employee empowerment versus bureaucratic systems in public health center (a case study research)

Employee empowerment is a process of making employees to acquire ability and competency to work so that they are able to perform their duties using maximum capacity by their own.

Task sharing is the basic raw material in the management of human resources in an organization, where a position is explained and given restrictions. This division of tasks is outlined in job descriptions. Job descriptions are a written statement explaining duties, working conditions and other aspects of a particular position ⁹. Job descriptions become the basis for establishing job specifications and job evaluation for officials who hold the position. Unclear job descriptions would make an employee uninformed of his duties and responsibilities; accordingly he would not be able to perform his job well. That is why job descriptions have crucial role in every organization¹⁰.

Herry (1998) defined competency as the ability to carry out tasks that come from education and or training. Competency is employee’s ability and skills to perform his duties and responsibilities. Competency that is in accordance with the tasks and goals of organization is the initial process of empowering employees¹¹. An employee who receives tasks in light of his educational background would be able to accomplish the tasks well because he has been aware of what he is supposed to do and of the goals he wants to achieve. By way of contrast, when given tasks incompatible with his education, an employee would need more time to learn ways to accomplish the tasks and the results to be achieved. It would take time to get the employee to know, understand and comprehend his duties so that the results obtained are not maximal.

Empowering employees is not to bind but to provide them freedom and flexibility in performing their duties¹². Bureaucratic systems (governance) filled with rules and threats (punishment) have given little flexibility for the bureaucrats (PNS) in performing their tasks, career mobility, and implementation of incentive plans¹³. The existence of binding rules and regulations is also the factor that causes rare participation and involvement of employees in a variety of activities including the provision of necessary resources needed by hospitals. Participation and direct involvement of employees in organization programs would increase the effectiveness of the organization. Employees would fell empowered and increased their commitment to the organization¹⁴. Literature has revealed that participation would increase satisfaction and participation is positively as well as significantly linked to performance^15,16.

In Indonesia, culture has put women’s main role as a housewife. Traditionally, women had a greater responsibility to social conditions of families, so there was a conflict between family and work interests (work-family conflict)¹⁷. Although work-family conflict is a recognized problem for both men and women, psychologically working women who have families have additional responsibilities. A married-female professional who has equal career status with her husband would still face imbalanced traditional patterns in terms of babysitting and daily housework tasks¹⁸.

Performance shaper, according to Robbins (1996), is the function of ability, motivation and opportunity. Clear, transparent, and big chances/opportunities would trigger employees to work optimally in order to get a satisfying result. Conversely, small chance would cause employees to work not at their best.

Career opportunities are part of organizations’ strategies to motivate employees. Humans are unique creatures that have thoughts, feelings, desires, status, and educational background brought into the environment of a corporate organization. Unlike money, machine and materials, they cannot be set fully to support the achievement of organizational goals.

In Abraham Maslow’s view, career is one form of self-actualization in the fulfillment of human basic needs. Meanwhile, according to Hezberg, career is one form of intrinsic motivation of an employee in the work. Vroom introduced "expectations theory" and he maintained that career improvement is one form of recognition and respect expected by employees at work. The present study found that most employees had a negative perception toward career opportunities. Such perception emerged might be due to the fact that most of the employees were civil servants whose work performance was heavily influenced by the executive political pressure and power. This was consistent with study that found that there was political penetration in determining structural positions in bureaucracy ¹⁹

Bureaucratic performance in current autonomy remains public concern. Career opportunities are little because of political activities and governance systems that still adopt spoil system (like-dislike, nepotism, fringe benefits). Thus it was still found many officials who did not meet their job credentials such as skills, knowledge, social roles, self-image, attitudes or behaviors, and motivations ^19,20

"Training helps employee do their current jobs, the benefits of training may extend throughout a person's Carreer and help develop that person's for future responsibilities" ⁹.

In this study, it was found that there was a discrepancy between job description and employees’ competency, and that there was lack of training opportunities at the management of dr. H. Mohamad Rabain. Competency incompatibility (education) could be addressed and mitigated by having employees take trainings to improve their knowledge, skills, and attitudes at work.

It is commonly found in government agencies that trainings are still managed by the "post office" system and therefore the trainings do not fit the needs of organization²¹. Training as part of employees’ Continuing Professional Development (CPD) has to be managed properly in order to achieve the desired objectives of the training. Organization is truly in need of human resources whose competency continues to expand in order to deal with the changes of various sectors in the current era of globalization. Various studies have shown a positive and significant relationship between training and performance^{22,23
daftar Pustaka}

9.        Werther, W. B. & Davis, K. Human Resources And Personnel Management. 628 hal (Mc Graw Hill series in Management: Pennsylvania State University, 1989).

10.      Hasibuan, M. S. Manajemen Sumber Daya Manusia. (Bumi Aksara: Jakarta, Indonesia, 2007).

11.      Kanter, R. M. Men and Women of the corporation. 277–324 (Basicbooks: 387 park avenue south, New York, 1993).at

12.      Quinn, R. E. & Spreitzer, G. M. The Road To Empowerment: Seven Question Every Leader Should Consider. Organization Dynamic 37–49 (1997).

13.      Kimsean, Y. Produktivitas Kerja Pegawai Pada Birokrasi. Memahami Good Governance Dalam Perspektif Sumber Daya Manusia 319–350 (2011).

14.      Lashley, C. Towards an understanding of employee empowerment in hospitality services. International Journal of Contemporary Hospitality Management 7, 27–32 (1995).

15.      Nurika Restuningdiah Pengaruh partisipasi terhadap kepuasan pemakai dalam pengembangan sistem informasi dengan kompleksitas tugas, kompleksitas sistem, dan pengaruh pemakai sebagai moderating variable. (1999).

16.      Verawati, Y. & Utomo, J. Pengaruh Komitmen Organisasi, Partisipasi dan Motivasi Terhadap Kinerja Karyawan Pada PT. Bank LIPPO Kudus. Analisis Manajemen 5, (2011).

17.      Triaryati, N. Pengaruh Adaptasi Kebijakan Mengenai Work Family Issue Terhadap Absen Dan Turnoverer. jurnal manajemen dan kewirausahaan 5, 85–96 (2003).

18.      Frone, M. R. Work-family conflict and employee psychiatric disorder: The national comorbidity survey. Journal of Applied Psychology 85, 888–895 (2000).

19.      Mashuri Penetrasi Politik Dalam Rekruitmen Elit Birokrasi Studi Kasus Penataan Jabatan Struktural di kabupaten Kendal. (2007).at

20.      Arman, S. Proses Pengangkatan Pegawai Negeri Sipil Dalam Jabatan Struktural ( Suatu Penelitian di Dinas Pendidikan Kabupaten Sintang ) ( A study at the Department of Education Sintang Regency ). Jurnal Ilmiah Imu Sosial dan ilmu politik Universitas Tanjung Pura 01, 1–23 (2013).

21.      Pella, D. A. Membangun Pelatihan Berbasis Kompetensi. (2011).

22.      Wardhana, L. Analisis Pengaruh Motivasi Kerja, Disiplin Kerja, Pendidikan dan Pelatihan Terhadap Kinerja Guru Sekolah Dasar Negeri di Kecamatan Gayungan Kota Surabaya. Ekonomi manajemen dan Bisnis (EMAS) 2, (2008).

23.      Amirullah Pengaruh Motivasi, Pelatihan dan Kompensasi Terhadap Kinerja Pegawai di Dinas Perindustrian dan Perdagangan Kabupaten Probolinggo. Dialektika 01, (2009).