What is delegation of authority?

Authority is the key to managerial job. It denotes the right to make decision and command subordinates to conform these decisions. When the office manager is over burdened with official assignments, he may allocate or divide it among the subordinates to get the work done by them. The process of allocation of office work among the subordinates is called delegation of authority. So delegation of authority means giving the subordinate authority to do something which the executives do not have time to do. The process of delegation gives a gain to the subordinates because they become closer with the supervisor.

Delegation of authority involves:

(a) Assigning of duties to subordinates.

(b) Delegating required amount of authority to the subordinate to enable them to discharge the duties assigned to them.

(c) Assumption of responsibility by the subordinates.