Thursday, December 18, 2008

ACCOUNTABILITY & DELEGATION

Accountability refers to the management philosophy whereby individuals are held liable, or accountable, for how well they use their authority and live up to their responsibility of performing predetermined activities.

The concept of accountability implies that if an individual does not perform predetermined activities, some type of penalty, or punishment is justifiable.

The punishment theme of accountability has been summed by one company executive " Individuals who do not perform well simply will not be around too long.

The accountability concept also implies that some kind of reward will follow if predetermined activities are performed well.

 

DELEGATION:

Delegation is the actual process of assigning job activities and corresponding authority to specific individuals within the organization.

Important Dimensions of Delegation include:

  1. Steps in the Delegating Process
  2. Obstacles to the delegation Process
  3. Elimination of obstacles to the delegation process.
  4. Centralization and Decentralization

STEPS IN THE DELEGATION PROCESS:

According to Neman and Warren, the delegation process consists of 3 steps:

  1. Assign Specific duties to the individual. Manager must be sure that the subordinate assigned to specific duties has a clear understanding of what these duties entail. Whenever possible, the activities should be stated in operational terms so the subordinate knows exactly what action must be taken to perform the assigned duties.                                             
  2.  The delegation process involves granting appropriate authority to the subordinate -i.e. the subordinate must be given the right and power within the organization to accomplish the duties assigned.                                
  3. The subordinate must be aware of the responsibility to complete the duties assigned and must accept the responsibility.

GUIDELINES FOR MAKING DELEGATION EFFECTIVE:

  1. Give employees task to pursue tasks in their own way.                                       
  2. Establish Mutually agreed upon results and performance standards for delegated tasks.                                                                                                                 
  3. Encourage employees to take an active role in defining, implementing and communicating progress on tasks.                                                                       
  4. Entrust employee with completion of whole projects or tasks whenever possible.                                                                                                                   
  5. Explain the relevance  of delegated tasks to larger projects or to department or organizational goals.                                                                         
  6. Give employees the authority necessary to accomplish tasks.                                                                                                 
  7. Allow employees access to all information, people and departments necessary to perform delegated tasks.                                                                                                                                                                                                          
  8. Provide training and guidance necessary for employees to complete delegated tasks satisfactorily.                                                                                     
  9. When possible, delegate tasks on the basis of employee interests.

No comments:

Post a Comment

manojonkar@gmail.com

Google Analytics