Chester Barnard postulated the ‘Zone of Indifference’, which refers to a range within which subordinates will:
AReject managerial authority completely
BAccept directives without conscious questioning or challenge
CDemotivate themselves due to lack of monetary incentives
DResist structural organizational change
Explanation
• Chester Barnard’s Zone of Indifference represents an operational range of orders that subordinates execute unquestioningly without scrutinizing managerial authority.
• Detailed in ‘The Functions of the Executive’ (1938), Barnard introduced the Acceptance Theory of Authority, claiming authority flows upward based on worker consent.
• Barnard defined an organization as a ‘system of consciously coordinated personal activities or forces’.
Exam Relevance
- Topic: Management Thought
- Subtopic: Chester Barnard
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