DELEGATION OF AUTHORITY: A COMPARATIVE STUDY

Organizations formulate mission, objectives, goals and strategies. Plans are prepared to achieve the objectives and goals which are converted into strategies. They are further divided into activities, duties, responsibilities. Managers have to undertake the activities, duties and discharge responsibilities in the process of implementing strategies. Managers can’t perform all activities assigned to their departments as they are humanly impossible. Hence they assign certain activities to their subordinates who in turn assign to their subordinates further down in the organizational hierarchy. This process of assigning activities, duties and responsibilities is called delegation.

Delegation includes assigning activities/ duties/ responsibilities and authority to perform the activities. Delegation of authority and responsibility automatically creates accountability on the part of subordinate. Authority and responsibility delegated should be co-equal. Otherwise, it may lead to inability to discharge the responsibility properly, if the responsibility is more than authority and it may lead to misuse of authority in case, if the authority is more than responsibility.

Delegation of authority assumes greater significance and it is critical management function as most of the managers fail to delegate because they fail to understand the meaning of delegation as well as they are disinterested in delegation. This is because managers love authority to exercise and control the people and other resources and prefer to delegate responsibility in order to get rid of the obligations and consequent problems.

Delegation is the instrument of responsibility and authority of another and        the creation of accountability for performance. It is to be noted that the person who delegates authority and responsibility will not be relieved of the final responsibility and accountability.

This book analyses delegation practices in one private sector unit viz., Panyam Cements and Mineral Industries Limited, Cement Nagar, Kurnool District, A.P., India and in public sector unit viz., Cement Corporation of India, Yerraguntla, Kadapa District, A.P., India

A detailed research study was undertaken to compare the degree of delegation practices of public and private sector units in the country in order to understand executive morale and efficiency; to evaluate degree of delegation at various managerial levels in both the organizations and to assess degree of delegation in production department vis-à-vis finance and personnel departments, understand the relationship between degree of delegation and type of leadership style.

Profile of two organisations along with data analysis and summary and conclusions is presented. Appropriate recommendations were offered for effective delegation and thereby organizational efficiency.