To delegate authority means to grant or to transfer authority. It does not mean to surrender authority.

In simple word, to delegate means to give so to delegate authority means to give authority. For ex.:- When the organization become very large, it is not possible for the superior to do all the work himself. Therefore, he keeps the important work for himself & he given the less important routine & respective work to his subordinates. He also gives them the authority to do this work. This is called delegation of authority. Delegation of authority is a person-to-person relationship requiring trust, commitment, and contracting between the supervisor and the employee. Definition

Delegate authority means assigning work to the others & giving them authority to do so.
F.C.Moore

Therefore, delegation of authority is the delivery by one individual to another of the right to act, to make decisions, to requisition resources and to perform other tasks in order to fulfill job responsibilities.

Nature & Characteristics

Partial Authority :

The superior does not delegate all his authority. He delegates only a part of his authority. If he delegates all his authority, he will have no authority to control his subordinates. For ex.:- Manager provides freedom but not giving freedom of taking management related decision because its important activity of employee.

Limit of Authority:

The superior delegate authority up to a particular limit. The subordinate must act within this limit. It is a matter of allocating a chunk of their workload to their subordinates.

Not Permanent:

Delegate of authority is not permanent. The supervisor can withdraw the authority at any time if he finds that the subordinate are not performing the work properly.

Necessity:

Delegate of authority is very necessary for getting the work done through others. Delegation of authority by managers becomes necessary as their span of control crosses a certain limit. For ex.:- Sometimes delegation is very necessary. In ICICI Bank K V Kamat took decision after retired him Chanda Kochhar will going to handle all responsibility of ICICI Bank

May Not be Accepted:

The subordinate may not accept the authority due to lack of confidence, fear of critics, excess work etc. Effective managers normally delegate as many routine tasks as possible to subordinates and concentrate their efforts on the more important ones.

The Delegation Process

The delegation process has five phases: (1) preparing, (2) planning, (3) discussing, (4) auditing, and (5) appreciating. The first step in delegating is to identify what should and should not be delegated. The supervisor should delegate any task that a subordinate performs better. Tasks least critical to the performance of the supervisor's job can be delegated. Any task that provides valuable experience for subordinates should be delegated. Also, the supervisor can delegate the tasks that he or she dislikes the most. But, the supervisor should not delegate any task that would violate a confidence. Preparing includes establishing the objectives of the delegation, specifying the task that needs to be accomplished, and deciding who should accomplish it. Planning is meeting with the chosen subordinate to describe the task and to ask the subordinate to devise a plan of action. As Andrew Carnegie once said, "The secret of success is not in doing your own work but in recognizing the right man to do it." Trust between the supervisor and employee - that both will fulfill the commitment - is most important. Discussing includes reviewing the objectives of the task as well as the subordinate's plan of action, any potential obstacles, and ways to avoid or deal with these obstacles. The supervisor should clarify and solicit feedback as to the employee's understanding. Clarifications needed for delegation include the desired results (what not how), guidelines, resources available, and consequences (good and bad). Delegation is similar to contracting between the supervisor and employee regarding how and when the work will be completed. The standards and time frames are discussed and agreed upon. The employee should know exactly what is expected and how the task will be evaluated. Auditing is monitoring the progress of the delegation and making adjustments in response to unforeseen problems. Appreciating is accepting the completed task and acknowledging the subordinate's efforts.

Steps for Effective Delegation of Authority

Effective delegation is an essential managerial skill. Practical advice on how to develop and motivate staff, build loyalty, and give and receive feedback will increase your confidence and help you to become a skilled delegate. To develop a culture of high delegation, management should practice following steps; 1. Understand the nature of task 2. Review the task the manager is responsible for. 3. Differentiate the tasks that should be done by others 4. Analyze the skill and capabilities of the subordinates 5. Inform the subordinates the task to be performed 6. Determine what you will delegate 7. Delegate to the right person. 8. Be sure the employee understands his authority 9. Encourage and motivate them to take up the assignments willfully. 10. Establish a follow-up schedule

Benefits of Delegation
Delegation has a number of benefits. Good delegation saves you time, develops you people, grooms a successor, and motivates.

When managers streamline their workload, they increase the amount of time available for essential managerial tasks. The staff feels motivated and more confident, and stress level decrease across the workforce.

Effective delegation can save you hundreds of hours of unnecessary work, increase productivity and provide invaluable training to your associates and employees.

Effective delegation involves the stimulus of increased responsibility and can provide a delegate with an enriched level of satisfaction as well as greater sense of worth.

Delegation is empowerment, and that is the main spring of better work. Your staff will not develop unless they are given tasks that build their abilities, experience, and confidence.

