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Functions of administration
Coordination
and delegation
Last updated on
28.9.08
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COORDINATION AS A MANAGEMENT FUNCTION
Introduction
coordination is
considered as an essential element of administration .
Co-ordination is the integration, synchronisation or orderly
pattern of group efforts in the institution towards the
accomplishment of common objectives. To ensure a harmonious and
smooth working of an organisation with a number of its divisions
,department or its units , the activities in all the areas are
required to be pulled together , unified and blended so as to give
them a commonness and purpose.
Definitions
-
"Co-ordination
is the orderly synchronisation of efforts to provide the proper
amount, timing, and directing execution resulting in harmonious
and and unified actions to a stated objective"
-
"Co-ordination
is the integration of several parts into an orderly whole to
achieve the purpose of undertaking"
-
"Co-ordination
is the integrating process in an orderly pattern of group
efforts in an organisation toward the accomplishment of a common
objective"
The concept of
co-ordination is much broader than that of co-operation. Both
these have to go side by side. Co-ordination is only a means to an
end and not an end itself.
Principles of
co-ordination
-
As the thinking
function of management precedes the doing function,
co-ordination endeavour must sort at the planning stage,
otherwise it becomes impossible to secure co-ordination of
activities and efforts in the execution of work.
-
There is need
for importance of direct personal contact in removing
misunderstanding and conflict between departments.
-
Co-ordination
is continual activity that permeates through each each
managerial function.
-
There should be
an integration of all efforts, actions and interests toward a
common purpose. For this co-ordination call for the
establishment of a reciprocal relationship among all pertinent
factors by way of balancing, blending and joining together the
factors with one another.
Need for
co-ordination
-
Diverse and specialised
activities-total
activities of an organisation are divided into several units and
subunits on the basis of either product specialisation.
Every manager tends to concentrate his attention on activities
and objectives of has own department. Hence co-ordination is
needed to prevent and discourage too much concentration on one
aspect of work.
-
Empire building-
to exaggerate self importance and personal
motive is deeply implanted in human nature. This motive
causes the individual department to be isolated from others,
thus turning it as a separate entity. So co-ordination is needed
to curb the growing tendency towards the empire building.
-
Personal rivalries and prejudice-human
organisation give rise in course of time to the development of
personality politics among members. Under such situation,
co-ordination is deliberately damaged by the members of the
rival group. The perceptual conflict between line and staff
positions or between personnel is a pointer to this problem
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Conflict of interests-
subordination of individual interest to
general interest acts as a bar to co-ordination. This
subordination may arise from a number of causes by a laziness,
incompetence and ambition as well as lack of loyalty, integrity
or initiative on the part of employees. There is need for
co-ordination to avoid conflicts or overlapping in the work of
employees or units or as organisation.
Techniques of co-ordination
-
Communications-effective
communication is arranged not only by building a network of
communication systems but by allowing wide participation also in
the decision making on the part of the affected persons.
-
Orderly plans-
standing plans like policies and procedures,
standing orders and instructions communicate the expected
pattern of behaviour required for co-ordinated action. Because
of checking, observation and guidance involved and supervision,
it aids much in developing co-ordinated efforts.
-
Supervision-
effective supervision aids in co-ordination much in developing
co-ordinated effort by checking, observation and guidance.
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Leadership-leadership
provides individual motivation and persuades the group to have
identity of interests and outlook in group efforts.
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Departmentation-departmentation
arranges for necessary correlation and interconnection of
activities in an analytical manner by assigning duties and
delegating authority in different positions is the work of
departmentation.
-
Direct contact-it
permits the management members to exchange their ideas,
prejudices and problems as well as to understand each others.
Types of co-ordination
-
Internal co-ordination-
it refers to the blending of all efforts and
activities and forces operating within an organisation or
enterprise.
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External co-ordination-
the blending of all efforts and activities and forces operating
outside the enterprise or organisation which contribute to
achieving the goals and objective of the organisation.
Internal co-ordination
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Planning-
it is a well thought out course of action to
be taken for realising certain objectives through the
available means, a good plan requires a perfect harmonisation
between mean and ends and this in itself is an ct of
co-ordination. To reach ends all plans include a programme
mapping out the orderly course of action. To draw up an orderly
course of action, all activities and efforts are to be
interlinked, and desired for their guidance toward the desired
end.
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Organisation
–
organisation is set up with the primary purpose of securing
co-ordination particularly interdepartmental and interpersonal.
Departments and divisions are established to ensure a smooth
flow of work without friction, failing or delaying.
