Command Responsibility

The underlying theory of the doctrine of command responsibility is simple: military commanders are
responsible for the acts of their subordinates. If subordinates commit violations of the laws of war, and
their commanders fail to prevent or punish these crimes, then the commanders also can be held
responsible. Command responsibility, although it gained notoriety after World War II, is not a new
doctrine in military codes or national law.

Delegation of Authority

Delegation of Authority means division of authority and powers downwards to the subordinate.
Delegation is about entrusting someone else to do parts of your job. Delegation of authority can be
defined as subdivision and sub-allocation of powers to the subordinates in order to achieve effective
results.

Delegation of authority is the base of superior-subordinate relationship

The failure in delegation occurs not because of the lack of understanding of the principle of delegation,
but because of the inability to implement it into practice. A lot depends upon the ability of the manager
to delegate and upon the capabilities of the subordinates to use the authority. The manager is not able
to delegate, if he does not have a positive attitude towards delegation, if he is not receptive to the
subordinates' ideas and is not willing to accept the risk of failure or mistakes of his subordinates. A
failure to use the delegated authority emanates from a lack of communication, guidance, training and
motivation.