The freedom and practical ability to make informed independent choices.
Reach for it when praising control over decisions while acknowledging responsibility
Flexible scheduling gave the nurses more autonomy over routine staffing decisions.
| everyday | |
|---|---|
| warm | |
| professional |
|
| formal |
everyday
control
Fits when practical command over an outcome matters
Careful Control can be coercive and need not include legitimate freedom.
everyday
Fits when freedom from reliance is the main value
Careful Independence can mean separation, while autonomy can operate within a larger group.
warm
Fits when absence of restriction deserves broad emphasis
Careful Freedom covers many liberties unrelated to decision authority.
professional
Fits when the power to choose and act is the focus
Careful Agency can exist under substantial external rules and is not full self-government.
professional
Fits when someone may choose how to act within defined limits
Careful Discretion is delegated and narrower than genuine autonomy.
formal
self-determination
Fits when people should shape their own political or personal future
Careful Self-determination is weightier and often concerns collective rights.
formal
sovereignty
Fits when a state or people holds ultimate governing authority
Careful Sovereignty is a legal and political claim beyond ordinary workplace autonomy.
personal autonomy
The care plan protects personal autonomy at every stage.
greater autonomy
Remote access gave regional staff greater autonomy.
professional autonomy
Professional autonomy carries a duty to explain difficult judgments.
degree of autonomy
Each local office has the same degree of autonomy over its budget.
Definitions and examples are written for this site. How words are chosen Recording: Dvortygirl, California accent, from Wikimedia Commons, CC BY-SA 3.0 Updated
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