Designing an interpretive structural model of barriers to human resource empowerment in the Ministry of Sports and Youth

The aim of the research was to design an interpretive structural model of human resource empowerment barriers in the Ministry of Sports and Youth. The present study is an applied research that was conducted in the field using a combined research method. The statistical population in the quantitative part, including the general managers of the Ministry of Sports and Youth and the provinces, was equal to 65 people and in the qualitative part was 18 experts. Due to the limitations of members, the statistical population was equal to the sample. The research instrument was a researcher-made questionnaire whose validity was confirmed by 7 professors and its reliability was confirmed by using Cronbach's alpha calculation (α = 0.82). Experts' opinions, frequency percentage and interpretive structural technique were used to structure the barriers. The results showed that there are 16 major obstacles in the way of empowering the staff of the Ministry of Sports and Youth, and these obstacles were placed at eight levels. Obstacles to poor participation of operational units, lack of clear rules on empowerment and lack of attention to promotion and empowerment dimensions in the reward and incentive system were at the infrastructure level. Removing barriers at the lowest level of the model should be prioritized in decision and action to facilitate the removal of barriers at higher levels.