The Skill of Delegating; how it relates to planning, leadership, organizing and control.
The article, "Delegation: The Key to Empowerment" by Martin Yate. (Published 2006 by Bob Adams Inc., Holbrook, Massachusetts) asks a very important question. Once the company has a reliable, well-trained workforce made up of employees of all ages, how do they keep them motivated? One way is to make his/her jobs more interesting and challenging empowering them to handle projects and make decisions. For you military types I will put the empowerment concept into real life by relating it to a Captain of a naval ship. Even though the Captain is not steering the ship. He is the most responsible person of that ship. If the ship crashes, the Captain will be held responsible and punished accordingly. At Ford Motor Company, from the very top of the chain to the bottom, delegation is widely used.
Planning, Leadership, Organization, and Control functions of management.
Portrait of Henry Ford (ca. 1919)
English: Ford Motor Company Headquarters, Dearborn...
1961 Ford H-Series trucksPlanning
Ford implements delegation by different ways depending on the project. If they are planning the implementation of a special project such as Team Concept, HQ would create a task force. The task force would be responsible for setting up the new program in all the different plants. They would then delegate all tasks and responsibilities to the new leadership positions. From there it is a trickle down effect. The plant manager is not necessarily the individual who is implementing the new program. By this time, he or she has already delegated an in-plant team to coordinate the plans into action. If a new product or process is needed then the best way to plan is with engineers. This is another solid attribute that Ford has. They hire the best engineers in the business. Perhaps the article (Cultivating the Potential of All Workers)...