Qualitative versus Quantitative Analysis for Management Science: Different Forms for Different Psychological Types

Abstract

This paper neither presents the kind of data nor the kinds of symbols that are found in the typical paper in Management Science. It deals with an important class of variables that have been slighted in the literature of OR/MS, qualitative variables. This paper presents a methodology for gathering and for analyzing a special class of qualitative variables, i.e., the projective, symbolic images that managers have of their ideal organization. More specifically, this paper shows how personality variables impact on (1) the raw images that managers have of their ideal organization and (2) the kinds of information sources and methodologies that managers and scientists most typically prefer to use in complex decision-making situations.