Why Decentralization?

As indicated earlier, the concepts of delegation and decentralization have

been pampered by most of the management theorists. However, we must
seriously think about why we need delegation and decentralization at our
work places. Couldn’t we carry out our assigned tasks without bothering
much about such concepts? In response to such questions, Henry
Mintzberg opines,
"Simply because all the decisions cannot be understood at
one centre, in one brain. Sometimes the necessary
information just cannot be brought to that centre. Perhaps
too much of it is soft, difficult to transmit. How can the
Baghdad salesperson explain the nature of his clients to the
Birmingham manager? Sometimes the information can be
transmitted to one centre, but a lack of cognitive capacity
[brainpower] precludes it from being comprehended there.
How can the President of the conglomerate corporation
possibly learn about, say, 100 different product lines? Even
if a report could be written on each, he would lack the

Advantages of Decentralization
Notwithstanding the limitations of decentralization, the concept certainly
has some advantages. One, it facilitates easing of unnecessary burden on
managers and leaders. Two, it makes leaders more confident of the
capabilities of their subordinates. Three, it grooms and encourages
managers to take risks. Four, it helps leaders to train and develop their
subordinates for future responsibilities in the senior cadres. Five, it
raises the level of motivation in the organization due to participation of
lower ranks in the decision making and executive processes. Six, it
enables the senior managers and leaders to tap available human resources
to do things more efficiently and more smoothly at the same time.
Seven, it trains managers and leaders to "get it done through others"
instead of doing petty jobs themselves. Eight, it brings more efficiency,
promptness and timely responsiveness in the organizational matters by
doing away with red-tapism. Nine, it encourages managers and leaders
to share their privileged information with others for optimum utilization
of resources. Ten, information being widely considered as power,
information-dissemination contributes to more equitable distribution of
power in the hierarchical setup of organizations. And finally, the
concept of decentralization fits well in the overall scheme of democratic
organizational setup.

