| Decision making is the foundation of good management. Amid the dramatic changes facing the health care delivery system it seemed appropriate to investigate the different decision styles and their influence on decision making.;The purpose of this study was to examine and define the dominant decision styles among the chief nurses and assistant chief nurses assigned to field hospitals in the Veterans Administration. This task was accomplished by using ROWE'S DECISION STYLE INVENTORY III.;A 4 x 4 x 2 factorial design was used to examine three characteristics of the sample: the most common decision styles: directive, analytical, conceptual and behavioral, the associated decision style patterns: entrepreneur, executive, supervisory and middle management, and the technical and social values. The one way analysis of variance, t-test and/or Fisher test were used to analyze the data at the .05 level of significance.;The sample consisted of 54 chief nurses and 74 assistant chief nurses. They were randomly selected from the January 1985 VA central office nursing key directory that listed 343 nurse administrators located within six medical regions.;One variable from the demographic data, years of nursing experience in the Veterans Administration was the only significant factor related to the findings of the study. Significant differences were found in the executive and middle management decision style patterns and social and technical values.;There was no difference for either group in their decision style or their value preference. The dominant decision style was analytical and the backup decision style was conceptual. Their combined decision styles formed the executive decision style pattern, and their values were directed toward the technical aspect of their workworld. |
