How Authority Is Delegated?

Authority is delegated when discretion is vested in a subordinate by a superior. Clearly, superiors cannot delegate authority that they do not have, whether they are board members, presidents, vice-presidents. or supervisors. Equally clear, superiors cannot delegate all their authority without, in effect, passing on their position to their subordinates.

The delegation process Involves three steps :

(i)	The superior assigns responsibility, or gives the subordinate a job to do.

(ii) Along with the job assignment, the subordinate is also given the authority to do the job.

(iii)Finally the superior establishes the subordinate's accountability that is the subordinate attempts an obligation to carry out the task assigned by the superior.

These three steps do not occur mechanically, however indeed. when a manager and a subordinate have developed a good working relationship. the major parts of the process may be implied rather than stated. The manager may simply mention that a particular job must be done. A perceptive subordinate may realize that the manager is actually assigning the job to him. From vast experience with the boss, he may also understand, without being told, that he has the necessary authority to do the job and that he is accountable to the boss for finishing the job as 'agreed".