Chevalier T Thomas Elizabeth College For Women

Subject : PRINCIPLES

OF MANAGEMENT

- Ms P. Anubha Jain

- Assistant Professor,

- Department of Commerce

- C.T.T.E College for Women

- Perambur, Chennai

AUTHORITY & DELEGATION

AUTHORITY

DELEGATION OF AUTHORITY

Henri Fayol, who designed the administrative theory of 14

principles of management, defined authority as ‘the right to give

orders and exact obedience‘. He also recognized that any official

authority vested in the job was often ineffective.

Henri Fayol (1841 – 1925) was a French coal-mine engineer, director

of mines and modern management theoretician. His scientific

management theory forms the base for business administration and

business management. In the academic world, this is also known as

Fayolism.

Biography of Henri Fayol

Henri Fayol was born in a suburb of Istanbul, Turkey in 1841. His

father, an engineer, was appointed building supervisor for the

construction of a bridge over the Golden Horn (Galata Bridge).

The family returned to France in 1847. He studied mining

engineering at the ‘École Nationale Superieure des Mines’

academy in Saint-Étienne.

Henri Fayol started his career as an engineer at the mining

company Compagnie de Commentry Fourchambeau Decazeville

in Commentry at the age of 19. In 1888, He became the Managing

Director of this mining company that employed over 1,000 people.

He was very successful in this position for over 30 years (until

1918). Around 1900 the mining company was one of the largest

producers of iron and steel in France. At that time this industry

was considered to be vital for France.

In addition to being the Managing Director of

the Commentry-Fourchambault mining company

(1900), Henri Fayol was also one of the founders of

the principles of modern management. His research

work was in competition with that of another great

theoretician namely Frederick Taylor.

In 1916, he published his work experience in the

book Administration Industrielle et

Generale (General and Industrial Management).

Henri Fayol provided one of the most

influential modern management concepts of his

time. He is founder of the 14 Principles of

management and the five functions of management.

Publications and books by Henri Fayol et al.

1929. Allgemeine und industrielle Verwaltung. München und Berlin:

Oldenbourg.

1927. The importance of the administrative factor. Readings in management:

Landmarks and new frontiers.

1921. L’incapacité industrielle de l’Etat: les PTT. Dunod.

1918. De l’importance de la fonction administrative dans la gouvernement

des affaires…: Conférence faite le 24 novembre 1917. Ph. Renouard.

1918. Notice sur les travaux scientifiques et techniques de M. Henri Fayol.

Gauthier-Villars.

1918. L administration positive dans l industrie. La Technique Moderne, 1,

74.

1917. Administration industrielle et générale; prévoyance, organisation,

commandement, coordination, controle. Paris, H. Dunod et E. Pinat, OCLC

40224931

1916. General and Industrial Management. Martino Fine Books.

1887. Etudes sur le terrain houiller de Commentry: lithologie et

stratigraphie (Vol. 1). impr. de Théolier.

14 Principles of Management (Fayol)

AUTHORITY

Authority is the right to give orders & power to

exact obedience

Denotes certain rights granted to a position in

an institution

It is a willing & unconditional compliance of

people, resting upon their belief that it is

legitimate for superior to impose his will on

them

ELEMENTS OF AUTHORITY

Right to authority given by superior

Legitimate

Leads to right of decision making

Is given to influence the behavior of subordinates

Subjective

AUTHORITY V/S POWER

POWER AUTHORITY

1. Broader than authority Narrower concept

2. Personal not institutional Institutional

3. Flows in all directions Downwards

4. No place in formal structure Arises from formal structure

SOURCES OF AUTHORITY

Legal/ formal authority

Traditional authority

Acceptance theory

Competence theory

Charismatic theory

LIMITS OF AUTHORITY

Physical limitations

Economic limitations

Social limitations

Legal limitations

Biological limitations

Internal constraints

Limited span of control

DELEGATION

Delegation is an administrative process of getting

things done by others by giving them

responsibility.

