Which statement about delegation of responsibility and authority is correct?

The authority, responsibility and accountability for the task changes hands when a manager, or superior employee, delegates a task down the hierarchy …

Authority, responsibility and accountability are 3 key terms in the process of delegation!

copyright: 4p business development

Prior to delegating any task, it is essential to understand how delegation is affected by your ability to manage your employees. You must have the ability to delegate the authority, responsibility and accountability.

 

“Always choose the most suitable employee with the skills and competencies to fulfil the requirements!”

 

There is often some confusion over the difference between these three terms that are essential for successful delegation. Here’s a brief explanation of each:

• Authority always flow downwards. It is the power given to a manager or leader to act and make decisions within designated boundaries and achieve organisational objectives.

  Ordinarily, the authority is shared between the manager and the person receiving the delegation. An organisation cannot exist successfully without authority.

  It is expected that this individual will exercise the full scope of his authority to properly, profitably, and professionally manage the task. Without authority, a manager ceases to be a manager, it indicates the right and power of making decisions, giving orders and instructions to subordinates.

  Stress comes from doing it all on your own so delegate … and give the authority to a trusted employee.

• Responsibility refers to the act of carrying out the specific task, an obligation upon people deemed as responsible. When delegating a task, the manager and person receiving the delegation share the responsibility of completing the work.

  The term ‘responsibility’ is often referred to as “an obligation to perform a particular task assigned to a subordinate. In an organisation, responsibility is the duty as per the guidelines issued”.

  When delegating a task, both the manager and the person receiving the delegation share the responsibility of completing the work. The manager has the responsibility of providing instructions on what work needs to be done, while the person receiving the delegation is responsible for figuring out how the task should be completed.

  Therefore, a leader is responsible and has responsibility for the operation for which they have been given authority. The essence of responsibility is the obligation of a subordinate to perform the duty assigned.

  • It always originates from the superior-subordinate relationship

  • Responsibility is in the form of a continuing obligation

  • The person accepting responsibility is accountable for the performance of assigned duties

  Usually, authority flows downwards whereas accountability flow upwards.

• Accountability always flows upwards; it is the act of being liable for actions and decisions. Accountability is the obligation of an individual to report formally to his superior about the work he has done to discharge the responsibility, and every employee should be held accountable for jobs assigned to them and be able to complete that job as per the standards set by the superior.

  During delegation of a task, the accountability of the task transfers from the manager to the person receiving the delegation and actually completing the work. It is the answerability for the performance of the assigned duties and any positive or negative consequences associated with their performance are ultimately their responsibility.

  When delegating, authority, responsibility and accountability are all interrelated. A manager is responsible for all actions of employees under his leadership even if there are a number of layers in the organisation.

  Accountability means that the subordinate should explain any factors that are responsible for poor or lack of performance, however, the manager is ultimately responsible for the overall performance of the employee.

Authority, responsibility and accountability are 3 key terms in the process of delegation, and if you would like to know more then do give me a call on 01280 700405 or click here to ping me an email and let’s see how I can help you.

Until next time …

KATH BONNER-DUNHAM

 

PS:

If you’re looking for a partner to help grow your business, visit www.4pbusinessdevelopment.co.uk to discover how 4P Business Development can help you!

A manager alone cannot perform all the tasks assigned to him. In order to meet the targets, the manager should delegate authority.

Delegation of Authority means division of authority and powers downwards to the subordinate.

Delegation is about entrusting someone else to do parts of your job. Delegation of authority can be defined as subdivision and sub-allocation of powers to the subordinates in order to achieve effective results.

Elements of Delegation

1. Authority - in context of a business organization, authority can be defined as the power and right of a person to use and allocate the resources efficiently, to take decisions and to give orders so as to achieve the organizational objectives.

Authority must be well-defined. All people who have the authority should know what is the scope of their authority is and they shouldn’t misutilize it. Authority is the right to give commands, orders and get the things done. The top level management has greatest authority.

Authority always flows from top to bottom. It explains how a superior gets work done from his subordinate by clearly explaining what is expected of him and how he should go about it. Authority should be accompanied with an equal amount of responsibility. Delegating the authority to someone else doesn’t imply escaping from accountability. Accountability still rest with the person having the utmost authority.

