Principles of Delegation

Principles of Delegation

1. Principles of Result Expected: Before delegating the authority to the subordinate, the manager must know the purpose of such delegation and the results expected from it. The goals, targets and the standard of performance must be clearly defined to direct the actions of the subordinate towards the accomplishment of goal.

2. Principles of Parity of Authority and Responsibility: This principle states that the responsibility and the authority co-exists. This means, if the subordinate is assigned certain responsibility, he must be given same level of authority i.e. power to perform his responsibility. Thus, both the responsibility and the authority shall be clearly defined to the subordinate, so that he knows what he is required to do within the powers delegated to him.

3. Principles of Unity of Command: According to this principles, every subordinate should have a single supervisor from whom he gets the authority and to whom he is solely accountable.

4. Principles of Absoluteness of Responsibility: This principle asserts that responsibility cannot be delegated. In other words, whatever actions being taken by the subordinate, the manager will be accountable to his senior. Thus, the responsibility is absolute and remains with the superior.

5. The Scalar Principle: There are clear lines of authority in the organisation, i.e. who is under whom. This helps the subordinate to know, who delegates the authority to him and to whom he shall be accountable, also to whom he shall contact in case things are beyond his control.

6. Principle of Exception: According to this principles, the subordinate shall be given complete freedom to perform his responsibilities under the purview of his authority. The manager should not interfere in between his work and must allow him to do even if he commits mistakes. But in some exceptional cases, the managers can interfere and even withdraw the authority delegated to the subordinate