The concepts of delegation, communication, and participation are fundamental to modern management, particularly within libraries and information centers. These concepts are interconnected, with communication being a vital channel for effective delegation and participation.
Delegation
While the sources do not discuss delegation in extensive detail, they identify it as a key component of the organising function of management and a feature of effective leadership and participative styles.
- As a Function of Organising: The organising process involves defining and delegating responsibility and authority. A core principle is that authority should be delegated as far down in the organisational structure as possible to empower subordinates.
- Link to Other Management Skills: Effective delegation is linked to other managerial skills. For example, the function of coordinating requires the skills of leadership, communication, and delegation to ensure that interdependent activities contribute to the overall goals of the organization.
- In Participative Management: A participative management style, which involves employees in decision-making, naturally leads to more delegation, pushing decisions lower down the staff hierarchy.
Communication
Communication is presented as an all-pervasive and fundamental process for the successful functioning of any organization, including libraries. It is the transfer of information, ideas, and understanding between people.
Importance in Management:
- Communication is considered an essential human skill for managers at all levels.
- It is a key sub-function of directing, which enables managers to get things done through people.
- Theorist Chester Barnard identified the ability of people to communicate as one of the three essential elements for a formal organization to exist.
- It is vital for implementing change management, where an "Education and Communication" approach is used to educate employees and reduce resistance to change.
Channels and Forms of Communication:
- Organizations have both formal and informal channels of communication. Formal channels follow the established structure (scalar chain), while informal channels represent social interactions that are often spontaneous and can be very powerful.
- Informal networks feature key roles such as the "technological gatekeeper," who acquires and disseminates information to colleagues.
- Communication can be oral (staff meetings) or written (memos, reports, directives, newsletters). It also flows in different directions: upward, downward, and horizontal.
Role of Technology:
- Information and Communication Technologies (ICTs) have revolutionized communication, creating a "Networked Electronic Information Society".
- The Internet and the World Wide Web have become primary platforms for communication, enabling services like e-mail, online chat, discussion forums, blogs, wikis, and social networking.
- The communication process in this environment is governed by a set of rules known as protocols, such as HTTP for the web and SMTP for e-mail.
Participation
Participation is highlighted as a modern management approach that values and utilizes the contributions of employees at all levels. It is a core component of both Total Quality Management (TQM) and effective Human Resource Development (HRD).
Participative Management (PM):
- This is a philosophy where employees are respected and involved in processes like information sharing, decision-making, and problem-solving.
- Advantages of PM include higher productivity, superior quality decisions, and wider acceptability of those decisions among staff.
- Disadvantages include being potentially expensive and slow, and the risk of lower-quality decisions due to group dynamics or dominant personalities.
- A key technique for implementing PM is the Quality Circle, a small group of employees that meets regularly to solve problems and improve processes.
Participation in Change Management:
- A "Participative Strategy" for managing organizational change focuses on the full involvement of those affected by the changes, which increases their support and commitment.
- "Participation and Involvement" is also a key strategy for overcoming resistance to change.
Role of Technology (Web 2.0):
- Web 2.0 technologies have created a "Participatory Web" where users are not just consumers but also creators of content.
- Tools like wikis (e.g., Wikipedia), blogs, and social networking websites are built on the principle of user participation and collaboration.
- The modern Integrated Library System (ILS) has evolved into a "participative platform," with features like OPAC 2.0 allowing users to participate by adding tags, ratings, and comments to library resources.
- The open source software movement is a prime example of a participatory development model where users are treated as co-developers.
In Libraries and Professional Associations:
- The success of professional bodies like the Indian Library Association (ILA) depends on the active collaboration and participation of its members.
- The concept of Library 2.0 (Lib 2.0) is rooted in user participation, aiming to empower users to become active contributors to the library's information environment.