Responsibility and Delegation Free Essay Example

An issue that arises due to the current organisational structure, is that the roles and responsibilities in the organisations are not sufficiently adapted to the phase of growth that the organisation faces. This is evident in the role of the Senior Consultants. The senior managers have a double workload which reduces their effectiveness even more. They participate in the project teams and have final managerial responsibility for 18 persons in their unit. ‘Decentralized organizations have fewer levels of management with wider spans of control.

A wide span of control can be more efficient because it requires fewer managers but it is important to recognize that, at some point, effectiveness will decline’ (Allen 2006). The combined role of the senior manager existed by the fact that the growth of ABC was developed in stage two. According to Osland (et al 2006, p. 506), the phase two of growth is characterized by an organization in which a managing director assumes responsibility for instituting direction and supervisors are treated more as functional specialists rather than autonomous decision-making managers.

The solution adopted by most companies is to move to more delegation, which would evolve the organisation in phase three. ‘It is impractical for the supervisor to handle all of the work of the department directly. In order to meet the organization’s goals, focus on objectives, and ensure that all work is accomplished, supervisors must delegate authority’ (Allen 2006). According to Eltom (2007), delegation is an assignment of duties and authority from superiors to subordinates. Delegation provides better managers and a higher degree of efficiency.

In addition, it provides employees the opportunity to develop skills, experience, and the resulting confidence to develop themselves for higher positions. The employee is empowered to act for the supervisor, while the supervisor remains accountable for the outcome. Delegation of authority is based on a relationship between the supervisor and the employee requiring trust and commitment. The senior consultant should reconsider his tasks. The current pitfall is the combination of hands-on consultancy tasks coupled with managerial tasks.

The manager should focus on management issues and decide to authorize the project teams to make more decisions. This implies that the senior consultant has to allow subordinates the freedom to make mistakes and learn from them. By empowering employees who perform delegated jobs with the authority to manage those jobs, supervisors free themselves to manage more effectively. ‘Management is the key which allows quality improvement to occur in organizations. This reality is embodied in the holistic tenets of total quality management’ (Sashkin & Kiser 1992).

The current roles and responsibilities should not only be reconsidered for the Senior Consultant but for all supervisors throughout the organisation. From an organisational perspective, the firm has grown to phase three. The roles need to be redefined and management roles should focus on strategic and organisational issues. Hands-on work can be done by the staff in the division. A review of all job-descriptions and practical application of these roles should assist the management to specialize their function.

It will have implications for the managers and this process needs to be carefully planned. Car and Hancock (2006, p. 553) find that ‘participants can more readily accept changes communicated through metaphor, as it simultaneously mediates continuity and change’. If a current manager prefers to continue hands-on tasks, a performance review might contribute to enable this person to find the most suitable position in the organisation available at that time.

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