Journal of Universal Excellence,
June 2014, Vol. 3, No. 2, pp. 87-101.
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Intuitive decision-making and leadership competencies of
managers in Slovenian automotive industry
*
Ivan Erenda
TPV d.d., Kandijska cesta 60, 8000 Novo mesto, Slovenia i.erenda@tpv.si
Maja Meško
Faculty of Management, University of Primorska, Cankarjeva 5, Koper, Slovenia
maja.mesko@gmail.com
Boris Bukovec
Faculty of organization studies in Novo mesto, Novi trg 5, 8000 Novo mesto, Slovenia
boris.bukovec@fos.unm.si
Abstract:
Research question (RQ): Presence of intuitive decision-making by top and middle managers in Slovenian automotive industry.
Purpose: Establish the presence of inuitive decision-making by top and middle managers in Slovenian automotive industry, define the intuitive decision-making with variables of leadership competencies.
Methodology: empirical research was conducted within the quantitative research approach by means of a GDMS questionnaire (General Decision Making Style). The obtained research data were processed by means of descriptive statistics, factor analysis (PAF, varimax), recoding and discriminant analysis.
Results: Intuitive decision-making by top and middle managers in automotive industry can be characterized by their ability to recognize emotions, to reflect on options when making a decision and by making a decision at the last moment.
Organization: Practical (applicable) added value in the area of management personnel administration in the automotive industry and others.
Society: Basic starting points set for further detailed and targeted research in other related social areas.
Originality: Originality of the conducted research consists in the fact that no available domestic or foreign scientific literature features any research implying the elements of the operationalization applied (examination of relationship between leadership competencies and intuitive decision-making) as this is the case in the present research which undoubtedly confirms its originality. Limitations/further research: (1) Use of standardized measuring instruments of foreign origin and potential differences between the environment where the measuring instrumnets were conceived and the environment where they were used. (2) Limited capabilities of translation of measuring instruments into words, collocations and phrases from the original questionnaires for which no adequate translation in Slovene exists.
Key words: management, competencies, intuition, inuitive decision-making, automotive industry.
1 Introduction
Despite its relative small size, the Slovenian automotive industry is neither an insignificant link in the automotive industry worldwide nor an exception in the global automotive industry
* Correspondence author.
received: 22. april 2014; approved: 19. june 2014; adopted: 20. june 2014.
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market. Namely, it is a part of the world market and consequently, the world market changes require the Slovenian automobile components manufacturers to adjust correspondingly. Considering that organizations are targeted relations between people, any influential environmental change leads to changes in the organization's targets and consequently its processes are adjusted and new relationships are established in the organization. In accordance with this, any radical change in the environment involves a radical adjustment in the organization or transformation changes where managers competencies in each individual organization play a crucial role. A long-term efficiency of individuals and organization always needs an adequate and timely adaptation, transformed and new competencies of the organization and its individuals. Examination of the latter is getting increasingly frequent while the use of different competencies models is extending more and more to different areas of working with people. For that, appropriate competencies play a particularly important role in the development of qualifying management personnel. Standard competencies acquired with full-time education are usually not enough to adapt efficiently to fast changes and bigger and bigger need to have an innovative and creative organization, this is why the need of identifying key characteristics of successful individuals is more and more obvious. The recent financial and economic crisis can be understood as a kind of warning to a bigger and bigger importance of existence of capable managers whose knowledge and skills, personal traits and willingness to act in the time of uncertain conditions secure the organization against harmful external and internal influences which may be even fatal in extreme cases. Actualization of knowledge exposes by itself in terms of who the right managers are for the time of uncertain conditions and what sets them apart from other managers who are anyway successful in stable conditions. Decision-making as one of the most important responibilities of each management plays a significant role in both stable and uncertain situations. Rational decision-making and rational mode of operation as a dominant method of administration have a long tradition but in the last decades the interest has been increasingly growing in intuition and intuitive decision-making or acting as an efficient managing method. The output of both foreign and domestic professional litterature shows mainly harmonized view on fundamental tasks of management which through (1) planning, (2) organization, (3) guidance and (4) supervision highlight decision-making as a central function which is present in all these functions related to management and others. Decision-making based on physical and non-physical signals, one could say taking a shortcut, looks at first sight a bit unprofessional, ignorant, illogical and often sounds negatively. The latter results in a poor awareness of intuitive abilities in general which is the basic condition for a systematic development of intuitive potentials of each individual. On the whole, we can argue that the interest in intuition and its used and unused potentials has been increasing since the mid of eighties of the previous century. Since then, numerous researches have been conducted whose findings have shown a tangible value of intuition in modern organizations on one hand, and on the other hand, existence of the fact that this ability is becoming an essential precondition of survival in some areas and levels of management. Examination and research of the phenomenon of intution has been continuing up to now and even today we see new dimensions and practical
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application of intuition for it is gaining more and more importance even in the modern management.
