It is the assignment of authority and responsibility to another person to carry out specific activities. However the person who delegated the work remains accountable for the outcome of the delegate work. It allows a subordinate to make decisions, i.e. it is a shift of decision-making authority from one organizational level to a lower one. Delegation, if properly done, is not abdication. The opposite of effective delegation is micromanagement, where a manager provides too much input, direction, and review of 'delegated' work.
Delegation Theories
Several theories stemming from economics and politics have sought to explain delegation, both in terms of why it is undertaken in the first instance and how it functions.
Principal - Agent Theory
Principal-Agent theory conceives of delegation as involving firstly a 'principal' who for a particular reason decides to delegate authority over a particular policy area (for example) to another actor or organisation - the 'agent'. It is generally