What is Delegation
Organization is an essential contributor to an efficient management. Management must define the responsibilities and authority. The management must know what responsibility it has to share and what authority it can exercise.
Manager, if invited to formulate his one responsibility will go a long way integrating with the pattern of organization. “A manager must realize that an organization is not a plumbing system of communications but in is a framework of an organism in which the members of human being and the process is one of human co-operative working’ it is the cooperative corking and human being which is an essential part of this organism. Realizing this E.F.L Breech has categorically expressed in clear terms that “the whole and sole purpose of an organization is the subdivision and delegation of the unfiled management process by which policy is translated into effective action and the progress of the action is controlled against policy”
“Delegation “as Louise A. Allan has explained is the dynamics of management. It is the process a manager follows in dividing the work assigned to him so that he performs that part which only he, because of his unique organizational placement, can perform, effectively. And so that he can get other to help him, with what remains. If he wants to get others to help him the manager must first divide his work. If he requires the subordinates to perform the work as he would do it himself, the manager must entrust him whit part of the rights and powers he otherwise would have to exercise himself to get that work done. If the subordinate needs to spend money, hire people, use materials of equipment, the manager must permit him to do so or the subordinate cannot perform the work.
The manager must have some means of checking up to make sure that the work is done the way he wishes. This means he must create an obligation on the part of the person doing the work to perform in terms of any standards or conditions established. If he sets standards properly the manager can use them to apprise how well the work is being done.
The explanation offered by Allen is too comprehensive and nothing remains now to explain except that delegation is
- Dynamics of management.
- Process in an organization
- Entrustment of responsibility and authority
- Creation of accountability for performance, and
- Either formal or informa delegation
Formal and Infomral Delegation
Formal Delegation
A formal delegation of responsibility and authority referees to entrusting responsibility and authority to an official position in the organization structure. A formal delegation creates obligation and makes the delegation accountable for his performance.
Informal Delegation
On the other hand an informal delegation does not create any obligation. Here delegation is not entrusted the work neither he is given the responsibility and authority formally. Instead work is taken and authority is exercised because people do want the person to take the responsibility and exercise the authority. The organization formally has to do nothing with such a responsibility and authority.
Sufficient flexibility in delegation process is required. It helps in making a provision for both the formal and informal delegation according to the organization structure temperament of the delegator necessity of the enterprise and exigency of the work.