EDUCATIONAL ADMINISTRATION

Topic one:
Introduction to Education Administration
Management: Derived from a latin word “maneggiare” – to handle “manus” meaning hand. Okumbe (1998)
mgt is the process of designing, developing and effecting organizational objectives and resources so as to
achieve predetermined goals of the organization.
The overall purpose of management:
 To state the goals of an organization
 Find out means and methods of achieving them
Education Management: Okumbe (1998) defined Ed.Mgtas the “process of designing, developing and
effecting educational objectives and resources so as to achieve the predetermined educational goals of the
organization”.
As field of study educational management does not have its own theories, principles and practices. It
borrows these from theories of managementand applies them to education.

Who are the educational managers?

 Ministers of education
 Directors of education
 Permanent secretaries
 School boards of governors
 School committees

Their main task is to:

 Set educational objectives

 Formulate plans
 Set financial revenues
 Identify tasks
 Supply incentives to enhance productivity
 Evaluate the working personnel
Administration
It is a sub set of management. It is defined as “the process of acquiring and allocating resources for the
achievement of pre determined goals”

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Education administration: Okumbe (1998) defines educational administration as “the process of acquiring
and allocating resources for the achievement of pre determined educational goals”

Differences between the terms Management and Administration

Management
 Used more in the private sector where
profit making is a major motive.
 Concerned with determination of policies
and general objectives.
 An end by itself
Administration
 Used to refer to public institutions where
provision of services is the main motive.
 Concerned with the execution of policies.
 A delegated aspect of management
 a means to an end

Importance of Educational Administration

1. Ensures that sound policies and objectives are formulated in a given school, and that methods are
determined for the achievement of these objectives.
2. Procures the resources necessary for the achievement of the objectives.
3. Ensures proper organization and coordination of activities of the school, in order to achieve the set
objectives with maximum efficiency and effectiveness.
4. Influences and stimulates the human resources so that they can work towards the achievement of
educational goals.
5. Integrates the school and its activities in the set up of the society.
6. Portrays a positive image of the school to the public.
7. Evaluates the school activities in accordance with the set objectives
Topic 2
THEORIES OF MANAGEMENT
Phases of Development of theories of management
1. Phase 1: Classical Organizational Phase
a) Scientific Management Theory
Proponent: Frederick Taylor (1856-1917) an American
His main aim was to try and achieve efficiency in organizations and maximize profits through high
productivity. His hard work pushed him from a labourer, foreman, chief draftsman and finally to a chief
engineer.
The basic principles according to his study included:
 Job analysis
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  systematic methods for selecting workers and training them for specific tasks
 clear-cut division of responsibility between management and workers
 The management was to handle goal setting; planning and supervision while workers performed
the required tasks
 Rigid discipline during performance, interpersonal contact was prohibited.
 Strict applications of incentives pay practices.
 Specifications of daily tasks or piece – rate i.e. less pay or no pay for less work.
 Provision of standardized conditions and appliances.
Taylor made three significant assumptions
 A worker could be programmed to be as efficient as a machine in an industrial organization. This
led to the metaphor of “man – as – machine” or “rational machine”
 Workers want from employers, good wages while employers want cheap labour and low cost of
manufacture.
 Formal organizational structure with emphasis on division of labour, specialization and close
supervision

b) Administrative Management Theory

Henri Fayol (1841-1925). He was a French mining engineer and served as a managing director. He came
up with the following managerial functions:
 Planning: examine the future and come up with plans of action
 Organizing: build up the structure, material and human undertaking
 Commanding: maintain activity among the personnel
 Coordinate: bind together, unify and harmonize activity and efforts
 Controlling: ensuring everything occurs in conformity with policy and practice
In addition, Fayol came up 14 principles of organizational management:
 Specialization  Subordination of individual
 Division interest
 Hierarchy of authority  Remuneration
 Authority with corresponding  Centralization
responsibility  Scalar chain/line of authority
 Unity of command  Order
 Coordination  Equity
 Discipline  Stability of tenure
 Unity of direction  Esprit de corps

