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Influence of Decision Making Model in Management Activities and Organizational Leadership-A Research Proposal

Decision making stands out as one of the most crucial organizational processes impacting all levels of the organization (Hoy, & Tarter, 2010; Tan, & Shen, 2000; Ellstrom, 2001; Sagie, & Aycan, 2003). It affects every group and individual within the organization. Every group process and problem-solving effort is linked to decision-making. Amid the current globalization trends, technological advancement and a complex business environment, the role played by decision making has become even more magnified (Notar, 2008; Laroche, 1995; Friga, & Chapas, 2008; Langley et al., 1995; Buchanan, & O’Connell). Importantly, how decisions are made can have far-reaching effects on management activities and organizational leadership (Hsiung, 2012; Fiol, & Lyles, 1985). While the significance of decision making is appreciated in a wide body of literature, the influence of decision making style on management activities and leadership within the organization has not been adequately investigated. Against the backdrop of the implied lack of research on the influence of decision making styles in management, this paper/proposal is an initial effort to generate research that will yield a comprehensive understanding in the same respect.

In its simplest, the proposed research shall be ‘desk-based’, implying it shall rely on secondary data to draw inferences. This research approach is now common especially given that voluminous amounts of data are available owed to technological advancement (Smith et al., 2011; Andrews et al., 2012). An integral exercise of the process will be the utilization of data that other researchers have collected for primary purposes. As mentioned in the introductory paragraph, there is a significant body of literature on the role/significance of decision making in organizational management. Therefore, it will only be optimal that the research begins by exploring what is already known on decision making models and management/leadership before developing insight as to contextual gaps (in knowledge and understanding). As such, the research shall initially uncover more on decision making in organizations through a review of secondary sources as well as investigative works of other people on the topic.

Considering that voluminous data has been collected on the construct of decision making, it will only be optimal for the proposed research if the analysis method adopted is systematic. This will ensure only what is relevant is utilized. Creswell (2009) emphasizes the need to make clear how data is to be collected, analyzed, and interpreted. As there is no literature defining specific standard evaluative and procedural steps for the analysis intended for use in this study, the researcher shall adopt an own review and analysis process that will begin with the development of study aims and questions. Databases will then be chosen and after a thorough search, relevant datasets will be identified. The search strategy will entail searching databases like Ebscohost, Google Scholar, JSTOR, and ProQuest Central. Search terms and phrases revolving around decision making influence/impact on leadership/management shall be employed and results filtered accordingly to select relevant content before the analysis begins. The main objective has already been identified as “to uncover the influence of a decision making model in management activities and organizational leadership”. A guiding research question is thus developed from the objective as in “What impact do decision making models have on management activities and organizational leadership”. Besides the mentioned objective, other aims will be: 1) to explore various decision-making models as presented in literature, 2) to identify any gaps in decision-making literature and, 3) Recommend research based on identified gaps thereof. Conceptual skills and theoretical knowledge will be employed to use resultant data (from the search) to address the research question (Doolan, & Froelicher, 2009). As is the case with any research, the first step will be to investigate and learn what is already known about decision making and what is yet to be learnt/known/understood. For the proposed research, an in-depth literature review will be conducted on decision making and other related areas like management and leadership. Current and previous works on this topic shall be explored.

After identifying/locating relevant datasets (more precisely articles and books), they shall be evaluated to determine/confirm their appropriateness for the topic under focus. According to Stewart and Kamins (1993) and Smith (2008), an advantage of this research approach is that the data being sought exists in some form; the task is to ascertain its quality and appropriateness hence its suitability for actual use in the context of the current research. It is here that aspects like the context and content of articles will be taken into consideration (Clarke, & Cossette, 2000).           

A specific advantage of using the secondary text analysis that will be adopted in the proposed study is that examining multiple sources bolsters confidence in subsequent inferences. In instances where more sources will be noted to have similar conclusions that will provide for an opportunity for comparison or contrast where they differ (Heaton, 2008). However, limitations arise in that the researcher cannot ascertain how the original data was collected, or how inferences were arrived at. This limitation will be avoided by ensuring data being utilized matches with the research question. The steps explained will be followed hence allowing for critical evaluation and careful examination of the datasets.

Last yet important is the need to outline the research’s timeline. Identification of datasets and their evaluation is expected to take about two days. Following the drafting of this proposal, the search for the relevant material has already began. The literature review (hence analysis) will take about one and a half weeks.