9. For years businesses have been flattening their management hierarchies. This flattening means that a. information must flow through more layers of management. b. it takes longer to make decisions. c. various areas within an organization have little contact with one another. d. employees at all levels must be skilled communicators.

# Brief Explanations: <br />The process of flattening management hierarchies is typically implemented in businesses to eliminate unnecessary levels of management, fostering an environment that promotes quicker decision making, and increasing the frequency of contacts between different areas of the organization. Therefore, options A, B, and C are inaccurate. Conversely, when management hierarchies are flattened, the need for effective and versatile communication increases at all employee levels. This is because the conventional structure of passing information through varying management levels is eliminated, requiring every employee, regardless of position, to be able to directly communicate with one another.<br /><br /># Answer: <br />D. Employees at all levels must be skilled communicators.