Delegation: Management and Work

AC 1. 1 Evaluate the benefits of delegation Delegation is widely acknowledged to be an essential element of effective management (Yukl, G. 1994). Delegation is basically a process of assigning responsibility, sharing authority, and producing accountability in organizations. It is a managerial instrument that allows managers to nurture subordinates to capitalize the subordinate’s potential and ability to meet organizational goals and objectives.
As a form of employee involvement in decision-making, delegation describes a category of leader behavior that entails assignment of new responsibilities to subordinates and additional authority to carry them out (Yukl, G. 1998). Managers usually find it easier to speak about delegation of responsibility then to accomplish the organizational goals. Effective delegation can benefit the manager, the employee, and the organization. Perhaps the most important benefit for the company is a higher quality of work.
Delegation can improve quality of work by allowing the employees who have direct knowledge of products and services to make decisions and complete tasks. Quality can also improve through enhanced employee motivation. Employees may do a better job because they feel a personal accountability for the outcome, even though responsibility ultimately rests with the individual who made the delegation. Motivation should also be enhanced as delegation enriches the worker’s job by expanding the types of tasks that are involved in it. Roebuck, Chris. (1998) Another advantage of delegation is efficient use of time and talent.

Delegation will help a manager use her time and the time of her employees effectively, and it will allow a manager to get even more work done then they will alone. Delegation is a way of empowering employees as well, and this is a promising advantage. Giving responsibility and accountability to employees will give them an opportunity to showcase their skills and talents; it will also provide them with the opportunity to have pride in their work. Managers who delegate effectively also receive several personal benefits; most importantly, they have more time to do their own jobs when they assign tasks to others.
Given the hectic nature of managerial work, time is a precious commodity. Effective delegation frees the manager to focus on managerial tasks such as planning and control. Managers also benefit from the development of subordinates’ skills. With a more highly skilled workforce, they have more flexibility in making assignments and are more efficient decision makers. Managers who develop their workforce are also likely to have high personal power with their staff and to be highly valued by their organization. Straub, Joseph T. (1998) AC 1. 2 Explain how delegation can be used to empower others.
Empowerment is the force that makes teamwork effective. An empowered team is significantly more productive than a group of individuals working under strict guidelines. As the people in workgroup become aware that leaders are willing to empower them, they are more committed to the tasks. Meyer, Paul J. (2007). Empowering team members through delegation involves transferring not only the responsibility for performing tasks, but also the authority, resources, rewards, and knowledge necessary to perform them. In some situations, standardization and inflexibility are essential.
However, in giving assignments, recognize when teamwork and flexibility are the better approach. Empowering people requires a leader to become teacher, coach, colleague, and mentor, not just boss. Followers and peers in some cases even exceed leader’s abilities, ideas, and expectations. Successful delegation requires planning, careful introduction and training, commitment of all team members, and effective follow-up. Effective delegation always involves adequate communication. People accept responsibility and act when they know what you expect.
Talk informally with a person before actually turning over responsibility. Non-threatening approach allows the person to express fears or enthusiasm about the idea of accepting delegated responsibility. Moving up to a higher level of delegation provides more time empowers the team member for increased productivity. Roebuck, Chris. (1998). In many ways, empowerment embodies principles effective managers and leaders have practiced for years. Two new driving forces in business, increased diversity and high-speed change, magnify the need for empowerment.
