A pilot study was conducted to investigate preferred leadership style, faculty job satisfaction, and faculty attitudes toward decentralized budget authority at a selected midwestern research institution. An "Attitude Toward Decentralization" (ATD) scale was developed to determine faculty attitudes toward decentralized authority and responsibility. Modified versions of two other scales, the Least Preferred Co-Worker Scale developed by Fiedler (1967) and the Minnesota Satisfaction Questionnaire developed by Davis and Weitzel (1970) were combined with the ADT scale; the resulting instrument is referred to as the "Preferred Leadership Style Questionnaire" (PLSQ). The PLSQ was administered to a mostly white faculty ranging in age from 31 to 60 years old. A total of 39 of 60 solicited faculty members participated. The research design was ex post facto and exploratory. Results revealed faculty preference for a participative style of leadership, consistent with decentralization concepts, but no significant relationship between how much an individual enjoyed his/her position overall and desire for budget decentralization was found. The levels of job satisfaction were found to be consistent with earlier empirical findings. An appendix contains 5 tables of data and 16 references. (JB)