2 Theoretical basis
As mentioned in the Introduction, examination and implementation of competencies are getting increasingly widespread today, even to the extent where they no longer represent any competitive advantages but they are becoming a sort of fundamental way the organizations operate. Appropriate competencies play a particularly important role in the development of management personnel both in economic and non economic sector. Namely, standard competencies individuals acquire through full-time education, are often not sufficient for effective management of continuous changes in organizations and their wider influential environment, this is why a need to identify, measure and develop individual key competencies of the personnel is of particular importance. The word competence has already become firmly established in different sources as well as in organization and social levels. There are several definitions of the word competencies for the research of its meaning is extremely expanded. Here, we present the definition of the word competencies as made by Spencer and Spencer (1993) and according to them, competencies represent primary characteristics of an individual which have a causal relationship with his or her efficient and/or superior performance of duties or control of different situations with criteria determining an effective functioning. The word criterium of effectiveness is defined as a competence to discern who does something well or poorly according to specific criteria or standards (p. 9). We also expose the definition of management competencies given by Boyatzis (2009, p. 450) according to whom they are a set of (1) cognitive competencies (intelligence and systematic thinking), (2) competencies for emotional intelligence or abilities of intrapersonal nature and (3) competencies of social intelligence or abilities of intrapersonal nature (empathy, conflict management, awareness of organization needs, inspiring leadership, tutorship, team work and influence).
Decision-making in management as well as in general terms, enjoys as great interest of researchers as competencies. With respect to the general definition of decision-making, the researchers agree that it is about a choice between possible solutions or alternatives, a decision for one of the alternatives that is likely to solve the problem to the greatest extent possible. Nevertheless, different authors analyse in different ways the steps in the process of decision-making representing individual stages of decision-making. The said process approach in decision-making within the framework of problems solution according to Schermerhorn (1993, p. 152) consists of six successive steps: (1) identification and definition of the key problem; (2) generation of different alternative solutions; (3) assessment of alternative solutions and most suitable solutions; (4) performance of controlled examination of the solution chosen; (5) implementation of the solution chosen and (6) performance of the assessment of effectiveness of the solution. There are several theories and models interpreting in distinctive ways the process of decision-making and its components. According to Jung, people follow one of four functions when it comes to problems solving: (1) recognition or perception through senses, (2) thinking giving us meaning and understanding, (3) feeling
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estimating and assessing, and (4) intuition foreseeing future possibilities (Andersen, 2010, p. 132). Among researchers, there is a common treatment of models of direct comparison between two contradictory concepts of decision-making, the inuitive and the analytical one. One of them is presented below (see Figure 1). Its authors are Stanovich and West (2000) and the contect enjoys a considerable consensus among researchers in this area (Kahneman, 2003, p. 698).
PERCEPTION
INTUITION system 1
REASONING system 2
3
8 O
a
Fast Parallel Automatic Effortless Associative Slow learning Emotional
Slow Serial Controlled Effortful Rull-governed Flexible Neutral
I
I
Percepts Current stimulation Stimulus-bound
Conceptual representations Past, presence and future Can be evoked by language
Figure 1. Process and actions of two cognitive systems. From »A Perspective on Judgment and Choice«, by D. Kahneman, 2003, American Psychologist, 58(9), p. 698.