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Discipline: Employees must obey and respect the rules that govern the organization. Good discipline is the
result of effective leadership, a clear understanding between management and workers, and the judicious
use of penalties for infractions of the rules.
Division of Work: Specialization increases output by making employees more efficient.
Authority: Managers must give orders. Authority gives them the right. But, along with authority, goes
responsibility.
Unity of Direction: Each group of organizational activities that have the same objective should be directed
by one manager using one plan.
Unity of Command: Every employee should receive orders from only one superior.
Subordination of Individual Interests to the General Interest: The interests of any employee or group of
employees should not take precedence over the interests of the organization as a whole.
Remuneration: Workers must be paid a fair wage for their services.
Centralization: It refers to the degree to which subordinates are involved in decision making. Whether
decision making is centralized (to management) or decentralized (to subordinates) is a question of proper
proportion.
Scalar Chain: The line of authority from top management to the lowest ranks. Communication should be
included in this chain.
Order: People and materials should be in the right place at the right time.
Equity: Managers should be kind and fair to their subordinates.
Stability of Tenure of Personnel: High employee turnover is inefficient. Management should provide orderly
personnel planning and ensure that replacements are available to fill vacancies
Initiative: Employees who are allowed to originate and carry out plans will exert high levels of effort.
Esprit De Corps: Promoting team spirit will build harmony and unity within the organization.
Luther Gullick Administrative Principles
Emphasized on the role of administrator as the executive. He coined the acronym POSDCoRB
 Planning
 Organizing
 Staffing
 Directing
 Coordinating
 Reporting
 budgeting
c) Max Weber principles of Bureaucracy

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Weber (1860-1920) was first to describe the concept of bureaucracy. He came up with guidelines for an
ideal structure of organizational effectiveness. Okumbe (1995) stated a bureaucratic organization refers to
the red tape and rigid application of policies, which give guidance to all organization activities while almost
totally ignoring the workers needs.
According to Weber an ideal bureaucracy contains the following characteristics:
 Division of labor: divide tasks into highly specialized jobs
 Rules and regulations to ensure uniform performance
 Hierarchy of authority to ensure clear chain of command
 Impersonality- maintain social distance from subordinates to avoid favors or prejudices
 Competence – base employment on qualification related to job performance
2. PHASE 2: HUMAN RELATIONS MOVEMENT
Classical theories put a lot of emphasis on formal organizational structure, rational and logical hierarchical
control. You realize that formal structures alone cannot work. You need people to work within those
structures. Emphasis on formal structures made the classical theorists ignore the psychosocial dimension
of workers. Owen (1987) refers to this phenomenon as “organizations without people”.Human Relations
movement emerged as a reaction to the rigidly structured views of the classical organizational theory. It put
focus on the people in the organization and not the organization.
a) Mary Parker Follet
She was one of the pioneers of this movement. Follet was a social worker in the 1920s. She recognized the
importance of human factors inmanagement. She believed that the fundamental problem in all
organizations was developing and maintaining dynamic and harmonious relationships.
b) Elton Mayo
Mayo was an industrial psychologist at Harvard University, studied human behaviour in work places. He
carried out experiments at Western Electrical Company where he tried to establish a relationship between
physical conditions and job performance. He studied the relationship between illumination and employees’
job performance. After varying illumination intensities for a period of time, he made a very curious
observation; that even when the light was very poor, production levels continued to rise. Mayo came to the
conclusion that production levels were not dependent on the intensity of light. Mayo’s findings led to further
studies being carried out in order to establish whether there is really a relationship between physical
conditions and job performance.
c) Fritz Roesthlisberger
He conducted the Hawthorne studiesat the Hawthorne Plant of Chicago. The conclusions drawn from the
Hawthorne Studies included:
• The manager’s interest in workers results to better performance.
• Economic motivation is subsidiary to human desire for recognition by co-workers.
• The function and functioning of informal groups is important in work motivation.

