Janis Fischer Chan - Delegating for Business Success

Delegating for
Business Success

Janis Fisher Chan

2004, American Management Association International. All rights reserved. This material may not be reproduced, stored in a retrieval system, or transmitted in whole or in part, in any form or by any means, electronic, mechanical, photocopying, recording, or otherwise, without the prior written permission of the publisher.

ISBN: 0-7612-1434-8

Printed in the United States of America

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The ability to delegate is a critical skill prized by organizations that are committed to achieving their goals and retaining and developing valuable employees. Delegating for Business Success has been designed to teach managers, team leaders, and all business professionals the skills of delegating to achieve personal and organizational success.

In todays lean, fast-paced work environment, everyone is asked to take on more responsibility and to be more productive with the same resources. Learning to delegate effectively and to assume delegated roles and tasks productively will enable you to make the best use of limited time, to respond rapidly to changing circumstances, and to develop new skills and opportunities for career growth. Organizations that foster delegation extend the companys resources and reduce stress. They also help employees develop their full potential, work together more efficiently, and feel more involved in the organizations success.

In this new self-study course, you will discover what delegating really involves and understand the scope of the delegating relationship, whether between manager and subordinate, team members, or peers. You will assess your own delegating ability and learn to create a practical, workable delegating plan that you can implement during the course. Delegating for Business Success will help you address your own hesitations about delegation and give you sound guidelines to help you make confident delegating choices, whether you are the delegator or the delegatee. You will learn how to monitor the delegation process, evaluate progress, identify problems, and reward success.

In accomplishing all this, you will also improve your goal setting, prioritizing, planning, communicating, and feedback skills. In addition, you will receive timely direction for delegating in virtual situations, with teams, and in cross-functional situations. Learning to delegate or receive delegated assignments is an empowering skill essential to managerial and organizational success.

Janis Fisher Chan is cofounder of Advanced Communication Designs, Inc., a San Anselmo training company established to help people communicate clearly and work together effectively. A specialist in the design of training programs, Ms. Chan has developed, written, and conducted customized classroom and self-study courses on a wide range of business topics, including performance management, making effective presentations, professional writing skills, and project management. Her publications include, with co-author Diane Lutovich, Professional Writing Skills, Grammar for Grownups, Writing Performance Documentation, How to Write Reports and Proposals, and Just Commas. Her previous AMA self-study publications are Taking Control with Time Management, 5th Edition, Managing Your Priorities, Presentation Success, and Communication Skills for Managers, 5th Edition.

This course consists of text material for you to read and three types of activities (the pre- and post-test, in-text exercises, and end-of-chapter review questions) for you to complete. These activities are designed to reinforce the concepts introduced in the text portion of the course and to enable you to evaluate your progress.

Both a pre-test and post-test are included in this course. Take the pre-test before you study any of the course material to determine your existing knowledge of the subject matter. Submit one of the scannable answer forms enclosed with this course for grading. On return of the graded pre-test, complete the course material. Take the post-test after you have completed all the course material. By comparing results of the pre-test and the post-test, you can measure how effective the course has been for you.

To have your pre-test and post-test graded, please mail your answer forms to:

Educational Services

American Management Association

P.O. Box 133

Florida, NY 10921

All tests are reviewed thoroughly by our instructors and will be returned to you promptly.

The most important component of this course is the text, where the concepts and methods are presented. Reading each chapter twice will increase the likelihood of your understanding the text fully.

We recommend that you work on this course in a systematic way. Reading the text and working through the exercises at a regular and steady pace will help ensure that you get the most out of this course and retain what you have learned.

In your first reading, concentrate on getting an overview of the chapter content. Read the learning objectives at the beginning of the chapter first. They will act as guidelines to the major topics of the chapter and identify the skills you should master as you study the text. As you read the chapter, pay attention to the headings and subheadings. Find the general theme of each section and see how that theme relates to others. Dont let yourself get bogged down with details during the first reading; simply concentrate on understanding and remembering the major themes.

In your second reading, look for the details that underlie the themes. Read the entire chapter carefully and methodically, underlining key points, working out the details of examples, and making marginal notes as you go. Complete the activities.

Interspersed with the text of each chapter you will find a series of activities. These can take a variety of forms, including essays, short-answer quizzes, or charts and questionnaires. Completing the activities will enable you to try out new ideas, practice and improve new skills, and test your understanding of the course content.

After reading a chapter and before going on to the next chapter, work through the Review Questions. Answering the questions and comparing your answers to those given will help you to grasp the major ideas of that chapter. If you perform these self-check exercises consistently, you will develop a framework in which to place material presented in later chapters.

The American Management Association will continue to grade examinations and tests for one year after the courses out-of-print date.

If you have questions regarding the tests, the grading, or the course itself, call Educational Services at 1-800-225-3215 or send an e-mail to ed_svc@amanet.org.

AMACOM Self Study Program http://www.amaselfstudy.org/

Delegating for Business Success

Course Code 95034

I NSTRUCTIONS : Record your answers on one of the scannable forms enclosed. Please follow the directions on the form carefully . Be sure to keep a copy of the completed answer form for your records. No photocopies will be graded . When completed, mail your answer form to: