kind of a vague question. probably a specific (penny stock im guessing) situtation you are talking about. hope this helps a little on the definition of the general dividend process. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dividends
Declaration of a dividend by a Board of Directors creates a legal obligation on the part of the company to pay the dividend. Please note that dividends are generally declared quarterly by US companies. Until the Board "declares" there is no obligation to pay dividends at all. As far as payment dates, the company should be paying on the date specified in the declaration. If they are not, can you give a specific example? I hope this helps .