Question

The chief disadvantages of a decentralized organizational structure include

A) increasing the size of the corporate bureaucracy.
B) slowing a company's response times to changing external events because approval of what course of action to take has to go up the chain of command to the top of the management bureaucracy.
C) discouraging lower-level managers and rank-and-fi le employees from exercising initiative, engaging in creative thinking, and taking responsibility for their actions.
D) putting the organization at risk if many "bad" decisions are made at lower levels in the organization top management lacks "full control.
E) creating more layers of management.

Answer 1

The chief disadvantages of a decentralized organizational structure include slower response times, lack of initiative and responsibility among lower-level employees, increased risk of bad decisions, and more layers of management.

Step-by-step explanation:

The chief disadvantages of a decentralized organizational structure include:

1. Slowing a company's response times to changing external events because approval of what course of action to take has to go up the chain of command to the top of the management bureaucracy.
2. Discouraging lower-level managers and rank-and-file employees from exercising initiative, engaging in creative thinking, and taking responsibility for their actions.
3. Putting the organization at risk if many 'bad' decisions are made at lower levels in the organization and top management lacks full control.
4. Creating more layers of management.

These disadvantages can hinder decision-making, innovation, and agility within a decentralized organization.