In litterature we can find supporters of both systems of decision-making shown in Figure 1 as well as researchers claiming that reasoning and intuition have equal roles in decision-making. Bennett (in Redekop, 2009) states that both analytical and intuitive processes are strictly necessary in the process of decision-making and that intuitive flashes are often involved in good - right decisions. He adds that both processes should interweave in the process of decision-making (p. 400). Leonard and Biberman (2007, p. 935) have come to similar conclusions in principle as they state that the traditional assumption of optimum of the rational decision-making can be improved by involving other dimensions related to decisionmaking. He also adds that organizations promoting and supporting multidimensional decision-making and therefore using rational, intuitive, emotional and spiritual aspects of the whole person, develop better relationships among personnel, implement systems of creative problems solving and in general operate better than other similar organizations. Kralj (2003) mentions that originally, the intuition had to be used more due to poorly developed knowledge, but later on the knowledge grew and therefore became strongly dominant. He says further on that the use of intuition is above all effective in different crisis situations when there is a need to make on-the-spot decisions which also represents solution to the problem (p. 369). Patton (2003, p. 989) came to similar conclusion saying that intuitive decision-making plays an important role when responding to crisis situations, especially when making
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a decision involving some elements of uncertainty. Agor (1986, p. 49) claims that intuition is a brain skill particularly useful for making important decisions of leadership, especially in the following circumstances: (1) when there is a high degree of uncertainty; (2) when there have been few previous cases; (3) when variables of the problem are unlikely to be scientifically predictable; (4) when facts are limited; (5) when facts do not give clear vision which direction to go to search for a solution; (6) when there are time restrictions and a pressure to choose the right solution and (7) the solution needs to be chosen among more or less equally likely ones. Many researches have been conducted on intuitive decision-making. Their spectrum is very large and they were conducted in the framework of different areas and research problems. The Sadler-Smith (2004, p. 155) research provided an interesting finding related to a positive relationship between the intuitive style of decision-making in management and their favorable financial and non financial indicators of company's good performance.
The purpose and aim of the present empirical research were to identify the presence of intuitive decision-making with top and middle managers in Slovenian automotive industry and to define the intuitive decision-making with variables of their leadership competencies. Within this, we set a research hypothesis that intuitive decision-making with top and middle managers in Slovenian automotive industry can be defined with a subspace of variables of leadership competencies.
3 Methodology
The targeted population of the conducted empirical research involved top and middle managers of Slovenian companies whose core business is automotive industry and therefore they fulfilled all conditions as follows: (1) managers acting within the framewok of geographic borders of the RS; (2) managers acting in companies whose core business is automotive industry; (3) managers acting in organizations with more than ten employees; and (4) managers whose position is on top or middle management level. We conducted the empirical research within the quantitative research approach through GDMS (General Decision Making Style) questionnaire translated in Slovene by a qualified and licensed translator. No adjustment to the questionnaire was made. Pilot study of the questionnaire conducted on a sample of five managers in Slovenian automotive industry helped us to make sure the questions were clear and understandable. The measuring instrument used for this purpose consists of 25 statements based on which we get five different styles of decision-making, as follows: rational, intuitive, dependent, avoidant and spontaneous. The questionnaire respondents answered by means of a 5 point scale with 1 meaning never and 5 meaning always. The questionnaire was properly validated and its norms correspond to the population in anglo saxon culture. The questionnaire reliability was assessed using the Cronbach a coefficient (a = 0,783) showing a high degree of the questionnaire reliability. Psychometric data of the questionnaire are published in the initial article (Scott & Bruce, 1995) and in several further studies (Baiocco, Laghi & D'Alessio, 2009; Bruine de Bruin, Parker & Fischhoff, 2007; Crossley & Highhouse, 2005; Dalal & Bonaccio, 2010; Singh & Greenhaus, 2004; Thunholm, 2009; Loo, 2000; Galotti, Ciner, Altenbaumer, Geerts, Rupp &
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Woulfe, 2006; Parker, Bruine de Bruin & Fischhoff, 2007; Thunholm, 2008; Gambetti, Fabbri, Bensi & Tonetti, 2008; Gati, Landman, Davidovitch, Asulin-Peretz & Gadassi, 2010; Thunholm, 2004).
According to data from the Agency of the Republic of Slovenia for Public Legal Records and Related Services (AJPES), Slovenian automobile industry includes 91 active entities or companies under the classification code 29.320 (Production of other parts and equipment for motor vehicles). Based on this data and our estimation that on average there are 15 top and middle managers per company, an estimate of the total population represents 1365 units while our sample included 250 units equivalent to 18,3% of the total population in Slovenia. Geographic representitiveness of the research sample can be confirmed by the fact that the research involved companies with predominant activity in automotive industry from all statistical regions of RS which is presumed in relation to the preceding enquiry carried out to determine a list of relevant companies whose managers were afterwards invited to take part in the research.
Model or concept of the empirical research is illustrated in a simplified way in Figure 2, beginning with the measuring instrument involved and ending with evaluation of hypothesis of the research issue, presenting the order of key statistical methods used for data processing.
