Page 415 - City of Westlake FY20 Budget

Section 11 Municipal Policies
Employee Pay Plan Policy

VII. DEFINITIONS FOR THE BANDS ARE AS FOLLOWS:
• "BAND E" POLICY DECISION - These decisions are associated with board level
management and involve guiding the organization as a whole through policy development,
setting the overall direction, and tone of the organization. Restrictions to these decisions
are often only limited by the laws of the state (Paterson, 1972).

• "BAND D" PROGRAMMING DECISION - These decisions are typically made by senior
management or department directors and are generally tasked with executing the
organization's policy through strategy development. Establishing guidelines by which
further decisions are made. A typical senior management decision is made at the
organizational or department level. For instance, the decision on how to set up the
organization's network infrastructure is usually determined by management, while the
decision to upgrade is based on policy (Paterson, 1972).

• "BAND C" INTERPRETIVE DECISIONS - Middle management who have constraints placed
upon them by them by senior management. These are usually made by business unit
managers, such as a budget manager or project research analyst. Once overall strategy is
developed by the senior managers, the middle managers decide how to utilize resources in
order to meet deadlines. The unit manager should always know why certain staff members
have been assigned to a particular job and may have to interpret situations not currently
covered by rules or guidelines (Paterson, 1972).

• "BAND B” ROUTINE DECISIONS - Skilled supervisors know the "how", the "where", and
the "when" to set up equipment, systems, and are aware of the rules that govern
these processes. They can decide which process is to be used in order to carry out the
interpretive decisions as they have a firm handle on operations. For example, a billing
clerk knows how to complete the utility billing process, including the way in which
entries have to be made, as they have the book of rules and regulations to refer to as
needed (Paterson, 1972).

• "BAND A" AUTOMATIC DECISIONS - Each process is a cycle of operations. The process is
decided by the supervisor who then sets up the process or the "how" of the task at hand.
This is generally accomplished by a semi-skilled individual who completes the task as
outlined, within the constraints of the process. This individual can decide where and when
to carry out the operations needed for the task (Paterson, 1972).

• "BAND O" DEFINED DECISIONS - "Band O" decisions are rarely seen in an organization.
These decisions are those involving speed of completion of a task, and are usually left to
unskilled, entry level, nonexempt employees (Paterson, 1972).

403