She decides to have a decentralized staffing system. Which of the following is an advantage of this system of staffing?
A. Greater control of activities.
B. Conserves time.
C. Compatible with computerization.
D. Promotes better interpersonal relationships.
Correct Answer: D. Promotes better interpersonal relationships.
Decentralized structures allow the staff to solve decisions by themselves, involve them in decision making; hence they are always given opportunities to interact with one another. Decentralization improves the level of job satisfaction as well as employee morale, especially amongst the lower-level managers.
Option A: Lower-level managers can alter production schedules and work assignments with adequate authority. They can even take disciplinary actions and recommend the promotion of their peers.
Option B: Another important pointer in the advantages and disadvantages of decentralization is that decisions are taken and executed by authorized personnel. This, in turn, results in faster and accurate decisions which are well aware of the real scenario. This, in turn, leads to greater efficiency in supervision. Performance evaluation of each decentralized unit helps in exercising adequate control.
Option C: Under decentralization, every single product division attains sufficient autonomy to exercise its creative flair. In this way, the top-level management can create healthy competition amongst different divisions.