Delegating Responsibility
Learning Team Skills Exercise
This week, the Learning Team read and discussed the Skills Exercise at the end of Chapter 10 in the text. This exercise deals with learning how to delegate, or assign authority, to another person in order to carry out specific duties. In other words, delegation allows employees to make decisions. This is a summary of the points we covered:
The first behavior discussed deals with clarifying the assignment. The situation in the scenario is far too often a common occurrence in the daily functions of work. Ricky Lee did the right thing by getting approval from his boss Anne Zumwait before passing the assignment to Bill Harmon. Ricky now understands that reassigning the project to Bill means that he is liable if the project is not done correctly. It is crucial that Ricky clarifies the parameters of the project, being specific about what the expectations are for preparing the manual. Clarifying the assignment is a must when delegating tasks so the job can be done correctly the first time.
The next behavior discussed deals with specifying the employee’s range of discretion. Adept managers realize that delegation should occur openly and specifically. Ricky Lee’s task as the delegator is effective because he first asked his manager Anne Zumwalt if delegation would be possible to assign the rewriting of the procedures manual to Bill Harmon instead of handing off responsibilities secretly. Setting up a meeting with Bill Harmon will allow the two to set expectations and parameters for the project. It is also necessary for Ricky Lee to let other employees know what Bill Harmon is responsible, in case other tasks he may be working on are delayed or must be assigned to others on the team. The key factor in this behavior is communication.
The third behavior we discussed relates to how managers should allow their employees to participate in the delegation process. In this specific scenario, considering the "Allow the Employee to
This week, the Learning Team read and discussed the Skills Exercise at the end of Chapter 10 in the text. This exercise deals with learning how to delegate, or assign authority, to another person in order to carry out specific duties. In other words, delegation allows employees to make decisions. This is a summary of the points we covered:
The first behavior discussed deals with clarifying the assignment. The situation in the scenario is far too often a common occurrence in the daily functions of work. Ricky Lee did the right thing by getting approval from his boss Anne Zumwait before passing the assignment to Bill Harmon. Ricky now understands that reassigning the project to Bill means that he is liable if the project is not done correctly. It is crucial that Ricky clarifies the parameters of the project, being specific about what the expectations are for preparing the manual. Clarifying the assignment is a must when delegating tasks so the job can be done correctly the first time.
The next behavior discussed deals with specifying the employee’s range of discretion. Adept managers realize that delegation should occur openly and specifically. Ricky Lee’s task as the delegator is effective because he first asked his manager Anne Zumwalt if delegation would be possible to assign the rewriting of the procedures manual to Bill Harmon instead of handing off responsibilities secretly. Setting up a meeting with Bill Harmon will allow the two to set expectations and parameters for the project. It is also necessary for Ricky Lee to let other employees know what Bill Harmon is responsible, in case other tasks he may be working on are delayed or must be assigned to others on the team. The key factor in this behavior is communication.
The third behavior we discussed relates to how managers should allow their employees to participate in the delegation process. In this specific scenario, considering the "Allow the Employee to