What Managers Can Effectively and Efficiently Delegate

Markus Reitzig ()
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Markus Reitzig: University of Vienna

Chapter 2 in Get Better at Flatter, 2022, pp 19-42 from Springer

Abstract: Abstract The chapter wonders where exactly managers can delegate decision-making rights and gain time (Chap. 1 ). To reduce complexity, it suggests structuring all organizational activities along the dimensions of the 4+1 framework developed by Puranam et al. (Academy of Management Review, 39(2), 162–180, 2014): (1) dividing tasks (determining what needs to be done), (2) allocating tasks (determining who does what), (3) distributing rewards (determining who gets what), (4) providing information (determining who needs to know what), and (5) managing exceptions. Drawing on examples of radically decentralized nonprofit (Wikipedia) and for-profit (Valve) organizations, the chapter shows that effective and efficient delegation is possible along all five dimensions. Invoking examples of more selectively decentralized companies (Atlassian, Gore, Patagonia, Squarespace), it provides a nuanced understanding of where it saves time for managers in particular. Importantly, the chapter illustrates that a plethora of different flat structures can be created, depending on where decision rights are being delegated, and that many of them can free up managerial time.

Keywords: Delegation; 4+1 problems of organizing; Task division; Task allocation; Rewards distribution; Information exchange; Exception management (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 2022
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Persistent link: https://EconPapers.repec.org/RePEc:spr:sprchp:978-3-030-89254-8_2

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DOI: 10.1007/978-3-030-89254-8_2

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