Three Studies of Managerial Discretion: Consequences, Sources & Nature

Technology, professionalization, international competition, and the pace of change have created pressures for more flexible, less hierarchical organizations. One important consequence of these changes is increased discretion and control for employees. Middle and lower-level managers have greater freedom and responsibility, whether or not they are ready for it. This book describes the result of a series of studies of managerial discretion, investigating the performance consequences of discretion, organizational sources of discretion, and the terms in which managers think about their discretion.