DELEGATION DELEGATION – means to entrust a task to another person who serves as one’s representative. MANAGER • Decides what to delegate, select the appropriate person, communicate responsibilities, grants authority with responsibility, provides support, monitor and evaluate results. • Responsibility and authority should be assigned. • Evaluate the risk involved in delegating by assessing the criticality of the expected results and the confidence in resources. • Should ensure understanding, give and receive feedback and address concerns when communicating the delegated assignment. • DELEGATED AUTHORITY should be specified and support should be anticipated. • Set up milestone tracking system, review scheduled status reports and give feedback on reports in order to monitor delegated assignments. • Support can be provided by: responding to the needs, acknowledging reports and being available for guidance and problem solving. • Manager should intervene only when action seems warranted. • In order to avoid reverse delegation, specifications should be clarified, authority should be transferred and confidence should be expressed on delegatee. REASONS FOR DELEGATION Saves time and can help develop others. Maximizes the use of talents of staff associates. Uses abilities of personnel that contribute to their growth and development. Staff members learn by DOING. Their involvement increased their motivation and commitment to accomplish goals while freeing manager to manage. It also reduces managerial costs. FOUR RIGHTS OF DELEGATION TASK – should be within the scope of the person’s practice and consistent with the job description. PERSON – should have the appropriate license or certificate, an appropriate job description, and demonstrated skill and is checked off on the skill checklist to delegate in the first place and to accept the delegated responsibility in the second place. COMMUNICATION – should be clear, concise, complete and correct FEEDBACK - should ask for input, get the person’s recommended solution to the problem, and recognize the person’s efforts. DELEGATION DECISION MAKING PROCESS The National Council of State Boards of Nursing position paper describes the assessment, planning, implementation and evaluation of delegation. The nurse practice act should permit the delegation, authorize tasks to be delegated, and authorize the nurse to decide delegation. DELEGATEE - Needs appropriate education, skills and experience and demonstrated and documented evidence of current competency. DELEGATOR - Needs appropriate education, skills and experience; the appropriate scope of authority and demonstrated and documented evidence of current competency. - Needs to assess the needs of the patient, the circumstances, and availability of adequate resources. - Then, need to plan for the task to be delegated by specifying the knowledge and skills required to do the nature of each task, by requiring documented or demonstrated current competency to do each delegated task , and by determining the implications for the patient and others. - To ensure proper accountability, the delegator accepts accountability for the performance of delegated tasks and verifies that the delegate accepts the delegation and accountability for the delegated tasks. - Then the delegator supervises performance of the task by providing directions and clear expectations about how the tasks is to be performed; monitoring the performance to ensure compliance to established standards of practice, policies and procedures; intervening as necessary; and ensuring documentation of the tasks. - Finally, the delegator evaluates the delegation process, evaluates the patient and the performance of the tasks, and receives and gives feedback. He also adjust the plan as necessary. CONDITIONS THAT FACILITATE DELEGATION 1. Managers need to understand the concept of delegation and have a generally positive attitude toward people. They need to overcome feelings of loss of prestige through delegation and develop a positive atmosphere for their staff. They should help achieve results through effective communication instead of by doing the job themselves. Thus they concentrate on the accomplishment of overall goals and objectives rather than the day to day details. 2. Top management clarifies policies, goals and objectives, and these are further developed by each succeeding lower level. For example, top management sets the overall budget, but each department then works with its own budget. Specifying goals and objectives directs personnel and determines priorities and the use of resources. Management by objectives promotes this. 3. Job descriptions provide a definition of the responsibility and authority involved with each position. Everything that must be done for the organization to meet its goal is part of someone’s job. Consequently, job descriptions are based on the functional needs of the agency and clarify the responsibility of the individual’s position and the objectives of the work. Management decides which assignments to delegate before writing job descriptions. To do so, managers should be aware of the capabilities and characteristics of their staff. Testing of employees to learn what they can and cannot do and providing the necessary training help overcome many personnel failures. Staff members are often asked to perform skills for which they are not qualified or in which they are not interested. People tend to put off tasks they find unpleasant and do them poorly. It is not necessary to delegate equally. By knowing individual capabilities, manager can delegate according to staff interests and abilities. Job descriptions are not always advantageous in small or rapidly changing organizations because those staffs often assume different roles at different times. Generalization is more common than the specialization required in larger, more stable organizations. Some employees outperform the requirements of their job descriptions, whereas others are not able to do some of the duties described. It can be re-defined according to the person’s capability and organizational needs. If employees are unable to handle the required duties, they maybe transferred to another area, given further training, supplied with an assistant to supplement their weak areas, or fired. Controls based on goals rather than means are important. Manager check on how well delegated responsibilities are being performed, and the staff know whether or not they are meeting their responsibilities. Performance standards clarify how the manager measures achievement. These standards cover the quantity and quality of work expected and the time allowed for its accomplishment. Standards