THE INDIVIDUAL STYLE OF DECISION MAKING BY ADMINISTRATORS OF MEDICAL ORGANIZATIONS IN PERSPECTIVE OF EVALUATION OF MANAGEMENT POTENTIAL

Abstract

In assessing management potential of a manager, it is necessary to consider one's personal characteristics, in particular, management decision-making style. A physician repeatedly makes clinical decisions on patients’ treatment and this experience shapes his/her individual decision-making style, which in turn defines personal features of physician as a leader. Purpose of study. To evaluate the management potential of leaders of medical institutions of the Tomsk oblast on the basis of investigation on their decision-making styles. The decision-making style was identified using A. Rowe's technique (Decision Style Inventory) widely applied in various research areas. The sampling of survey included 1097 physicians, including head physicians (4,8%), deputy head physicians (10,1%), heads of department (11,9%). Decision-making styles of leaders differ depending of the various levels of management. The analytical style dominates among head physicians, followed by conceptual style. For the largest cohort of deputy head physicians analytical style also dominates, but the second rank of dominating styles is for directive style. In general, moving down administrative staircase the percentage of managers with dominating conceptual style is decreasing and percentage of those who are oriented on individual (authoritarian) decision-making processes and also those who are focused more on human relationship than on tasks solution increases. The possibilities of transformation of individual style of decision making are limited and require conscious efforts, that tasks a complicated problem before leaders of medical institutions concerning assessment of management potential of development and training of long-term human resources reserve.