It refers to a manager’s ability to share his burden

with others. It consists of granting authority or the

right to decision making in certain defined areas

& charging subordinates with responsibility for

carrying through an assigned task

CHARACTERISTICS OF DELEGATION

Takes place when a manager grants some of

his power to subordinates

Manager must possess what he wants to

delegate

Only a part of authority can be delegated

Manager delegating authority can reduce,

enhance or take it back

Authority can be delegated not responsibility

ELEMENTS OF DELEGATION

ASSIGNMENT OF RESPONSIBILITY

The superior asks the subordinate to perform a particular task in a given period of time

GRANT OF AUTHORITY

It is the power to order or command, delegated from superior, to enable the subordinate to discharge his responsibility

CREATION OF ACCOUNTABILITY

It is the obligation of a subordinate to perform the duties assigned to him

Delegation of authority is the base of superior-

subordinate relationship, it involves following steps:-

Assignment of Duties - The delegator first tries to define

the task and duties to the subordinate. He also has to define

the result expected from the subordinates. Clarity of duty

as well as result expected has to be the first step in

delegation.

Granting of authority - Subdivision of authority takes

place when a superior divides and shares his authority with

the subordinate. It is for this reason, every subordinate

should be given enough independence to carry the task

given to him by his superiors. The managers at all levels

delegate authority and power which is attached to their job

positions. The subdivision of powers is very important to

get effective results.

RESPONSIBILITY

Responsibility has different meanings in management. The

most common description is the obligation on the manager to

perform the task himself. The essence of responsibility is

‘obligation’.

Therefore, responsibility is relative to the person. Also, it

emanates from the subordinate-superior relations in an

organization. Hence, the manager can get the assigned duty

done by his subordinate.

He also needs to ensure a proper discharge of the duty.

Therefore, in an organization, authority and responsibility

move as follows – authority flows downwards, whereas

responsibility is exacted upwards.

Creating Responsibility and Accountability - The delegation

process does not end once powers are granted to the

subordinates. They at the same time have to be obligatory

towards the duties assigned to them. Responsibility is said to

be the factor or obligation of an individual to carry out his

duties in best of his ability as per the directions of superior.

Responsibility is very important.

Therefore, it is that which gives effectiveness to authority. At

the same time, responsibility is absolute and cannot be shifted.

Accountability, on the others hand, is the obligation of the

individual to carry out his duties as per the standards of

performance. Therefore, it is said that authority is delegated,

responsibility is created and accountability is imposed.

Accountability arises out of responsibility and responsibility

arises out of authority.

Differences between Authority and

ResponsibilityAuthority Responsibility

It is the legal right of a person or a superior

to command his subordinates.

It is the obligation of subordinate to perform

the work assigned to him.

Authority is attached to the position of a

superior in concern.

Responsibility arises out of superior-

subordinate relationship in which

subordinate agrees to carry out duty given to

him.

Authority can be delegated by a superior to a

subordinate

Responsibility cannot be shifted and is

absolute

It flows from top to bottom. It flows from bottom to top.

ACCOUNTABILITY

Every employee is answerable to his superior for

the accomplishment of the task assigned to him.

This is accountability. When a manager delegates a

task, he assigns duties and delegates the required

authority so that his subordinates can accomplish

the task.

However, the process is not complete unless the

subordinate is answerable to the superior for his

functioning. Therefore, authority goes downward

and makes everyone accountable for the duties

assigned.

CONCLUSIONA manager alone cannot perform all the tasks assigned to him. In order to

meet the targets, the manager should delegate authority. Delegation of

Authority means division of authority and powers downwards to the

subordinate. Delegation is about entrusting someone else to do parts of

your job.

Therefore, it becomes important that with every authority position an

equal and opposite responsibility should be attached. Thus every

manager,i.e.,the delegator has to follow a system to finish up the

delegation process. Equally important is the delegatee’s role which

means his responsibility and accountability is attached with the authority

over to here.

REFERENCE

https://www.toppr.com/guides/business-management-and-

entrepreneurship/organizing/authority-and-responsibility/

https://www.google.com/search?q=authority+responsibilit

https://www.citeman.com/8554-what-are-authority-and-

responsibility.html

https://www.toolshero.com/toolsheroes/henri-fayol/

Books for reference: Principles of Management - Dr. J. Jayasankar

Management Principles – T. Ramasamy

Principles Management – P C Tripathi & P N Reddy