IBIMA Publishing

The main purpose of this research is to identify the decision-making styles of Tunisian managers. The relationships between their value systems and decision styles and between their decision styles and certain demographic variables (such as level of education, age, etc.) and organizational variables (such as company size, kind of ownership, etc.) are also investigated. In this study, a sample of 215 managers in various organizations was surveyed. Following Ali's questionnaire (1993), managerial decision-making styles were classified into autocratic, pseudo-consultative, consultative, participative, pseudo-participative, and delegative. Furthermore, statistical analysis of the survey data classified managerial value systems into tribalistic, egocentric, conformist, manipulative, sociocentric, and existential. This classification was conducted in accordance with the framework developed by Flowers et al. (1975). This research is among the very few studies which investigates the characteristics of Tunisian managers, i.e., their value systems and decision styles. It is widely believed that the business philosophy of any country depends, to a large degree, upon the values held by those in management and their decision-making styles. The present study is, thus, a detailed introduction to contemporary Tunisian culture and the way it is managed