Delegation/ Decentralisation

[Music] delegation or decentralization delegation in an organization managers no matter how capable they are cannot perform all the tasks assigned to them on their own they thus assign some of the work to their subordinates and give them authority to carry on the work and at the same time make them accountable this process is termed as delegation let us understand the concept with the help of an example suppose a production manager has the target to produce a thousand units in a week's time he can distribute his work to three of his subordinates to produce 250 units each and key 250 units for self to produce he also needs to give them enough authority to use organizational resources to produce in order to make his subordinates answerable to him for non-performance hence delegation can be defined as the downward transfer of authority from a superior to a subordinate in order to achieve effective results however delegation does not mean abdication the manager shall still be accountable for the performance of the assigned tasks elements of delegation according to Louis Allen delegation is the entrustment of responsibility and authority to another and the creation of accountability for performance thus there are three elements of delegation Authority responsibility and accountability let us learn about these elements in detail one authority authority refers to the bar and right of an individual to use and allocates the resources efficiently to take decisions and to give orders so as to achieve the objectives of an organization Authority also refers to the right to take decisions inherent in a managerial position to tell people what to do and expect them to do it authority flows from top to bottom that is a superior has authority over his subordinate to responsibilities responsibility is the obligation of a subordinate to complete the tasks assigned to him properly responsibility flows from bottom to top that is a subordinate will always be responsible to his superior responsibilities without adequate Authority leads to discontent and dissatisfaction among employees on the other hand Authority without responsibility may lead to misuse of authority 3 accountability accountability implies being answerable for the final outcome once Authority has been delegated and responsibility accepted one cannot deny accountability delegation of authority impose an employee to act for his superior but the superior would still be accountable for the outcome for example if a is given a task with sufficient authority and a delegates this task to B and C and asks them to ensure that task is done when responsibilities rest with B and C but accountability still rest with a [Music] importance of delegation delegation ensures that subordinates perform tasks on behalf of a manager thereby reducing his workload and providing him with more time to concentrate on important matters effective delegation leads to several benefits let us have a quick look on the same one effective management delegation relief's managers from heavy workload and enables him to function more efficiently as I get more time to concentrate on important matters to [Music] employee development delegation of authority on the one hand allows managers to develop those skills which will enable them to perform complex tasks and assume those responsibilities which will improve their career prospects on the other hand delegation provides employees chance to use their skills gain experience and develop themselves for higher positions three motivation of employees delegation also has psychological benefits when a superior interests are subordinate with a task employees feel that their superiors trust them and recognize them in lieu of this employees give their best to the organization for the purpose of maintaining the confidence of their superiors on them for facilitation of growth delegation works as a training technique for employees because when they're assigned with authority they have to take different decisions in different situations this strains employees and prepares them for leading positions in new ventures five bases of management hierarchy delegation of authority creates superior subordinate relationships which tie various positions in an organization together and also serve as the basis of hierarchy of management the extent of delegated authority also decides the par that each job position enjoys in an organization six better coordination delegation helps to avoid overlapping of duties and duplication of efforts as it gives a clearer picture of the work being done at various levels such clarity in reporting relationships facilitates development and maintenance of effective coordination amongst the department's levels and functions of Management decentralization in many organizations the top management plays an active role in taking all decisions while there are others in which this power is given to even the lower levels of Management those organizations in which decision-making authority lies with the top management are termed as centralized organizations whereas those in which authority is shared with lower levels are decentralized organizations decentralization refers to the delegation of authority throughout all the levels of an organization for example traffic police controls movement of vehicles on road he holds a lower-level position in the organization yet he has a lot of authority given to him senior officers concentrate on ways and means to improve traffic control centralization and decentralization centralization and decentralization are relative terms as seen from the existing status of various business enterprises an organization can never be completely centralized or decentralized as in large organizations employees who are directly and closely involved with certain operations tend to have more knowledge about the operations than the top management hence there must be a good balance between these coexisting forces [Music] importance of decentralization it is not so important to consider whether decentralization should be adopted or not but what is important is that to what extent or degree it should be adopted what authority should be given to subordinates and what authority should remain reserved with superiors decentralization is a fundamental step and its importance can be understood from the following points one initiative among subordinates decentralization leads to delegation of authorities in large amount a person with right Authority is compelled to contemplate or to do something new this inculcates and him the ability to take initiative [Music] to managerial talent for the future decentralization provides the opportunity to take decisions adds to the knowledge and experience of managers at all levels and develops talent to bear extra responsibility in future three quick decision-making in a decentralized organization the burden of managerial decisions does not lie on a few individuals but it is distributed among many people with complete knowledge about their units or departments this leads to quick as well as better decision-making for relief to top management under decentralization the daily managerial work is assigned to subordinates it leaves the top management with more time which they can devote to formulate policies and plans as well as to perform the functions of coordinating controlling and so on 5 facilitates growth decentralization provides full liberty to the lower levels of management as well as divisional or departmental heads this allows them to make efforts in order to achieve better results this fosters a sense of competition amongst different departments of an organization and leads to an increase in the productivity levels of an organization [Music] six better control decentralization makes it possible to evaluate performance at each level and departments can be individually held accountable for their performances management adopts better control systems such as balanced scorecard and management information system to conclude delegation is the transfer of authority from superior to subordinate delegation has three elements authority responsibility and accountability while authority is delegated responsibility is assumed accountability is imposed responsibility is to write from authority and accountability is derived from responsibility delegation helps in effective management employee development motivation growth and coordination decentralization is delegation of authority throughout the organization decentralization helps in development of managerial talent quick decision-making reducing burden on top management development of initiative growth and better control you

Channel: Iken Edu

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Keywords: decentralisation, delegation, qyuki, authority, responsibility, accountability, centralisation, yt:stretch=16:9

Id: BYiv4DVtyO4

Length: 14min 40sec (880 seconds)

Published: Tue Sep 04 2012