18 Delegating I

Structure

1. Learning Objectives

2. Definitions of delegation

3. Factors Influencing delegation

4. Summary

1. Learning Objectives

At the end of the session learners will be able to

Define the delegation process
Differentiate between assigning and delegation of work.
Identify the importance of delegation of work
Analyse the factors to be considered while delegation

Everyone has twenty-four hours in hand to complete the different tasks of a day. It includes the personal as well as professional tasks. The personal tasks are to be carried out by individual but still one need to allot a specific time and the sequence in which the task is to be completed. The organizations are set to achieve specific goals and everyone is moving to achieve the goal. No one can think of doing all tasks single handed in an organization/institution. The institutions are set to achieve specific goals which are attained by the efforts of group of people. The organizations have a specific structure which designs the flow of work and authorities of people working in it. The manager needs to distribute the work to people holding different positions. The position not only determines the work to be carried out by the person but also the accountability and power. The higher is the position more is the power as well as accountability. At the same time higher is the position more is a freedom and power. The power gives freedom to a person to make decisions. Therefore it is expected that the people at the higher position of management possess more conceptual skills as compare to middle and bottom level management.

In the specific structure of an organization, the different positions are bounded by the power. In other words it can be said that the position determines the power and therefore the freedom of decision making while performing the specific role. For example while taking the decision about the disciplining actions for a class teacher will think only in the context of the students in her class. On the other hand when principal has to take decision about disciplining strategies she need to consider the context of entire school. No doubt the position gives power and freedom but expect to understand the situations in more holistic way. This power and freedom is given to a person so that he/she can take proper decision which can benefit the institution. The manager has to take various decisions at different levels. Some decisions are planned but some are immediate or sudden as per the situation. Allocation or distribution of work is a very routine activity that is carried out in any organization. For example the work load of teachers is prescribed by the government and the allotment of number of periods to be taken by a subject teacher is decided on the basis of these norms. There is a difference in the allocation and delegation of work. The allocation is just asking person to do something but delegation is not just the distribution but it is more than that. The distribution of number of periods for teaching is routine type of work on paper but when principal delegates the work of teaching she/he also conveys the responsibility to the teacher and teacher will be able to perform her duties by giving the best when the authority is given. The detailed description of job brings clarity in understanding the role and also the responsibility .The extent to which manager delegate authority is influenced by factors like culture of organization, specificity of situation, potentialities of people and relationship of people.

Read the following paragraph carefully and answer the questions

Mr Dixit a coordinator of science department called a newly appointed laboratory attendant and tells him to arrange laboratory for an experiment on photosynthesis for standard 9th students in the next one hour. The laboratory attendant was not aware about the location of apparatus in the laboratory so keep asking to help staff for the location of apparatus. In the afternoon when students came in the laboratory, there were no proper arrangements set. Mr. Dixit was upset and scolded the attendant for wasting his and students’ time.

Ø Why do you think lab attendant could not complete the task?

Ø If the arrangement of practical on a specific topic is a goal then what are the tasks involved which the lab attendant needs to think on.

2. Definitions of delegation

The delegation is commonly defined as giving/providing information and description about job to be performed to the subordinates.
It implies granting or conferring authority
Assignment of formal authority and accountability to carry out specific work or activity of work to other person
The act of assigning formal authority and responsibility to subordinate for completion of task/activity

The process in which manager gives information regarding job, assign formal authority for carrying out specific activities to subordinates and brings accountability is called as delegation. It can be also considered as the way one act in assigning formal authority and responsibility to subordinate for completion of specific activity.

Scenario 1:

Ms.Banerjee is head of primary section of St Mary school and is responsible for organizing the academic activities in the school. The government authorities assign responsibility of conducting science exhibition of students for ward A to the school. The principal ask Ms. Banerjee to communicate to the government officials and arrange for the exhibition.

Scenario 2:

The government authority assigns responsibility of conducting science exhibition of students for ward E to the St. Peter school. The principal after receiving letter from authorities called academic head of primary section Ms.Mitra to discuss the matter in detail. They discuss on the activities to be carried out for the conduction of science exhibition. After the drafting of broad outline, the meeting of teachers was called with prior notice. The teachers were given the copy of letter from government authority , then shared the activities listed and then the principal conveyed the expectations of authority from the school and the activities they need to carry out for successful completion of task. Teachers give suggestions and decided to meet next day. The principal formed different committees like infrastructural arrangements, collecting information from different schools regarding students’ participation, judges for exhibition, room allocations, arrangements of exhibits etc. The senior teachers were made in-charge of committee that is coordinator and 2-3 teachers as a member to help coordinator. The authority to take decision of assignment of work within the committee is given to the coordinator.

Identify the difference in the perception of conducting science exhibition by the two principals
Which school do you think will be able to complete the task effectively and efficiently? Why?
How do you think the delegation of work help principal?
How do you think the delegation of work help teachers?
How do you think the delegation help organization/institution?

3. Factors Influencing Delegation

The assigning work is considered as a routine job but it is certainly not easy. The manager has to think on different facets of the work such as nature of work , time in hand to do the work, complexity of work etc. Besides he/she has to think on the abilities of individuals like interest, aptitude, and understanding of task, accountability and attitude along with his/her efficiency etc. Therefore in the management we do not consider assignment of work but we say that the work is to be delegated. So delegation is considered as one of the important functions/processes of management.

