delegation

delegation

Delegation is the assignment of any authority to

another person (normally from a manager to a
subordinate) to carry out specific activities. It is
one of the core concepts of management
leadership. However, the person
who delegated the work remains accountable for
the outcome of the delegated work.
Three elements of delegation:
Responsibility
The responsibility means, assigning the work to
an individual. The managers assign certain
responsibility to the subordinates for the
completion of certain tasks on his behalf. An
individual has to apply all his physical and
mental ability to get the task completed
efficiently.
Authority
To fulfill the responsibility, certain authority is
delegated to the subordinate. Authority means the
power to take decisions. Hence, the manager along
with the responsibility also delegates authority to
enable the subordinate to take decisions
independently and accomplish the task efficiently.
Accountability
Accountability means, to check whether the
subordinates are performing their responsibilities in
an expected manner or not. The Accountability
cannot be delegated which means, in the case of non-
completion of the task, the manager will only be held
responsible for it, not the subordinates.
Assignment of Duties to Subordinates
Before the actual delegation of authority, the
delegator must decide on the duties which he wants
the subordinate or the group of subordinates to
perform. Here, the manager lists the activities to be
performed along with the targets to be achieved, and
the same is spelled out to the subordinates.
Transfer of Authority to perform the duty
At this stage, an adequate authority is delegated
to the subordinate which is essential to perform
the duty assigned to him. A manager must make
sure; that authority is strictly delegated just to
perform the responsibility, as more authority
may lead to its misuse by the subordinate.
Acceptance of the Assignment
At this stage, the subordinate either accepts or rejects the
tasks assigned to him by his superior. If the subordinate or
the delegate, refuses to accept the duty and the authority to
perform it, then the manager looks for the other person
who is capable of and is willing to undertake the
assignment. Once the assignment gets accepted by the
subordinate, the delegation process reaches its last stage.
Accountability
The process of delegation of authority ends at the
creation of an obligation on the part of the
subordinate to perform his responsibility within the
powers assigned to him. Once the assignment is
accepted by the subordinate, then he becomes
responsible for the completion of the duty and is
accountable to the superior for his performance.
Principles of delegation of authority.
Principle of Functional Definition
An organization is comprised of different functional
departments, each contributing to the organizational goals
and, in turn, have their specific objectives. Thus, clearly
defined objectives of each department, the expected
results, the specific activities to be performed and
intradepartmental relationships help the manager to
determine the requirements of that specific position.
Principle of Result Expected
Before actually delegating the authority to the
subordinate, the manager must know the purpose of
such delegation and the results expected from it. The
goals, targets and the standard of performance must
be clearly defined to direct the actions of the
subordinate towards the accomplishment of a given
task in a required manner.
Principle of Partity of Authority and
Responsibility
This principle states that the responsibility and
the authority co-exists. This means, if the
subordinate is assigned certain responsibility, he
must be given some level of authority i.e. power
to perform his responsibility.
Principle of Unity of Command
According to this principle, every subordinate
should have a single supervisor from whom he
gets the authority and to whom he is solely
accountable. This means the subordinate should
get the instructions from a single superior and
perform those responsibilities as assigned by
him.
Principle of Absoluteness of Responsibility
This principle asserts that responsibility cannot
be delegated. This means even after delegating
the authority to the subordinate to perform
certain tasks on the manager’s behalf; the
manager will be solely responsible for the doings
of the subordinate.
The Scalar Principle
There are clear lines of authority in the
organization, i.e. who is under whom. This helps
the subordinate to know, who delegates the
authority to him and to whom he shall be
accountable. Also to whom he shall contact in
case things are beyond his control.
Principle of Exception
According to this principle, the subordinate shall
be given complete freedom to perform his
responsibilities under the purview of his
authority. The manager should not interfere in
between his work and must allow him to do even
if he commits mistakes.
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delegation

Delegation is the assignment of any authority to

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