Measures to Facilitate Decentralization

Broadly speaking, there are eleven measures to alleviate the fears and
misgivings of managers about delegation of authority. In the following
paragraphs, we shall discuss these measures to encourage managers and
leaders to delegate appropriate authority to their subordinates and reap its
fruits in the form of higher productivity, commitment and motivation.
Create Awareness
So long as a manager attempts to do most of the tasks by himself, he’ll
always be short of time and dwarf on the scale of achievement. The only
way to feel relaxed and still be more productive is to develop people and
allow them the freedom of action by assigning them important tasks and
delegating appropriate authority to them. Another way of making
managers conscious of significance and need for delegation is to send
them on some useful management courses where they can learn to
Why Managers Don’t Delegate And How To Get Them Do So? Javed Iqbal
Journal of Managerial Sciences Volume 68 I, Number 2
delegate through such techniques as role playing, seminars, problem
solving, management games, etc.
Make the Potential Delegator feel Secure
It has been noted that many managers, who resist delegation, are
hardworking and competent. The only problem with a non-delegating
manager is that he has still not assumed the role of a manager, though
occupying the manager's chair. He feels, in a way, insecure in his new
job. In order to prepare such people for their future assignments, they
should be provided both on-the-job development and off-the-job courses
so that they could adjust themselves in their new positions more
smoothly.
Determine What to Delegate
Not all tasks can and should be delegated to lower levels of management.
A manager should prepare a list of tasks with their relative importance
and time / efforts required to accomplish them. It would help him in
determining what and how much to delegate. As a general rule, all
routine types of jobs should be delegated to subordinates. Similarly,
many regular tasks could also be assigned to lower echelons if
appropriate resources [i.e. in the form of mature / well-trained
subordinates, materials, privileged managerial information, etc.] are
available there. The tasks of sensitive nature or of high priority should
always be handled by managers themselves. Once being relieved from
routine jobs and most of the regular tasks, managers and leaders are
expected to perform better and do justice with their managerial and
leadership responsibilities.
Why Managers Don’t Delegate And How To Get Them Do So? Javed Iqbal
Journal of Managerial Sciences Volume 69 I, Number 2
Choose the Delegatee Wisely
While delegating authority, one must ensure that the delegated authority
would be utilized judiciously and effectively, therefore, due care must be
given to the selection of the delegate. In most situations, a delegatee
should not necessarily be the most experienced one in the organization.
A less experienced but comparatively more willing and intelligent
subordinate may prove to be a better choice.
Give Assistance to the Delegatee
In many cases, the delegatee requires guidance and assistance of his
seniors to perform certain tasks. In case of complex problems, the
delegator should help the delegatee in identifying and exploring the
possible alternatives to accomplish the assigned tasks. However,
delegator should not suggest specific actions or procedures as it would
kill, or at least obstruct, initiative and fervour of the employee.
Accept Inadequacies of People
No human is perfect and so are all employees. Managers should be
prepared to accept the inadequacies of employees and to help them
improve their performance through proper training, development,
discussions, etc. instead of holding back authority or punishing them for
their inadequacy.
Provide Information
So long as information remains in the natural memory of the manager, its
dissemination will be difficult. Elaborate arrangements are, therefore,
mandatory for quick and reliable distribution of the required information
at right time and to right people in the organization. Regular debriefing
sessions in addition to more frequent informal contacts between the
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Journal of Managerial Sciences Volume 70 I, Number 2
manager and his people will certainly facilitate to create a data bank of
important information. There are, however, two reservations to such an
open flow of information. First, manager might be reluctant to expose
the sensitive / confidential information to all and sundry. Second,
information means power and sharing information will imply sharing
power, which might not be liked by many managers. The question of
sensitivity of certain information could be settled by striking a trade-off
between an effective management as result of free flow of information
versus the risks of exposure. The second point concerning information
as power deserves a brief comment. A senior manager/officer, who
tends to monopolize information, should admit that he prefers personal
power over organizational effectiveness. Such type of attitude ultimately
causes difficulties both for the manager and the organization on the
whole.
Provide Favourable Organization Structure and Environment
It would be difficult to convince managers to delegate until
organizational policies, structures and overall environment are
favourable and call for decentralization. Such provisions can be ensured
only by the top management of the organization. Corporate managers
and leaders are themselves responsible to create an organization culture
that facilitates decentralization and participation of lower levels of
management in the organizational decision making process.
Alleviate Fears
Through pertinent management courses, workshops and counselling
sessions, managers could be assured that delegation of authority would
not harm their position in the organization. They should rather view
delegation as an effective management tool to enhance their own
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Journal of Managerial Sciences Volume 71 I, Number 2
effectiveness, increase their own chances of advancement in the
organisation’s hierarchy and a means to develop subordinates for future
managerial positions.
Link Delegation to Organizational Objectives
Authority should not be delegated in isolation to the organizational
goals. The extent of delegation should be based on the type of activities
required to accomplish the goals. While some objectives call for more
delegation, others may restrict it. Therefore, an effective manager must
carefully link the need for delegation of certain assignments with the
organizational objectives.
Get Feedback
Delegation of authority does not mean delegation of managerial
responsibility too. Since the overall responsibility for the delegated
assignments remains with the manager; methods should be devised to
keep the manager in picture. The method of delegating should also
include the means of timely information to the delegator of the status of
the job so that corrective action is taken, if required. The most common
means of feedback include periodical inquiry about the work in progress,
written reports at prescribed times and conferences to review the
progress and plans for the future.
Don’t be Afraid of Over-delegating
Many managers don’t delegate enough for fear of delegating too much.
A general rule in this regard is, “Better over-delegate than not delegating
at all”. An effective manager would soon find out the wisdom behind
this phrase, when he comes to know that the advantages of even overdelegation
are much more than its drawbacks.
Why Managers Don’t Delegate And How To Get Them Do So? Javed Iqbal
Journal of Managerial Sciences Volume 72 I, Number 2
Give Employees Some Freedom in Deciding How to Implement their
Authority
After assigning work along with the requisite authority to employees,
some managers keep on pestering them about the delegated tasks.
Probably, they do so to help employees in carrying out the delegated
tasks or to get timely feedback about the progress. But too much
supervision spoils the spirit of delegation and decentralization.
Therefore, the general rule to follow is: “Delegate what to do, not how to
do it.”
Once Delegated, Let the Employee Take Over
There is no dearth of managers, who display their concern over
inadequacies of their juniors and keep on providing suggestions to
introduce corrective actions. All this meddling in the delegated tasks
results in killing the spirit of initiative and job satisfaction of employees.
General rule to follow here is: “Don’t rush in at the drop of a hat to
straighten things out. Before giving assistance, make sure the employee
has had a fair chance.”
Conclusion
In nearly all types of organisations, authority stems from upper-level
managers to lower-level managers or employees to enable them to make
decisions and carry out the assigned tasks. It is commonly observed that
several managers do not delegate authority to their subordinates due to
their in-built fears and insecurities, attraction for power, reluctance to
change, pre-conceived ideas about employees and delegation, etc. The
tasks, which can’t be delegated, include planning activities, assigning
work, motivational or counselling issues, etc.
Why Managers Don’t Delegate And How To Get Them Do So? Javed Iqbal
Journal of Managerial Sciences Volume 73 I, Number 2
References:
Driver, M. J., and Streufert, S., "Integrative Complexity: An Approach to
Individuals and Group as Information-Processing Systems,"
Administrative Science Quarterly, 1969, pp. 272 - 285
Mintzberg, Henry, The Nature of Managerial Work [New York: Harder
& Row Publishers Inc., 1979], p.182
Mintzberg, Henry, The Structuring of Organizations [New Jersey:
Prentice-Hall Inc., 1973]