Delegation of Authority

Introduction

Delegation is the act of assigning formal authority and responsibility for completion of specific activity given to a subordinate. It is necessary for the efficient functioning of any organisation, because no manager can personally accomplish whatever he is to achieve or supervise and monitor that is going on in an organisation at a given point of time. The manager must delegate some of the simple and more routine tasks to his ubordinates so that he can devote more time to more complex and non routine activities of the organisation. The act of delegation not only saves time for the superior to invest more time in complex problems, it also enhances the capability of the subordinates as well.

Meaning

Delegation is simply a matter of assigning a part of work by the superior to his subordinate which the superior does not have the time to do it. One individual cannot perform all the activities in an organisation, so the authority and responsibility is shared with someone. Delegation refers to sharing of authority and responsibility, in delegation the task to be performed are identified and assigned it to the subordinates.

Definition

F.G. More, “Delegation means assigning work to others and giving them authority to do it”. According to O.S. Hiner defines, “Delegation takes place when one person gives another the right to perform work on his behalf and in his name, and the second person accepts a corresponding duty or obligation to do what is required of him”.