THE IMPACT OF SECURITY CULTURE ON MANAGERIAL DECISION-MAKING

Abstract

The article analyzes the content and structure of managerial decision-making and identifies two interrelated core stages of this process: the stage of preparing action alternatives and the stage of selecting the final option. It is substantiated that at each of these stages, along with other influencing factors, the security culture of the decision-maker plays a significant role in shaping the quality of the managerial decision. The definition of "security culture" is refined and conceptualized as a system of security values developed within the framework of a person’s organizational culture. These values manifest themselves through security-oriented thinking and behavior, which become normative in interpersonal and professional relations, positively affecting the perception of threats, decision-making processes, situational awareness, and overall resilience. To provide a deeper understanding of the internal structure of security culture, a concentric model is developed, where the core is represented by security values that are expressed through security thinking and security behavior. A conceptual model and mechanism of the influence of security culture – understood as a component of a manager’s organizational culture – on managerial decision-making is proposed and substantiated. This model includes a structural scheme illustrating how the security values of decision-making subjects influence interpersonal and business communications with others, forming security-oriented thinking and behavior, which subsequently become normative relational patterns. Ultimately, communications based on security values enhance the resilience of decision-makers under threat conditions by enabling them to identify threat sources, estimate their probability and destructive potential, and assess their own preparedness and response capabilities – including recovery potential in worst-case scenarios. Such value-based communication also contributes to coherent, system-oriented perception of external security realities and supports the formulation of decisions aimed at systemic stability and progressive development. The model also outlines scenarios where the subject of managerial decision-making either lacks a developed security culture or possesses it only nominally – without consistent behavioral manifestation – due to external or internal constraints. In such cases, communication and behavior become susceptible to provocation and disruption, destabilizing the decision-making process at all stages and potentially leading to decisions that cause damage or destruction. Additionally, the paper identifies the key indicators through which security culture manifests and exerts influence on managerial decision-making, and offers refined definitions of the concepts “security culture,” “security values,” “security thinking,” “security behavior,” and “security resilience of the decision-making subject.”