Delegation - Wikipedia

Delegation - Wikipedia Delegation FromWikipedia,thefreeencyclopedia Jumptonavigation Jumptosearch Forotheruses,seeDelegation(disambiguation). LookupdelegationinWiktionary,thefreedictionary. [1]Delegationisoneofthecoreconceptsofmanagementleadership.Theprocessinvolvesmanagersdecidingwhichworktheyshoulddothemselvesandwhichworkshouldbedelegatedtoothersforcompletion.[1]Fromamanagerialstandpoint,delegationinvolvesshiftingprojectresponsibilitytoteammembers,givingthemtheopportunitytofinalizetheworkproducteffectively,withminimalintervention.[2]Theoppositeofeffectivedelegationismicromanagement,whereamanagerprovidestoomuchinput,direction,andreviewofdelegatedwork.Delegationempowersasubordinatetomakedecisions.Itisashiftingofdecision-makingauthorityaswellasresponsibilityfortheresultsfromoneorganisationalleveltoanotherlowerone.[2]However,acertainlevelofaccountabilityfortheoutcomeoftheworkdoesremainwiththepersonwhodelegatedtheworktobeginwith. Thereareanumberofreasonssomeonemaydecidetodelegate.Theseinclude: Tofreethemselvesuptodoothertasks Tohavethemostqualifiedpersonmakingthedecisions Toseekanotherqualifiedperson'sperspectiveonanissue Todevelopsomeoneelse'sabilitytohandletheadditionalassignmentsjudiciouslyandsuccessfully[3] Delegationiswidelyacceptedasanessentialelementofeffectivemanagement.[4]Itisoneofthemostusefulmanagementtoolsavailable.Theabilitytodelegateisacritical,yetdifficulttodevelop,skillinmanagingeffectively.[5]Thereareanumberoffactorswhichfacilitateeffectivedelegationbymanagers.Theseinclude:"Recognisingandrespectingothers’capabilities;evaluatingtasksandcommunicatinghowtheyfitinthebigpicture;matchingpeopleandassignments;providingsupportandencouragement;toleratingambiguityanduncertainty;interpretingfailureasakeytolearning."[5]Withorganisationsbeingsuchcomplexanddynamicentities,thesuccessofobjectivesrelyheavilyonhoweffectivelytasksandresponsibilitiescanbedelegated.[6]Thereareanumberofcharacteristicswhichapplytodelegation.Firstly,aspreviouslydiscusseditistheprocessofassigningauthorityofatasktoasupportingemployee.Thisalsoshiftsthedecision-makingauthorityrelatingtothistask.Thedelegationoftasksacrossorganisationallevelscreatesconnectionsanddevelopsachainofauthority.[7] Contents 1Theprocessofdelegation 2Principlesofdelegation 2.1Principleofresultexpected 2.2Principleofparityofauthorityandresponsibility 2.3Principleofabsolutenessofresponsibility 2.4Principleofunityofcommand 2.5Thescalarprinciple 2.6Principleofexception 3Potentialadvantagesanddisadvantages 4References Theprocessofdelegation[edit] AccordingtoDr.KanthiWijesinghe,SeniorLecturer,NationalInstituteofEducation,"Delegationbeginswhenthemanagerpassesonsomeoftheirresponsibilitiestoasubordinate.Responsibilityistheworkassignedtoanindividual."[7]Delegationisstronglydependentonasupervisor'sabilitytocommunicate,motivateandunderstandindividualpreferencesanddifferences.[5]Theprocessofdelegationinvolvesensuringthatataskandappropriateemployeehavebeenselected.Theprocessofdelegationrequires‘preparation,initiation,implementation,andclosure’.[5]Thetasksassignedtoanindividualshouldnotincludethosewhichareatraditionalpartoftheirrole.Whileamanagerisabletodelegateauthoritytocarryoutagivetask,ultimateresponsibilityisnottransferred.Thismeansthatdelegationinvolvesaprocessofsharing,whichmayinclude‘authority,power,influence,information,knowledge,orrisk’.[5]Thisbuildstrustandmoralebetweenmanagersandsubordinates.Theinternalandexternalenvironmentofanorganisationisoftencharacterisedbymanyinterferingfactors.Someoftheseinclude‘toomuchurgency,inexperience,andlackoftrust’.[5]Inordertominimisetheeffectofthesefactors,acleardelegationprotocolshouldbedevelopedandfollowedwithinanorganisation.  