Staff As Decision-Makers: The Merits Of Decentralized Decision-Making

During the 1950s and 1960s, research teams across the country searched for differences that explained why some organizations were highly successful while others were only marginally successful, if at all. Several of them came to similar explanations involving managerial treatment and use of their subordinates. Major researchers were Rensis Likert, Douglas McGregor, Robert R. Blake (with Jane S. Mouton), and Chris Argyris. Even though the results are 30 to 40 years old, they are both relevant and critical to the most recent discussions of managerial style. While they differed in the expression of their theories, each claimed that using the talents and knowledge of subordinates and treating them with respect improved their productivity. One aspect of that superior pattern of behavior was to decentralize decision-making.published or submitted for publicatio