Decision making in the fragmented organisation: a utility perspective

Organisations are responding to the deeper structural changes taking place in the underlying system of commercial competition by becoming agile and fragmented. In the emergence of such network organisational structures it must be clear how each unit is performing relative to each other and relative to the key market players. To manage such fragmented specialised business units, executives need effective decision making processes that are capable of measuring key indices quickly, accurately and effectively. The aim of this article is to conduct exploratory research into management decision making in the context of change evaluation for a structurally fragmented electrical utility organisation. The case study research highlights the benefits and shortcomings of the change evaluation approach as part of the management decision making process and shows how the findings from the study inform strategic and operational decision making within the case study organisation.