Figure 2. Research model
In the first step, we processed the research data and presented them by means of descriptive statistics (minimum value, maximum value, mean and standard deviation). In the second step, we made a factor analysis on statements related to decision-making styles. The factor analysis was used to see if the decision-making styles in our sample were to be allocated in five groups or factors as reported by Scott and Bruce (1995, pp. 818-831). Four variables with communalities less than 0,3 were eliminated (»I generally make decisions which feel right to
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me.«, »I often need the assistance of other people when making important decisions.«, »I make important decisions without consulting other people.«, »I avoid making important decision until the pressure is on.«).
Intuitive decision-making is represented by one out of five factors. This factor is composed of 4 statements and all of them are assessed by Likert's 5-point scale:
•	»When I make decisions, I tend to rely on my intuition«;
•	»When making decisions, I rely upon my instincts«;
•	»When I make a decision, I trust my inner feelings and reactions«;
•	»When I make a decision, it is more important for me to feel the decision is right than to have a rational reason for it.«.
The new created variable intuitive decision-making was recoded so that respondents whose value of variable was less or equal to 2,5 were classified in the group of low intuition and those whose value of variable was more than 2,5 were classified in the group of high intuition. The recoding values were set at the limit, that is at the mean value between 1 and 5.
Further on, on the basis of variables from the section of emotional intelligence and the section of statements related to decision-making styles, we performed the discriminant analysis trying to classify the respondents in two groups - the one with low and the other with high intuition for decision-making. The last step consisted of statistical conclusion and confirmation of hypothesis.
Data collection was conducted through an online questionnaire in the period from 19.6.2013 to 7.9.2013. 231 out of 250 invited managers responded to the questionnaire, representing 92,4. However, some of the questionnaires were not complete, that is to say 59, representing 23,6%. 172 or 68,8% of all answered questionnaires were complete.
As the criteria we set for research validity was focussed on organizations with more than 10 employees, all questionnaires completed by respondents coming from organizations with 10 or less employees, were eliminated, they totalled in 34 or 13,6%. All in all, 138 or 55,2% of questionnaires were completely relevant and suitable for use in the furthur research process or data processing.
4 Results
The vast majority of respondents were male (81,3%). In terms of age, most respondents were from 31 to 40 years old (44,4%), one third of the respondents were from 41 to 50 years old (33,3%), followed by the age category from 51 to 60 (13,3%). Most repspondents have one to five years of leadership experience (30,6%), followed by those with 6 to 10 years (27,6%) and those with 16 years or more (19,4). A little more than half of respondents (52,6%) have 7th level of education, followed by those with 6th level (20,2%) and those with 5th level or less
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(15,6%). Most respondents have currently a position of department or project manager (49,3%), followed by the position of sector directors (22,4%) and sector managers (14,9%). More than half respondents are employed in companies with more than 250 employees (55,6%, followed by those employed in companies with 51 to 250 employees (38,5%), while the least respondents are employed in companies with 11 to 50 employees (5,9%).
Table 1. Mean values of statements related to decision-making styles
Statement	Min Max	Arithmetic	Standard
		mean	deviation
I expect that I will do well on most things I try.	1 5	4,4	0,6
Other people find it easy to confide in me.	1 5	4,4	0,6
I compliment others when they have done something well.	1 5	4,3	0,8
When I am in a positive mood, solving problems is easy for me.	1 5	4,2	0,6
When I am in a positive mood, I am able to come up with new	1 5	4,2	0,6
ideas.			
When I am faced with obstacles, I remember times I faced similar	1 5	4,1	0,7
obstacles and overcame them.			
I am aware of my emotions as I experience them.	1 5	4,1	0,8
I motivate myself by imagining a good outcome to tasks I take on.	1 5	4,1	0,7
I easily recognize my emotions as I experience them.	1 5	4,1	0,6
I use good moods to help myself keep trying in the face of	1 5	4	0,7
obstacles.			
I seek out activities that make me happy.	1 5	4	0,6
I help other people feel better when they are down.	1 5	4	0,7
I expect good things to happen.	1 5	4	0,7
Emotions are one of the things that make my life worth living.	1 5	4	0,8
By looking at their facial expressions, I recognize emotions people	1 5	4	0,6
are experiencing.			