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 These findings became the basis of the Human Relations Movement.
In conclusion the Human Relations Movement looked at an organization as a system of interacting
individuals forming inter-group relations as well as formal relations defined by organizational chart.
• It emphasized human and interpersonal factors in management.
• It emphasized human and interpersonal factors in management.
• This led to the adoption of the following concepts into management:

 Morale/ Motivation
 Group dynamics
 Democratic supervision
 Personnel relations
 Group cohesiveness
 Collaboration
 The dynamics of informal organization

PHASE THREE: BEHAVIORAL SCIENCE MEVEMENT

• Also known as the Organizational Behaviour Approach
• The Behavioural Science theorists felt that the classical theories failed to achieve the goals of the
organization because of their failure to acknowledge the importance of the human component
within an organization.
• On the other hand, human relations theorists made the mistake of putting too much emphasis on
the people at the expense of the achievement of the organizational goals
• They tried to merge these two dimensions of an organization and added some prepositions from
psychology and sociology- hence organizational behaviour.
• The theory is associated with such people as Chester Barnard and Herbert Simon.
The theory identified two important influences on human behaviour:
• The internal environment
• The external environment
These two types of environment are to found in all organizations and have a significant impact on the
employee behaviour in organizations.
Chester Barnardmade the following observation:
“An effective executive must focus on the interactions between the needs and aspirations of the workers on
the one hand and the needs and purposes of the organization on the other”.

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PHASE FOUR:
CONTEMPORARY THEORIES
a. Contingency Theory
• Contingency theory asserts that when managers make a decision, they must take into account all
aspects of the current situation and act on those aspects that are key to the situation at hand.
• The uses “it depends on situation” approach
b. Chaos Theory
Chaos theory is was recognized during the mid-to-late 1980s
• It was a reaction to the assumption made by managers who have acted on the basis that
organizational events can always be controlled.
• However chaos theory, recognizes that events indeed are rarely controlled.
• It indicates that we live in an unpredictable environment, hence it is hard to predict the future
• Chaos theory recognizes the increasing uncertainties in the rapidly complex and changing
environment.
• its premise is that systems sometimes reside in chaos
• When systems become dislodged from a stable state, they go through a period of oscillation,
swinging back and forth between order and chaos
• In this respect, chaos theory shows the need for effective leadership, a guiding vision, strong
values, organizational beliefs, and open communication.

In a chaotic world the administrator must:

• empower employees to respond their own to the unpredictable environment

• imprint the organisations mission in the minds of the employees
• keep every one fully informed
• develop subsystems to cope with changes and unpredictability (Amanuel, 2009).

c. The Systems Approach

• evolved from the behavioral scientists who saw organizations interacting with their environment.
• A system can be defined as a set of interrelated parts or elements forming an organized whole and
functioning for a specific purpose
• Schools are examples of social systems. They have goals, people, resources etc all functioning for
a specific purpose.

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 • A system can be looked at as having inputs, processes, outputs and outcomes. Systems share
feedback among each of these four aspects of the systems.
• Let’s look at an organization. Inputs would include resources such as raw materials, money,
technologies and people. These inputs go through a process where they’re planned, organized,
motivated and controlled, ultimately to meet the organization’s goals.
• Outputs would be products or services to a market. Outcomes would be, e.g., enhanced quality of
life or productivity for customers/clients, productivity. Feedback would be information from human
resources carrying out the process, customers/clients using the products, etc.
• Feedback also comes from the larger environment of the organization, e.g., influences from
government, society, economics, and technologies. This overall system framework applies to any
system, including subsystems (departments, programs, etc.) in the overall organization.
a. Total Quality Management Theory
• TQM is a management system for a customer focused organization that involves all employee in
continual improvement of all aspects of the organization.
• TQM utilizes management methods used to enhance quality and productivity in organizations.
• TQM is a comprehensive system approach that works horizontally across an organization,
involving all departments and employees and extending backward and forward to include both
suppliers and clients/customers.
Principles of TQM
• Be Customer focused: Whatever you do for quality improvement, remember that ONLY customers
determine the level of quality. Whatever you do to foster quality improvement, training employees,
integrating quality into processes management, ONLY customers determine whether your efforts
were worthwhile.
• Total Employee Involvement: You must remove fear from work place and then empower
employees
• Continual Improvement: Using analytical, quality tools and creative thinking to become more
efficient and effective.
• Fact Based Decision Making: Decision making must be only on data, not personal or situational
thinking.
• Benchmarking: This is a continuous process of measuring products, services and practices against
major competitors.It which involves studying organizations that are among the best in the world at
performing a particular task. When a challenge is identified in the competing organisation the
benchmarking institution should revise its strategies and take necessary actions.
• Taking immediate action: Instead of wasting of wasting time, effort and money in correcting
mistakes TQM recommends taking preventive measures instead and solving problems as they
occur instead of waiting to solve effects of the whole catastrophe.
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 • Quality cycles: In this method the organisation identifies a group of between six to twelve volunteer
employees who meet regularly to discuss and solve problems affecting the quality of their work.

