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CMA Foundation · Fundamentals of Business Economics and Management · Organisation Structure, Responsibility, Accountability and Delegation of Authority

A company's rule says that each subordinate should receive orders from, and be answerable to, only one superior, and that when a manager delegates a task the delegate reports to that same manager. Which statement correctly links this with delegation?

Delegation works best when unity of command and the scalar chain are preserved, so the delegate is answerable to the single superior who delegated the authority. Authority flows downward through the chain, and dual reporting or no reporting would cause confusion and weaken accountability.

  1. ADelegation works best when the scalar chain and unity of command are preserved, so the delegate is answerable to the delegating superiorCorrect
  2. BDelegation requires the subordinate to report to two bosses to ensure checking
  3. CDelegation removes the need for any reporting relationship
  4. DDelegation is valid only when the delegate is at the same level as the delegator

Explanation

Delegation flows down the scalar chain from superior to subordinate, and the delegate is answerable to the one who gave the authority. This maintains unity of command. Dual reporting violates it, and delegation to an equal level is not the usual downward flow.

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