Discretion in Decision Making: The Fonterra Case
type: CreativeWork
description: Management literature adopt the definition of discretion as “latitude of action” and it is typically researched as freedom of decision making associated with positions in the upper echelons of organisations. This is a narrow view of discretion which underestimates the exercise of discretion irrespective of organisational prescription. The aim of this study was to examine the exercise of discretion across organisational levels, guided by the overarching question: “How do employees use discretion in the workplace?” Valuable insight about the use of discretion by all employees was gained. In addition, the study contributed to a better understanding of the role of personal belief systems in discretionary decision making – an existing gap in the current research on discretion in the management field. Discretion is about individuals’ freedom of choice, based on their internal beliefs, values and principles. The best way to understand this individual social process was to examine it from the point of view of the decision maker, and therefore a subjectivist research position was adopted. A phenomenological approach allowed the examination of participants’ concepts and pursuits of discretion in their work environment, accessed through face-to-face interaction. Fonterra was chosen as an ideal case for this study since it was representative of other large businesses, but also unique due to the company’s different struggles within the dairy industry. The data was coded and analysed in Atlas.ti. to identify major themes as it emerged from the experiences shared by participants. Results supported the notion of discretion as a bilateral phenomenon in the form of intrinsic and extrinsic discretion, exercised across organisational levels. It was found that interpersonal factors such as management style and collaboration with colleagues in the judgement phase of decision making encouraged employees to engage in discretionary decision making. Certain organisational factors were found …
abstract: Management literature adopt the definition of discretion as “latitude of action” and it is typically researched as freedom of decision making associated with positions in the upper echelons of organisations. This is a narrow view of discretion which underestimates the exercise of discretion irrespective of organisational prescription. The aim of this study was to examine the exercise of discretion across organisational levels, guided by the overarching question: “How do employees use discretion in the workplace?” Valuable insight about the use of discretion by all employees was gained. In addition, the study contributed to a better understanding of the role of personal belief systems in discretionary decision making – an existing gap in the current research on discretion in the management field. Discretion is about individuals’ freedom of choice, based on their internal beliefs, values and principles. The best way to understand this individual social process was to examine it from the point of view of the decision maker, and therefore a subjectivist research position was adopted. A phenomenological approach allowed the examination of participants’ concepts and pursuits of discretion in their work environment, accessed through face-to-face interaction. Fonterra was chosen as an ideal case for this study since it was representative of other large businesses, but also unique due to the company’s different struggles within the dairy industry. The data was coded and analysed in Atlas.ti. to identify major themes as it emerged from the experiences shared by participants. Results supported the notion of discretion as a bilateral phenomenon in the form of intrinsic and extrinsic discretion, exercised across organisational levels. It was found that interpersonal factors such as management style and collaboration with colleagues in the judgement phase of decision making encouraged employees to engage in discretionary decision making. Certain organisational factors were found …
author: De Witt, Marlize
keywords: Discretion, Decision making, Ethical decision making, MacIntyre, Case study, Fonterra, Phenomenology
license: https://researchcommons.waikato.ac.nz/bitstreams/e733b2c6-43ee-426b-a436-ce43e2ce2d6b/download
date published: 2017
date modified: 2026-07-24T05:57:21Z
provider: University Waikato
publisher: Networked Digital Library of Theses and Dissertations
type: WebPage
source organization: University of Waikato