Advantages of Total Quality Management:

• Improves reputation- faults and problems are spotted and sorted quicker (zero defects)
• Higher employee morale– workers motivated by extra responsibility, team work and involvement in
decisions of TQM
• Lower costs – Decrease waste as there are fewer defective products
• Contributes to organizational productivity and process efficiency by identifying and eliminating
problems in work processes and systems.
• TQM addresses key problem areas such as mistakes in work processes, redundant processes,
unnecessary tasks, and duplicate efforts.
Disadvantages of Total Quality Management:
• Initial introduction costs- training workers and disrupting current production whilst being
implemented
• Benefits may not be seen for several years
• Workers may be resistant to change – may feel less secure in jobs
d. Management by Objectives (MBO)
The term management by objectives (MBO) was popularized as an approach to planning by Peter Drucker
in 1954 in his book The Practice of Management.
Drucker argued that the first requirement of managing any enterprise is "management by objectives and
self control."
MBO defined
Management by Objectives (MBO) is a process of defining objectives within an organization so that
management and employees agree to the objectives and understand what they need to do in the
organization.
It is a managerial tool used to define each individual's major areas of responsibility in terms of the results
expected of him, and use these measures as guides for operating the unit and assessing the contribution of
each of its members at all levels of the organization
• The basic principle behind Management by Objectives (MBO) is for employees to have a clear
understanding of the roles and responsibilities expected of them.
• They can then understand how their activities relate to the achievement of the organization's goal.

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 • MBO also places importance on fulfilling the personal goals of each employee.
• This concept emphasizes the establishment of common objectives by managers and acting
together providing a basis of motivation, evaluation, and control efforts.
• The management by objectives has been widely adopted in American and Canadian corporations.
Process of MBO

• Goal specificity. Objective setting involves employees at all levels. Objectives should be jointly
derived. Appropriate goals must be set by top managers of the organization. However, managers
and subordinates must develop and agree on each individual's objectives.
• Action planning. Action plans are made for both individuals and for departments. The individuals
have a wide range of discretion on choosing the means of achieving objectives.
• Self-control.Self control means systematic monitoring and measuring of performance by the
individuals themselves.
• Periodic review. This final step evaluates performance and initiates corrective action when
behavior deviates from the established objectives. Managers and subordinates periodically meet to
review progressed toward the objectives. Moreover, management must follow through on the
employees performance evaluations and reward employees accordingly.
Advantages of MBO
• Motivation – Involving employees in the whole process of goal setting and increasing employee
empowerment. This increases employee job satisfaction and commitment.

