Delegation: Definition and Importance

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Delegation is the action by which a manager assigns part of his or her authority commensurate within the assigned task to a subordinate or a junior staff. While ultimate responsibility cannot be relinquished, a delegation of authority carries with it the imposition of a measure of responsibility. The extent of the authority delegated must clearly be stated. In health care organizations it serves as an important aspect to delegate responsibility to the health care workers or health professionals. This is expected to bring up a sense of ownership to the health professionals of lower ranks and therefore enhance responsibility and motivation among the health workers in that organization. (Charles 1999)

Delegation of authority in health care will enhance efficient handling of emergencies and making crucial decisions by the health professionals who are motivated. This also plays an important role where work done in a health care organization requires great care and helps in tapping great talent among the health care workers of lower ranks which would otherwise have not been recognized.

Relinquishing some measure of responsibility to the junior health care workers will allow them to play some role of leadership and therefore being responsible for their actions and undertakings in times of urgent measures e.g. emergencies, thus playing part in the management of the organization-organizing can be viewed as the activity to collect and configure resources in order to implement plans in a highly effective and efficient way. Organizing involves a broad set of activities and often as one of the major functions of management. (curtler1999)

Technically speaking, delegation and empowerment are the same. Whereas empowerment is only but a condition, delegation is both a process and a condition. The delegation will be defined as the process of entrusting a junior staff with the appropriate responsibility and the authority for the accomplishment of a particular activity whereas empowerment involves the condition of a delegation under which an employee incorporates new tasks and expands in knowledge. (Vicas 2006)

Managers should be careful when delegating responsibilities/authority to avoid delegation failure- a management shortcoming that leads to undesirable consequences in a number of dimensions. There are a number of reasons that may result in delegation failure. (Delegation of authority 1999)

The most common is a lack of time to delegate properly. Too often the manager takes a short, narrow view of delegation and sees it’s primarily as a means of getting some relief from part of the workload. The perceived need to delegate is then experienced most acutely when the manager’s time is in the shortest supply. Some give in and attempt to delegate to obtain some immediate relief. However proper delegation is time-consuming.When done correctly, it requires more time and attention on the managers’ part in the short run. In brief, managers often feel the most pressure to delegate at precisely the time when they are list prepared to delegate properly. (Montana state university 2009, Curtler 2007)

Managers also ought to be careful when delegating. The delegation will also fail if it is driven primarily by the manager’s selfishness. There has to be a sense of ownership developed in an employee who is expected to take on a new task. Employee resentment kills the process when it is perceived that the manager is simply “passing the buck” or handing off the undesirable work. (Summer 2006)

The manager’s personality and character is also an important aspect that should be considered by a manager when delegating and empowering-a manager who is insecure may fear competition from subordinates or may be unwilling to share the credit that goes along with a job well-done feeling that available employees cannot handle increased responsibility. (Mind tools 2007)

Works cited

Charles R. McConnell, Delegation versus empowerment: What, how, and is there a difference? , 1995. Web.

Cutler McNamara, Management Function of Organizing: Overview of Methods, 1999. Web.

Summers, J. and Nowicki, M. delegation and monkeys: who’s in charge? Healthcare Financial Management 60 6^th Ed, 2006.

Cutler Mc Namara, Introduction to Management. 2007. Web.

Mind Tools, Successful Delegation: How, When and Why. 2007. Web.

Delegation of authority, 1999. Web.

Montana state university, effective delegation: steps for new managers, 2009. Web.

Vicas. Effective delegation 2006. Web.

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Delegation: Definition and Importance

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