The Effect of Employee Empowerment on Service Quality Delivery and Customer Satisfaction:: a Case Study on Development Bank of Ethiopia

As leaders, it is easy to underestimate the critical impact of our words and action on employees. One careless phrase tossed off lightly can up set the trusting relationship built over a long period. Stephen R. Covey, who wrote the popular Seven Habits of Highly Effective people, describes these delicate relationships as ?emotional bank account.? Each betrayal of trust or perception by the employee that the manager does not care, is not listening, or in some way devalues the persons' contribution counts as a?withdrawal? from that bank account. For every withdrawal, Covey says, it takes at least ten ?deposits?--- positive and trusting experiences between employee and manager-- to overcome the negative feelings. Therefore, it ?pays? to avoid the dis-empowering behaviors that are so hard to erase.