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 • Better communication and Coordination – Frequent reviews and interactions between superiors
and subordinates helps to maintain harmonious relationships within the organization and also to
solve many problems.
• Clarity of goals: In management by objectives effective planning depends on every manager's
having clearly defined objectives that apply specifically to his individual functions within the
company.
• Subordinates tend to have a higher commitment to objectives they set for themselves than those
imposed on them by another person.
• Managers can ensure that objectives of the subordinates are linked to the organization's
objectives.
Disadvantages
• It over-emphasizes the setting of goals taking too mechanical an approach,
• It underemphasizes the importance of the environment or context in which the goals are set. That
context includes everything from the availability and quality of resources
• Overemphasizing performance appraisal aspects
• Stifling creative goals and objectives
• A saying around MBO -- "What gets measured gets done", therefore, to avoid potential problems
SMART and SMARTER objectives need to be agreed upon

Topic 3
PROCESSES IN EDUCATIONAL MANAGEMENT
When we were looking at the work of the administrative managers, we said that Henri Fayol came with five
functions which management must perform for it to be successful. These functions were; planning,
organizing, coordinating, controlling and communicating. We also said that Luther Gullick and Lyndall
Urwick expounded on Fayol’s five functions and they came up with the acronym POSDCORB.
Planning
Planning means to forecast or to study the future and arrange the plan of operation. It can also mean the
day to day function of outlining the activities needed to accomplish the purposes of an enterprise. An
enterprise can be an educational institution or a company.
Planning is the most vital function of management. This is because it is planning that determines how all
the other management functions will be carried out. The first action to take when you become an
educational manager is to plan using the following sequence:

 Identifying the mission of the school

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  Setting objectives
 Identifying resources required, e.g. people, material, time, space and other related resources
 Stating the activities involved
 Benchmarks
 Evaluating the process
Planning also involves identifying different strategies by which to achieve the agreed mission and
objectives. Again, it is through planning that you as the educational manager will be able to achieve the set
objectives using the strategies identified. Planning ensures that there is efficiency in an organization.
Efficiency means using minimum resources to get maximum results e.g. as the educational manager, you
must plan for how teaching and administrative duties will be carried out in your institution. You also need to
plan on how to acquire the capital, human and other resources to be used in the achievement of the set
goals.
Planning is very important because it is through the process of planning that the goals and objectives of the
institution are established. The process also involves the identification of resources that you need to
achieve the objectives. It is also the planning process that determines the procedures to be used and
identifies the tasks to be performed to achieve the objectives. You may also have said that there seems to
be little serious planning going on in most educational institutions.
Organizing
Organizing can be defined as a process of management concerned with change and growth of the
structure. If planning is considered as providing the road map for the journey, then organizing is the means
by which you arrive at your chosen destination. Plans are statements of intentions, direction and
resourcing. To put intentions into effect requires purposeful activity. It is at this point in the management
process that the organizing function of management comes in. Organizing is concerned with activity, it is a
process for:
 Determining, grouping and structuring activities.
 Devising and allocating roles arising from the grouping and structuring activities.
 Assigning accountability for results.
 Determining detailed rules and systems of working including those for communication, decision-
making and conflict resolution.
We can say that organizing creates the vehicle needed to reach an institution’s goals. When these goals
are varied and complex, the organizing function needs great sophistication.
Managers organize by defining and coordinating work at all levels within the organization. During
organizing, you need to answer the following questions:

 Who will do which specific job?

 How is the job to be done?
 When is the job to be done?
 Are the means (i.e. space, equipment, teaching materials, budget, time, methods and procedures
etc) for performing the job available?
 What is the quality of these means?

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These questions make one to realize that action plans need to be efficiently organized if the objectives of
the institution are to be achieved. Remember that your main objective is to run an effective and efficient
educational institution. Some examples of your action plans may include the following:

 A timetable of all subjects to be taught in each class during the school term.
This is usually drawn at the planning stage of a master timetable for the entire educational
institution. It is therefore considered as a major organizing and coordinating tool in a
school/learning institution setting.

 Term events such as half-term holiday, sports day etc. are also set aside during the planning
stage.

