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Determinants of delegation and consultation by managers
Author(s) -
Yukl Gary,
Fu Ping Ping
Publication year - 1999
Publication title -
journal of organizational behavior
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 3.938
H-Index - 177
eISSN - 1099-1379
pISSN - 0894-3796
DOI - 10.1002/(sici)1099-1379(199903)20:2<219::aid-job922>3.0.co;2-8
Subject(s) - delegation , supervisor , task (project management) , psychology , congruence (geometry) , public relations , quality (philosophy) , social psychology , work (physics) , control (management) , business , management , political science , economics , mechanical engineering , philosophy , epistemology , engineering
Few studies have identified determinants of delegation and consultation. To investigate this question further, we surveyed managers and subordinates in two samples and interviewed managers individually or in focus groups. The use of delegation and consultation with individual subordinates was determined in part by characteristics of the subordinates and the manager–subordinate relationship. More delegation was used for a subordinate who was competent, shared the leader's task objectives, had worked longer for the manager, was a supervisor also, and had a favorable exchange relationship with the manager. Consultation with a subordinate was predicted by goal congruence, subordinate job level, and quality of the leader–member exchange relationship. The managers acknowledged that developing subordinates and empowering them to do their work were important reasons for delegation, but many managers were reluctant to give up control over important decisions or assign an important task to an inexperienced subordinate. Copyright © 1999 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.