The Delegation of Managers Essay -- Delegating Managers Workplace Air

The Delegation of Managers The Oxford English Dictionary defines Delegation as â€Å"The action of delivering or assigning a thing to a person or to a purpose.† Delegation is very important in the Air Force and military in general. When managers do not delegate, they can become overwhelmed. The concept of delegation can be difficult to master. I was a Contracting Officer for 6 years. During that time, I not only saw delegation within the military structure but also to the contractors we employed. Delegation seems like an easy concept, but not everyone understands it and completes it with confidence. Some managers use delegation to ensure that they are not the only ones to blame in a failure. Some managers will delegate the difficult jobs or the ones they don’t want to complete themselves. These are not the reasons delegation should be used in the business world. Delegation can be a great motivational tool, showing employees that they are trusted enough to complete a task. It shows that managers have confidence in the employee. Delegation can also help you as a manager and a sense of accomplishment once the task is completed. As a manager who delegates, you have more time to do other tasks. You could move up the career ladder more quickly because you have time to devote to other projects and your team gets more work done. Every business or office has an opportunity for some form of delegation. Delegation is an everyday occurrence in the Air Force. The Air Force consists of a Chain of Command. At the top of this list is the President of the United States. At the bottom is your average airman. In the middle of this list are commanders, first sergeants, and superintendents. Everything from when to show up for work to how long physical training will last is delegated down the chain. It is the people at the top who make the decisions of what needs to be done, but the individuals at the bottom are the ones who actually get the job done. This is only the military tasks. When it comes to the individual jobs in the Air Force, each unit delegates in it’s own way. As a Contracting Officer, our office negotiated and wrote contracts for every service and supply needed on the base. This included buying new computers and office supplies for offices to the janitorial services for every building. Before the contract was awarded, market research needed to be done. We ... ...ponsibility and recognition. Managers need to delegate the right information to the right people and let those employees shine. Stephen Comiskey once stated, â€Å"You can delegate authority, but not responsibility.† When used properly, delegation can be a great tool for both managers and employees. Managers and employees working together to get tasks done are more efficient and work better as a team. It takes time and effort to develop a good system of delegation, but the end result can help you in your career and confidence level. During my Air Force career, I learned a lot about delegation. This helps me delegate in my current job as a stay at home mom. Everything from my husband’s honey-do list to getting my son to pick up his toys require some level of delegation. 1. Oxford English Dictionary on-line, http://80-dictionary.oed.com.ezproxy.apollolibrary.com/cgi/entry/50060042?query_type=word&queryword=delegation&first=1&max_to_show=10&single=1&sort_type=alpha, accessed on March 9, 2005 2. Alan Chapman, http://www.businessballs.com/delegation.htm, accessed on March 9, 2005. 3. http://en.thinkexist.com/quotes/with/keyword/delegating/, accessed on March 9, 2005.