Theprocessofdelegationdoesnotnotalwaysfollowaconformedstructure,norisitstraightforward,howeverthereareanumberofkeyaspectswhicharegenerallyinvolved.Thegeneralisedprocessofdelegationinvolvessomecombinationofthefollowing: Allocationofduties:thedelegatorcommunicatestotheirsubordinatethetaskwhichistobeperformed.Resourcesareprovidedandatimelimitisinformed. Delegationofauthority:Inorderforthesubordinatetoperformthetask,authorityisrequired.Therequiredauthorityisgrantedtotheemployeewhenthetaskisdelegated. Assignmentofresponsibilities:Whenauthorityisdelegated,thesubordinateisassignedwiththeresponsibilityofthistask.Whensomeoneisgiventherightstocompleteatask,theyareassignedwiththecorrespondingobligationtoperform.Responsibilityitselfcannotbeentirelydelegated;amanagermuststilloperateunderequalresponsibilitytothedelegatedauthority. Creationofaccountability:Atthecompletionofthedelegationprocess,itisessentialthatthemanagercreatesaccountability,meaningthatsubordinatesmustbeanswerableforthetaskswhichtheyhavebeenauthorisedtocarryout.[7] Principlesofdelegation[edit] Thereareanumberofguidelines,intheformofprinciples,whichareessentialtounderstandingandimplementingtheprocessofdelegation.Theprinciplesofdelegationinclude: Principleofresultexpected[edit] Theauthoritydelegatedtoanindividualsubordinateneedstobeadequatetoensuretheirabilitytoaccomplishtheresultsexpectedofthetask.[8]Priortodelegation,themanagerneedstoknowthepurposeofsuchdelegationandtheresultswhichtheyexpectfromit.[7]Thismeansthatgoals,standardsofperformanceandtargetsneedtobeclearlyoutlinedtodirecttheactionsofthesubordinatetocompletionofthetask.[8] Principleofparityofauthorityandresponsibility[edit] Thisprincipleoutlinestheconceptthatauthorityandresponsibilityco-existandmustgohand-in-hand.[7]Thismeansthattheauthoritywhichisdelegatedtoanemployeemustbeconsistentandequaltothatoftheirresponsibility.[8]"Responsibilitywithoutauthorityismeaningless".[8]Eachindividualinanorganisationrequiresthenecessaryauthoritiesinordertoeffectivelycarryoutassignedtasks;disparityshouldnotexistbetweentheresponsibilityimposedonandtheauthoritygrantedtoanemployeeinordertocarryoutatask.[8] Principleofabsolutenessofresponsibility[edit] Theprincipleofabsolutenessofresponsibilitystatesthatdelegationofresponsibilityisnotpossible.[7]Superiorsareunabletorelinquish,throughtheprocessofdelegation,responsibilityforthetasksandactivitiesassignedtotheirsubordinates,fortheyaretheoneswhodelegatedthisauthorityandassignedtheduty.[8]Responsibilityisabsolute,withamanagerremainingaccountablefortheactionsoftheirsubordinates.[7] Principleofunityofcommand[edit] Accordingtotheprincipleofunityofcommand,employeesshouldonlyhaveonesupervisor,whotheyreportto,aregrantedauthoritybyandreceiveordersfrom.[7]Thisemployeeshouldbesolelyaccountabletotheirdirectsupervisor.Thisisassociatedwithincreasedemployeeefficiencyandlessroleconflictwithinanorganisation.[8]   Thescalarprinciple[edit] Thescalarprincipleassertsthatthereareclearandformallinesofhierarchalauthoritywithinanorganisation.[8]Thishierarchyreflectstheflowofauthorityandresponsibility.Itclearlyoutlinestomanagersandsubordinates,whohasthepowertodelegateauthorityandtowhomtheyareanswerableto.[7]    Principleofexception[edit] Thisprincipleassertsthatemployeesshouldbegivencompletefreedomtofulfultheirresponsibilitieswithinthepurviewoftheirauthority.[7]Managersshouldthereforerefrainfrominterferingwiththeday-todayworkoftheirsubordinates,evenifminormistakesarerecognised.[7]Thislevelofcontrolleadstomoreefficientresults.Insomeexceptionalcases,managersareabletointerfereonmattersdeviatingsignificantlyfromthenorm;inthiscasetheauthoritydelegatedtothesubordinatemayevenbewithdrawn.[8]   Potentialadvantagesanddisadvantages[edit] Delegationisanessentialandextremelyusefulmanagementtool.[5]Whenimplementedeffectivelyandsuccessfullydelegationresultsinmanybenefitstotheorganisation,managerandsubordinate.However,ifdelegationinunsuccessfulandnotimplementedoptimally,theresultscanleadtoseriousdisadvantagesandhavedetrimentaleffects.[4] Delegationisoneofthebest-knownmethodsforefficientlymanagingtimeandleadstonumerousbenefitswithinanorganisation.Oneofthemostsignificantadvantagesofdelegationisitsuseforemployeemotivationanddevelopment.Themotivatingfactorassociatedwithdelegationscomesfromtheincreasedconfidencetransferredfrommanagertosubordinate.[1]Whenasupervisordemonstratestheirconfidenceitbuildsstafftrustandself-confidenceintheemployees.