Roosevelt University

Management Theories & Practices in Hospitality Industry:

Delegation

A Research Paper Submitted to:

Professor Gerald F. Bober

Manfred Steinfeld School of Hospitality and Tourism Management
Hospitality and Tourism Management (BSHTM)

By:

Manerly Salvatore
February 8, 2010

DELEGATION
 Heathfield (2004) wrote, “Delegation can be viewed as dumping by the employee who

receives more work to do” (para. 1). However, Blair (1993) also stated, “Delegation is a skill of

which we have all heard - but which few understand. It can be used either as an excuse for

dumping failure onto the shoulders of subordinates, or as a dynamic tool for motivating and

training your team to realize their full potential” (para. 1).

According to Pollar and Solmo (1996), delegating a job is not the same as assigning a

task. When the leader or manager merely assign a task, he or she does not give the person any

authority to make decisions, instead the manager are focusing on the process and on the details

of how it is done. They further explained, “Delegation is not a one-step process of handing over a

task and hoping it works out. There are very distinct levels of delegation; the level the

leader/manager choose depends on the person, the particular project, and their comfort level”

(Pollar & Solmo, 1996, para. 12).

However, leaders or managers need to understand that they are always responsible for the

entire output of their unit or department, including the task or responsibility that they delegate to

others. Walker and Miller (2009) emphasized that,

As a leader, you have been given responsibility for certain activities and the result
they are expected to produce. That is your job, your ultimate responsibility. Your
boss delegated this responsibility to you when you took over the job. When you
delegate, you give a portion of this responsibility to one or another of your
employees — you pass along responsibilities for certain activities and the results
you expect them to produce. However, you maintain ultimate responsibility. (p.
424 - 425)

Thus, delegation ties to “accountability”. The definition of “Accountability” according to

Walker and Miller (2009) is “a worker’s obligation to a supervisor to carry out the responsibility

delegated and to produce the results expected” (p. 425). Accountability always goes

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automatically with the responsibility delegated. This further means that delegating responsibility

does not relieve of either responsibility or accountability.

Delegation is a powerful management tool that serves managers and those who work with

them. “Every task or project successfully completed builds a greater level of confidence and

allows their associates to handle more and more responsibility. Ultimately, effective delegation

frees managers to focus on the big picture, and on building their professionalism” (Pollar &

Solmo, 1996, para. 21). Furthermore, Heathfield (2004) explained,

Effective delegation involves the delegation of work to reporting staff members in

such a way that their skills are enhanced. Effective delegation allows an employee
to increase their ability to make decisions and contribute to organization success.
Effective delegation is not just giving employees more work to do, although
sometimes there is more work to do. (para. 1)

In order to apply effective delegation, managers need to know the objective of delegation.

Blair (1993) simply stated that, “The objective of delegation is to get the job done by someone

else. Not just the simple tasks of reading instructions and turning a lever, but also the decision

making and changes which depend upon new information” (para. 5). In addition, “To enable

someone else to do the job for them, manager must ensure that the employees know what she/he

wants, the employees have authority to achieve it and know how to do it” (Blair, 1993, para. 7).

Managers also have to understand the delegation rule before assigning a task. They need

to know that “certain conditions are essential to successful delegation and one of them is advance

planning” (Walker & Miller, 2008, p. 431). In addition, one of management articles from

Businessballs website (2010) stated, “A simple delegation rule is the SMART acronym, or better

still, SMARTER. It is a quick checklist for proper delegation. Delegated tasks must be: Specific,

Measurable, Agreed, Realistic, Time-bound, Ethical and Recorded” (para. 8). Therefore,

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everyone involved will know what the task is and will have in mind the end result or desired

outcome that they want to produce.

Delegation also means finding a capable person to whom to delegate the task and share

with them the results that are desired and ask/inform them why it is important. Managers are also

suggested to ask their employees of how they feel about the delegated task and how the project is

going to get done. The answers to these questions will determine if they are comfortable

performing this task and whether or not they have the right tools, information, and strategies

needed to complete it. Furthermore, Rosen (2010) explained in his guidelines of effective

delegation that, “Rather than simply telling the staff what to do, make someone feel needed,

included, and part of the team and their performance will improve” (para. 6).

Determining the exact time frame of the task is a very important steps in delegation.

Managers need to ask their employee when they feel that they can complete the task. According

to Rosen (2010), “This creates ownership in the person's mind to get it done, since they create

the time line themselves. If the time they choose is not appropriate, ask what would have to

happen for the task to be completed sooner” (para. 9).

Managers also need to reconfirm of which also means, “Going over all of the details of

the project — the timeframe, the steps involved, etc. — to ensure that no detail has been left

unexamined” (Rosen, 2010, para. 10). Most importantly, when the task or the project is done,

managers still need to follow up to ensure that the task was done on time and successfully.

Otherwise, they send the message that accountability does not exist in their business.

“Delegation is a conceptual skill and not only benefits the leader” (Walker & Miller,

2008, p. 428). It is also very important for the employees to have. According to Walker and

Miller (2008), “Delegation requires them to see their job as a whole and find what parts of it can

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be delegated, thus it will sharpen their leadership skill” (p. 428). For example, when the manager

assigned them to task or responsibility that problematic for them, they can use their delegation

skill by asking their colleagues’ help. There is nothing wrong with delegating a task even though

the employee is not in managerial position. However, in order to do this, they need to search for

clues and take the delegation concept a bit further. Terrero (2009) wrote, “Employees do not have

to feel guilty when they find themselves wondering if they could possibly have someone else do

some of the work they hate or have problems with. They actually might just be helping out their

business by putting basic tasks into the hands of the people who can execute them best” (p. 6).

References

Blair, G. M. (1993). The art of delegation. IEE Engineering Management Journal, April 1993.
Retrieved February 8, 2010 from http://www.see.ed.ac.uk/~gerard/Management/art5.html

Businessballs Website. (2010). Leadership/Management: Delegation. Retrieved February 8, 2010

from http://www.businessballs.com/delegation.html

Heathfield, S. M. (2004). Effective Delegation in Leadership and Management. Management

About.com Guide. Retrieved February 8, 2010 from

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 http://humanresources.about.com/od/delegation/Effective_Delegation_in_Leadership_an
d_Management.html

Pollar, O., & Solmo, R. (1996). Giving up control. Successful Meetings, 45(1), 75. Retrieved
from Hospitality & Tourism Complete database.

Rosen, K. (2010). 10 Steps of Effective Delegation. All Business Website. Retrieved February 8,
2010 from http://www.allbusiness.com/sales/sales-management/4019399-1.html

Terrero, R. (2009). Mastering the Art of Delegation. Travel Agent, 335(8), 6. Retrieved from
Hospitality & Tourism Complete database.

Walker, J. R., & Miller, J. E. (2008). Supervision in the Hospitality Industry: Leading
Human Resources (6th Edition). New Jersey: Wiley & Sons, Inc.