The Control Structure of Team-Based Organizations: A Diagnostic Model for Empowerment Ben S. Kuipers and Marco C. de Witte University of Groningen This article describes a diagnostic model for empowerment in team- based organizations that portrays four dimensions of the organization's control structure: the level of routine, the nature of expertise, the level of dependence and the line of command. The combined positions of the set of job regulation tasks distinguished for these dimensions express empowerment in terms of a functional balance and a balance of authority. The diagnostic model can be used to measure the control structure in practice and to provide input for a well-founded and managerial debate on empowerment and control. The model is illustrated with quantitative data from a pilot study of 16 semi-autonomous work teams within the manufacturing industry. Considerable differences in the local interpretation of the design of the control structure by team managers were observed. In general, the empowerment of teams is rather limited. The impression given is that there is a temporary `double control structure', meaning simultaneous bottom-up and top-down control of the teams. Keywords: control structure, empowerment, industrial democracy, self-managing work teams, sociotechnical theory Introduction The issue of control plays an important role in the literature on autonomous or self-managing work teams. Increased autonomy of work teams in organizations results in a shift of responsibilities and decision-making power from management to employees on the ¯oor (e.g. van Eijnatten and van der Zwaan, 1998). The internal Economic and Industrial Democracy & 2005 (SAGE, London, Thousand Oaks and New Delhi), Vol. 26(4): 621±643. DOI: 10.1177/0143831X05057504