I know when to speak about my personal problems to others.	1 5	4	1,1
I know why my emotions change.	1 5	3,9	0,7
I have control over my emotions.	1 5	3,9	0,6
I present myself in a way that makes a good impression on others.	1 5	3,9	0,6
I am aware of non-verbal messages other people send.	1 5	3,8	0,6
I can tell how people are feeling by listening to the tone of their	1 5	3,8	0,7
voice.			
I am aware of non-verbal messages I send to others.	1 5	3,8	0,8
I arrange events others enjoy.	1 5	3,7	0,8
When I experience a positive emotion, I know how to make it last.	1 5	3,6	0,7
When my mood changes, I see new possibilities.	1 5	3,6	0,8
Some of the major events of my life led me to re-evaluate what is	1 5	3,5	0,9
important and not important.			
When I feel a change in emotions, I tend to come up with new	1 5	3,3	0,7
ideas.			
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Statement	Min	Max	Arithmetic	Standard
			mean	deviation
I know what other people are feeling just by looking at them.	1	5	3,2	0,8
I like to share my emotions with others.	1	5	3,1	1
I find it hard to understand non-verbal messages of other people.	1	5	2,6	0,8
It's difficult for me to understand why people feel the way they do.	1	5	2,4	0,9
When I am faced with a challenge, I give up because I believe I will	1	5	1,7	0,8
fail.				
They most frequently make decisions which feel right to them (M = 4,2), they make decisions in a logical and systematic way (M = 4,2) and they plan their important decisions carefully (M = 4,2). They least often postpone decision-making (M = 2,1), they put off making decisions because thinking about them makes them uneasy (M = 2,1) and they procrastinate when it comes to making impotant decisions (M = 2,0) (Table 1).
The factor analysis was conducted on a sample of 113 units which satisfies the minimum conditions set for factor analysis according to which the number of necessary units has to be at least five times the number of variables being analyzed. All variables are almost normally distributed, there is no multicollinearity. Bartlett test is statistically significant (a = 0,000), as the KMO value equals to 0,733, data entirely comply with the performance of factor analysis. Performing factor analysis using the PAF method and varimax rotation, we got five factors whose eigenvalues are greater than 1. According to the rotation, the first factor has 14,0% of variance, the second 11,9%, the third 11,8%, the fourth 9,5%, and the fifth 8,5% of variance. In total, factors explain 55,7% of variance. For the purpose of evaluation of hypothesis, we primarily recoded the variable called intuitive decision-making. 6,6% of respondents were classified in the first group and the remaining 93,4% in the second.
The discriminant analysis was based on three statements:
•	»By looking at their facial expressions, I recognize the emotions people are experiencing«;
•	»When making a decision, I consider various options in terms of a specific goal«;
•	»I generally make important decisions at the last minute«.
Table 2. Eigenvalue and canonical correlation coefficient
Function	Eigenvalue	% variance	Cumulative %	Canonical correlation coefficient
1	0,247	100,0	100,0	0,445
Canonical correlation coefficient equals to 0,445 (Table 2).
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Table 3. Wilks lambda
Function	Wilks lambda	x2	df	sig.
1	0,802	21,988	3	0,000
Wilks lambda value is 0,802 and is statistically significant (a = 0,000) (Table 3). Table 4. Structural weights of statements included in the model
Function 1
By looking at their facial expressions, I recognize the emotions people are experiencing. - reversal values
I generallly make important decisions at the last minute. - reversal values When making a decision, I consider various options in terms of a specific goal reversal values
0,658 0,389 -0,365
Among statements included in the model, the first one has the greatest structural weight, while the second one has the lowest structural weight (see Table 4).
Table 5. Mean values of statements included in the discriminant model in respect of intuition
c Low intuition in	High intuition in Statement ... . .	... .. _decision-making	decision-making
By looking at their facial expressions, I recognize the emotions people ^ 3	4 j
are experiencing. ,	'
When making a decision, I consider various options in terms of a	^ ^
specific goal. '	,
I generallly make important decisions at the last minute. 1,7	2,3
When making decisions intuitively, managers on average recognize to a greater extent emotions based on facial expressions, but various options are considered to a lesser extent in decision-making, and they make important decisions at the last minute to a greater extent than those who do not make decisions intuitively (see Table 5).
Table 6. Classification table
Discriminant model Low intuition High intuition	Total
	St	Low intuition	4	4	8
Original		High intuition	4	107	111
variable		Low intuition	50,0	50,0	100,0
	%				
		High intuition	3,6	96,4	100,0
In total, 96,3% of units were classified correctly.
