Many people believe that decision making is quicker under flat organizational structure as there are fewer layers

of reporting. Having fewer layers of reporting does not necessarily translate to less divergence of opinions. It can be just as difficult to make a decision when employees have different opinions. According to Carzo and Yanouzas[1], organizational structure had no significant effects on the time taken to make decisions. He does state that it takes longer time to process decisions through the several level of a tall structure, but groups with flat organization take more time to resolve conflicts and to coordinate efforts According to the responds from two senior managers and thirteen regular employees in assay development department, both managers agree that decision making it quicker as there are fewer decisions make in the line. Seven out of Thirteen employees do not think that the decision making has been quicker. They believe it take the same amount of time to complete a decision making as hierarchy organizational structure. They indicated that every employee has equal power under the flat organizational structure. Everyone put in their thought in the meeting. They do think that this is good for decision making, however it slows down the decision making. Another reason that the decision making is slower is because all the final decisions are made by the manager. It does not matter how small the decision is, it still requires managers approval. If the manager is busy or unavailable, the decision is delayed. Six out of thirteen employees think that the decision making is quicker under flat organizational structure. They indicated that they can report concerts and problems directly to the manager, who will assist in dealing with the concerns instead of going through layers of mid-level managers. At the same time, three of the six employees points out that the quality of the decision decreased as well since there are lesser filters to question the validity of the questions or concerts. All thirteen employees have no idea why the company underwent the organizational change. There was a meeting to inform them about the change, but the employees have no say to it. If the employees are involved in both making and implementing a decision, their motivation is stronger.

Carzo, R. , & Yanouzas, J. N. (1969). Effects of flat and tall organization structure. Administrative Science Quarterly , 14, 178-191