Importance of Delegation in Management

Delegation is a concept when a senior gives or delegates certain
specific tasks or duties to a subordinate along with some powers to take

decisions. When delegation is done by a senior, it gives the subordinate
decision making powers, certain responsibilities and accountability for a
certain task. Delegation is an important concept in business and
organizations lay high importance on the same.
Importance of delegation in management

Delegation is an important way of sharing responsibility and duties at
work and is beneficial in management. Delegation is a way to provide
direction to staff appropriately and consistently. It helps in accomplishing
goals of the organization by increasing the contribution and responsibility of
the employees, and better stream-lined management. Delegation ensures
that the work load is divided between the senior management and the
subordinates, so that the senior employee can focus on other strategic
activities. When a senior delegates certain authoritative powers along with
the work, it becomes delegation of authority.
By proper delegation, the following can be achieved:
you can teach new skills to employees
help subordinates to be more productive
instill in them the sense of self-reliance
Improving their morale and motivation
Advantages of Delegation
Delegation has several advantages which can be seen from the benefits each
stake holder i.e. manager, subordinate and organization gets:
1. Manager / Supervisor Benefits of Delegation
Reduced stress for supervisor as the work can be performed by the junior
Improved time management as the supervisor has more productive time
Increased trust between the senior and subordinate

2. Employee Benefits of Delegation
Increase in professional knowledge and skill development
Elevated self-esteem, motivation and confidence of the employee
Sense of achievement when a subordinate is delegated different tasks
3. Organizational Benefits of Delegation
Increased teamwork between the senior management and subordinates
Delegation helps in increased productivity and efficiency leading to better

business
Definition: Delegation of Authority

Delegation of Authority is defined as a flow of work from a senior, who
delegates command & authority, to a subordinate. Delegation of authority is
done for better management of the total work with increased efficiency.
Delegation means the process of dividing work among the reportees to take
decisions but in delegation of authority, the power and authority to complete
tasks also is given.
Importance of Delegation of Authority

Delegation is simply giving or allotting certain task or work to a
subordinate. However, a manager can give his or her subordinate the power
to make certain decisions also. This means the subordinates also have
authority to make decisions on manager's behalf so that the work is done
without burdening the manager or the personal who delegated the work. In
delegation of authority, the power given to the subordinate is within the
scope of the work assigned and not beyond it. The manager can still override
the decision. This is an important concept as it helps in a smooth functioning
of a company, motivates the subordinates to be bold and trains subordinates
to take decisions. It also is a way to share responsibility at workplace and be
more accountable. This makes delegation of authority an important practice
in organizations these days.
Delegation of Authority and Efficiency

With delegation of authority, the overall efficiency of the project or
assignment increases as opposed to when manager involves too much with
subordinates works and end up over burdening himself/herself. This transfers
not only the work to the subordinates but also makes them responsible to
make important decisions. Thus, delegation of authority ensures there are
two or more skilled employees working to their fullest capacity. On the other
hand, the overall efficiency would come down if both the employees work
separately without any shared responsibility.
Authority vs. Responsibility

Authority is the power in the hands of an individual to make his peers
or subordinates accountable for their work. Whereas responsible is just a
piece of work one has to do with certain accountability. There are certain
rules in delegation of Authority around authority and responsibilities. In order
to complete a certain responsibility, he needs some authority. Also
Delegation should mostly come from a single manager and not multiple as
such authority can be conflicting in nature. This is better in companies where
there is a clear hierarchy well defined in the organizational structure.
Advantages of delegation of authority

There are several benefits of passing on responsibility and work to juniors at
workplace. Certain advantages of delegations of authority are:
1. It helps the organization to grow at a better rate as both the seniors and
junior share work and responsibility
2. Delegation of authority boost their self confidence and helps them

improve their motivation to perform
3. Employees get better skills on the job and better prepared for more
training
4. The overall decision making process of the company gets quicker by

delegation of authority as more minds work on it
5. It helps in quicker expansion of workforce and more leaders are created
Disadvantages of delegation of authority
Despite having many positives, certain disadvantages of delegation of

authority are discussed below:
1. Lack of training and skills of juniors can lead to wrong decisions being
taken
2. Misuse of delegation of authority can lead to issues not only for the
managers but also companies
Why do supervisors hesitate to delegate?
1) Letting Go
Many managers have difficulties in letting go to having direct hands on

