Discuss the different levels of decision making?

Answer 1

Decision making is intertwined with the other functions, such as planning, coordinating and controlling. Decisions are made in order to change the company's current status to a more desirable state of affairs. Therefore, relevant information needs to supply by the Management Accountant to top management to make decision. In an organization, different levels of management are making different types of decision. This can be showed at the figure below.

Levels of decision making

Top level managers, or strategic managers, are also called senior management and executives, are individuals at the top one or two levels in an organization. The Chief Executive Officer (CEO), Chief Financial Officer (CFO), Chief Operational Officer (COO), Chief Informational Officer (CIO), President, Vice President, Chairman and Board of Directors are examples of top level managers. They have the long-term vision for the company. They are not involved in day-to-day tasks need to possess conceptual skill so as to set the goals for the organization as a whole. For example, Jerry Yang, the former chief executive of Yahoo!, was criticized when a $44.6 billion acquisition bid from Microsoft failed under his watch. They frame the organizational policy. They are also responsible for mobilization of resources. They generally make large budgetary decisions for the company and are responsible to the shareholders and the general public. The success or failure of the organization rests on the shoulders of the top level management.

Middle level managers, or middle managers, are those in the levels below top managers. Middle manager's job titles include General Manager (GM), Plant Manager, Regional manager and Divisional manager. Middle level managers are responsible for carrying out the goals set out by top management with setting goals for their departments and other business units. Tactical decisions, the medium term decisions about how to implement strategy, are delegated to middle managers. Middle management decisions might include marketing a new product, communicating with and managing lower management and determining what issues need to be addressed with top level managers. Each individual middle management department develops a strategy to meet its inner departmental goals.

Lastly, lower level management, which included office managers, shift supervisor, department manager, foreperson, crew leader and store manager, are responsible for the daily management of line workers - the employees who actually produce the product or offer the service. Although first line manager typically do not set goals for the organization, they have a very strong influence on the company. These are the managers that most employees interact with on a daily basis. Operational decisions, short term decision or also called administrative decisions about how to implement the tactics affect daily tasks and generally handled by lower level managers. Supervisors or team leaders may decide employee related issues, such as pay rates, training, evaluations and disciplining or terminating employees. For example, supervisor may decide to reward the most productive employee with an employee of the month award, or offer incentives such as gift certificates.

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