Vipul was my student some years ago - very much hard working and sincere. He is also quite talkative and has a sense of humour. Even after passing out he has kept contact with me and keeps visiting me. Whenever he comes, he is bubbling with anecdotes fresh from his "last week's" experiences! He is keen to know my analysis of those experiences. All the same, as a typical hands-on type engineer, he was too lazy and busy to read management concepts and preferred to hear them from me as ready and relevant material.

During his recent visit he said, "Sir, I want to narrate to you two experiences, which are of exactly opposite nature. One day last week we had a job to be completed, which was technically very complicated and urgency-wise very critical. It was all the time on my mind the previous night. I took it up on the machine immediately after entering the department. But within hardly an hour after starting the job I received a message from the secretary of our GM that I was required in an urgent meeting. I called my assistant officer, Mr Anandan, explained him the job and told him to progress it. I returned after one hour with a chit on which I had taken down the Work Order numbers of four more items given by the GM in his meeting. I saw that by that time Anandan had done a good progress on the job entrusted to him. Anandan is a quick and well mixing type of a man. I checked the progress of this new list and started following them up on respective machines. Again there was a message, this time from the Works Manager, to visit him in the press shop to see a press tool, which had just broken. Again I called Anandan explained him the four jobs, which I was following up and went to the Press Shop. It took a long time and I went for lunch directly from there. When I returned, I saw Anandan who had also finished his lunch and was smoking leisurely in one corner. I remembered the list of four jobs I gave him. Before I would ask him about the same, he promptly extinguished his cigarette and walked in with me and showed me the progress. There was lot of progress. Not only that, but Anandan had used his own experience and made some short cuts in the jobs to speed them up. It was a satisfying experience."

But immediately next day or so I had a very disappointing experience with another of my assistants, Mr John. He is also sincere and hard working; but shy and withdrawing type. He is quite bulky too - of large built. Early in the morning I had a long list of jobs to be completed that day for our works manager. Plus, I had an important report to be completed and submitted. Some of the works were to be co-ordinated with other departmental managers also. I called John and hurriedly read the list to him and placed it in his hands for further progress. I just shut the list off from my mind for a while. My cabin is placed high up in the department. One has to climb about 15-16 steps and outside the cabin sit the assisting clerks, etc. After ten/fifteen minutes, I just came out of my cabin and to my surprise, I saw John just sitting there. He was not simply sitting, but perspiring and having cold water and an aspirin tablet that my attendant had brought for him. I touched John and asked him what was the matter. He felt shy and said, 'Sir I was totally confused. Just work order numbers, no clues. I feel uncomfortable with those other departmental heads. Additionally you took the name of the works manager and I felt worried, possibly my blood pressure also rose high...' I asked John to relax and took the list from him."

"Sir, how can there be such a vast difference in these two persons?" Vipul asked me at the end. "Vipul, that means you came across the practical side of a very important aspect of management, i.e., delegation of work," I told him smilingly. Vipul organised himself to an alert posture expecting a good piquant discussion, and as is usual at such a stage, he requested, "Sir, how about some tea?" I consented but purposely asked him (delegated) to organise the same on my behalf. We had a break-before-tea. In a rapid mode I made 5-6 intercom calls and called in a few persons, had a small round in my administrative department and came back for tea. Vipul was observing my movements minutely with a studious eye. (As a practical lessons on delegation!)

I explained to him, "Vipul, these two cases of delegation were of extremely opposite nature and that is why you got extreme results. Remember Anandan's case, where you had fully studied and organised the first job. You showed it to Anandan right on the machine with detailed instructions: Anandan had just to follow up. Even the next list of four jobs you checked personally, showed and explained them to Anandan and then he completed them comfortably with his inputs. Also at no stage you transferred your own pressure on to him. Anandan being an active go-getter did well of the delegated work. On the other hand, John is, as you say, a single-track type work-hand. As it is, of heavy build, suffering from blood pressure. To add to his misery, he had to climb those 15-16 steps and got a list of unknown odd jobs on the name of the Works Manager. What else can be but perspiration?"

Any organisation has to be built on the framework of delegation. Right from the director down to departmental managers, supervisors, workers, it is delegation and delegation. But while between supervisors and workers the delegation is clear and obvious, between various levels of managers, officers and senior staff, the demarcation is subtle and flexible.

Narayan J Joglekar (B Tech, IIT - Training Consultant), Ex-Principal and GM, Fr Agnel Polytechnic Complex, Vashi, has 25 years of Shop Floor Management experience in reputed companies, and is currently working as Consultant in Management and Multi-skill Training. He also conducts training programs in technology and executive development for leading industries in Maharashtra. Tel: 020-25652988. Mobile: 098229-68426. Email: njjoglekar@yahoo.com