The concept where subordinates perform tasks on behalf of the manager reducing his/her workload and providing more time to the manager to concentrate on important matters. This is called:

Delegation

The correct answer is option 2- Delegation.

The concept where subordinates perform tasks on behalf of the manager reducing his/her workload and providing more time to the manager to concentrate on important matters. This is called Delegation.

Delegation refers to the downward transfer of authority from a superior to a subordinate. It is a pre-requisite to the efficient functioning of an organisation because it enables a manager to use his time on high priority activities. It also satisfies the subordinate’s need for recognition and provides them with opportunities to develop and exercise initiative. Delegation is a compulsory act because no individual can perform all tasks on his own. It is a process followed to share tasks. According to Louis Allen, delegation is the entrustment of responsibility and authority to another and the creation of accountability for performance. Delegation ensures that the subordinates perform tasks on behalf of the manager thereby reducing his workload and providing him with more time to concentrate on important  matters.

OTHER OPTIONS

• Centralisation- An organisation is centralised when decision making authority is retained by higher management levels whereas it is decentralised when such authority is delegated. Complete centralisation would imply concentration of all decision making functions at the apex of the management hierarchy.

• Decentralisation is much more than a mere transfer of authority to the lower levels of management hierarchy. It is a philosophy that implies selective dispersal of authority because it propagates the belief that people are competent, capable and resourceful. They can assume the responsibility for the effective implementation of their decisions. Thus this philosophy recognises the decision maker’s need for autonomy. The management,  however, needs to carefully select those decisions which will be pushed down to lower levels and those that will be retained for higher levels.

• Accountability implies being answerable for the final outcome. Once authority has been delegated and responsibility accepted, one cannot deny accountability. It cannot be delegated and flows upwards, i.e., a subordinate will be accountable to a superior for satisfactory performance of work. It indicates that the manager has to ensure the proper discharge of duties by his subordinates. It is generally enforced through regular feedback on the extent of work accomplished.