1. Robert Quinn wrote:

As one moves up the organizational ladder, matters become less tangible and less predictable. A primary characteristic of managing, particularly at higher levels, is the confrontation of change, ambiguity, and contradiction.

Managers spend much of their time living in fields of perceived tensions. They are constantly forced to make trade-offs, and often find that there are no right answers. The higher one goes in an organization, the more exaggerated this phenomenon becomes.24 In the quotation above, Robert Quinn points out some of the challenges facing top managers.

Why is it so difficult to function in an ambiguous environment?

How do managers learn to cope with such conditions? How do you feel that you would do in circumstances such as these?