 Administrative duty roster is also drawn at the planning stage as an organizing and coordinating
tool.
If all these tools are well planned from the beginning, what are you required to do with them at the
organizing stage? The following are the tasks involved at the organizing stage to ensure efficiency:

 Allocating subjects to various departments (division of labour)

 Ensuring that heads of departments have allocated the teaching load fairly to all the members of
staff.
 Coordinating the teaching of each subject in each class to avoid any clashes in the timing of
various activities.
 Allocation of rooms to avoid colliding and scrambling for the space available.
 Ensuring that there is no overlapping in timing for different members of staff.
 Coordinating the use of laboratories and other common facilities.

Coordinating
Coordinating involves establishing interrelationships between the different parts of the organization in order
to ensure harmonious operation of the organization. Once you have organized, you need to ensure that all
the units of the organization are functioning and working towards achievement of organizational goals.
Once you have assigned tasks and responsibilities, you do not sit back assuming that all is going on well.
Coordination ensures that each work unit works towards the achievement of its goals. Coordination creates
a link between all the activities of the staff in all the departments in order to create harmony and unified
efforts towards the achievement of the organizational goals. If you do not carry out the coordination function
you will find that there will be conflicts and disharmony as each individual works very hard to achieve their
goals. However, these efforts will be of little use since the organizational goals will remain unachieved.
Directing
What does directing entail? This is the continuous task of making decisions, turning them into specific and
general orders and instructions and giving the orders and instructions in your capacity as the leader of the
institution. It involves guiding and supervising subordinates. When you direct, you are involved in the
implementation of decisions made by way of providing leadership, by delegating duties and responsibilities
to staff and by motivating them. Directing is like showing the way forward by giving orders and instructions

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on what should be done and how it should be done. The directing process also involves coordinating and
controlling the supply and use of resources.
Staffing
Staffing involves having people in positions needed in the organizational structure. In order to do this, you
have to define the personnel requirements for each job, and the acquisition of the right person for each job.
Once you have acquired the necessary staff you need to maintain favourable conditions of work. Staffing is
done according to the requirements of different departments.
Controlling
This is the function of keeping everything on check. You need to ensure that everything is going according
to plan. For example, you must control the budget; watch out on overspending or under spending. You
must stick to the planned budget for proper control. Other than controlling the budget you must also control
teachers’, students’ and subordinate staff’s actions. This involves making sure that only the required
behavior is maintained in the school/learning institution. This is an important function for you as the head of
an educational institution. Who are you directly or indirectly responsible to? How about when things go
wrong or when you need to make difficult decisions? To answer this question, we turn to the reporting
function of management.
Reporting
This is the process of keeping those to whom you are accountable informed about what is going on. This
includes keeping yourself and your subordinates informed through regular feedback. You as the
educational manager must report the goings on of your educational institution to the Ministry of Education,
or the Teacher’s Service Commission (TSC). This done through the various channels such as the District
Education Officer (DEO), Provincial Director of Education (PDE) or the Provincial Technical Training Officer
(PTTO) in the case of technical training institutions and the secretary TSC. These authorities are the link
between you and the executive, the legislative and the judiciary.
Budgeting
A budget can be defined as financial plan. It is through the budgeting process that you are able to find out
how you will acquire and use financial resources in order to achieve the organizational goals. It is
concerned with fiscal planning, accounting and control. A budget is a plan of how to raise revenue and
expenditure for a given period of time i.e. one calendar year. Every educational manager must make a
budget for what he/she expects to spend the year ahead and forward that budget proposal to the Ministry of
Education before the end of the current year, for scrutiny. A budget is also a plan of financial operations for
some future period i.e. one year and expressed in accounting terms. Many heads/managers of
schools/learning institutions are not well trained in financial matters and it is good to have the skills to help
you to understand how to handle money appropriately. Remember you are answerable for all financial
issues relating to your institution even when you have a finance officer or a school bursar. You are the chief
accounting officer in your educational institution. Therefore, you need to know how to make a budget and
how to read and understand financial statements.

