Abstract:

This study was prompted by indications of principals in many schools which suggested that delegation is improperly used. The indications included amongst others principals taking work home and falling behind in keeping up with their daily responsibilities, which include administration and diverse management tasks. That often leads to the missing of deadlines for the submission of important assignments. Principals are continually complaining of experiencing pressure and working under stress. A phenomenological approach was employed to determine the use of delegation as a management tool in four primary schools around Pretoria. Interviews with principals, deputy principals, heads of department (HOD) and post level 1 educators were conducted to collect data. For this study delegation was defined as the passing down of authority and responsibility from a manager to a subordinate to carry out specific activities, however it was established that the person who delegates the work remains accountable for the outcome of the delegated tasks. Authority, responsibility and accountability became important elements in the study. The research findings indicated that delegation is sometimes used unplanned and unsystematically. Too much red tape is involved when it comes to the communication of messages and the fulfilling of duties. Subordinates also indicated that they do not easily accept delegation. It was established that there are managers who believe that certain duties cannot be delegated and because of certain aspects as found in the study, a variety of aspects need to be considered before they can delegate to available staff.

Keywords:

Delegation, principals, management tool, subordinates.