Here's what employee empowerment looks like from the trenches. Workers in small businesses were more likely to feel they had authority to take action than those at large companies were, and more likely to believe that management would approve.
Percentage who say they have the authority to take this action:
| Action | Small businesses employees | Large businesses employees |
| Stop work in progress to correct a problem | 90% | 80% |
| Intervene on a customer's behalf | 86% | 81% |
| Rework a product or redo a service | 66% | 64% |
| Make an exception to procedures | 66% | 60% |
| Replace merchandise | 48% | 32% |
| Refund money or authorize credit | 33% | 23% |
Source: "Employee Attitudes on Teamwork, Empowerment, and Quality Improvement," a survey conducted by the Gallup Organization for the American Society for Quality Control, Milwaukee, October 1993.
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