AUTHORITY,RESPONSIBILITY AND DELEGATION Power and authority Power is the ability to get things done.

Types of power Type Definition Physical / Coercive To exercise force or punishment Resource Access to valued resources e.g information & contacts Position Due to hierarchy Expert Due to qualification Personal Due to personality (inspire people) Negative Disrupt operations e.g Strike Authority It is the right of a person to ask someone else to do something and expect it to be done. Another name for position power. Managerial authority consists of : -Making decisions within limits -Assigning tasks Types of authority Type Definition Line authority Authority over a subordinate Staff authority Giving specialist advice to someone out line of authority Functional authority It is a hybrid of line and staff authority whereby the techno structure manager has authority to direct ,design or control activities of another department.E.g. Finance manager requiring timely reports from line managers Responsibility and Accountability Responsibility is the obligation a person has to fulfil a task he/she has been given. Accountability- Persons liability to be called to account for the fulfilment of the tasks. Responsibility without authority Authority without accountability is a recipe for arbitrary and irresponsible behaviour. Responsibility without authority places the subordinate in an impossible situation. Responsibility and authority are not clear and always change. Delegation Delegation of authority occurs when a superior gives to a subordate part of his or her own authority to make decisions. Reasons for delegation: -Physical or mental limitations to the workload -Size and complexity of the work calls for specialisation. -To free managers time for planning Delegation however will give two additional tasks to the supervisor: -He will have to monitor performance -He will have to coordinate work among all different subordinates.

Process of delegation -Specify expected performance -Formally assign tasks -Allocate resources -Maintain contacts and look for feedback. Accountability remains however with the manager/supervisor. Why managers are reluctant to delegate? - Low confidence and trust - Accountability for mistakes of subordinates - Desire to stay in touch - Feeling threatened -redundancy - Poor control and communication system - Organisation culture fails to recognise effective delegation. -Lack of understanding How to overcome reluctance? -Training of subordinates -System of open communication -System of control established Factors to be taken into consideration when delegating: -Morale of staff -Quality of decision -Expertise and experience -Trust on assistants Confidentiality Empowerment It is current term being used for making workers (and particularly work teams) responsible for achieving and even setting their own targets with the freedom to make decisions about how they are to be achieved. Empowerment goes hand in hand with : - Delayering - Flexibility - New technology(Less supervision) Reasons for empowerment With the empowering of workers(or decentralising the control of business units) not only will the jobs be done more effectively but the people who do the job will get more involved in it.