By means of the discriminant analysis, 50,0% of units in the low intuition group were classified correctly, while in the high intuition group 96,4% of units were classified correctly. In total, 93,3% of units were classified correctly which is very high. Let us mention, for comparison, that if the units were classified randomly in the group, we could expect a 50% success (see Tabel 6).
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Intuitive (non)decision-making by top and middle managers can therefore be defined as a capability to recognize emotions, consider options in making decisions and make decisions at the last minute. We confirm the hypothesis for it is true that intuition in decision-making can be defined through these statements.
5 Discussion
By factor analysis we confirmed that decision-making styles are also in our case classified in five groups (Scott and Bruce 1995), as follows: (1) rational style; (2) avoidant style; (3) dependent style; (4) intuitive stlye and (5) spontaneous style. In further analyses we focussed on one style only, called intuitive decision-making.
In the set hypothesis, we were interested to know if the intuitive decision-making could be defined based on the variables of leadership competencies. First, we arranged the respondents in two groups - one with low and the other with high intuition. By using the discriminant analysis based on variables of emotional intelligence and decison-making styles (this is how we determined the leadership competencies), we then classified the respondents in these two respective groups.
The discriminant model comprised three variables (»By looking at their facial expressions, I recognize the emotions people are experiencing.«, »When making a decision, I consider various options in terms of a specific goal«, »I generally make important decisions at the last minute.«), in total 93,3% units were correctly classified. The classification was much better in the group with with high intuition (96,4 %) than in the group with low intuition (50,0 %). Managers with high intuition more highly recognize emotions by looking at people's facial expressions, while they at a lower extent consider various options when making a decision and more often make important decisions at the last minute than managers with non-intuitive decision-making. We confirmed the hypothesis.
Importance of emotions in decision-making was already pointed out by Sevdalis (Sevdalis in Hess & Bacigalupo, 2011), who studied the role of emotional intelligence in the process of decision-making. His findings show existence of emotions in the process of decision-making notwithstanding significant individual differences between the research participants, chiefly in terms of understanding emotions and their relevant past experiences. The author states the fact that thinking about their own emotions in decision-making is often presented (p. 713). The results of our research show as well that among leadership competencies important for intuitive decision-making are those relating to emotions, but the intuitive decision-making has to do mostly with recognizing other people's emotions. Furthermore, time horizon component is significant in intuitive decision-making; postponing the decision-making is typical of situations where the decision-maker is not familiar with all arguments based on which they make a clear decision, therefore they postpone making a decision hoping the right decision will get crystal clear in the course of time, so they make a decision at the last minute;
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in connection with postponing the decision-making when the circumstances (without any necessary facts) are accompanied by the time pressure so the decision-maker is forced to make a decision at the last minute.
6 Conclusion
The research results show that on average the research respondants of the top and middle management in Slovenian automotive industry often make decisions based on intuition. The findings of the research indicate that managers with high intuition recognize to a greater extent emotions by looking at people's facial expressions, but various options are considered to a lesser extent in decision-making, while they make decisions at the last minute to a greater extent than managers who do not make desisions based on intuition.
The research contributions refer to new perceptions relating to leadership and leadership competencies of top managers in Slovenian automotive industry. The empirical contribution of this study is linked to an explanation of the so-far unexplained knowledge in the area of leadership competencies and intuitive decision-making or, more precisely, importance of behavioural competencies for intuitive decision-making, representing an added value in the field of management. Appropriate competencies play a significant role in the development of appropriate management personnel which has proved to be extremely successful in reaching end results in both economic and non-economic sectors.
The research findings revealing that top and middle managers in the Slovenian automotive industry are often guided by intuition is worthy of reflection in terms of possible courses of further research in this direction. In our opinion, one of the interesting courses of further research could be examining the existence of statistically significant correlation between intuitive decision-making style and efficiency of managers or their organizations. It would also be an interest to perform a research focusing on a correlation between social intelligence and intuition of managers in automotive industry. This statement can be supported by listing several authors (McClelland, 1975; Boyatzis, 1982; Spencer & Spencer, 1993; Spany, 2006; Sanghi, 2007; Marti, Gil & Barrasa, 2009; Daft, 2010; Yukl, 2010; Javidan, Teagarden & Bowen, 2010) pointing out various competencies efficient managers have to control and develop and underlining in the first place the capability of estabilishing good social relationships which is one of fundamental dimensions of social intelligence. The limitations of research are connected with the origin of standardized questionnaires used in the research. Namely, as it is about questionnaires of foreign origin, they were created, validated and used in the environment which differs more or less from the Slovenian one. Potential differences occur in respect of the questionnaires used in terms of language. Although the questionnaire was translated by a qualified and certified translator, the differences between English and Slovene languages are so big that some individual words, collocations or phrases used in the original questionnaire have no adequate and homonymous
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designation in Slovene language. In such rare cases, we see a certain limitation worth
mentioning.