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Direction –
direction is concerned with making the human
efforts more effective and productive through leadership,
guidance, motivation, communication and supervision. Managers
directing the efforts of employees towards a common goal.
Supervision is a cementing force for securing better performance
from workers. Supervisor gives assistance, advice or direction
to obtain cohesive group efforts
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Control-control
ensures the realisation of planned objectives through the
process of work evaluation. The work progress is analysed and
appraised in terms of quantity, quality, time use and cost.
External co-ordination
There are 3
interesting parties-the customers, employees and the owners whose
conflicting needs and demands have to be satisfied by managers of
any business.
-
Consumers
desire an uninterrupted supply of quality goods and services at
fair process and expect a steady improvement in the quality of
goods and services so as to give them a higher standard of
living.
-
Employees-demand
fair wages ,congenial working conditions ,steady employment
satisfaction from the work as well as protection against hazards
of accidents and sickness or old age
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Owners
–want
conservation of assets, efficient and continuous operation of
business, fair returns on the investments and accurate
information on several aspects of business.
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Other enterprise
–
an
enterprise affects and is affected in turn by the activities of
other enterprises particularly those in the same line of
business. An enterprise purchase materials and services from
other enterprises. Many enterprises are chained together by
their customer –buyer relationships. Non-availability
of materials may lead to forced stoppages of production on the
part of some enterprise.
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Government regulations-the
government at city, state or central level exerts potent forces
that are to be recognised by all managers. Regulatory measures
of government become so extensive that no enterprise can stay in
business without becoming thoroughly familiar with the
socioeconomic trends which produce these restrictive
regulations. Compliance with various laws relating to tax,
tariff, labour etc is necessary
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General business economy-enterprises
must adjust themselves with the swings of the trade cycle
through economic forecasting and trend study.
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Technology advances-an
enterprise must secure the benefit of new technology which is
being made continually available in our society through research
and interventions .technological advances contribute
significantly towards the reduction of cost and the improvement
of productivity. Without introducing new technological changes
an enterprise cannot go ahead.
Importance of co-ordination
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Quintessence of management:
in a sense, management is primarily a task of
co-ordination of all efforts, forces and activities that affect
the enterprise from within and without it.
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Creative force-
group efforts when co-ordinated create a result greater than the
sum total of the individual and isolated. This composite effort
is brought about by executive action on human relation and
leadership.
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Unity of direction-
co-ordination ensures unity if direction by way of securing
spontaneous collaboration on the part of different departments.
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High employee morale-
co-ordination tones up the general level of employee morale and
provides satisfaction.
Hindrances to co-ordination
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The uncertainty
of the future, as to the behaviour of the individual and the
people.
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The lack of
knowledge, experience, wisdom and character among leaders and
their confused and conflicting ideas and objectives.
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The lack of
administration skill and technique.
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The vast number
of variables involved and the incompleteness of human knowledge,
particularly with regard to men and life.
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The lack of
orderly methods of developing new ideas and programmes.
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Size and
complexity, personality and political factors.
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Lack of leaders
with wisdom and knowledge pertaining to public administration
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The accelerated
expansion of public administration of international dimension.
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DELEGATION AS
MANAGEMENT FUNCTION
Delegation is
getting the work done by others or as directing the performance of
one or more people to accomplish
organisational goals.
Definitions
-
"Delegation is
defined as the transfer of responsibility for the performance of
a task from one person to another"
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"Transferring
to a competent individual the authority to perform a selected
nursing task in a selected nursing situation . The nurse retains
accountability for delegation"
5 Rights to delegation
National Council
of State Board
of Nursing in the US
presented 5 rights to delegation from the perspectives of both
nursing service administrator and staff nurse. Nursing service
administrator is responsible for job description, role
delineation, development of organisational policies ,procedures
and standards an assurance of adequate human resources. Staff
nurse is responsible for assessing client, delegating
appropriately, communicate clearly , providing monitoring and
supervision.
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Right task
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Right
circumstance
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Right person
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Right
direction/communication
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Right
supervision/evaluation
Strategies for effective delegating
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Plan ahead
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Identify
necessary skill and levels
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Select most
capable person
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Communicate
goal clearly
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Empower the
delegate
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Set deadlines
and monitor progress
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Model the role:
provide guidance
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Evaluate
performance
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Reward
accomplishment
Common delegation errors
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Under delegating-frequently
occurs from managers false assumption is that it may be
interpreted as a lack of ability on his part to do the job
correctly or completely. Another cause is manager’s desire to
complete the whole job personally due to lack of trust in
sub-ordinates.
