Managerial Discretion Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 2250 words

Managerial Discretion - Essay Exampleer, directors need to be open to exercise their own judgment in hiring decisions, strategic planning, effective administration and resource allocation decisions. The force of not allowing such perceptiveness would be a lumbering organization that is unable to take spry actions that flush toilet obtain it competitive in a global marketplace. Absence of managerial discretion would deuce-ace to a heavily bureaucratized high society that takes much more time to make and implement strategic decisions than its competitors and olibanum would fall by the wayside. At the same time, allowing managers to run amok with their own preferences can be every bit dangerous by setting up a situation in which conflicting decisions argon do at different levels of an organization that end up stalling progress. The effective organization strikes just the the right way balance by allowing a high degree of managerial discretion while instituting appropriate co nstraints to keep the business functioning effectively.Defining DiscretionKey (1997) defines discretion as a belief that individuals can influence their environment. The concept of discretion, originally borrowed from the judiciary, involves decision making that is guided by individual principles and beliefs unfettered by external control (par. 13). Thus, discretion is necessarily a subjective determination that a particular manager has a range of options gettable to him/herself. Key (2002) further maintains that Discretion is based on the belief that single has responses available with which to influence the environment. Individual perception influences whether or not an individual believes there are actions available to him or her (par. 2). This subjective determination has been described as perceived latitude of action.The concept of managerial discretion... The wideness of managerial discretion to modern companies is substantial, and has long been recognized as such. Discreti onary behavior by mangers is requirement to the strategic operation of a company but at the same time allowing unfettered discretion can be hugely detrimental to the well-being of a corporation, as evidenced by the scandals that beget taken place in recent years in the United States and elsewhere. While managers must consecrate the ability to analyze a situation and determine and appropriate course of action, there must be some guidelines or constraints as it were placed on that discretion in order to protect the company from these types of damaging developments. Several studies on the scope and limits of managerial discretion have found that there are several variables influencing and limiting the exercise of discretion in modern business. These include such factors as age, duration of tenure, educational attainment, gender, locus of control, and organizational culture. Each of these factors has a direct impact on the extent to which managers spirit free to exercise discretio n, or not and consequently they affect the success or failure of a business. Ultimately, managerial discretion is a critical balancing act for any business that seeks to compete successfully in todays global business environment.