The responsibility for overall control, operation and management of a particular device at the hardware level is delegated to its—

Correct option is C

The correct answer is (c) Device drivers 

Explanation:
• Device drivers are specialized software programs that allow the operating system to communicate with and control specific hardware devices.
• They act as a translator between the hardware component (like a printer, scanner, or graphics card) and the software applications.
• Every hardware device requires a driver to function correctly because each device has unique commands and data formats.
• Drivers work at the hardware level, handling the low-level signals and data transfers required for the device's operation.
• Without the correct driver, the computer's operating system would not be able to recognize or use the hardware effectively. 

Information Booster:
• Most modern operating systems come with "Plug and Play" drivers for common devices.
• Updating drivers is essential for maintaining hardware performance and security. 

Additional Knowledge:
(a) Operating system: The main software that manages the entire computer, but it relies on drivers to manage specific hardware components.
(b) System utilities: These are tools like defragmenters or backup software used to maintain the system, not to control hardware at the driver level.
(d) Disk cleaner: A utility program designed to free up disk space by deleting unnecessary files.