ABSTRACT
Defining a structure and pattern in which organizational resources can produce the intended result is generally considered the primary role of leadership, and its secondary goal is ensuring that the organization continues to produce a reliable and excellent result. These objectives require the practice of oversight through the use of quality assurance and quality control, risk assessment, risk management, and continuing process improvement. The system of decision-making needs to identify how the organization recognizes and analyzes issues for action and how these are then moved to evaluation and decision. These decisions may be focused in two specific areas: they may be decisions that reflect exceptions from the established pattern of organizational rules and processes, or they may reflect gaps in performance and opportunities to improve. The system of resource allocation will typically evaluate the sufficiency of existing resources versus goals and will allocate scarce resources toward primary areas of risk, deficiency, or opportunity.
