Briefly explain the process delegation and authority

QUESTIONS

1. In your own words, what is the difference between Authority and Delegation?

1.Authority is a form of power. It is often used more broadly to refer to a person’s ability to exert power as a result of quality such as knowledge or titles such as judge. Authority is the right to give orders & power to exact compliance. It is the legitimate right to use assigned resources, including personnel, to accomplish a task or objective. It also connotes certain rights granted to a position in an institution.

While Delegation is the act of assigning formal authority and responsibility to the subordinate to carry out a specific activity. Delegation is the administrative process by which a superior gives a subordinate the authority to do a particular task. It refers to a

b)Grant of Authority - Authority means power to take decision. To carry on the responsibilities every employee need to have some authority. So, when managers are passing their responsibilities to the subordinates, they also pass some of the authority to the subordinates. The delegating of authority is the second step of organizing process. While sharing the authority managers keep in mind that the authority matching to the responsibility should only be delegated. They shall not pass all their authority to their subordinates. In other words, for effective delegation, authority must be equal to responsibility i.e., Authority = Responsibility. If authority is more than responsibility it can lead to misuse. On the other hand, if responsibility is more than authority it will lead to the incapability of completion of the allotted tasks.

c)Creation of Accountability - Accountability is the answerability for the final outcome of a job. To make sure that the employees or subordinates perform their responsibilities in their expected manner, the accountability is created. Accountability means subordinates will be answerable for the non-completion of the task; creating accountability is the third and final step of delegation process. All things considered, regardless of the delegation, we consider the superior completely answerable for the tasks. This further means that delegation involves no transfer of accountability; it cannot be passed or delegated. It can only be shared with the subordinates which means even after delegating responsibility and authority the managers will be accountable for non-completion of task.

also allows them to develop those skills which help them to perform complex tasks. Thus, delegation leads to the development of employees by providing them to expand their area of operation and helping them to grow. Effectively, it increases their future prospects and helps in making better future managers by giving them chance to use their skills, gain experience of work related to higher job position.

c)Motivation of employees - Delegation may also be used as a device to motivate the subordinate. In the delegation when the manager is sharing his responsibilities and authority with the subordinates it motivates the subordinates as they develop the feeling of belongingness and trust which is shown to them by their superiors. Through the process of delegation, superiors entrust suitable subordinates with the tasks that are assigned to them. This not only leads to the development of talent but also has various psychological benefits. This is because, the faith and trust displayed in the subordinate build his confidence and self-esteem, which
ultimately drives him to work harder. They become more responsible and more dedicated to their work and they feel proud of being given such authority and responsibility, this in turn boosts their morale.

1)Wanting to do things personally - Some managers do not delegate because they believe that they can do the work better than their subordinates. They are
managers who do not trust or believe anyone when it comes to their work. They think no one will be able to accomplish the task well enough, so they have difficulties in delegation of responsibilities. Since ultimate responsibility is that of the delegator, they prefer doing the work themselves rather than getting it done through others. The delegator enjoys doing the work and makes his importance felt in the organization by showing his busyness in the office.

2)Insecurity - Some managers feel very insecure in delegating authority especially when the subordinate is capable of doing the job better. He may have the fear that his subordinate may do the job better than himself and outshine him. The manager may fear his loss of power and competition from the subordinate. If managers feel that subordinates perform better than them, they avoid delegation. Also, some managers try to hide their own incompetence or inefficiency. He keeps all the authority for himself to avoid exposing his lack of knowledge and talent. The exposure of their inabilities to take good decisions creates a feeling of insecurity and, therefore, they fear to delegate.

6)Personal factors - Autocratic managers usually do not delegate to keep tight control over the activities of subordinates. Democratic leaders prefer to delegate as they believe in participation of employees in the decision-making process.

Managers usually follow past precedents in creating an environment friendly to delegation. If their managers delegate to them, they also trust their subordinates in making delegation effective. If their managers did not trust them in delegating the tasks, they also do not delegate the tasks further.

3)Lack of incentives - Subordinates may not be motivated to accept additional responsibility and authority willingly in the absence of suitable incentives.

Motivation (through financial and non-financial incentives) makes delegation effective. Subordinates are reluctant to accept delegation in the absence of incentives. If there are no positive personal gains to a subordinate in accepting authority or if they feel they are not well compensated or are not offered enough incentive for their work, they will be unwilling to take up the work and the authority.

3)Degree of centralization or decentralization - Efficient delegation is affected by the degree to which organization distributes the decision-making power to various organizational units. A highly centralized organization is obstructive to the process of effective delegation.

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