The world of work consists of different levels of complexity.
At entry levels, work is generally well-structured and clear-cut, while job content at executive levels require significantly more discretion and discernment.
This 'theory' was postulated by Organizational Development theorist Eliot Jacques in 1989, when he published his seminal work about Stratified Systems Theory. Through this publication he suggested that there are 7 levels of complexity to be found in a typical organization, ranging from the the most elementary and short-term decision-making levels to levels that require long-term, amorphous and complex decision-making. BIOSS SA further distilled his theory into 5 ''levels of work", with specific outcomes and descriptors at each level.