Quality delegation grid: a decision tool for evaluating delegation of management tasks in hospital dietetics...

This research was designed to determine perceptions of the quality of task performance; identify personnel currently performing selected management and food production tasks in a hospital dietetics department; and develop a grid for examining delegation strategies. Information on task quality and delegation was obtained from 309 dietitians and 208 support personnel in 151 hospitals. This information was used to develop a quality delegation grid. The grid is divided into four quadrants: High Quality/High Delegation; High Quality/Low Delegation; Low Quality/High Delegation; and Low Quality/Low Delegation. The grid was used to evaluate the delegation of management tasks reported by participants in this study. Our results indicated that the majority of tasks were placed in the High Quality/High Delegation quadrant (28 tasks) and the Low Quality/Low Delegation quadrant (17 tasks), suggesting that delegation was appropriate for the quality expected if the task was delegated. Three tasks were placed in the Low Quality/High Delegation quadrant indicating that tasks were delegated even though quality of the completed task was perceived as low when delegated, suggesting that dietitians should have performed these tasks themselves. Four tasks were placed in the High Quality/Low Delegation quadrant indicating that dietitians were performing tasks that were perceived to have high quality when performed by support personnel, yet these tasks were rarely delegated. Foodservice directors could use the grid to identify training needs, differentiate perceptions between dietitians and support personnel, and evaluate current delegation patterns.