The internal conflict pits autocratic management against which approach proposed by the recycling division?

• A. Job enrichment and teamwork.
• B. Cost-cutting through layoffs.
• C. Strict standardization.
• D. Outsourcing production.

Answer: (C)

Autocratic management focuses all decision-making authority in a single leader, wanting control and quick, unilateral choices. When the recycling division proposes standardization, it calls for uniform procedures, processes, and performance rules across the division. This creates a formal system that people must follow, reducing personal discretion and limiting how decisions are made on the ground. That shift toward uniform, rule-based operation challenges the autocrat’s control, making standardization the source of the internal conflict.

The other options involve changes that either promote more worker involvement (which clashes with autocratic style but isn’t about imposing uniform procedures) or are straightforward management actions like layoffs or outsourcing that don’t inherently address who makes and how decisions are standardized across the division.