SurTran Inc. is an 80-year-old transportation company headquartered in St. Louis. SurTran ships goods via truck and train throughout the United States. Its general operations manager, Raul Sosa, has grown up in the business and knows that Surtran is a highly complex business with 100 facilities and 2,000 staff in dozens of U.S. cities. But Raul knows that, at its core, SurTran is also a stable (nondynamic) business. As Raul is fond of saying, "As long as there are people in one place and their desired goods in another, there will always be a need for shipping! And that makes for a stable business." Nonetheless, Raul, like any other manager, deals with uncertainty on a daily basis, as do his four regional vice presidents located in Los Angeles, Houston, Chicago, and New York City. Due to SurTran's high complexity and high stability, what management style should Raul adopt to be successful in allowing his vice presidents to operate "in the field"?

Question

Quizplus · Accepted Answer

Given SurTran's high complexity and high stability, a decentralized and bureaucratic approach with standardized skills (choice B) is most suitable. This approach allows regional vice presidents to make operational decisions in the field, leveraging their understanding of local conditions while adhering to the company's established procedures and standards. This management style supports autonomy and efficiency in handling the complex operations across numerous locations, while the stability of the business model ensures that standardized processes are effective and applicable across different scenarios.