Fundamentals of Management, 11/e

How Are Problems, Types of Decisions, and Organizational Level Integrated?

Exhibit 4–8 describes the relationship among types of problems, types of decisions, and level in the organization. Structured problems? Use programmed decision making. Unstructured problems? Use nonprogrammed decision making. Lower-level managers essentially confront familiar and repetitive problems so they most typically rely on programmed decisions such as standard operating procedures. However, as managers move up the organizational hierarchy, the problems they confront are likely to become less structured. Why? Because lower-level managers handle the routine decisions themselves and only pass upward decisions that they find unique or difficult. Similarly, managers ...