Responses of Middle Managers to Case Studies under Conditions of Homogeneous and Heterogeneous Stylistic Grouping

Abstract

This paper concerns the effects of small group composition, i.e., managerial style, on feelings and responses to an unstructured task, the case study. 95 middle managers tested with the Management Styles Diagnosis Test were divided into groups of similar then dissimilar style on two successive occasions. Managers were placed in three approximately equal groups on each occasion for discussion of a case study after which a questionnaire was administered. Consistent with earlier studies, the high “Task” group compared with both high “Relationship” and “Task-Relationship” groups showed more varied and differentiated responses as did the heterogeneous group when compared with the homogeneous one. It was inferred that the varied responses would benefit decision making.