from a local to a global scale, and with it, the work environment. As business leaves the industrial age and enters the technological age where knowledge abounds, management theory must and has begun adjusting along with it in order for organizations to maintain their competitive position within their market. Today's employees are not only more educated than ever before, but as a result, they also expect more form their employers in terms of respect, understanding their value and ultimately job enrichment (Van Strien 1978).

In response to these changes, a subfield of psychology has entered into the business arena in the form of the Industrial and Organizational Psychologist. The results of this entrance are new and improved management theories and perspectives focused around employee empowerment as a means of improving performance and increasing overall employee retention rates.

In essence, empowerment is giving control and power over to the employee, which in turn fosters creativity and produces achievement, success and employee motivation (Shalley & Gilson 2004). This is in sharp contrast to the old industrial viewpoint of micromanagement and discipline as a tool for achieving results, which based its theories on the idea that power is to be used as a way to make someone do what we want (control). This new concept of empowerment suggests that power is something to be given back to the employee (freedom), and as a result, will motivate them to return it in form of productivity and results. In response to these new theories and this changing employee base, organizations are now embracing the empowerment movement as a means of corporate change. Successful organizations realize that in the changing global marketplace employees not only want to, but must now take ownership of their work, and in doing so, the organization will flourish, prosper and ultimately retain its market share (Umiker 1997).

Studies show that the fastest way to send an employee packing and reduce their motivation for taking "personal responsibility" in their job is by creating a work environment where there is a lack of clear communication or where there are "inconsistencies" in the messages given (Soldow 1981). Not only does this create an instant need to become defensive or flee (fight or flight), but it also causes them to feel devalued or like they have no power over their work. This is not an acceptable situation for an educated and technologically

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