Management Decision Making Survey

IMPORTANT SURVEY DIRECTIONS: You will first encounter a short series of demographic questions used for screening and analysis purposes. The survey itself will follow. This survey consists of SEVEN management scenarios. Each scenario has FOUR management strategy solutions. Please read the management scenario and then read each of the four solution strategies offered. For each solution strategy, first consider your MOST preferred solution and enter a 1 beside it. Next, determine your LEAST preferred solution and enter a 4 beside that solution. Finally, determine what your 2nd and 3rd solution preferences are and enter a 2 and a 3 beside those solutions accordingly. Be sure to have a 1st, 2nd, 3rd and 4th preference selected for each of the seven management scenarios.

Puerto Rican American

Other Hispanic origin

11 years to 20 years

I have lived in the United States all my life

5. In what state do you live?

Technical Trade School

Undergraduate University or College

Masters Graduate University or College

Doctoral Graduate University or College

Finance, Banking Real Estate

Construction Contracting

$1,000,000 - $9,999,999

10,000,000 - $35,000,000

More than $35,000,000

Senior-Level Executive or Owner

Junior-Level Manager

12. MANAGEMENT SCENARIO 1 - "VACATION TIME" Several managers are in disagreement as to when each should be allowed to take time off for vacation. Can you help solve the problem? Rate the following solution strategies in terms of your 1, 2, 3, 4 rank order of acceptance.

There is no need for a formal system. The conflicting managers should work out their differences off-line or behind closed doors. This way they can come to an agreement on vacation schedules that will be mutually agreeable to all.
Managers should be allowed to barter with each other in order to exchange vacation dates. Providing work coverage or other compensatory means to another manager in exchange for a more lucrative vacation period should be allowed.
The senior manager should take primary responsibility for deciding which manager will take vacation on any particular week.
The managers should draw lots or roll dice to determine the order of vacation time selection. This way everyone has an equal chance to be the first to select vacation time.

13. MANAGEMENT SCENARIO 2 - "THE COMPUTER" There is a shortage of laptop computers for managers in your company. You have been asked to devise a solution to the problem. Rate the following solution strategies in terms of your 1, 2, 3, 4 rank order of acceptance.

Each manager should be given 300 hours of laptop computer time on a "computer time card" each year. Each manager can then check out a laptop computer by spending their minutes. This way, only necessary work will be accomplished on the laptop computers if managers have to spend their allotted hours on their computer time card.
There is no need for a formal system. All managers should share use of the laptop computers with their fellow managers when they are finished with the computer.
The work week should be divided into equal periods and the laptop computers allocated so that all managers have equal time. This is the only fair and equitable way to solve the problem.
Senior managers should have priority with the laptop computers. Senior managers have greater authority and responsibilities and their decisions have a greater impact on the company. They should get priority.

14. MANAGEMENT SCENARIO 3 - "THE BIG JOB" Your division has been assigned a complex new job. Management tasks need to be assigned and the work accomplished. Rate the following solution strategies in terms of your 1, 2, 3, 4 rank order of acceptance.

The managers should negotiate with each other to determine individual work tasks. The managers can trade or barter their assigned tasks with other managers if they want to. Managers with more tasks than others should be compensated in some way for taking on more of the work burden.
The work tasks should be equally divided among the managers so that no single manager has more or less responsibility on the work project.
There is no need of a formal plan. Our managers know what needs to be accomplished and we will all work together as a team to accomplish the task.
Our senior manager should devise a task completion plan for each manager and then expect each manager to accomplish their assigned task.

15. MANAGEMENT SCENARIO 4 - "LATE FOR WORK" One of the managers is continually late for work. Rate the following solution strategies in terms of your 1, 2, 3, 4 rank order of acceptance.

The late-arriving manager should forfeit a portion of their salary in order to compensate for the lost time to the company.
The senior manager is expected to address the tardy manager's lateness. However, if the late-arriving employee IS our senior manager, we assume the senior manager has a good reason for being late.
Being late to work is not a problem. We are all late for work on occasion. If any particular manager is late arriving to work, the other managers should cover their duties for them until they arrive.
Late-arriving managers know they should work extra hours so that all managers work equivalent hours and are equally productive.

16. MANAGEMENT SCENARIO 5 - "THE PROMOTION" A senior manager is retiring. There will soon be a management promotion awarded to one of the remaining managers. But, who shall get the promotion? Rate the following solution strategies in terms of your 1, 2, 3, 4 rank order of acceptance.

We should promote the most senior manager in line for promotion.
We should consider the demographic make-up of our managerial group and actively nominate managers who will bring balance to our management team.
We all know who the best manager is among us. We should simply promote that manager.
We should promote the manager who has the highest overall performance evaluation scores.

17. MANAGEMENT SCENARIO 6 - "FOOTBALL WITH THE BOSS" The leader of the company has decided to invite one manager to go to a football game. This is a great opportunity to influence the leader. How would you decide which manager gets to go to the football game with the leader? Rate the following solution strategies in terms of your 1, 2, 3, 4 rank order of acceptance.

The manager with the highest performance rating should be the one to go to the football game with the leader.
The best solution is to draw straws or conduct a lottery to decide which manager goes to the football game with the leader. This way all managers have an equal chance of going to the game.
We are not worried about who gets to go to the football game with the leader. We should leave it up to whoever is most available and to those who actually appreciate football!
We should encourage our most senior manager to go to the football game with the leader. If the senior manager declines, the opportunity should be offered to other managers in the order of their seniority in the company.

18. MANAGEMENT SCENARIO 7 - "WHO AM I?" How do you think managers view experience and knowledge as being representative of their identity as a manager? Rate the following solution strategies in terms of your 1, 2, 3, 4 rank order of acceptance.

Managers should be compensated for possessing higher levels of experience and knowledge than their peers. The level of compensation defines our personal managerial identity.
The senior manager has the most experience and knowledge and is considered to be our leader. We compare our own levels of experience and knowledge to that of our senior manager to get a sense of our own identity as a manager.
We try to balance the varied levels of managerial experience and knowledge through equal division of tasks and by allowing each manager an equal opportunity to lead. This way we all have equivalent managerial identities.
We work as a managerial unit. We pay little attention to who is more qualified than others in terms of experience and knowledge. Our personal managerial identity is based on our performance as a managerial group.