Delegation in Management

Delegation

• Delegation is a democratic administrative approach for distributing responsibility.
• It involves assigning tasks and the required authority to individuals or groups.
• Key elements of delegation are the giver, the responsibility, and the receiver.

Objectives of Delegation

• Identify Delegation: understanding the concept of delegation.
• Identify Values of Delegation: recognizing the benefits of delegating tasks.
• Identify Prerequisites of Delegation: identifying the necessary steps for successful delegation.
• Identify Barriers of effective Delegation: recognizing potential problems in delegation.
• Identify Possible recipient of delegation: identifying suitable individuals to delegate to.

Values of Delegation

• Fast growth and development of employees in the organization or agency.
• Wide distribution of responsibility.
• Participation in making and carrying out service plans.

Prerequisites of Delegation

• Well-organized agency with clear communication of tasks to receivers.
• Recipients must have the necessary authority to complete tasks.
• High degree of work organization (includes good setting, policy formulation, program planning, employee training, effective communication, worker identification, performance control, and review).

Barriers of Effective Delegation

• Work overload hindering explanation to others.
• Insecure feelings about employee abilities.
• Lack of knowledge about the delegated task.
• Fear of losing control over the delegated task.

What to Delegate

• Decisions about delegation depend on the nature of the item.
• Tasks to delegate include; fact-finding, analysis, goal formulation, policy and program planning, and initial draft preparation.
• Tasks others can do better, faster, or more cost-effectively are also candidates for delegation.

What Not to Delegate

• Unique tasks that aren't likely to recur.
• Secret tasks.
• Emergency tasks.
• Hiring immediate staff.
• Tasks with unclear policies/objectives.
• Tasks requiring immediate completion with minimal feedback time.
• Tasks crucial for public relations.

Possible Recipients of Delegation

• Responsible employees for major duties.
• Employees with functional specialties.
• Qualified and experienced employees.
• Staff for emergencies outside normal workplace.
• Seniority employees for tasks like representing the administrator in meetings.

How to Delegate

• Recipient must understand delegated authority, allocated resources (financial, personnel, physical), and feedback/reporting conditions.

How to Control Delegation

• Control methods should not be overly restricted or permissive.
• Methods for maintaining control include minimum feedback requirements at the beginning of a task; achievement point checklists; staff meeting/progress notes; and indirect reminders.

Authority

• Definition: the right to make decisions, direct others' work, and issue orders.
• Sources: position/rank, personal characteristics (charisma, expertise).
• Types of Authority: Line authority (managers giving orders); Staff authority (advising/consulting); Functional authority (specific task orders in limited areas).

Responsibility

• Definition: obligation to perform duties; cannot be delegated.
• Fields:
  • Job Description: activities to be achieved, including steps like examining organizational objectives, determining required activities and tasks, and selecting individuals for each task.
  • Manager's Administrative Activities.
  • Manager-subordinate and top-manager attitude analysis as a measure of responsibility fulfillment.