School A:

The reputed school appointed teaching staff for new academic year. Ms. Sonal is one of the newly appointed teachers who have experience of five years of teaching science. After the induction programme the Principal call the meeting and distributed the work to teachers along with what is expected from teachers to do in writing. Ms. Sonal was given different portfolios like organising excursion, science exhibition, keeping records of students who are appearing for science Olympiad and other examinations related to science. Initially she was very happy and started her work with enthusiasm. But after a month she realized that she is not able to give sufficient time for preparation of teaching and therefore was unhappy with her performance in the class. She approached and conveyed principal that she is unable to handle so many things at times. The principle asked her to take help of 2-3 teachers so that the work carried out in proper way.

School B :

After the retirement of few teachers the two new teachers are appointed in the school for science. The teachers had a meeting with the principal and senior teachers after their induction programme. The principal distributed a teaching work to teachers and put the list of activities carried out by science teachers in front of them. Principal ask the choices for activity they would like to take up. Those who are interested in organization of science exhibition form a team; few were interested in 2_3 activities so accordingly it was recorded in the minutes of the meeting. The principal further provided the information about the availability of budget for the different activities and give them the idea of expectations for the work. It was told to them that they can start the planning and discuss it in the next meeting. The principal also select co-ordinator of the committee and ask them to prepare plan of action and clarify the task to subordinate /team members and keep reporting about work every alternate day.

Identity the difference in the functioning of principal of the school A and school B.
Identify the reasons for teacher’s unhappiness in school A
What you would have done if you were the principal of school A
In which situation this approach A of work delegation will be useful?
Discuss the process of delegation in school A and B.
In case of emergency how can you make use of approach B.
By applying the definition of delegation of work, which principles of delegation are followed in school A and B.

The work is assign by the managers to subordinates in company likewise in school the principal assign work to teachers .Now considering the definitions given earlier, we can say that the work is been assigned by one person who is holding the formal position to the subordinate who also holds a formal position. It means one should have right to assign the work but one should also remember that the other person to whom the work is delegated also has legal position. The legal position also set a boundary to the authority of people. Therefore, we see people saying that what authority I have to dothis.

Many times it is observed that the people in higher position assign work but don’t give required power or authority to subordinates. This is one of the important reasons that people hesitate to do task with free mind and innovative ways. They keep asking bosses how to do it and follow what is being told. In the process subordinate don’t feel the ownership for the work, don’t gain confidence and learn things. In other words the work is done for the boss and not for self being the part of institution.

The important point to be noted is that if we just give the work to people, no doubt they will do it but it will be done mechanically with lack of involvement. It is very important to give power to people. The power not only provide freedom but also develop different abilities like solving problem, think different aspects of problem, analyze the factors involved into the problem, and plan strategy to solve problem and complete tasks. Usually it is seen that managers assign the work to subordinate and expect them to complete it in specific time period. The hierarchal structure also permits assignment of work rather than the delegation of work. The conferring authority ensures the trust in subordinates and the freedom. When subordinate get freedom then try to do work in different ways and complete it. The freedom also brings in accountability. There is no need for the manager to worry about authority which he/she has to give to subordinate. In patriarchal society like India it is seen that managers do not delegate work but order people to do it the way they want. The thinking is seems to be restricted to top level people. They keep on telling each and every step to do the task. By doing this they ensure their authority and control the behavior of people. This also stops the thinking process of people and they also expect higher authority to tell everything. In a long run the organization do not produce people who take freedom in doing work and take responsibility of the work. Naturally when the freedom & accountability is lacking one cannot expect quality work. In short one can say that the quality in work can be possible when the work is delegated and not assigned.

The goals of institution/ organization are very complex and therefore needs proper understanding of the goals in general, and tasks in specific. The principal need be very clear about the vision of the institution. The clarity in vision helps in specifying the goals which further help in designing proper strategies to accomplish the goals. The clarity in goals and strategies gives guideline for the role expectations. The understanding of the roles can be conveyed to the subordinates who are responsible to execute the planning and achieve the goals.

Summary

The organizations are set to achieve specific goals and everyone is moving to achieve the goal. No one can think of doing all tasks single handed in an organization/institution. The goals set by the institutions are attained by the efforts of group of people. The organizations have a specific structure which designs the flow of work and authorities of people working in it. Allocation or distribution of work is a very routine activity that is carried out in any organization. Delegation is defined as the act of assigning formal authority and responsibility to subordinate for completion of task/activity.

– The delegation is commonly defined as giving/providing information and description about job to be performed to the subordinates.

– It implies granting or conferring authority

– Assignment of formal authority and accountability to carry out specific work or activity of work to other person

The manager has to think on different facets of the work such as nature of work , time in hand to do the work, complexity of work etc. Besides, he/she has to think on the abilities of individuals like interest, aptitude, and understanding of task, accountability and attitude along with his/her efficiency etc.

Delegation is important because

It helps in distribution of work
It provide autonomy to people working in the organization
It develops sense of ownership for the work among people
It brings clarity in role performance
It conveys the expectation of management to people working in the institution
It Provide opportunity to take up responsibility
It provide an opportunity to give justice and use strength of people

Delegation is the important functions which help manager to develop competencies of people, make them accountable for work and to get innovative ideas from people to solve problems. The freedom is the prerequisite of delegation which provide opportunity to make choices and decisions which help in the development of an individual as well as organization.

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