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Delegation
You have heard of the sayings “many hands make a load lighter” and “many heads are better than one”.
These expressions can be used to refer to the concept of delegation. An organization has very many tasks
that have to be carried out if it is to achieve its goals. The manager has wide ranging duties pervading all
areas of the organization. For him/her to carry out these tasks effectively, he/she must share out with other
people within the organization.
Delegation is the process whereby an individual or a group transfers to some other individual or group the
duty of carrying out some particular action, while at the same time, takes some particular decision. How
would you define delegation? You probably define delegation as the passing on to others or the sharing of
essential elements of the management process. Delegation is therefore seen as a process by which
educational managers transfer part of their authority to subordinates for the performance of certain tasks
and responsibilities. By assigning tasks to your subordinates to perform on your behalf, you can enable the
decentralization of authority or office functions, the sharing of duties and tasks within the school. It also
involves grouping of duties into departments with group heads for easier management. Delegation can take
place at all levels of management, and hence it is important for departmental heads to be involved in
delegation. Delegation can also be described as the process of assigning work to others and giving them
the authority to do it. Delegation stems from the fact that the leader of an organization cannot do everything
alone. He/she needs people who can carry out the various types of organizational management functions
on his behalf.
Therefore, we can say that delegation does not mean one’s surrender of power, but rather that those to
whom a particular duty is delegated execute that duty on behalf of the leader, and that the ultimate
responsibility or accountability lies with the leader. The size of the organization determines the extent of
delegation. Thus, the larger the organization, the more delegated responsibilities there should be.
In your answer to the question above, we hope you were able to identify a wide range of activities that the
principal delegates to teachers and other people within the educational institution. You need to note that the
principal is the person charged with the responsibility of running the institution. He/she is accountable for all
that goes on within the institution. Therefore, anybody else involved in the management of the institution,
performs delegated duties. Such people would include the deputy principal, heads of departments,
teachers on duty, the class teachers, the prefects etc.
What is the importance of delegation?
Why do you think it is necessary for the principal to delegate? There are various reasons why it is important
to delegate. These reasons include the following:

 Delegation improves the flow of work and the management of time. Delegation is important
because with the large groups of students and an extended number of staff members, the principal
cannot control every activity.
 There is also a physical and mental limit to the workload capacity that any individual or group in
authority can effectively perform.
 Delegation gives time to the head to concentrate on other important matters. For example; when
technical duties and routine decisions are delegated, the principal has additional time to handle the
critical decisions and duties that will result in an improvement in the quality of their own
performances.
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  Delegation produces results beyond what leaders themselves can do. Without delegation
managers go only as far as their own personal efforts allow. With delegation leaders expand
results to cover not only their own output, but also the output of their employees. This increases
the value of such leaders to the organization.
 Delegation is also a way of improving and preparing the employees to handle higher and more
challenging responsibilities. Therefore, it is a way of training and developing them. Delegation
improves employee’s knowledge, skill, competence and initiative. One primary role of leaders is to
develop people. Through delegation, managers have opportunities to observe workers in action
and can counsel them when and where necessary. Employees will likely make mistakes, but
leaders can make mistakes into learning experiences. Steadily, through delegation, employees
increase their skills and self-confidence in dealing with problems.
 Challenging assignments tend to meet the higher psychological needs that people have and to
increase their motivational levels. Most employees want opportunities to handle new problems and
increase their skills. By delegating, leaders provide them with these opportunities.
Properly managed delegation becomes the means by which leaders develop the skills and horizons of
employees and increase their motivation. Greater efficiency is not the only reason why managers delegate
part of their overall responsibilities, but delegation develops employees’ sense of responsibility, increases
their job satisfaction, enlarges their general understanding, and creates confidence in them. Delegation
encourages cooperation and teamwork and thus subordinates feel part and parcel of the successes and
failures of the school.
Delegation is an act of trust and an expression of confidence of the leader in the subordinate. It is one of
the most important methods of creating and maintaining democracy in schools. Determination of the right
degree of delegation is part of the art of management. Effective delegation means, delegating the right
amount of authority and the right kind of duties. There will always be some tasks, which should not be
delegated at all. Do you know of tasks that you principal does not delegate?
THE PRINCIPLES AND PROCEDURES FOR DELEGATION
The following are the principles and procedures that should be adhered to while delegating.