[5]Thereisahighlysignificantandpositiverelationshipthatexistsbetweendelegationandtrustbetweenanindividualemployeeandmanagement.[2]Leadersareabletoempowersubordinatesthroughthesharingofsupervisorpower.[5]Thisleadstopositivereinforcementofthesupervisor'srole,buildsmoraleandgeneratesorganisationtrust.[5]Delegationsignificantlyincreaseseffectivenessandefficiencyinmultipleways.[5]Iteasesthechallengesrelatingtomanagement’workload,increasingresponsivenessandgrowinganddevelopingthecapabilitiesofemployees.[4]Organisationalresourcesaremanagedmoreefficiently,andsubordinatesareabletomakedecisionsandperformtasksfaster.[4]Throughdelegation,lowerlevelemployeesareabletoembracetheopportunitytogainexperience,buildoncapabilitiesanddevelopskills,whichimprovestheorganization.[4]Delegationispositivelyrelatedtoorganizationalcommitment,taskperformance,innovativebehaviourandjobsatisfaction.[4]Atanorganisationallevel,delegationcanprovideinsightintocurrentstrengthsandweaknesses,providingtheopportunityforimprovementandgrowth.[5]Italsoincreasesthecapacityofanorganisationtorespondquicklyandeffectively.[5] Whilethebenefitsareclear,thereareanumberofpotentialdisadvantagesandchallengestoeffectivedelegation.Ineffectiveuseofdelegationincludesallowingnorealinfluenceorgrantingtoomuchauthoritytosomeonewhoisunwillingorunabletomakeappropriatedecisions.[4]Somesupervisorsfinditchallengingtodelegatetasksforthefearofbecomingoutoftouchwiththerequiredskillsorgivingupsomethingtheytrulyenjoy.[5]Delegationdoesinvolvealevelofriskanduncertainty,whichcanbeapowerfuldeterrenttodelegation.[4]Whensupervisorsdelegateatask,theyremainresponsibleforwhetherornotitiscarriedouteffectivelyandmustconsiderthepotentialrisksandrewardsasaresultofthedelegation.[4]Managersareoftenreluctanttodelegateduetoconcernsthatmistakeswillbemade,orthatthejobwillnotbecompletedtothestandardwhichtheybelievetheycouldachieve.[5]Anotherconcernrelatingtodelegationisthattop-levelmanagementcanbecomewarythatmiddlemanagementwilldelegateforthebenefitoftheirspecificneedsratherthanthosegeneraltotheorganisation.[4]   References[edit] ^abcSchermerhorn,J.,Davidson,P.,Poole,D.,Woods,P.,Simon,A.,&McBarron,E.(2017).Management(6thed.,pp.282–286).Brisbane:JohnWiley&SonsAustralia. ^abcMeagher,KieronJ;Wait,Andrew(2020-06-13)."WorkerTrustinManagementandDelegationinOrganizations".TheJournalofLaw,Economics,andOrganization.doi:10.1093/jleo/ewaa008.ISSN 8756-6222. ^Portny,S.E.ProjectManagementforDummies,JohnWiley&Sons,Incorporated,2017.ProQuestEbookCentral,https://ebookcentral-proquest-com.ezproxy.library.uq.edu.au/lib/uql/detail.action?docID=5043191. ^abcdefghijG.Banford,Christopher;RonaldBuckley,M.;Roberts,Foster(2014-09-30)."Delegationrevisited:howdelegationcanbenefitglobally-mindedmanagers".InternationalJournalofPhysicalDistribution&LogisticsManagement.44(8/9):646–654.doi:10.1108/ijpdlm-07-2013-0191.ISSN 0960-0035. ^abcdefghijklmnoTreher,E.,Piltz,D.,&Jacobs,S.(2011).Increasingeffectivenessthroughdelegation.InAGuidetoSuccessforTechnicalManagers:SupervisinginResearch,Development,&Engineering(pp.89–111).JohnWiley&Sons,Inc. ^Smith,C.C.(2012).Recognisingtheneedfor,impactsandbenefitsofeffectivedelegationintheworkplace(Master'sthesis).RetrievedfromDefenceAcquisitionUniversity. ^abcdefghijkRani,S.,Renugadevi,C.,Ravindran,N.,Kuppusamy.(2018).OfficeManagementandSecretaryship12thStd.TamilNadu:DepartmentofSchoolEducation ^abcdefghiMarvin,S.(2011).DictionaryofScientificPrinciples.JohnWiley&Sons,Inc.10.1002/9781118582121 AuthoritycontrolGeneral IntegratedAuthorityFile(Germany) Nationallibraries Japan Other MicrosoftAcademic Retrievedfrom"https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Delegation&oldid=1058730252" Categories:ManagementHiddencategories:ArticleswithGNDidentifiersArticleswithNDLidentifiersArticleswithMAidentifiers Navigationmenu Personaltools NotloggedinTalkContributionsCreateaccountLogin Namespaces ArticleTalk Variants expanded collapsed Views ReadEditViewhistory More expanded collapsed Search Navigation MainpageContentsCurrenteventsRandomarticleAboutWikipediaContactusDonate Contribute 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