Question

Samir Gupta started a telecommunication company, 'Donira Ltd.' to manufacture economical mobile phones for the Indian rural market with 15 employees. The company did very well in its initial years. As the product was good and marketed well, the demand of its products went up. To increase production the company decided to recruit additional employees. Samir Gupta, who was earlier taking all decisions for the company had to selectively disperse the authority. He believed that subordinates are competent, capable and resourceful and can assume responsibility for effective implementation of their decisions. This paid off and the company was not only able to increase its production but also expanded its product range.
(a) Identify the concept used by Samir Gupta through which he was able to steer his company to greater heights.
(b) Also explain any three points of importance of this concept.

Answer 1

Delegation.

A 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. Delegation of authority can be defined as subdivision and sub-allocation of powers to the subordinates in order to achieve effective results.

The Importance of Delegation is because it leads to:

• Efficiency: Efficiency arises when duty is transferred to people with skills that match the role. Let the team members carry out routine activities for themselves while you plan and strategize for the next step. This will ensure you have adequate time for planning, less stress and improved efficiency.
  
• Development: Team leaders have skills and abilities that can be passed down to other team members. The best way to do this is to teach them the new skills and then delegate duties to them for them to utilize the already learnt skills. The importance of delegation is in team development as well; as you can outsource team development to experienced members of your team thereby increasing their mentoring skills as well as decision making.
  
• Empowerment: To empower is to allow others become experts at what they do even if they surpass your ability. This encourages personal development of team members leading to the overall team success.
  
• Leadership: A good leader does not do, he plans and coaches. After coaching, team members will take roles assigned to them and accomplish with or without supervision. When tasks are completed, new tasks can be taken with maximum confidence.