An Assessment of the Deemed Appropriateness of Participative Decision Making for High and Low Hierarchical Levels

Abstract

Addressing questions concerning the dependence of leadership style on hierarchical position, this investigation employs an instrument offering greater internal validity than similar instruments used in previous research. Middle-level managers from three organizations (N = 167) were asked to indicate the degree of subordinate involvement they would permit in hypothetical decision situations occurring at different hierarchical levels. For that subset of problems for which selection of high-quality solution was required (i.e., problems possessing a quality requirement), the degree of participation deemed appropriate for low-level situations did not differ significantly from the degree of participation deemed appropriate for high-level situations. However, for the subset of problems for which all possible alternatives were equally suitable (i.e., problems lacking a quality requirement), substantially greater participation was judged appropriate for low-level situations than for otherwise comparable high-level situations. It is argued that these effects reflect perceived tradeoffs between the expected costs and benefits of participation at different hierarchical levels. Previous research suggesting a positive relationship between level and participation is evaluated in light of these results.