Delegation of Authority

 Delegation is the process by which a superior grants

authority to his subordinates. As the organization
grows, the work load of the managers increases.
 Delegation becomes a solution to cope up with the
increased work load. Because of the constraints of
time and ability, a manager cannot perform all the
tasks himself. Thus, he delegates some of the tasks to
the subordinates and gets them done.
 Authority is the right to command. It is the discretion
power of a manager. Managers acquire authority
because of their rank or position.
 Authority is granted to the individuals in a formal way
in the organization. It flows from the top to down in
the organization structure.
• Responsibility, on the other hand is the
obligation to perform the tasks and their
satisfactory completion.
• An individual is expected to fulfill certain job
requirements when he or she accepts a position in
the organization. He or she is answerable for the
results of the task to be performed.
• In contrast to authority, responsibility of an
individual in the organization is always upwards,
that is, the subordinate is responsible to his or her
superior.
 Process of Delegation
Assignment of Duties or Responsibilities
 In the first step of the process of delegation, few
important questions are to be answered by a
manager like what to delegate? When to delegate?
Whom to delegate? and how to delegate.
The effectiveness of delegation depends on how
clearly these questions are answered. First of all,
the manager has to decide the tasks to be
delegated to the subordinates. For this, he must
be able to distinguish between the routine& non-
routine tasks.
Routine and simple tasks can be performed by the
subordinates while the non-routine and very
important tasks must be performed by manager.
 Granting of Authority
 When the subordinates are assigned certain
tasks or responsibilities, then they need
authority to perform the tasks.
 Authority is required by them to use the
resources of the organization for the execution of
the tasks.
 The superior parts with his authority to enable
the subordinates to perform. Responsibility and
authority both go together. One of the
important principles of organizing is parity of
authority and responsibility which emphasizes
the need for a proper balance between the two.
 Creation of Accountability
• Delegation does not end with just assignment of
duties and the granting of authority.
• The superior has to create an obligation on the
subordinate to perform. In other words, the
subordinate is accountable to his superior for the
tasks delegated. Thus, while authority flows
downwards, responsibility flows upwards.
Normally, accountability is created by asking the
subordinates to submit performance reports/
status reports from time to time.
 Barriers to Effective Delegation
• To make delegation effective, the willingness of
both the superior and the subordinate is crucial.
Though delegation is a powerful tool to motivate
the subordinates and to develop managerial skills
in them, if adequate care is not exercised the
result may be considerable anxiety for both
superiors and subordinates.
Reasons for the failure of delegation in
organizations-
i. Lack of trust and confidence on subordinates’
abilities and skills makes the superiors reluctant to
delegate. As a result, subordinates stop taking
initiative and frequently seek the guidance of the
bosses.
ii. Some managers have a feeling that they only can
do the job better. Consequently , they spend time
on a task a subordinate could perform and as a
result they are unable to perform other important
tasks like policy formulation and supervision.
• Unless the manager allows subordinates to
attempt new tasks, the subordinates will not be
able to develop their skills. Thus by insisting on
doing things themselves managers often fail in
their responsibility for training and grooming
subordinates with higher levels responsibilities.
iii. Lack of ability to direct: Some managers
become so involved in day-to-day operations that
they are unable to see the broader picture & unable
to understand the long term perspective of the
work flow. They do not realize the importance of
distributing work among subordinates. Some
managers deliberately do this as they lack
confidence in their supervisory abilities.
iv. Aversion to Risk: Superiors who see a threat in
the subordinates always try to avoid delegation.
Superiors fear that delegating the job may cause
problems. Few superiors may have the mindset
and fear that he may be outsmarted by the
subordinate and eventually the latter may become
a potential threat to this position.
v. Absence of Selective Controls: When certain duties
are delegated to subordinates, the superior has to keep
proper control by taking feedback about performance.
It gives the superior the opportunity of knowing the
problem before much damage takes place. If controls
are not adequate and effective, manager has good
reason to avoid authority delegation.
vi. Inadequate Information and Resources: Some
managers with a view to let down their subordinates
may deliberately make the delegation unclear. Thus the
subordinate lacks the information and resources
needed to do the job successfully. As a result the
subordinate lands himself in confusion as to the exact
nature of the duties and the authority that he can
exercise . The motive of the superior in such cases may
be to make the subordinate fail in the execution.
 Overcoming the Barriers
 Most of the barriers to delegation relate to the
behavioral aspects of individuals. Aversion to risk,
insecurity, lack of self confidence, inability to trust
another person to perform a task are all different
types of manifestations of human behavior.
Among the various barriers, psychological barriers
are the most difficult ones to overcome.
 In order to overcome these barriers, both
superiors and subordinates must take a hard look
at themselves, recognize their own fears and try
to come out of these barriers.
The following measures may help delegation to be
effective:
1. Effective Communication: When a subordinate does
not perform the tasks as expected by management,
the problem can be faulty communication. In a hurry
to get the things done, managers may not clearly
explain what exactly they expect from the
subordinate. The subordinate may also hesitate to ask
questions. At times, subordinate too, may be in a
hurry to get on with the job.
Consequently, both the parties may think that they
understand what was assigned and expected. Later, often
too late, the work is not done right and both get
disappointed.
Thus, effective communication of tasks, responsibilities
and authority to subordinates , reduces the chances of
misunderstandings between the two and leads to fruitful
accomplishment of the tasks.
• 2. Parity of Authority and Responsibility: For
delegation to be effective, it is necessary for authority
& responsibility to be in parity , that is, superior must
delegate sufficient authority to the subordinate to
enable him accomplish the task for which he has
assumed responsibility. For example, a marketing
manager who got the task of increasing sales can
accomplish the task, only when he is given authority to
conduct an advertising campaign & provide
motivational incentives to sales people. Absence of
such an authority to use the organizational resources
lands him in frustration.
