=+3. Brian Catchpole is the manager of the rubber hose department of the BBR Company. His department manufactures hose of a single quality, although the lengths and specific nozzle attachments comply with individual customers' instructions. The department's workforce consists of 25 people, of whom 5 are supervisors reporting directly to Brian.

Just over a year ago, Brian returned from a course on managerial decision making convinced that he should involve his supervisors more in departmental decisions. He was certain that the standards needed revising and gave the supervisors as a group the chance to discuss and decide what the new performance standards should be. To his surprise, the group argued that the standards were too tight. After extensive discussion with the head office staff, Brian gained approval for a 10% reduction in the standards wh ich the supervisors accepted.