It is important for the heads of organizations to organize the work of employees so that it brings the greatest return and fully reveals their potential. To do this, you need to know how to practically delegate authority, used to improve the performance of the company without harming the current state of affairs.
Definition
Delegation is manifested as a uniform division of rights and obligations between the subjects of the system. Its principles were formulated at the beginning of the twentieth century by P. M. Kerzhentsev.
Delegation is the granting of authority to perform tasks to an accountable person with a simultaneous assignment to him responsibility for the result. Delegation allows you to correctly distribute tasks between employees and is used to achieve the ultimate goals of the organization.
Responsibility lies in the employee’s commitment to do the job in a quality manner and bring it to a satisfactory conclusion. Employees are responsible in the field of their activities to higher authorities.
Powers (powers) act as limited rights to use the resources involved to perform certain tasks. Each position in the organization is accompanied by specific powers. A change of post also leads to a replacement of the employee’s competencies.
Application
Delegation is the transfer of certain powers and responsibilities to company employees and the even distribution of various functions between them. An act is performed that defines the official delegating tasks as a leader who is able to quickly solve all current issues and skillfully use the employees who are best able to cope with each specific type of task.
Goals
Delegation of authority is used to achieve certain goals by the organization, such as:
- connection of the "human factor" - increasing the activity and interest of lower-level employees;
- an increase in the efficiency (efficiency) of employees due to the improvement of their qualifications and the acquisition of new skills;
- unloading of senior management with freeing up time for solving strategic, operational and managerial issues.
Task delegation
The following types of tasks are suitable for delegation:
- routine;
- unimportant issues;
- preparatory work;
- specialized work.
But not all tasks can be transferred to ordinary employees. The duty of each leader is to resolve those tasks that can affect the future activities of the organization.
These are questions of a trusting nature, and non-standard strategic problems, and unexpected situations that require prompt resolution.
Therefore, not delegated:
- setting goals;
- management of subordinates;
- risky tasks;
- unusual work;
- making strategic and managerial decisions;
- Confidential tasks
- organizational policy development.
Requirements for Subjects of Delegation
In the process of transferring instructions, both superiors and employees may encounter a number of difficulties.Effective management of delegation of authority is possible only by analyzing all existing and probable obstacles affecting the administration and monitoring of current activities.
Problems that sometimes arise with the director or head of department and hampering delegation:
- fear of losing one's current position and associated power;
- doubt about the preparedness of other employees, low evaluation characteristics of their activities;
- excessive self-esteem, excessive ambitiousness;
- self-doubt, fear that his actions will be misunderstood.
Problems sometimes identified by employees in carrying out assigned tasks:
- doubt about the correctness of the decisions used;
- lack of experience;
- fundamental disagreements with the boss;
- unwillingness to lead other performers, especially regarding penalties.
In the event of difficulties, the competent manager must first deal with personal obstacles that impede the effective regulation of work, and then carefully examine the problems of the subordinate. An analysis of the situation will indicate possible management errors and allow you to make informed and informed decisions, for example, in terms of replacing the performer or relieving him of unnecessary load, or in terms of working out difficulties of a psychological nature, both ours and the performer.
Delegation Process
Each leader should strive to ensure that when organizing the work process, he evenly plans work responsibilities throughout the team, using power and not giving up responsibility for the process of completing tasks.
Delegation in an organization is divided into several stages:
Stage I - transfer of instructions to the executor;
Stage II - providing the contractor with authority and resources;
Stage III - the wording of the employee’s obligations indicating the necessary result of the implementation.
During control over the activities of subordinates, a middle ground is important. Excessive custody can lead to stagnation and lack of initiative of the employee. If you do not control the process, the result will be critically far from the desired due to the uncoordinated flow of work. It is necessary to establish feedback in advance and achieve respect and high authority among employees.
Often, administrators sin by shifting unwanted and uninteresting work on their subordinates, especially if they themselves are only superficially familiar with this topic. But this is not always correct, since the boss is still responsible for the flow of work. If the head himself does not have a clue what results should be expected at the exit, how will he be able to control the activities of the subordinate? The answer is obvious.
Experienced superiors prefer to entrust employees with tasks that are slightly more complicated than they have previously performed. Such tasks help most fully reveal the potential of subordinates. However, in this case, it is better to issue orders on paper to increase employee motivation.
When distributing competencies in the organizational system, it is extremely important to consider the following aspects:
- the powers should fully comply with the set plan of the task, it is the goal that determines the scope of powers, and not vice versa;
- the powers of all employees should be competently linked into a single complex without inconsistencies and ensure the balance of the whole structure;
- all authority should be clear and concrete so that employees can always figure out what is required of them and what resources are available to them.
The correct handling of authority increases the efficiency of the entire organization. Employees gain a clear understanding of the work imputed to them and the goals set for them, and thereby achieve the best results.
Benefits
In general, the delegation process is characterized by the presence of two positive aspects:
- The head’s time is freed up to solve problems requiring personal participation. There is an opportunity to concentrate on planning the growth prospects of the company and the administration strategy.
- Delegation is one of the best ways to motivate creatively developed and active employees who want to grow and learn. It can be used for training before getting a higher position. Helps to develop in employees new knowledge, skills and abilities used for more successful activities.
