Obstacles to Effective Management Decision Making in the Economic Community of West African States
Date of Conferral
10-16-2023
Degree
Ph.D.
School
Management
Advisor
Dr. Robert Levasseur
Abstract
Some organization leaders make management decisions based on personal interests that do not reflect stakeholders’ interests. The problem is that the poor quality of some decisions made by Economic Community of West African States (ECOWAS) leaders adversely affects stakeholders. The purpose of this qualitative case study was to identify the obstacles to making effective management decisions in ECOWAS. The conceptual framework was a combination of stakeholder theory, the theory of organizational framing for decision making, and ethical leadership theory. Interviews of 10 former and current senior managers of ECOWAS provided the primary study data. Constant comparative analysis and Yin’s qualitative data analysis approach were used to analyze the interview data. Data analysis yielded seven themes regarding obstacles to making effective management decisions in ECOWAS: (a) undue interference by Member States in the affairs of management, (b) subregionalism or nationalism of senior managers, (c) hierarchical and bureaucratic leadership styles, (d) selection process of senior managers based on politics, (e) lack of independent evaluation of senior managers’ performance, (f) lack of continuity in management, and (g) centralized decision making. The findings of this study may help improve decision making among ECOWAS leaders, thereby contributing to positive social change for the stakeholders of ECOWAS.
Recommended Citation
Tulay, Vafolay Mbandoe, "Obstacles to Effective Management Decision Making in the Economic Community of West African States" (2023). Walden Dissertations and Doctoral Studies. 14979.
https://scholarworks.waldenu.edu/dissertations/14979
