by Sarah Ganly

Created on: April 08, 2010

Some managers will delegate most of their work to their subordinates; some managers will delegate very little work, and both of these types of managers should take into consideration the advantages and disadvantages of delegating their work to employees. Delegating responsibility, accountability, and authority has advantages and disadvantages, and some managers choose not to delegate work at all, but proper delegation can be the key to business success.

An advantage of delegation is efficient use of time and talent. Delegation will help a manager use her time and the time of her employees effectively, and it will allow a manager to get even more work done then they will alone. Delegation is a way of empowering employees as well, and this is a promising advantage. Giving responsibility and accountability to employees will give them an opportunity to showcase their skills and talents; it will also provide them with the opportunity to have pride in their work.

Delegating is popular and useful, but it has its disadvantages as well. If delegation is not followed up with review the work delegated may not be done correctly or up to par. Another disadvantage of delegation is employees may focus more on their work than the company as a whole. Another disadvantage of delegation is their may not be a clear structure of authority, and employees may not be sure who to go to as their superior.

Some managers may choose not to delegate for fear of being accountable for work that has been delegated; they may also feel it is wrong to ask others to do their work, but delegating is important for getting things done efficiently. Some managers may not delegate work to their employees for fear of job security and ego, but this is not beneficial for a business or company.

Managers should delegate a certain amount of work to their employees to improve their chances of being efficient and productive. Managers should also consider improving employee moral when delegating work. If some work is delegated to employees it gives them a chance to use their ideas and skills to succeed, and this has a powerful impact on employee moral, but delegating too much work can have a negative impact where employees feel taken advantage of and run down.Delegating work has a fine line, but if it is done correctly it can achieve important results. Managers should consider delegating work to employees, but they should also provide employees with information, encouragement, and praise when delegating work. Managers must also remember to watch the amount of work they delegate in order to be effective and efficient.

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