What is the Difference Between Delegation and Decentralization?
🆚 Go to Comparative Table 🆚Delegation and decentralization are both ways of transferring power from higher to lower levels of an organization, but they differ in the scope of power that is transferred and the level of control and accountability retained by the delegator.
Delegation:
- Involves assigning specific tasks or responsibilities to an individual or team while retaining ultimate decision-making authority.
- The delegator provides the delegatee with the necessary authority to make decisions related to the assigned tasks, but the delegator still has overall control and accountability.
- Delegation helps managers distribute the workload, allowing them to concentrate on more important tasks, and helps improve the job satisfaction, motivation, and morale of subordinates.
Decentralization:
- Involves delegating not only tasks and responsibilities but also decision-making power and resources to lower levels of the organization.
- The decision-making authority is spread throughout the organization, and lower-level managers or units are granted more autonomy and accountability.
- Decentralization is a systematic effort to delegate authority to the lowest levels possible, allowing for timely decisions and better supervision and motivation of employees.
In summary, the main difference between delegation and decentralization lies in the extent of authority and decision-making power transferred. Delegation focuses on assigning specific tasks while retaining ultimate decision-making authority, while decentralization involves distributing decision-making authority to lower levels or units within an organization.
Comparative Table: Delegation vs Decentralization
Here is a table highlighting the differences between delegation and decentralization:
| Aspect | Delegation | Decentralization |
|---|---|---|
| Meaning | Assigning work to subordinates and giving them authority to do it | Dispersal of authority throughout the organization |
| Scope | Assigning specific tasks or responsibilities while retaining ultimate accountability and decision-making authority | Delegating not only tasks and responsibilities but also decision-making power and resources |
| Decision-making | Delegating authority remains responsible for ensuring that the delegated task is completed | Decision-making authority is spread throughout the organization and lower-level employees |
| Relationship | Creates superior-subordinate relationship in the organization | Creates semi-autonomous units in the organization |
| Mandatory/Optional | Delegation of authority is a must for every organization | Decentralization is discretionary, meaning top management may or may not disperse authority |
Delegation involves assigning specific tasks or responsibilities to subordinates while retaining ultimate accountability and decision-making authority. Decentralization, on the other hand, involves delegating not only tasks and responsibilities but also decision-making power and resources, resulting in the decision-making authority being spread throughout the organization.
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