Locus of decision making and job satisfaction of department chairpersons in schools of allied health

Abstract

In an era of ample resources in higher education, an estimated 80% of all administrative decisions occurred at the departmental level rather than at higher levels in the administrative hierarchy. As financial resources have become limited, it appears that the locus of decision making has begun to change in the university setting. This study explored the relationship between allied health department chairpersons' perceptions of the locus of decision making in their universities and their job satisfaction. Chairpersons who perceived the level of decision making to reside at the faculty level were shown to be less satisfied with their jobs than chairpersons whose perceived locus of decision making was at the chair level. In addition, as the locus of decision making moved away from the chairperson, either to the faculty or to more central levels of the administration, satisfaction with both the administrative and academic aspects of the chair appeared to diminish. From this study, allied health chairpersons appear to be more comfortable with clear decision-making powers than general academic chairs. This finding has implications for the structuring of the allied health chairperson's role and for the advancement and development of the allied health fields within educational institutions. Future limitations in financial resources may bring about closer alignment in the role and job satisfaction of general academic and allied health chairs.