Title: Delegation: implications for Thai managers' job stress and performance

Authors: Steve Bakalis, Therese A. Joiner

Addresses: School of Applied Economics, Victoria University, Footscray, Australia. ' School of Business, La Trobe University, Bundoora, 3086, Australia

Abstract: Delegation is an important aspect of organisation design. The Anglo-American literature is resplendent with references that support the benefits of delegating decision making authority and responsibility to lower level managers, and the drawbacks of not delegating. In countries where managers hold different cultural values from Anglo-American managers, it is likely that preferences for the extent of delegation will also differ. This study examines the extent of delegation in Thai organisations and its impact on Thai managers| performance and job-related stress. Using a sample of 68 Thai middle managers, we found that higher levels of decision making delegation was associated with increased performance, however, high levels of delegation was also associated with increased job stress. Implications of the results with respect to Thai managers| development and training in the delegation process, as well as effective organisation design, are addressed.

Keywords: delegation; job-related stress; managerial performance; national culture; Thai managers.

DOI: 10.1504/IJMDM.2003.003999

International Journal of Management and Decision Making, 2003 Vol.4 No.4, pp.345 - 366

Published online: 10 May 2004 *

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