Question

Short Answer Question:
'The directors of Bhuwan Ltd., an organisation manufacturing computers, want to double the sales and have given this responsibility to their sales manager. The sales manager further divides this responsibility to the 5 salesmen. These salesmen could not achieve the target. Who is accountable for non-completion of target and why?

Answer 1

The sales manager is not responsible because he has no authority either to increase the sales expenses or appoint new salesmen. In this case, the principle of Parity of Authority and Responsibility is violated.

Authority means the right to orders & obtain obedience. There are two types of authority

(a) Official authority i.e. authority to command and

(b) Personal authority which is the authority of the individual manager.

‘Responsibility’ means an obligation to perform the job assigned on time. Fayol suggested that there must be a balance between authority and responsibility. Giving authority without responsibility may lead to the irresponsible use of authority. So an organization should build safeguards against abuse of managerial power. Hence directors of Bhuwan ltd will be held responsible.