Reflect and review

1 Reflect and review

Now that you have completed your work on Organizing and Delegating; let us review the workbook objectives. The first objective is:

   plan and allocate work to your team.

In the first session we looked at the primary responsibility of first line managers, to make sure that the teams they manage do their work efficiently and effectively.

   Do you understand how demand for the products or services you supply varies, and what impact this has on the work that your team has to perform?

   Do you ensure that the people you manage are making the best use of their skills to do the tasks that are required?

   Can you identify how future changes in the work that your team does and their productivity will affect the number of people you will need, and their skills?

The next objective is:

   you should be better able to explain why delegation is an important management technique.

In Session B we looked at the meaning of delegation and defined some of the terms we would be using. We explored the importance of delegating, and the advantages to you as a team leader of delegating work.

   Have you identified some ways in which delegation can help you, your team members and your organization?

   Have you thought of discussing with your manager and your workteam how you could delegate more effectively to everyone's benefit?

The next objective is:

   You should be better able to use the process of delegation to delegate effectively.

In Session B we gave an overview of the process of delegating effectively. The first part of the process was about preparing by:

   selecting an appropriate task, and

   choosing the right person to carry out the task.

The second part of the process is to carry out the delegation by:

   setting objectives;

   planning;

   implementing;

   monitoring;

   reviewing.

By going through this process you will be more able to retain control of the delegated task and make the most of the benefits of delegation. In Sessions C and D we took you through the delegation process in some detail, and enabled you to put delegation into practice in your workplace.

   Consider the example of delegation that you prepared for and carried out as part of your work in this workbook.

   How far has the systematic process of delegation helped you develop your skills as an effective delegator?

   What improvements have you noticed in the way you now delegate? Would your workteam agree with this self-assessment?

If you feel that the process of delegation will help you to manage effectively, then you have achieved the following objective.

   You should be able to control your workteam more efficiently.

Although some people fear that delegation means that you have to give up control, we've seen that effective delegation – through the process we have described – can actually help you to control your team more efficiently.

   How do you feel delegation will help you control your workteam?

If you understand how delegation can help to keep you in control of your team, then you have achieved this final objective.

2 Action plan

Use this plan to further develop for yourself a course of action you want to take. Make a note in the left-hand column of the issues or problems you want to tackle, and then decide what you intend to do, and make a note in column 2.

The resources you need might include time, materials, information or money. You may need to negotiate for some of them, but they could be something easily acquired, like half an hour of somebody's time, or a chapter of a book. Put whatever you need in column 3. No plan means anything without a timescale, so put a realistic target completion date in column 4.

Finally, describe the outcome you want to achieve as a result of this plan, whether it is for your own benefit or advancement, or a more efficient way of doing things.

Desired outcomes
1 Issues	2 Action	3 Resources	4 Target completion
Actual outcomes

3 Extensions

4 Answers to self-assessment questions

2   In determining what your team is capable of doing, in terms of workload, you need to take account of THE RESOURCES USED, the way that PEOPLE ARE EMPLOYED and their SKILLS.

3   The five stages in allocating work to people are:

1.   Break down the team's or department's work objectives into specific targets, tasks or activities.

2.   Rank these tasks in terms of priority, based on their precedence, urgency and importance.

3.   Analyse the skills needed for completion of each task.

4.   List the skills of the team members.

5.   Match people to the tasks.

4   The number of employees needed in future can be calculated by the formula:

5   The number of people you will need to recruit or make redundant at a future point in time can be calculated by the formula: Number of employees needed – (Current labour force – Forecast number leaving)

6   The atmosphere is usually reflected in the interactions and communication between people, what standards are set and followed, and to what extent people help and support each other. You may have mentioned other points.

7      Controlling work effectively is not only a matter of ORGANIZING and employing specific TECHNIQUES – it is also about getting the team to WANT to achieve objectives and to MEASURE up to high standards.

   The better the ATMOSPHERE, and the greater the UNDERSTANDING between team members, the more likely it is that work will be successful and under CONTROL.

   Job ENRICHMENT is one, very significant, approach to MOTIVATION and increased PRODUCTIVITY.

   TRAINING can give the workteam the chance to DEVELOP and broaden its SKILL base.

   The key to controlling work is in managing and MOTIVATING the people.

2   If a task is delegated to you, you also need RESOURCES allocated to you in order to carry it out.

3   When you delegate a task, you have OVERALL RESPONSIBILITY for seeing that a job is done properly and on time.

4   Successful delegation helps to develop team members who are COMPETENT, INVOLVED, COMMITTED and WELL-INFORMED.

5   Delegation enables team leaders to draw on the expertise of team members and so improve DECISION MAKING.

6   Time spent delegating is time well spent because:

   it involves developing the competence of team members; this is an important management responsibility;

   it enables you to pass on low to medium priority jobs to others and so concentrate your efforts on high priority work.

