Fill This Form To Receive Instant Help
Homework answers / question archive / Prepare a discussion in which you illustrate how managers in your organization delegate as part of their management responsibilities
Prepare a discussion in which you illustrate how managers in your organization delegate as part of their management responsibilities. Explain how delegation could be used more effectively in planning, organizing, leading, or controlling within your organization. Also, describe what skills are necessary for effective delegation.
American Heritage defines delegation as - The act of delegating. The condition of being delegated; a person or group of persons officially elected or appointed to represent another or others. (http://education.yahoo.com/reference/dictionary/entry/delegation)
Delegation is not 'dumping' or merely allocating tasks. It is a skill that comparatively few managers/supervisors/team leaders process to a high level. Done well, delegation makes a significant difference to the motivation of the individual and productivity of the team. Good delegation also frees management time to allow pursuit of priority goals. This aids the career of the manager/team leader and the success of the team. The manager/team leader will not always be available due to holidays, internal meetings and sickness. The resilience of the team to cope with problems and opportunities is increased by the understanding and skill created by effective delegation. The growth of the organization is often limited by the quality of new managers. Good delegation ensures new managers have a head-start in their roles.
Delegation involves passing responsibility for the successful delivery of work to other people, while retaining a suitable level of control over the process and the finished product. To delegate work, go through the following stages:
1. Decide what to Delegate: A good place to start with this is your activity log. Look for tasks in your activity log that can be quickly taught to someone else, or can be done by someone else who already has the necessary skills. Also, look for tasks that can be done better by someone with a different set of skills. For example, if you are a self-employed consultant, a trained bookkeeper is more likely to do a better job handling your accounts than you are. As far as possible, delegate complete jobs. Complete jobs are much more satisfying to work on than unconnected fragments of work. By doing this, you are also more likely to get back well-thought-out, properly integrated deliverables.
2. Find the Right Person to Delegate to: Find someone who is capable and willing to do the work, and who has the time to do it properly. Ideally, find someone who is trained to do the job and has been successful in doing it in the past. Sometimes you will have to delegate to someone who does not have the necessary experience. Where this happens, bear in mind that inexperienced people will take time to train and will initially need close supervision to get the job completed to the correct standard. You should also expect that it will take several iterations before the task is completed satisfactorily, and should allow time for this in the commitments you give to other people. View this as an investment: as this person learns the job, he or she will complete it more and more effectively, consuming less and less of your time.
3. Explain the Purpose of the Job and what You Expect: Explain: Why the job needs to be done, and how this will help the client, the company or the team; What needs to be done and what needs to be delivered; The resources available and the constraints within which work needs to be carried out; When the work needs to be completed by; The check points during the project at which you will review progress; and Your willingness to give information or coaching where needed.
References I looked into are as follows:
The Art of Delegation - by Gerald M. Blair - http://www.see.ed.ac.uk/~gerard/Management/art5.html
Delegation - (United Kingdom site) - http://www.see.ed.ac.uk/~gerard/MENG/ME96/Documents/Aspects/delegate.html
Businessballs.com - Delegation - http://www.businessballs.com/delegation.htm
AIA - Practice Management Digest - The Art of Effective Delegation - http://www.aia.org/nwsltr_pm.cfm?pagename=pm_a_20040201_delegation
The Alban Institute - resources for congregations - http://www.alban.org/weekly/2005/050912_EffectiveDele.asp