2. Responsibility - is the duty of the person to complete the task assigned to him. A person who is given the responsibility should ensure that he accomplishes the tasks assigned to him. If the tasks for which he was held responsible are not completed, then he should not give explanations or excuses. Responsibility without adequate authority leads to discontent and dissatisfaction among the person.

Responsibility flows from bottom to top. The middle level and lower level management holds more responsibility. The person held responsible for a job is answerable for it. If he performs the tasks assigned as expected, he is bound for praises. While if he doesn’t accomplish tasks assigned as expected, then also he is answerable for that.

3. Accountability - means giving explanations for any variance in the actual performance from the expectations set.

Accountability can not be delegated. For example, if ’A’ is given a task with sufficient authority, and ’A’ delegates this task to B and asks him to ensure that task is done well, responsibility rest with ’B’, but accountability still rest with ’A’.

The top level management is most accountable. Being accountable means being innovative as the person will think beyond his scope of job. Accountability, in short, means being answerable for the end result. Accountability can’t be escaped. It arises from responsibility.

For achieving delegation, a manager has to work in a system and has to perform following steps : -

1. Assignment of tasks and duties
2. Granting of authority
3. Creating responsibility and accountability

Delegation of authority is the base of superior-subordinate relationship, it involves following steps:-

1. Assignment of Duties - The delegator first tries to define the task and duties to the subordinate. He also has to define the result expected from the subordinates. Clarity of duty as well as result expected has to be the first step in delegation.
2. Granting of authority - Subdivision of authority takes place when a superior divides and shares his authority with the subordinate. It is for this reason, every subordinate should be given enough independence to carry the task given to him by his superiors. The managers at all levels delegate authority and power which is attached to their job positions. The subdivision of powers is very important to get effective results.
3. Creating Responsibility and Accountability - The delegation process does not end once powers are granted to the subordinates. They at the same time have to be obligatory towards the duties assigned to them.

Responsibility is said to be the factor or obligation of an individual to carry out his duties in best of his ability as per the directions of superior. Responsibility is very important. Therefore, it is that which gives effectiveness to authority. At the same time, responsibility is absolute and cannot be shifted.

Accountability, on the others hand, is the obligation of the individual to carry out his duties as per the standards of performance. Therefore, it is said that authority is delegated, responsibility is created and accountability is imposed.

Accountability arises out of responsibility and responsibility arises out of authority. Therefore, it becomes important that with every authority position an equal and opposite responsibility should be attached.

Therefore every manager,i.e.,the delegator has to follow a system to finish up the delegation process. Equally important is the delegatee’s role which means his responsibility and accountability is attached with the authority over to here.

Relationship between Authority and Responsibility

Authority is the legal right of person or superior to command his subordinates while accountability is the obligation of individual to carry out his duties as per standards of performance Authority flows from the superiors to subordinates, in which orders and instructions are given to subordinates to complete the task. It is only through authority, a manager exercises control. In a way through exercising the control the superior is demanding accountability from subordinates.

If the marketing manager directs the sales supervisor for 50 units of sale to be undertaken in a month. If the above standards are not accomplished, it is the marketing manager who will be accountable to the chief executive officer. Therefore, we can say that authority flows from top to bottom and responsibility flows from bottom to top.

Accountability is a result of responsibility and responsibility is result of authority. Therefore, for every authority an equal accountability is attached.

Differences between Authority and Responsibility

AuthorityResponsibilityIt is the legal right of a person or a superior to command his subordinates.It is the obligation of subordinate to perform the work assigned to him.Authority is attached to the position of a superior in concern.Responsibility arises out of superior-subordinate relationship in which subordinate agrees to carry out duty given to him.Authority can be delegated by a superior to a subordinateResponsibility cannot be shifted and is absoluteIt flows from top to bottom.It flows from bottom to top.

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The article is Written By “Prachi Juneja” and Reviewed By Management Study Guide Content Team. MSG Content Team comprises experienced Faculty Member, Professionals and Subject Matter Experts. We are a ISO 2001:2015 Certified Education Provider. To Know more, click on About Us. The use of this material is free for learning and education purpose. Please reference authorship of content used, including link(s) to ManagementStudyGuide.com and the content page url.

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