Organizing and Staffing
Basically, an effective functioning of an organization depends on the relationship
between managers and employees and the ability of managers to delegate their
authority and responsibility to employees. In actuality, many organizations
tend to the provision of their employees with a high degree of autonomy in order
to increase the efficiency of their performance and the performance of the organization
at large. In this respect, the delegation and empowerment become key concepts
that often define the effectiveness of the work of employees and the performance
of organizations, especially in healthcare setting where the autonomy of employees
and ability to take independent decisions with a high degree of responsibility
is particularly significant.
In fact, the delegation implies the downward transfer of formal authority from
a supervisor to a subordinate (Allen, 2002). Today, this function is very important
because the growing complexity of organization structure and the changing role
of human resources lead to the growing role of the delegation. To put it more
precisely, the delegation gives employee autonomy which increases the effectiveness
of the performance of organization because it give an employee with an opportunity
to act in accordance with and react on the changing environment and situation
within the organization. In such a way, an employee works more effectively because
he or she is able to undertake actions that are needed right at the moment.
As a result, the organization’s functioning becomes more flexible and
it can adapt to the changing environment more effectively. Otherwise, the lack
of the delegation would lead to bureaucratization of organizations. The delegation
is particularly important in healthcare setting where employees should take
decisions fast since often time spent on taking decisions can save the life
of patients (Fuchs and Emanuel, 2005).
At the same time, the delegation contributes to the empowerment of employees.
Due to the delegation, employees feel more confident in their own power and
responsibility and, hence, their importance in the organization. In addition,
the empowerment of employees increase the effectiveness of the organization’s
performance since managers, through the delegation and empowerment of employees,
free themselves to manage more effectively (Allen, 2002). Employees can perform
functions that are originally supposed to be delegated to managers solely, but
through the delegation and empowering employees, managers share their functions
with employees and, thus, they can focus on other aspects of managing the organization
(Pinkerton, 2000). The latter opens larger opportunities for the effective implementation
of knowledge and professionals skills of managers on the upper level of the
management, where the qualification and professional level of employees are
insufficient and where managers can be particularly useful for the organization.
However, managers, while delegating and empowering employees, should be careful
of the professional level and the responsibility of their employees. Managers
should delegate their functions and empower employees only when they are confident
in their employees and their ability to perform the functions effectively.
Thus, it is possible to conclude that the delegation and empowering are effective
tools that can facilitate the functioning of organizations and increase their
performance. On the other hand, it is important to insure the ability of employees
to perform delegated functions.
References:
Allen, G. (1998,2002). Delegating. Retrieved on May 17, 2008 from <http://ollie.dcccd.edu/mgmt1374/book_contents/3organizing/deleg/delegate.htm>
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Coddington, D. C., Fischer, E. A., & Moore, K. D. (2000). “Characteristics
of successful health care systems.” Health Forum Journal. San Francisco:
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Fuchs, V. R. and Emanuel, E. J. (2005). “Health Care reform: Why? What?
When?” Health Affairs, 24 (6), 1399.
Pinkerton, S. (2000). “Integrated delivery systems: What's happening?”
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Results. (2005). Background on Health Care. Retrieved on August 29, 2007
from http://www.results.org/website/article.asp?id=839.
Weber, D. O. & Weber, A. L. (1994). “Reshaping the American hospital.”
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