Abstract
The decision making process is an important aspect of the managerial function that is becoming increasingly complex due to technological and global impacts. It is essential, therefore, to understand why various managers approach the decision making process differently. One area that is related to how managers perceive and process the information that is associated with decision making, is that of decision style.
It is not enough, however, to explore decision style in isolation, as some of the decisions that managers make often entail ethical components concerning the ability to balance the interests of diverse groups. Moral reasoning is therefore important for every manager, and could impact the decision style that is employed by such managers. The relationship between managerial decision style and moral development is one that could provide unique insights into the area of decision making, yet it is an area that has remained relatively unexplored.
Using Alan Rowe's Decision Style Inventory (DSI), in conjunction with James Rest's Defining Issues Test (DIT), the purpose of this study was to ascertain the relationship between decision style and moral development among U.S. managers.
The findings of this study of 270 managers suggest that there is a relationship between higher directive decision style scores and lower principled reasoning scores. Since the focus of individuals who demonstrate a directive decision style is on task completion, perhaps the consideration of the many alternatives that are necessary to reason at a more ethically attuned level is neglected. Managers who exhibit a directive decision style might be responsible for the management of non-managerial populations of workers, and in such a capacity, set the ethical tones and examples for employees to follow. Since training and educational interventions in the area of ethics have been shown to increase moral development scores, those managers who are identified as displaying a directive decision style might benefit from such training.
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Pennino, C.M. Is Decision Style Related to Moral Development Among Managers in the U.S.?. Journal of Business Ethics 41, 337–347 (2002). https://doi.org/10.1023/A:1021282816140
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.1023/A:1021282816140