Delegation

No Manager is an island. It takes the work of a team, working towards the same goal to achieve great things. Even though someone wants to do it all, this is an improbable if not impossible task to accomplish. There are a variety of reasons why a manager would not use delegation. They are too busy and do not have the time, they do not trust their employees to complete their assignments and they do not know how to delegate effectively. Some managers avoid delegating tasks because they will lose control of the task and they believe the work can be done faster by themselves. These myths can plague the manager that refuses to delegate which create an environment that is counterproductive to the organization. “WHAT DO WE typically do when we are having difficulty getting things done at work? We delegate some of our tasks to coworkers. This takes some pressure off of ourselves and, at the same time, motivates employees who might be getting bored with the monotony of their jobs”( Snyder,1994). Effective delegation is a key management tool and represents a basic skill needed for the long-term success of any organization. Successful delegation will, bring great benefits to the organization, the individual manager and the workforce. Delegation is one of the dynamic factors at the heart of good management which helps a workforce to improve, grow and develop. A manager that learns to be skillful at delegation can make his/her career. “Delegation is perhaps the most fundamental feature of management, because it entails getting work done through others” (Bateman & Scott, p.45).

Within our organization delegation takes place within every level of management. The higher management delegates to the regional managers. These tasks include assisting in the training of new hires, developing plans for year round meetings and developing plans to increase sales in each territory within the manager’s region. The local manager delegates to each sales rep throughout the year. Responsibilities at the sales rep level include preparing presentations at sales meetings, developing an individual plan to attack the competition on a local level and putting together an educational meeting that includes a speaker in the sales rep’s territory. Guests include physicians, nurse practitioners, physician assistants and nurses. We are also responsible to review our sales and target our customers in order to grow the business. Our manager has delegated certain jobs within the region to assist in the smooth running of the everyday operations. One representative is designated to assist the other team members with problems that arise with the use of our hand held computers and lap tops. Another sales rep is responsible for helping those with difficulties in sample inventory. Each region has a representative that sits on an advisory board. They report to the home office with information and feedback from the sales force in regards to the latest promotional pieces that are being used in the field. The product manager takes into consideration the comments that are given and make adjustments accordingly for future promotional material.

Delegation can be used more effectively in the planning and organizing of a company. In the past year the company had an expansion of employees by hiring the sales force. We went from being contracted sales rep to an actual employee of the pharmaceutical company. The sales force was informed October 2004 that the company was taking on the sales force. Our hire date was January 2, 2005. The expansion was done because the company was negotiating for the licensing of a third product produced by another pharmaceutical company. This expansion increased the total employee count by one hundred and thirty. The home office wanted us to complete all new hire paperwork before the end of 2004 and mistakes were made during the mad rush. Human resources were unable to handle the sudden increase of paper work, and the every day operations slowed down. I believe this could have been prevented through better planning by top management. The home office is still reeling from a sudden addition of one hundred and thirty people. The negotiations broke down with the other company and the decision was made to walk away from a deal to sell another product. So, now the company has invested in an additional one hundred and thirty people with no way to increase sales. To save money the company raised goal attainment to ninety-five percent of goal. Last year the goal was set at ninety percent of total goal.