should be broad enough to allow individuality If the standards are perceived as reasonable and fair by both manager and staff associate, they will both be happier with their jobs. Staff associates like their work to be noticed and appreciated. The manager meet their needs for recognition and appreciation by having a general knowledge of what is happening, using an open door policy, expressing willingness to give assistance and support, and taking a personal interest in their problems. A “snoopervisor “, however, is not appreciated. It is the manager’s responsibility to assess the results of delegation. One of the most satisfactory ways of being aware of what is happening is by being among the staff associates. Formal and informal meetings, systems of reporting, quality control and statistical sampling are other means. Though inspection is perceived as unpleasant, most staff associates accept it as necessary. However, they do object to unnecessary inspections that disturbs routines. Even though people may receive satisfaction by knowing that they are doing a good job, having those efforts recognized by others is appreciated. Managers err if they do not give praise for work well done. People should also be rewarded for their continued contributions to the agency through raises and promotions. If Staff associates err, they should be corrected--- the sooner the better. But when staff participate in goal setting, when the emphasis is on the goal rather than the individual personalities, and when training is a continuous process , corrections that would otherwise have been made by the manager maybe unnecessary. The system encourages self-correction. Learning to live with differences maybe difficult for managers, especially if they once performed their staff tasks and now find that they are being done differently. It is even more threatening when the staff does a better job than the manager once did. It has to be recognized that there will be differences in quantity and quality of work accomplished and methods used between the manager and staff or between staff. ASPECTS OF DELEGATION Assignment of responsibility, delegation of authority and creation of accountability are the three concepts most often mentioned in relation to delegation process. RESPONSIBILITY Responsibility denotes obligation. It refers to what must be done to complete a task and the obligation created by the assignment. The manager and the staff must understand the activities for which the staff is responsible, what results are expected and how performance is to be evaluated. Managers need a clear idea of what they want done before they can communicate that to others. To clarify them for themselves, managers may put their ideas in writing. By doing so, they are then less likely to give incomplete directions. The assignment of responsibility is not complete, however, until the staff decides to accept obligation. AUTHORITY Authority is the power to make final decisions and give commands. People to whom responsibility has been assigned need the authority to direct performance of delegated duties. They need authority of sufficient scope to include all related activities without frequent consultation with their manager. The granting of too little authority is a common problem, because organizational policies and procedures are often limiting and sometimes the person may have little control over the actions of others. People with delegated authority perform for the manager. Although authority is delegated so that the staff can fulfill responsibilities, the manager maintains control over the delegated authority and may recall it. Delegation of authority involves the staff’s knowledge, abilities, skills and potential contribution and the manager’s guidance. During initial phase of delegating authority, staff present their ideas and plans. The manager raises questions, explores alternatives and help identify potential problems and ways to prevent them. Then mutual agreement is reached. The manager offers continuing support by providing staff, resources and information needed by staff for the completion of the delegated responsibility. Good communication, sharing of information and feedback are important. ACCOUNTABILITY Accountability refers to liability. Staff incur an obligation to complete wok satisfactorily and to use authority appropriately when they accept delegated responsibility. They are accountable to their manager. Managers are accountable for the performance of the task, the selection of the person to complete it, and both the staff and their own performance. Head nurses are responsible for delegation to team leaders, who are accountable for delegation to team members. Each remains accountable for the work delegated. REASONS FOR UNDERDELEGATING: Managers think they can do the job more quickly themselves, resent interruptions to answer questions, or not want to check the time to check what has been done. They may get cooperation form other departments more easily than from staff or unwilling to take risks for fear of being blamed for other mistakes. Some managers do not have confidence in their staff and are afraid that their staff will not keep them adequately informed. Some may not trust their staff and complain that they lack training and sufficient experience. They may argue that their staff have little understanding of the organizational objectives and are specialists without the general knowledge needed for problem solving. In some case, they are afraid that their staff will outperform them. Managers may like to do the work themselves and think they can do it better They receive personal recognition for and satisfaction from the work and prefer to do real things instead of just plan with others. Such people often expect perfection, consider themselves indispensable and desire to dominate. They are afraid of losing power and prestige and are aware that their poor operating procedures and practices maybe exposed. REASONS FOR NOT ACCEPTING DELEGATION Some staff are dependent on their manager and find it easier to ask the boss. Others lack self confidence and fear failure and criticism. This fear is often related to how mistakes have been handled. Emphasis on the mistake itself is more threatening than using the situation as a learning experience. Lack of guidelines, standards and control are additional problems. Duties are not always clearly defined, authority not specified, or necessary information and resources not readily available. Some staff are already overworked. The incentives are inadequate, and they do not want to perform work if their manager receives the credit.
Posted on: Mon, 22 Jul 2013 04:43:16 +0000