Delegation Training Guide, Essay Example

Introduction

Delegation is one of the most important management skills in the competitive nature of the global economy (Burns, 2002, p. 2). Delegation involves passing over authority to another party, for example, the management delegate duties to the junior staff.

Good delegation saves time, develops the staff, grooms a successor, and acts like a motivator. On the other hand, poor delegation will lead to frustration, confusion and demotivates the staff. Therefore, organisations should invest in ensuring they develop good delegation skills. This paper provides a training manual that can be adopted to provide good delegation skills.

Importance of delegation

Delegation is a very helpful source for succession, personal development planning, and encouraging promotion. Delegation provides the way for growth in the organisation, where the staffs are groomed for future management positions. It enables junior staff gain the necessary experience of having responsibility in an organisation.

Delegation also provides for the decentralisation of the decision-making process. This gives room for the incorporation of diverse viewpoints in the decision-making process. The divergent ideas allows for the development of many choices that can be used during planning and organization.

Delegation is crucial for effective succession, both for the manager and the successor (Marquis & Huston, 2009, p. 7). The main task of the manager in a thriving organization is to develop a successor for the sake of continuity. When it fails to happen the succession in the organisation becomes dependent on bringing in new people from outside which may result in discontinuity and may interrupt the implementation of long-term plans.

Delegation which may be viewed as a tool for freeing up the management’s time by some, if well implemented it can be used to develop the staff to reflect the requirements of an organisation. Therefore, it is beneficial to the organisation to apply delegation effectively for the success of an organisation.

Delegation requirements

The most important thing for the manager to take into account is ensuring that delegation happens appropriately. Just as significantly, as the recipient of delegated tasks the manager has the opportunity to suggest advancements in the delegation process and understanding, especially if the manager could use some help.

There are some important considerations that if taken into account, will help in ensuring delegation occurs appropriately. The manager should ensure the delegated tasks are specific and clearly spelt out. This plays a significant function of avoiding the existence of role conflict. This is where a task is delegated but at the same time another individual in the management team has the mandate to undertake the task.

When delegation is used as a tool to test the ability of the individual who is delegated some responsibilities, then the manager should ensure the delegated duties and responsibilities are measurable. This gives room for evaluation by the management.

The management should ensure that delegation adheres to the ethical considerations of the organisation (Elhance & Argawal, 1975, p. 15). Delegation should not be used as a tool for passing over responsibilities of duties that are regarded as unethical in the organisation. This will ensure that delegation is not misused by the management.

Levels of delegation

The manager should be well aware of the different levels of delegation. This is about the range of responsibilities that are to be delegated. Some delegation may involve passing over tasks that do not require decision making. The delegate is just required to perform the tasks as required. This is the lowest level of delegation.

Delegation may also involve different degrees of decision making, where the delegate is required to make decisions and take responsibilities of his actions. This level is the ultimate level of delegation where the delegate has full responsibilities and is answerable for his actions.

Guidance on the delegation process

For effective delegation, it is important for the manager to consider a step-by-step procedure that would ensure the process is efficient (Burns, 2002, p. 5). The manager should ensure the delegation tasks are clearly defined and well labelled. The manager should put consideration to the language used to define and describe the tasks so that they are intelligible to the individual to be delegated the responsibilities.

Once the delegations tasks are well defined the manager should carefully consider the individual or team to be delegated the tasks. The manager should ensure that the person or people he selects can effectively carry out the delegated tasks adequately. This can be achieved through a careful assessment on the technical skills and training needs of the possible individuals to be selected.

The manager should explain the reasons behind the delegation and what is expected of the delegate (Burns, 2002, p. 56). It might be helpful too if the manager explained why the delegate was selected. The delegate should also be given the appropriate training and informed of the new responsibilities and expected results.

For the delegation process to be complete, the manager should provide for a feedback mechanism. This is where the delegate is informed of his progress according to the assessment done by the management.

Conclusion

Delegation is about passing over some authority to subordinate members in an organisation that is undertaken by the management. If well used, delegation is very beneficial to an organisation as it can be used as a tool for finding the management successors in an organisation, as well as decentralisation of responsibilities and decision making.

References

Marquis, B. L., & Huston, C.J. (2009). Leadership roles and management functions in nursing: Theory and application (6^th ed.). Philadelphia: Lippincott Williams & Wilkins.

Burns, R. (2002). Making delegation happen: A simple and effective guide to implementing successful delegation. Victoria: Allen & Unwin.

Elhance, R. D., & Agarwal, R.D. (1975). Delegation of authority: A comparative study of private and public sector units. Michigan: University of Michigan.