7   The term ‘span of control’ describes the number of people a supervisor is responsible for.

8   Here is the completed diagram:

9   The level of CONTROL you decide to take when you delegate is related to how much you TRUST the person to do a good job.

10   You can develop trust by going through the process of delegation, and helping the team member to be successful by using a high level of control at first.

2   Tasks a and b are definitely not suitable for delegation. Managers have responsibility for their team members’ performance, and a manager's concern about lateness cannot be delegated to another member of the team. Organizations’ staff grievance procedures usually specify the involvement of the manager in the first instance.

I would also argue that task g is not suitable for delegation, as your manager will expect you to do the job. However, you might want to involve team members in collecting and organizing the information.

Similarly, task h is not suitable, as you are discussing the needs of the whole of your team.

3   You might delegate a task to a team member who has not had experience in doing the task as a way of developing the team member's abilities.

4   You might delegate a task to a team member who has the expertise and experience in doing the task because the task needs to be done well, with few risks of mistakes. It may also be because you or other team members cannot offer much support for doing the job, or because you will not have time to take much direct control over the job.

   specific;

   measurable;

   achievable;

   relevant;

   time bound.

2   When briefing a team member make sure that you and they AGREE all aspects of the task.

3   MONITORING involves collecting information about how well a task is going, and enables you or the team member to take action to prevent problems from becoming serious.

4   After the delegated task has been done, you should REVIEW its successes and failures, so that you can make improvements next time.

5   Part of a review involves giving FEEDBACK to the team member on his or her performance.

6   Here are the eight guidelines to follow.

a   Never give feedback when you are ANGRY. You need to be calm, thinking about solving any problem and moving forward.

b   Give PRAISE where it is due.

c   Encourage the person to whom you are giving feedback to CONTRIBUTE THEIR IDEAS.

d   Be specific about MISTAKES.

e   Criticize THE ACTION OR THE BEHAVIOUR, not the person.

f   Investigate the CAUSE of any difficulty.

g   Offer SUPPORT IN SOLVING THE PROBLEM.

h   End on a POSITIVE NOTE by looking forward to making improvements next time around.

5 Answer to Activity 6

1.   

2.   25 employees needed (32 current labour force 9* forecast number leaving)

= 25 – 23

= 2 people needed

* 3 will retire, and three will leave in each of the two years.

6 Answers to the quick quiz

7 Certificate

Completion of this certificate by an authorized person shows that you have worked through all the parts of this workbook and satisfactorily completed the assessments. The certificate provides a record of what you have done that may be used for exemptions or as evidence of prior learning against other nationally certificated qualifications.

superseries

FIFTH EDITION

Workbooks in the series:

Achieving Objectives Through Time Management	978-0-08-046415-2
Building the Team	978-0-08-046412-1
Coaching and Training your Work Team	978-0-08-046418-3
Communicating One-to-One at Work	978-0-08-046438-1
Developing Yourself and Others	978-0-08-046414-5
Effective Meetings for Managers	978-0-08-046439-8
Giving Briefings and Making Presentations in the Workplace	978-0-08-046436-7
Influencing Others at Work	978-0-08-046435-0
Introduction to Leadership	978-0-08-046411-4
Managing Conflict in the Workplace	978-0-08-046416-9
Managing Creativity and Innovation in the Workplace	978-0-08-046441-1
Managing Customer Service	978-0-08-046419-0
Managing Health and Safety at Work	978-0-08-046426-8
Managing Performance	978-0-08-046429-9
Managing Projects	978-0-08-046425-1
Managing Stress in the Workplace	978-0-08-046417-6
Managing the Effective Use of Equipment	978-0-08-046432-9
Managing the Efficient Use of Materials	978-0-08-046431-2
Managing the Employment Relationship	978-0-08-046443-5
Marketing for Managers	978-0-08-046974-4
Motivating to Perform in the Workplace	978-0-08-046413-8
Obtaining Information for Effective Management	978-0-08-046434-3
Organizing and Delegating	978-0-08-046422-0
Planning Change in the Workplace	978-0-08-046444-2
Planning to Work Efficiently	978-0-08-046421-3
Providing Quality to Customers	978-0-08-046420-6
Recruiting, Selecting and Inducting New Staff in the Workplace	978-0-08-046442-8
Solving Problems and Making Decisions	978-0-08-046423-7
Understanding Change in the Workplace	978-0-08-046424-4
Understanding Culture and Ethics in Organizations	978-0-08-046428-2
Understanding Organizations in their Context	978-0-08-046427-5
Understanding the Communication Process in the Workplace	978-0-08-046433-6
Understanding Workplace Information Systems	978-0-08-046440-4
Working with Costs and Budgets	978-0-08-046430-5
Writing for Business	978-0-08-046437-4

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