Empowering people is now indispensable for effective personal productivity and maximum team success. AC 2. 1 Justify an appropriate process to follow when delegating work within your area of responsibility? When delegating work within one’s area of responsibility, following process can be tracked for appropriate process (UK’s NMC’s Council, 2007) – Treat people as individuals * Leader must treat people as individuals and respect their dignity. * Must not discriminate in any way. * Must treat people kindly and considerately. Must act as an advocate for those in one’s care, helping them to access relevant health and social care, information and support. Respect people’s confidentiality * Leader must respect people’s right to confidentiality. * Must ensure people are informed about how and why information is shared by those who will be providing their care. * Must disclose information if leader believe someone may be at risk of harm, in line with the law of the country in which leader is practicing. Collaborate with those in leader’s care * Leader must listen to the people in his/her care and respond to their concerns and preferences. Must support people in caring for themselves to improve and maintain their health. * Must recognise and respect the contribution that people make to their own care and wellbeing. * Must make arrangements to meet people’s language and communication needs. * Must share with people, in a way they can understand, the information they want or need to know about their health. Ensure gain consent * Leader must ensure that one’s gain consent before begin any treatment or care. * Must respect and support people’s rights to accept or decline treatment and care. Must uphold people’s rights to be fully involved in decisions about their care. * Must be aware of the legislation regarding mental capacity, ensuring that people who lack capacity remain at the center of decision making and are fully safeguarded. * Must be able to demonstrate that you have acted in someone’s best interests if you have provided care in an emergency. Maintain clear professional boundaries * Leader must refuse any gifts, favours or hospitality that might be interpreted as an attempt to gain preferential treatment. Must not ask for or accept loans from anyone in your care or anyone close to them * Must establish and actively maintain clear sexual boundaries at all times with people in leader’s care, their families and cares. AC 2. 2 Allocate and monitor work that you have delegated within your own area of responsibility. To allocate and monitor work that one have delegated within his/her own area of responsibility following matters are required to be achieved (Barter M, Furmidge ML. UAP, 1994) and (BuerhausPI, Needleman J, Mattke S, Stewart M, 2002)- a) Outcomes Of Effective Performance
One must be able to do the following: 1. Confirm the work required of the team with his/her manager and seek clarification, where necessary, on any outstanding points and issues. 2. Plan how the team will undertake its work, identifying any priorities or critical activities and making best use of the available resources. 3. Allocate work to team members on a fair basis taking account of their skills, knowledge and understanding, experience and workloads and the opportunity for development. 4. Brief team members on the work they have been allocated and the standard or level of expected performance. . Encourage team members to ask questions, make suggestions and seek clarification in relation to the work they have been allocated. 6. Check the progress and quality of the work of team members on a regular and fair basis against the standard or level of expected performance and provide prompt and constructive feedback 7. Support team members in identifying and dealing with problems and unforeseen events. 8. Motivate team members to complete the work they have been allocated and provide, where requested and where possible, any additional support and/or resources to help completion. . Recognize successful completion of significant pieces of work or work activities by team members and the overall team etc. b) Behaviors Which Underpin Effective Performance One must knowledge about the following: 1. make time available to support others. 2. clearly agree what is expected of others and hold them to account. 3. 3prioritise objectives and plan work to make best use of time and resources. 4. show integrity, fairness and consistency in decision-making. 5. seek to understand people’s needs and motivations. 6. take pride in delivering high quality work. 7. ake personal responsibility for making things happen. 8. encourage and support others to make the best use of their abilities etc. c) Knowledge and Understanding One needs to know and understand the following: i. General knowledge and understanding 1. Different ways of communicating effectively with members of a team. 2. The importance of confirming/clarifying the work required of the team with your manager and how to do this effectively. 3. How to plan the work of a team, including how to identify any priorities or critical activities and the available resources. 4.
How to identify and take due account of health and safety issues in the planning, allocation and checking of work. 5. Ways of encouraging team members to ask questions and/or seek clarification and make suggestions in relation to the work which they have been allocated. 6. Effective ways of regularly and fairly checking the progress and quality of the work of team members. 7. The type of problems and unforeseen events that may occur and how to support team members in dealing with them. 8. How to log information on the ongoing performance of team members and use this information for performance appraisal purposes etc. i) Industry/sector specific knowledge and understanding 1. Industry/sector specific legislation, regulations, guidelines, codes of practice relating to carrying out work. 2. Industry/sector requirements for the development or maintenance of knowledge, understanding and skills. iii) Context specific knowledge and understanding 1. The members, purpose and objectives of his/her team. 2. The work required of his/her team. 3. The available resources for undertaking the required work. 4. His/hers team’s plan for undertaking the required work. 5.
The skills, knowledge and understanding, experience and workloads of team members. 6. Reporting lines in the organization and the limits of his/her authority. 7. Organizational standards or levels of expected performance. 8. Organizational policies and procedures for dealing with poor performance. AC 3. 1 Review how well you delegated the task, based on the outcomes of the delegated task and feedback from others. Here are 10 ways for effective delegation and reviewing delegation based on the outcomes of the delegated task and feedback from others: 1. Delegate early.
