The decision making process of staff development managers in hospitals
Date
1986
Authors
Smith, Joan R. W.
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Abstract
Staff Development Managers and Coordinators make decisions daily in situations that are fraught with uncertainty and conflict. Nine staff development managers and two coordinators in the Greater Vancouver area and Vancouver Island were interviewed to determine how they make decisions in an atmosphere of uncertainty and conflict. Grandori's (1984) contingency model, developed to match decision strategies with levels of uncertainty and conflict in decision making, was used. The primary focus was on factors which most influence the decisions of staff development managers and coordinators, how they deal with uncertainty and conflict in their decision making, and to obtain their views on Grandori's (1984) model as a tool for staff development decision makers. No particular decision making strategy was apparent. Ensuring that the request for an education program was valid influenced their decisions more than the needs of the learners. Uncertainty was reduced by obtaining more information while problem solving through consultation was used to deal with conflict. Grandori's (1984) model was received positively, however, some had reservations as the time to absorb the model was limited . It was found to be somewhat academic and more than half of the subjects found it enlightening primarily on the process of decision making. Newer members of the staff development departments were more likely to try to use it than were long standing managers or coordinators. There was very little difference in the way managers and coordinators handled any of the questions.