Principles of Delegation
For a structured approach to delegating authority, it is advisable to adhere to the principles below. Otherwise, their failure can lead to difficulties in management and, consequently, to unsatisfactory operation of the system as a whole.
Functional Definition Principle
It is based on the full and clear awareness by each manager of the structural integrity of the organization: what rights and obligations each entity of the system is endowed with, which information and service connections are made between them, the direction and results of their work. In other words, an experienced administrator always knows what to expect and from whom exactly.
Scalar principle
It is based on a clear separation of duties. Each contractor should know to whom he should directly report for the results of his work, and whose activities he should independently regulate. This principle indicates a chain of official relationships between subordinates and leaders of the entire organizational system. The more expressive this line, the more effective management and communication between employees. Any subordinate needs an accurate understanding of who delegates authority to him and to whom to transfer matters that are not within the scope of his competence.
Authority Level Principle
Combines the two above principles. Each employee should be clearly aware of the amount of authority delegated to him and solve his own problems with the problems that correspond to his level of power, and not refer these issues to a higher management.
Otherwise, a stalemate may arise when managers will again be forced to face issues that have already been delegated to subordinates. When using this rule, not only the transfer of powers, but also the delegation of responsibility should take place.
Principle Based on Expected Results
Shows that all activities of the organization need careful planning. All tasks should have clearly defined goals and specific expected outcomes. Otherwise, the manager simply will not be able to competently distribute tasks between employees, not having a complete idea of whether subordinates have sufficient authority for the work delegated to them.
Principle of unity of command
It is based on the close relationship between the contractor and the manager. The higher the level of cooperation, the stronger the sense of personal responsibility of a subordinate and the less likely it is to receive conflicting orders. It is important that the task is delegated to the employee by only one boss in order to avoid confusion and a situation where “the left hand does not know what the right hand is doing.”
Principle of unconditional liability
Although when delegating instructions to a subordinate, powers and responsibility for the results of the work done are simultaneously transferred, this is not a reason to remove the obligations imposed on him from the head. It is the boss who decides to delegate the task, so he is still responsible for the work of subordinates and the execution of the task. Performers are responsible for the work done, and managers are responsible for the actions of subordinates.This principle is of particular importance when delegating state powers and others with a high level of power.
The principle of correlation of authority and responsibility
Indicates that the delegated authority must comply with the obligations assigned to the subordinate. If the scope of authority is less than responsibility, then the contractor will not be able to fully perform the work transferred to him, but if it is higher, then a situation of futility of imposed powers or abuse of official position may arise.
Each administrator must competently organize the delegation of authority and responsibility. The principles discussed above will help him in this.
Types of Authority
In the organization's system, in accordance with current goals and requirements, various types of authority can be distinguished. They are determined by the activities of departments and their general functionality.
Linear
These powers are directly transferred from the manager to the contractor and further according to the scheme. A chief with linear authority is able to make decisions within the limits of his competence without prior coordination with other bosses. The sequential scheme of these powers forms a hierarchy of administration levels.
Moreover, the delegation of authority and responsibility occurs only when taking into account the principle of unity of command and, at the same time, the standards of manageability. As for the principle of unity of command, it was considered above.
This principle shows that each employee is dominated by only one leader, and the employee reports only to his immediate superior. And the rate of manageability is the number of employees reporting to a particular leader.
However, with a significant increase in the number of circuits in the leadership scheme, there is a strong slowdown in the operational exchange of information. Because of this, there is a need to introduce other powers into the organizational structure.
Headquarters
To determine what categories of staff powers exist, you must first analyze the types of staff apparatus, from which the following are distinguished:
- The advisory apparatus is used to solve specialized tasks. It can work both temporarily and continuously.
- Attendant - used to perform specified services (as an example, the human resources department).
- Personal - a subcategory of the serving device. Formed when hired by the head of an assistant or secretary. All members here have high formal authority.
Accordingly, the powers that can be transferred to any of the devices are divided:
- Advisory - used by the advisory headquarters, whose rights are limited by professional recommendations.
- Mandatory approvals - extend to the consideration by managers of their decisions in conjunction with the apparatus.
- Parallel - are used in cases where the device can overturn decisions of the leadership, are used to prevent gross violations. For example, the use of parallel powers is justified when shopping for large amounts, when two signatures are required.
- Functional - are at the highest level, can both allow certain actions, and cancel. Their use is widespread, especially in areas such as employment control and accounting methods.
The use of additional devices helps to significantly simplify the management structure in companies with a large number of employees. Thanks to the close and properly structured interaction of all subjects of the company, the effectiveness of the organization as a whole increases. For effective leadership, other aspects must be taken into account: the principles of delegation of authority, requirements, features, types, etc.
Using delegation is important to any manager.It helps to organize the work process competently, clearly dividing the rights and duties of all employees. Performers are much easier to work when they know what is required of them and what results they should achieve. In addition, delegation is an important factor that is used to increase the efficiency of each employee and free up additional time for the manager to solve strategically important tasks, which, accordingly, leads to an increase in productivity and productivity of the entire system.