• In the situation of giving responsibility for the tasks
without sufficient authority, organization would tend to
fail. In such a case the subordinate should let the
superior know as soon as possible the actual situation
and get the situation corrected.
3. Incentives for additional responsibility:
Additional responsibility usually means additional
work. An individual in any system expects to be
rewarded for the additional responsibilities.
Unfortunately, many organizations fail to offer
positive rewards.
Current research strongly indicates that employees
will not be fully motivated if they feel they are giving
the organization more than what they are getting.
The rewards may be in many forms- Additional pay,
promotional opportunity, a better job title, praise,
added status, more pleasant working conditions etc.
Though delegation broadly involves assignment of duties and
granting of necessary authority to subordinates the actual
practices vary.
The different degrees of delegation categorized by Harvey Sherman are :
i. Take action, no further contact with superior is needed.
ii. Take action & let the superior know the work done by the
subordinate .
iii. Subordinate to take a look into the problem & let the superior
know what he intends to do; do it unless told not to do.
iv. Subordinate to take a look into the problem & Let the superior
know what he intends to do; delay action until the superior gives
the approval.
v. Subordinate to take a look into the problem & Let the
superior know the alternative actions available with pros and
cons and recommend one for the approval of the superior
vi. Subordinate to take a look into the problem & give him all
the facts; then the superior decides what to do.
 Decentralization of Authority
• While in delegation, authority is transferred on one-to-one basis from
the superior to the subordinate, decentralization of authority is broader
in scope and involves the transfer of authority in the organization from
top to the lower levels of management in the hierarchy. The greater the
amount of authority delegated throughout the organization, the more
decentralized the organization is. Decentralization reflects
management’s philosophy regarding which decisions to be taken at the
top as well as down the line in the organization.
• Both absolute centralization and absolute decentralization are
undesirable, because the former refers an autocratic structure or
approach while the latter results in a confusing situation. Thus,
decentralization must be viewed as a relative concept and not as an
absolute one.
Conditions where decentralization is greater:
• - The greater the number of decisions made lower down the
management hierarchy. The more important the decisions made lower
down the management hierarchy. For example, the greater the sum of
capital expenditure that can be approved by the plant manager without
consulting anyone else, the greater the degree of decentralization in this
field;
• - The less checking required on the decision.
Decentralization is greatest when no checks at all
are made; less when superiors have to be
informed of the decision after it has been made,
still less if superiors have to be consulted before
the decision is made. The fewer the people to be
consulted, and the lower they are on the
management hierarchy, the greater the degree of
decentralization.
• - The more functions affected by decisions made
at lower levels. Thus, companies which permit
only operational decisions to be made at branch/
plant levels are less decentralized than those
which permit financial and personnel decisions at
branch level;
• Decentralization results in unburdening of top manager,
better decisions because decisions are made closer to the
scene of action. More flexibility and faster decision making
are some of the advantages of decentralization.
• Decentralization is often regarded as ‘good’ and
centralization as ‘bad’. But total decentralization, with no
coordination from the top would be undesirable. That is
why, the question before a manager is not whether an
organization should be decentralized, but to what extent it
should be decentralized.
• The degree of decentralization in an organization will vary
with time and circumstances. It will also vary for the
different units of the organization. For example, production
and sales department, in general, have gained a high degree
of decentralization in many organizations, whereas financial
related functions have tended to remain relatively
centralized.
 Factors Influencing Decentralization
1. Philosophy of Top Management: The leadership
style, attitudes, values and beliefs of the top
management team have an impact on the degree
of decentralization. Some firms are highly
centralized, whereas others are highly
decentralized because of the character and
philosophy of the top management. For instance,
if Tata Group Companies have registered a
phenomenal growth over the years, it is partly
because of the operational freedom and autonomy
the various units in the group enjoy. TATAs provide
only the direction and spell out the major policies.
2. The Attitude of Subordinate Managers is
another important factor that influences
decentralization because they can encourage or
discourage decentralization. If subordinates want
decentralization, top management can not hold
every thing in their hands for too long a period.
The desire by subordinates for independence and
the willingness to take increased responsibilities
may make them think of decentralization. As
against this, shortage of lower level managers who
are willing to assume responsibility may encourage
top management to maintain a centralized
structure.
• Now-a-days, in most large-scale organization, the
trend is towards decentralization. This is in line
with greater employee empowerment. Pushing
authority down the line to lower levels in an
organization results in an environment of
freedom and experimentation. Employee
empowerment helps in fostering an
entrepreneurial spirit in the organization, by
encouraging employees at lower levels to accept
responsibility, to unleash their full potential, and
most important, to think and innovate. The
benefits of decentralization are clear. However,
the extent of decentralization depends on the
unique requirements of an organization. It
normally varies from organization to organization.
3. The cost and Impact of the Decisions: Managers may not be
willing for decentralization where the commitment involved in the
decisions is very high. As a rule of thumb, the greater the cost
involved, the more likely it is that the decision will be made at the
upper levels. Generally, in situations when the expenditure involved
in organizations exceeds a certain limit, managers are required to
seek the approval of superiors .
4. Company Size and Rate of Growth: It is very difficult to manage
a large organization efficiently with decision-making authority
concentrated in one or few people/levels at the top. Further, as an
organization grows in size and complexity, the need for
decentralization is obviously felt. Top management cannot continue
to hold a tight grip over the several aspects of the growing
organization. This is the principal reason why organizations often
engage in reorganizing their units and operations as they grow in
size. The necessary autonomy is given to the units or departments
so that top management can concentrate itself with more important
tasks such as strategic planning and policy formulation