Good quality customer service was thought by managers at Flightpath to be produced by ‘empowered’ and ‘autonomous’ workers, rather than through managerial prescription (Taylor and Tyler, 2000).

Empowered telephone sales agents would deliver quality customer service ‘spontaneously’ and ‘naturally’. Yet the work of telephone sales agents was supervised and measured thoroughly. They were given individual monthly sales targets, which they were expected to surpass. There were revenue targets relating to the value of airline services sold to customers. The number of calls per agent answered was measured, as was the amount of time spent in conversation with passengers per week, and the amount of time spent between the termination of one call and the opening of a new one. Each individual had a target. Agents were further assessed on teamwork, commitment, and job skills. Appraisal of performance happened each week and performance-related pay was awarded.

Does this sound like Taylorism or empowerment to you? Would you feel empowered in this situation?