An examination of the relationship between the ethical position of the manager and decision-making style from the perspective of hospital managers: A private healthcare group example

Background and Aim: The aim of this research is to identify the relationship between managers' ethical positions and their decision-making styles, and to determine whether the ethical positions and decision-making styles of managers differ according to demographic variables such as gender, age, educational background, and professional seniority. Material and Methods: The study population consists of a total of 239 managers working in 17 hospitals and 8 medical centers across 8 provinces in Turkey under a private healthcare group. The research sample consists of 102 managers who voluntarily completed the survey form. The 'General Decision Making Scale' and the 'Ethics Position Questionnaire' were utilized in the research. Results: It was observed that spontaneous decision-making style of managers significantly differs according their ethical position variable (χ2=11,387; p=0,010) and that the ethical position of managers has a statistically significant effect on their spontaneous decision-making style (p<0.05). A moderate positive and significant relationship was found between rational decision-making style and level of idealism (r=0,337; p=0,001), and the impact of idealism level on the rational decision-making style was statistically significant (p<0.05). A low level positive and significant relationship was observed between intuitive decision-making style and level of idealism (r=0,218; p=0,028); however, the effect of idealism level on the intuitive decision-making style was statistically insignificant (p>0,05). A moderate positive and significant relationship between spontaneous decision-making style and level of relativism (r=0,323; p=0,001), and the impact of relativism level on the spontaneous decision-making style was statistically significant (p<0,05). It was also observed that the rational decision-making style of managers significantly differs according to their age (U=928,000; p=0,012), education level (χ2=10,114; p=0,018), and whether they received ethical training during their educational life (U=800,000; p=0,002), the ethical position of the manager significantly varies depending on the age (χ2=6,510; p=0,046), and there is a weak positive significant relationship between rational decision-making style and intuitive decision-making style (r=0,253; p=0,010), and there is a weak negative significant relationship between rational decision-making style and spontaneous decision-making style (r=-0,240; p=0,015), and there is a moderate positive significant relationship between intuitive decision-making style and dependant decision-making style (r=0,374; p=0,000), and there is a weak positive significant relationship between intuitive decision-making style and spontaneous decision-making style (r=0,277; p=0,005), and there is a moderate positive significant relationship between dependant decision-making style and spontaneous decision-making style (r=0,338; p=0,001), and there is a weak positive significant relationship between avoidant decision-making style and spontaneous decision-making style (r=0,264; p=0,007). Conclusion: The research results revealed a significant relationship between healthcare managers' ethical positions and decision-making styles. Furthermore, it was determined that managers' level of idealism has a positive effect on their rational decision-making style, while their level of relativism positively influences their spontaneous/immediate decision-making style. Regarding demographic variables, age and education level were found to be particularly influential on rational decision-making style. Finally, it was determined that managers who received ethics education during their educational life demonstrated a more rational approach in their decision-making processes. The findings emphasize the importance of ethics education in healthcare institutions' manager selection and development processes and draw attention to the necessity of considering ethics-related factors in decision-making processes.