Participative management as it will be exposed attempts to improve and make schools function better through the nurturing of a professional culture which offers choice, authority and responsibility through more decision-making powers and a more participative structure at school level. It is important to consider other people’s concerns because if people are angry regarding the way decisions are taken, such decisions will not proceed smoothly. The purpose of the study was to investigate effects of unilateral decision-making by school heads. The study adopted a qualitative interpretive research approach. Five schools were sampled and data were collected through interviews. All participating school heads also acknowledged that certain decisions such as policy issues were reached unilaterally for various reasons. They granted that the very nature of their appointments entitled them to be the principal decision makers in their schools. They further argued that some of the suggestions from teachers could radically run opposite state or ministry regulations. Therefore, the school heads in the participating schools argued that they were responsible for the overall school decisions as well as being accountable to the Ministry of Education and Culture.It emerged that some of the decisions that have been made by the heads unilaterally have suffered a low success rate. At the same time, others have been very successful and teachers were pleased with the outcome. It was further established that in certain circumstances decisions made without consulting teachers have been difficult to implement. Most probably because such decisions lack clarity and that teachers tend to receive the decisions with suspicion. It is the study’s submission that such decisions are likely to be implemented half heartedly. Their success is questionable right from the onset

Unilateral Decision, school leadership, decision-making, motivation, teacher participation