Delimited Authority - Is It Good to Have Clear Boundaries for Team Members? a Review on Outcome of Delimiting Team Authority

DELIMITING                                   TEAM                                       AUTHORITY

Paradigm of Compelling Direction & Authority to Teams

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Delimited Authority

 Is it good to have clear boundaries for team members? A review on outcome of delimiting team authority

Abstract:

The object in this description research is to seek out the volume of delegating authority to a team. Pertaining to the impact on work performance, team performance, team effectiveness, Pros and cons leading to achievement of task. In addition to Member’s Motivation in undertaking the assigned job to meet organizational objective. The degree to which role of management, team leader involvement along with manager’s participation in decision making process to get the things done by team. On other hand providing a brief clarification about framework for the influence on end result in connection with allotting authority in a team. Having clarity in distributing authority to the team and considering to what extent the organization must offer autonomy in meeting the final objective. Weather on condition that compelling direction benefits the best outcome of individual to overall task accomplishment can be further discussed.

Team:  Borrowing concept from the era of civilization, Where Individuals came together for completing the desired goal. The term team has progressed with distinct significance and purpose, keeping alive the essence of traditional view.

What makes a team?

• involve of two or more individual Members
• Who come with common objective to perform organizational relevant assigned task
• Share one or more Related Goals
• Demonstration of interdependence traits and characteristics

In this globalized world to accomplish the organizational objective there is great need for teams. A team is stable set of individuals, who are interdependent, diversified, coming together and contributing in achieving desired organizational goal. Although each individual behavior, attitude, personality are different. Team members display belongingness towards ultimate common conclusion. On the other hand, organization has an important role in compelling direction, Delegating authority, Designing framework, to entrust for the purpose of generating the creativity and efficiency in each individual. Perhaps, teams have requirement of objective, task, design and authority to work towards assigned task.

(Alderfer, 1977; Cohen & Bailey, 1997; Hackman, 1987; Offermann & Spiros, 2001; Sundstrom, De Meuse, & Futrell, 1990).

 Self-Directed Teams: Displaying high level of contribution by team members towards achieving common set of objective. Initiating the responsibilities to avoid bias view or conflicts within team leading to better productivity. In addition to being interdependent, supportive and self-motivated.

Self-managing Teams: Sharing of assigned task among the members with scope of limited authority. Whereas they need less supervision, control and guidance. However degree of impact is vast in organization compared to other forms of teams.

Monitored Teams: Involvement of management setting up blue print, Task, roles, guidelines, supporting resources. Further being monitored day to day actions in an organization to seek smooth functioning of work. Perhaps management assigned leader or team elected leader are in charge of directing the team members.

Exploring the effect of work performance supporting the element of authority provided to them.

Authority

The origin of providing authority carries from Military practices by countries contributing to war. Being adopted by many organizations in present scenario, evidently followed top authority is responsible for all compelling directions and hence in control. Management is one who generates ideas, provide leadership and makes decisions. Once the flow of orders come the team members are directed to follow and work accordingly towards management vision. Nevertheless, if there is lack of autonomy shared among the team members leading to downfall scope of Creativity. Skeptical about the ability of team members in generating inputs towards finishing task. Further leading to create absence of involvement by team members. Henceforth, there is major part of involvement by the organization in compelling direction, along with providing sense of liberty to a team in attainment desired goal.

Forms of authority in an Organization:

• Hierarchical Authority or Line Authority: The flow of authority flows in unilateral direction from top to downwards. Orders along with instruction originates from the Management, Superior and assigned leader by organization till it serve the purpose.
• Decision making authority: level to which involvement of management, leaders, and expert members are contributed. Generating the framework what, when, where, whom and how are drafted. Nevertheless, Flexibility towards distinct roles played by employees in an organization is Situational.
• Team Authority: Liberty of members to have collective opinion of the 2process of getting the things done. Electing the feasible set of methods to be incorporated and forming common opinion is essential. However management shares its end objective in some cases also means to achieve desired goal.

Team empowerment: 

Once they know how to carry on task the team needs to know to what extent they can use their roles and responsibilities in getting things finished. Empowering the team does not explain only with the power of decision making. Moreover, providing adequate resources, knowledge, objective, motivation and clarity in scope for inputs is necessary. Shifting the light towards psychological empowerment within team members has larger impact. Practitioners suggest rather displaying the structure, patterns of authority the organization need to concentrate more on convincing members they have power to proceed than of actually existing. (Forrester, 2000: 69).

Team effectiveness:

There has been a great development in providing resources to improve team’s efficiency in the organization to achieve the goal and accomplishing the task Understanding effectiveness is a key issue in team research. On the other hand there has been many models developed to recognize factors affecting effectiveness and success of team. (Kirkman et al., 2001). The factors supporting team effectiveness is derived from Motivational factor, Authority Level, Desired Resources, Rewards and recognition.