 Select the person to delegate to on the basis of sound knowledge of staff members in terms of their
varying levels of competence, commitment and capability.
 The nature and scope of work to be delegated must be clearly defined and should be for the
benefit of the organization as a whole.
 Delegate authority with responsibility. For one to carry out the delegated task effectively, you must
make sure that the necessary authority has also been delegated to ensure that the job gets done.
 The person to whom the task is assigned must be capable of carrying out the task or duty to the
best of his/her ability and willing to take responsibility.
 Mutual co-operation, understanding and faith between the manager and staff members are of
utmost importance if delegation is to be successful.
 Some form of supervision is necessary to ensure that the subordinate is doing the right thing.
However, it should not be so close that it stifles the subordinates creativity and initiative. Some
form of regular reporting to provide a means of progress control is required.
 Reward should be given to subordinates who successful complete their delegated assignments.
This will boost their morale.

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Factors that determine the degree of delegation
Before you can embark on the task of delegation, there are certain factors that you need to consider in
determining the extent to which you can delegate. These are:

 Cost of decision: The more costly the action to be decided upon is the more probable that the
decision will be made higher up. For example; the decision to suspend a student will be made
higher up the hierarchy than a decision to punish a student who fails to do homework.
 Need for uniformity of policy: The greater the need for uniformity, the greater the amount of
centralization. For example; there is need to treat all parents alike and this task of meeting parents
may be done by the principal alone.
 History of the institution: This could be an important factor as there is a tendency to retain
centralized authority when the institution is still small. But as the institution expands in terms of
students’ enrolment, there is need for the principal to delegate more so that he/she can
concentrate on the more important tasks.
 Availability of capable staff: If there are few staff members with the necessary qualifications and
experience, there will be less decentralization of authority. However, it is important to realize that
you are the one to provide them with the necessary opportunities so that they can gain the
necessary experience.
 Controls available: If control techniques are good, principals will be keener to delegate authority. If
staff members can be controlled easily, the principal is more likely to delegate authority to the staff.

BARRIERS TO EFFECTIVE DELEGATION

We have seen the importance of delegation but in some instances, effective delegation is not possible for
the following reasons:

 Fear that their incompetence will be discovered.

 Belief that they have developed a sense of perfection and no body can do the job better.
 Lack of confidence in other people and cannot tolerate others leading with them.
 The feeling that it will take too long to explain to the subordinates undertaking the assignment.
 Fear that others may perform the tasks better and threaten his/her job.
 Fear that the subordinates will let them down.
 Failure to plan ahead makes difficult to decide which tasks to delegate and to whom and when.
 Fear of conflicts arising between subordinates who have been delegated to.

CHARACTERISTICS OF A GOOD DELEGATOR

 A good delegator is one who stimulates and motivates subordinates to undertake duties and
responsibilities delegated to them by clearly indicating the standard of performance expected, time
limit and any other conditions involved.
 A good delegator gives the delegated a chance to perform the given task without undue
interference.

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  A good delegator appreciates the efforts the delegatee has made, and assisting whenever
assistance is needed.
 A good delegator learns to accept that some delegated duties may not be done as perfectly as they
would by one.
 A good delegator makes use of the mistakes made to develop rather than to ridicule and threaten
the delegate

Areas of delegation in an educational institution

It is important for you to realize that there are many tasks which a principal can delegate, and there are
others that he/she cannot delegate. However, much will depend on the practices, rules and regulations
pertaining to delegation in the institution. In general, the Principal can delegate almost all the tasks except:

 Finances, especially the authority to incur expenditure

 Admission of new students into the school
 Final decision-making on policy issues and changes in the school
 Assigning of duties to the deputy head and senior teachers
 Communication with ministry officials and school governing boards or committee
 Recruitment of teachers
 Final responsibility on examinations
 Correspondence and communication with teachers

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