Management Fundamentals 5th Edition by Robert Lussier

Exercise 11

Objective
To develop delegating skills. (Your instructor may have you watch the Behavior Modeling video before completing this exercise.)
Skills
The primary skills developed through this exercise are:
1. Management skill - decision making (organizing requires assigning work through delegation)
2. AACSB competencies - analytic skills and reflective thinking skills
3. Management function - organizing
Preparing for Skill Builder 3
Before beginning this exercise, review the text material on delegating.
Procedure
Work in groups of three. Each person in the group will role-play delegating one of the following three tasks to another member of the group, following the steps described in the text (explaining, setting objectives, and developing a plan). The third group member will observe and evaluate the delegation of the task; an evaluation form appears at the end of this exercise. Members then switch roles for the second task and again for the third. By the end of the exercise, each person in the group will have delegated a task, received an assignment, and observed the delegation of a task. (Note that in the real world, the process would not end with the delegation of the task. As a manager, you would establish control checkpoints to ensure that the task was completed as required.) After each person in the group has delegated a task, the group should discuss how effectively he or she delegated.
Delegation Task 1
Delegator: You are a college student with a paper due in three days. You have handwritten 20 pages, but it must be typed. You don't type well, so you have decided to hire someone to do it for you. The going rate is $1.50 per page. Be sure to include the course name, paper title, special typing instructions, and so on. Assume that you are meeting the typist for the first time and that he or she doesn't know you.
Receiver of the assignment : Assume that you are willing to do the job.
Delegation Task 2
Delegator: You are the manager of a fast-food restaurant. In the past, you have set workers' schedules, and your policy has been to continually vary them. You have decided to delegate the scheduling to your assistant manager. This person has never done any scheduling but appears to be very willing and confident about taking on new responsibility.
Receiver of the assignment : Assume that you are interested in doing the scheduling if the manager delegates the task.
Delegation Task 3
Delegator: You own and manage your own business. You have eight employees, one of whom is the organization's secretary. The secretary presently uses an old desktop computer, which needs to be replaced. You can afford to spend up to $1,000 for a new computer. Because the secretary will use the new machine, you believe that this employee should be involved in, or maybe even make, the decision. The secretary has never purchased equipment for the company, and you believe the person will be somewhat insecure about the assignment.
Receiver of the assignment : Assume that you are able to do the job but are somewhat insecure.
Evaluation Form
Each group should use three copies of this form: one for the observer, one for the person filling the role of delegator, and one for the person filling the role of receiver of the assignment. (The three forms should be labeled somehow, perhaps with O for observer, D for delegator, and R for receiver.) As one person in the group is delegating a task, the observer checks the steps that the delegator accomplishes. On another copy of the form, the delegator of the task checks those steps he or she believes are accomplished. On the third copy of this form, the receiver of the assignment checks those steps the delegator accomplishes. (When group members change roles for the next delegation task, they should exchange evaluation forms so that each person has the form appropriate to his or her role.) Discuss the questions below after each delegation situation. (The discussion should focus on any discrepancies between the evaluations of the three group members.)
Task
Did the delegator follow these steps?
Step 1. Explain the need for delegating and the reason for selecting the employee
Step 2. Set an objective that defines responsibility and level of authority, and set a deadline
Step 3. Develop a plan. Was the plan effective?

Did the receiver of the assignment clearly understand what was expected and how to follow the plan?
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How could the delegation be improved?
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Apply It
What did I learn from this experience? How will I use this knowledge in the future?
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