The boss decides > Far and away the greater part of management decisions are made by the people in the boss environment, not by the bosses themselves. Managers rely on their followers and occasionally give in, despite their own reservations, to the will of the lower echelons. Others do ­everything to avoid making difficult decisions. They prefer to order the conduct of a study or find other ways to duck the responsibility of making a decision. 

Decisions are well thought out > As a rule, decision-makers depend on their own ­experience. But if a company is confronted with a situation that has never been seen before, relying on earlier experience can lead to the wrong decisions. Decisions can also be affected by personal needs such as a desire for recognition, a striving for harmony, or a compulsion to have absolute control. Then there is the factor that applicants and consultancies like to orient their decision-making memos to the expected or presumed attitudes of the decision-makers. Yet the latter just want to know the cold, hard facts. The information on which decisions are based is at times catastrophic.     

Questionable basis for decisions >> As part of a survey, the managers and specialists at all levels in a number of large corporations were asked about their opinions of their most important suppliers. Almost none of the opinions were consistent with any others. Some suppliers received ­ratings ranging from excellent to poor. In a few cases, opinions were formed on the basis of events which had occurred more than five years before. 

Decisions are implemented > Just because a decision has been made does not mean that it will be implemented without fail. European and American studies have proved that strategic ­effectiveness in our companies is far from being the norm: a mere ten to fifteen percent of the strategic processes are ever introduced – and even these are rarely lived to the full. People like to take care of urgent matters before important ones, and important matters are handled too late. Unpleasant personnel decisions are postponed, although everybody knows who is in the wrong position and who is incompetent. As long as the numbers are satisfactory, nothing happens.

Focus is on the employees > Employees are keen-eyed observers of the events in the­ ­company, but usually do not speak to their superiors about them. Instead, they let off steam outside of the company, and their surroundings receive a blunt picture of what is going on in the firm.   
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