Make an effort to delegate the task early to avoid unnecessary pressure. This allows the person to better plan the task. 2. Select the right person. Ensure that the person has the time to take on the responsibility. Assess the skills and capabilities of his/her staff and assign the task to the most appropriate person. Make sure the person has the training and resources to succeed. 3. Communicate the rationale and benefit. Identify the reason for the task and how it will contribute to the goals of the company or department or team. Also, point out how the delegated task could benefit the person.
For example, develop a specific skill that is needed to get promoted. 4. Delegate the entire task to one person. This gives the person the responsibility, increases their motivation and avoids ambiguity in accountability. Otherwise, different people will have different ideas about who does what when. 5. Set clear goals and expectations. Be clear and specific on what is expected. Give information on what, why, when, who and where. Be prepared to accept input from subordinates. Confirm and verify task goals and expectations. 6. Delegate responsibility and authority.
Ensure that the subordinate is given the relevant responsibility and authority to complete the task. Let the subordinate complete the task in the manner they choose, as long as the results are what you specified. Be willing to accept ideas from the subordinate on task fulfillment. 7. Provide support, guidance and instructions. Point subordinates to the resources they may need to complete the task or project. That could be people they need to coordinate with, crucial information or be willing to be a resource his/herself. 8. Take personal interest in the progress of delegated task.
Request to be updated on the progress of the task, provide assistance when necessary. Be careful not to be intrusive; giving the perception that he/she does not trust the subordinate. Keep communication lines open, regular meetings on large tasks can provide this ongoing feedback. 9. If he/she is not satisfied with the progress, don’t take the project back immediately. Rather, continue to work with the employee and ensure they understand the project to be their responsibility. Give advice on ways to improve. This ensures accountability and dependability. 10. Evaluate and recognize performance.
Evaluate results more than methods. Analyze cause of insufficient performance for improvements and recognize successes as soon as possible. AC 3. 2 Assess how you can improve your own ability to delegate and empower others. Here are some suggestions for improving one’s own ability to delegate and empower others (Credit Research Foundation, 1999): 1. Understand the purpose of delegating very clearly. 2. Decide specifically what one can delegate. Generally delegate as much of ones work as possible. 3. Recognize that subordinates will make mistakes. Make sure they understand what they are to do.
Be willing to take blame for mistakes that may be made. 4. Clarify what he/she is delegating. Agree on what the task is and how much “power” he/she is delegating to them to perform a particular job. Also, let others know of the arrangements so that proper cooperation will be extended to get the job done. 5. Most important, follow-up. Remember that although you have delegated responsibility and empowered others to get the job done, he/she still have the final accountability for the job. Ask his/her team for progress reports or discuss with them from time to time.
Empowerment This newer strategy may in-fact be the culmination of all the points above. Simply put, empowerment is delegation taken a step farther. In delegation, the supervisor is not only accountable for the results, but also assumes some responsibility since in most cases the delegated tasks most often are the job of the supervisor. Empowerment is the total, unmistakable passing on of responsibility to a person or team to accomplish a job or perform a process. As coach or supervisor, one have to maintain accountability for the overall outcome or results of the process.
Empowerment brings with it a challenge for the organization to provide state-of-the-art systems, education, tools and most importantly support to the team for maximum performance. Applying empowerment frequently shifts ownership of a function or process from a traditional supervisor to a group, and with that ownership transfer; pride, job satisfaction, motivation and creativity develop. References Barter M, Furmidge ML. UAP: issues relating to delegationand supervision. J Nurs Adm. April 1994;24:36-40 BuerhausPI, Needleman J, Mattke S, Stewart M.
Strengthening hospital nursing. HealthAff. Credit Research Foundation, (1999), www. crfonline. com. Roebuck, Chris. (1998). Effective Delegation. New York: American Management Association. September-October 2002;21:56-64. Straub, Joseph T. (1998). The Agile Manager’s Guide to Delegating Work. Bristol, VT: Velocity Business Publishing. UK’s NMC’s Council (6 December 2007), Standards of conduct, performance and ethics for nurses and midwives for implementation. Yukl, G. (1998). Leadership in organizations (4th ed. ). Englewood Cliffs, NJ: Prentice–Hall.