Barriers to delegation
Despite these advantages managers can be reluctant to delegate authority. Managers often have a number of excuses for not delegating: I can do it better myself; My employees just arent capable enough; It takes too much time to explain what I want to be done. The real reason may be the manager is simply too disorganized or inflexible to delegate work effectively. Other barriers to delegation are insecurity and confusion about who is ultimately responsible for a specific task the manager or the employee. Managers cannot sidestep their responsibility to higher ups simply by delegating difficult or unpleasant tasks. They are always accountable for the actions of their employees a fact that makes some managers reluctant to take a chance on delegating. Others fear that delegating reduces their own authority. Still others feel threatened if their employees do too good a job. Some employees on the other hand, want to avoid responsibility and risk. They prefer that their managers make all the decisions.

Guidelines for effective Delegation:

The practice of delegation challenges managers and employee alike to pay close attention to the terms of their working relationships. Delegation will have a better chance of succeeding for all parties concerned, if they work to build trusts in each other. Here is one more situation where ethics comes to bear in day-to-day organizational activities. Prerequisites: The most basic prerequisite to effective delegation remains the managers willingness to give employees freedom to accomplish delegated tasks. This means letting them choose methods and solutions different from the ones the manager would have chosen. It also means giving them the freedom to make mistakes and to learn from their mistakes. Mistakes are not an excuse to stop delegating, but rather an opportunity to offer training and support. * Decide which tasks can be delegated:- Many items can and should be delegated. Some of these are minor decisions and recurring chores. However, unusually demanding and challenging assignments may often be delegated to employees and will do much to develop them. * Decide who should get the assignment. Who has available time? Does the job require special competence? For whom would it be an appropriate and useful developmental experience? Managers ask these questions when deciding which of their people should get the assignment. * Delegate the assignment: In delegating the assignment, effective managers provide all relevant information on the task. As far as possible they specify the results expected, not methods to be used. Further, they cultivate a climate of free and open communications between themselves and the person to whom they have delegated the task. * Be prepared, to run interference if necessary. Delegated tasks can get bogged down if resources are insufficient or if the person delegated to do the task runs up against resistance from others. Sometimes this happens because other kinds of power are to work. We can readily imagine a case where a transfer of reward power causes some third party to complain or try to go around the person was delegated the task.

Factors Affecting Delegation of Authority

There are different factors relating to the delegator (superior) as well as the delegant (subordinate) that affect the process of delegation. Factors Related to the Delegator :To sum up, a manager may not delegate authority effectively when he has a love for authority, fear of subordinates advancement, fear of his shortcomings being exposed and negative attitude towards employees.
I Know-Everything :- some manager feel that they know everything

and the company cannot function without them. This attitude prevents them from delegating authority. Fear of Loss of Power and Important: - The manager may feel that his subordinate may perform the job better than him & so the subordinates will get quick promotions. In this case, the manager has a fear of getting outshined by his subordinates. Therefore, he does not delegate authority to them. Lack of Control System :- If the organization does not have a proper control system, then the manager cannot find out the future problems. Without knowing the future problem, it is not possible to delegate the authority. Fear of being Exposed:- The manager may feel that his faulty work methods and procedure may be found out and exposed by his subordinate. This prevents him from delegating authority. Typically, a manager who is unwilling to delegate does so because he thinks: I can do it better myself I cannot trust others to do the job Ill lose importance if I let others do the job I cannot coach everything Ultimately, if things go wrong, I will have to face the music

Factors Related to the Delegant :

Lack of self-confidence :- Some subordinates are not confident about their performance. So they do not want to solve problem, take decision, take responsibility, etc. The managers want to delegate authority to them but they do not want it. etc. which are required for performing the job are not available. In such cases, the subordinates may not accept delegation.

Lack of information & resources:- Sometimes the information, resources

Fear of Criticism:- Some of subordinates feel that they will be criticized if they commit any mistake. Therefore they do not want delegation. Love for Spoonfeeding :- some subordinates want their superior to take all the decision. They do not want to take any decision themselves. Therefore, they avoid delegation.
Subordinates

who are unwilling to accept delegation do so because they think: It is easier to ask the boss I am already overburdened I dont have the necessary resources or ability to do the job

Any achievement is uncompleted without a proper Guide & I am very thankful to our honorable Prof. Anju Mam for helping me in our project.
And as it is said

Little drops of water Little grains of sand Makes the mighty ocean & the pleasant land
I have put the good efforts & able to get the various parameters understand & gain knowledge. So I am heartily thanks to Anju Mam for giving me the golden opportunity to show my hidden talent and to prove myself.

SUBMITTED TO: ANJU MAM

SUBMITTED BY: SWETA JHA (18)