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Over delegating-
some managers over delegate burdening their
subordinates. Others do so because they feel insecure in
their ability to perform a task, and due to lack of organisation
time. It can decrease the productivity.
-
Improperly delegating-
it includes delegating the things at wrong
time, to the wrong person or for the wrong reason. Also
delegating the yaks and responsibilities that are beyond the
capability of the person to whom they are being delegated or
that should be done by the manager.
Barriers to delegation
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The belief that
“i can do it better myself”
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Lack of
confidence and trust in workers
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Low self
confidence, insecurity
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Vague job
description
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Inadequate
training
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Lack of
adequate recruitment and selection
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Time involved
in explaining the task
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Reluctance to
take the risks involved in depending on others.
-
Fear of loss of
power
Delegation as a function of
professional nursing
With the
restructuring of care delivery models registered nurse at all
levels are expected to make assignments for and supervise the work
of different levels of employees. Registered nurses should
perform role of supervisor and delegator need preparation to
assume these leadership tasks. Nursing schools and health care
organisations have to prepare professionals
for the delegator role. This includes basic principles of
delegating to right person, at a right time and for the right
reason, and an action that must be
undertaken when work is delegated in an appropriate or unsafe
manner.
Assuming the
role of delegator and supervisor to UAP
increases the scope of liability for the registered
nurses. Although nurses are not directly
liable for all acts of negligence on the part of those they
supervise, they may be held liable if they were negligent in the
supervision of those employees at the time when they committed
negligent acts.
In delegating
tasks to the employees the RN must be
aware of job description, knowledge base and demonstrated skill
of each person
Common cause of
this can be
-
Failure of
the delegator to see the subordinates perspectives
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Workload
assigned are highly challenging both physically and mentally
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Belief of
employees that they are incapable of completing the delegated
task.
-
Inherent
resistance to authority
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Due to over
delegation
Delegation
provides a means for increasing productivities . It is also a
managerial tool for subordinate accomplishment and enrichment.
It also requires highly developed leadership skills such as
sensitivity to subordinate capabilities and needs, and the
ability to communicate clearly and directly , the willingness to
support and encourage subordinates in carrying out delegated
tasks and the vision to see how delegation might result in
increased personal growth for subordinates.
Conclusion
For the
effective administration of any organisation co-ordination and
delegation are essential. Without
these two functions it will be
difficult to achieve the organisational goals . The right to
delegate and the ability to provide formal reward for successful
completion of delegated tasks reflect the legitimate authority
inherent in the management role.
Research Inputs
-
Factors influencing outcomes after
delegation to unlicensed assistive personnel.7
A national
survey of licensed nurses in US that
describes factors associated with patient outcomes when nursing
activities are delegated to unlicensed assistive personnel (UAP)
found that licensed nurses' overall experience and UAP's
experience in the current work setting were associated with more
positive events. When the outcome of the delegated activity was
determined by routine observation, more positive events
occurred. However, when there was no direct supervision of the
UAP, more negative events occurred.
Recognition of the importance of the supervisory process has
implications for educational opportunities that focus on
strengthening licensed nurses' delegation competencies.
2. Coordination challenges in
operating-room management: an in-depth field study8
This study
describes the multi-faceted information exchanges essential for
an operating room suite to be managed within the context of
efficient, cost effective, safe practice. Through the combined
use of observation, the critical incident technique, and
interviews, this study analyzed information issues that impact
coordination. Results demonstrate how distributed team planning
is inherent to the efficacy of the system, and discuss
implications for information tools to support coordination
within in a complex setting.
References:
-
Ward MJ, Price
SA .Issues in nursing administration. St.Louis: Mosby;1991.
-
Marquis B.L.
,Hutson C.J . Leadership roles and
management functions in nursing– Theory and application. 5th
ed. Philadelphia: Lippincott Williams and Wilkins; 2006.
-
Douglass L M.
The effective nurse- leader and manager. 5th ed.
Mosby: St. Louis; 1996.
-
Morrison M.
Professional skills for leadership. Mosby: US; 1993.
-
Ellis J R,
Hartley C L. Managing and
Co-ordinating nursing care. 3rd ed. Lippincott:
Philadelphia;1995.
-
Basvanthappa
BT. Nursing administration. New Delhi:
Jaypee brothers;2000.
-
Anthony, Mary K., Theresa; Hertz, Judith .Factors
Influencing Outcomes After Delegation to Unlicensed Assistive
Personnel. JONA.
30(10):474-481,
October 2000.
-
Cheryl L. Plasters, Seagull F J, Xiao Y.
Coordination challenges in operating-room
management: an in-depth field study.
Amia
annu symp proc;
2003.
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