1. Delegation of Authority

2. BASIS
DELEGATION
DECENTRALIZATION
MEANING
Managers delegate some of their Right to take decisions is shared by
functions and authority to their top management
subordinates
Responsibility
Responsibility remains of the
managers and cannot be
delegated
Responsibility is also delegated
to subordinates.
Freedom of
Work
Freedom is not given to the
subordinates as they have to
work as per the instructions of
their superiors
Freedom to work can be
maintained by subordinates as
they are free to take decision

3. Nature
It is a routine function
It is an important
decision of an
enterprise
Withdrawal
Delegated authority can It is considered as a
be
general
taken back.
policy of top
management and is
applicable to all
departments.

4. Definition
“The process by which a manager assigns a portion of his total
work load to others”

5. Nature of Delegation
Two-sided relationship
Act of trust
Dependency relationship
A challenging task- on senior’s side mostly
Forward thinking principle- opens a new chapter for senior
subordinate relationship

6. Steps in Delegation
1. Assignment of Duties -Clarity of duty as well as result
expected has to be the first step in delegation.
2. Granting of authority - superior divides and shares his
authority with the subordinate.
3. Creation of an obligation- accountability is the liability
for the proper discharge of duties by the subordinates

7. Principles of delegation
1. Principle of result expected- suggests that every
manager before delegating the powers to the subordinate
should be able to clearly define the goals as well as results
expected from them.
2. Principle
of
Parity
of
Authority
and
Responsibility- Both of them should go hand in hand

8. 3. Principle of absolute responsibility- authority can be
delegated but responsibility cannot be delegated by
managers to his subordinates.
It does not means that he can escape from his
responsibility.
superiors cannot pass the blame to the subordinates even if
he has delegated certain powers to subordinates
example if the production manager has been given a work
and the machine breaks down. If repairmen is not able to
get repair work done, production manager will be
responsible to CEO if their production is not completed

9. 4. Principle of Authority level- suggests that a manager
should exercise his authority within the framework given.
5. Principle of unity of command- for any given activity
an employee should be made accountable to only one
superior
6. Scalar principle- line of authority should be clear from top
to bottom so that delegation decisions can be made clearly

10. Advantages of delegation
Reduces the burden of the superior
He has more time for other imp activities
‘tonic effect’ on subordinates
Improved superior-subordinate relations

11. Problems of delegation
Reluctance to delegate
Better performance- I can do it better myself
No trust- I cannot trust others to do the job
Subordinate may get credit
Continuous guidance is difficult- I cannot coach everything

12. Reluctance to accept delegation
Easy to ask- easier to ask rather than taking decisions oneself
Fear of criticism- if failure superior may put it on subordinate
Lack of information sources- lack of necessary information
Too heavy- I am already overburdened
Lack of self confidence