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Ivan Erenda is a doctoral student at the Faculty of Organisation Studies Novo mesto. He achieved a Master's degree at the Faculty of State and European Studies, Brdo pri Kranju and graduated at the Faculty of Chemistry and Chemical Engineering, University of Ljubljana. He is employed with the TPV d.d. company as the Director of Sector for Supply and Production and the Director of the Business Unit Velika Loka. His research interests include: management, crisis management and competencies of intuitive acting.
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Maja Mesko is an Associate Professor of Management at the Faculty of Management, University of Primorska. She completed Bachelor's studies in psychology at the Faculty of Arts in Ljubljana and finished Doctoral study of Kinesiology at the Faculty of Sports, University of Ljubljana. Her main teaching and research areas include human resource management, psychology in management, organizational culture, aviation, health and sport
psychology where she authored or co-authored various scientific papers.
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Boris Bukovec is an Associate Professor at the Faculty of Organisation Studies Novo mesto. He achieved a Master's and Doctor's Degree in Quality Management at the Faculty of Organizational Sciences in Kranj. His area of research is contemporary paradigms, approaches, models and tools for the quality management of organizational changes. In his research, he combines current theoretical findings with his twenty years' experience in various positions of leadership he has held as a member of executive teams in the automobile industry. He is the author of a number of papers on quality.
Povzetek:
Intuitivno odločanje in voditeljske kompetence menedžerjev slovenske avtoindustrije
Raziskovalno vprašanje (RV): Prisotnosti intuitivnega odločanja pri vršnih in srednjih menedžerjih v slovenski avtomobilski industriji.
Namen: Ugotoviti prisotnost intuitivnega odločanja pri vršnih in srednjih menedžerjih v slovenski avtomobilski industriji, in opredelitev intuitivnega odločanja s spremenljivkami voditeljskih kompetenc. Metoda: Izvedena je bila empirična raziskava v okviru kvantitativnega raziskovalnega pristopa s pomočjo anketnega vprašalnika GDMS (angl. General Decision Making Style). Pridobljeni podatki raziskave so bili obdelani s pomočjo opisne statistike, faktorske analize (PAF, varimax), rekodiranja in diskriminantne analize. Rezultati: Intuitivno odločanje pri vršnih in srednjih menedžerjih v avtomobilski industriji lahko opredelimo z njihovo sposobnostjo prepoznavanja čustev, pretehtanja opcij pri sprejemanju odločitev ter sprejemanjem odločitev v zadnjem trenutku.
Organizacija: Praktično (aplikativna) dodana vrednost na področju upravljanja menedžerskih kadrov tako na področju avtomobilske industrije kot tudi sicer.
Družba: Postavljena temeljna izhodišča za nadaljnje poglobljene in ciljno usmerjene raziskave tudi za druga sorodna področja družbe.
Originalnost: Originalnost izvedene raziskave opredeljuje dejstvo, da v dostopni domači in tuji znanstveni literaturi ni moč zaslediti raziskave, ki bi vključevala elemente uporabljene operacionalizacije (preučevanje odnosa med voditeljskimi kompetencami in intuitivnem odločanju), kot je to primer v pričujoči raziskavi, kar nedvomno potrjuje njeno originalnost.
Omejitve/nadaljnje raziskovanje: (1) Uporaba standardiziranih merskih inštrumentov tujega izvora in potencialne razlike med okoljem, v katerem so merski inštrumenti bili zasnovani, in okoljem, v katerem so merski inštrumenti bili uporabljeni. (2) Omejene zmožnosti prevodov merskih inštrumentov za besede, besedne zveze in fraze v izvornih anketnih vprašalnikih, za katere ne obstajajo adekvatni slovenski prevodi.
Ključne besede: menedžment, kompetence, intuicija, intuitivno odločanje, avtomobilska industrija.
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