position in areas of responsibility. It is not uncommon for managers with this
kind of management style to feeling more confident in doing the detailed
work i.e. the fallacy of" if you want it done right, you have to do it yourself”.
One way to overcome this mindset is to accept the fact that the subordinate
do not need to complete the task exactly as the manager would do it to meet
organizational goals.
2) Time Consuming
All too often managers feel it takes too much to sit down and
explain to an employee how to do a task especially if they are
burdened with several deadlines. In these instances some
individuals feel it is easier and quicker to do the task themselves,
what such managers don’t realize is the fact that the task which
are redundant and repetitive can be shown to an employee once
and then the individual can learn the job inside and out (while in
the short term it takes some time, in the long term once an
employee is familiar with the process, it will be a huge time saver).
3) Fear
Fear is often a contributing factor to an inability to delegate. The fear may

stem from the job being done wrongly by the subordinate or the fear of being
seen as lazy or not in control. The reality is that everyone makes mistakes in
the workplace and if managed appropriately mistakes can be excellent
learning opportunities to improve performance, promote innovation, and
improve operations.
4) Need for control

A person with a strong need for control likes to have things done a very
specific way. If a manager is very controlling, s/he may not be good at
delegating because s/he wants to maintain a certain level of power over
his/her staff. She may fear sharing her responsibilities with subordinates will
cause her to lose some of the control she has over them and if she wants to
continue to been seen as the expert on all matters delegating could
jeopardized this.
5) Fear of being shown up
When a person is not confident in his abilities to do his job, s/he does not
want to give his subordinates a chance to outperform him/her. When a
manager delegates some of his/her tasks to her employees there’s always a
chance they may complete the assignment better than s/he. The truth
however is when the manager lets the subordinates excel, the manager will
be known as a manager and leader who can utilize the talents of staff
effectively.
6) Preconceived Ideas about Certain Employees
Sometimes managers erroneously jump to conclusions about the capabilities

of some subordinates. Managers may form a negative opinion about some
employees’ ability, based on one occurrence.
Why do employees fear delegation?
1) Fear of criticism
Some subordinates fear that they may be criticized by others if they commit
mistakes.
2) Lack of information
A subordinate may hesitate to accept a new assignment when s/he knows

that necessary information to perform the job is not likely to be made
available to him.
3) Absence of self-confidence
A subordinate may lack self-confident about his/her ability to take quick and
correct decisions.
4) Fear of being exposed
Some subordinates may have inferiority complex. They feel that their
inability to deal with new problems will be exposed due to delegation.
5) Difficulty in decision making
A subordinate may not have the skill and expertise to take quick and correct
decisions; he goes to his superior for guidance and opinion.
6) Poor superior-subordinate relations
Absence of cordial relations between the superior and the subordinates

deters subordinates from want to accept certain delegated authority.

Importance of Delegation in Management

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Delegation is a concept when a senior gives or delegates certain

specific tasks or duties to a subordinate along with some powers to take

Importance of delegation in management

By proper delegation, the following can be achieved:

you can teach new skills to employees

help subordinates to be more productive

instill in them the sense of self-reliance

Improving their morale and motivation

1. Manager / Supervisor Benefits of Delegation

Improved time management as the supervisor has more productive time

Increased trust between the senior and subordinate

Increase in professional knowledge and skill development

Elevated self-esteem, motivation and confidence of the employee

Sense of achievement when a subordinate is delegated different tasks

3. Organizational Benefits of Delegation

Increased teamwork between the senior management and subordinates

Delegation helps in increased productivity and efficiency leading to better

Definition: Delegation of Authority

Importance of Delegation of Authority

Delegation of Authority and Efficiency

Authority vs. Responsibility

Advantages of delegation of authority

2. Delegation of authority boost their self confidence and helps them

4. The overall decision making process of the company gets quicker by

5. It helps in quicker expansion of workforce and more leaders are created

Disadvantages of delegation of authority

Despite having many positives, certain disadvantages of delegation of

Why do supervisors hesitate to delegate?

Many managers have difficulties in letting go to having direct hands on

Fear is often a contributing factor to an inability to delegate. The fear may

4) Need for control

5) Fear of being shown up

6) Preconceived Ideas about Certain Employees

Sometimes managers erroneously jump to conclusions about the capabilities

A subordinate may hesitate to accept a new assignment when s/he knows

4) Fear of being exposed

5) Difficulty in decision making

6) Poor superior-subordinate relations

Absence of cordial relations between the superior and the subordinates

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