The Psychology of Administrative Decisions: The integration of behavior

It is time now to turn from the mechanisms that make integration possible to the pattern of behavior that results from the operation of these mechanisms. The process involves three principal steps: The individual (or organization) makes broad decision regarding the values to which he is going to direct his activities, the general mothods

Empirical evidence for bounded rationality

In psychology during the past fifty years, there has been a great renaissance of interest in human thinking. As a result, it is more feasible now than when Administrative Behavior was first written to construct a model of rational choice that incorporates the actual properties of human behavior and at the same time matches

Relation to current developments in formal decision theory

It is interesting and even a bit ironical that at the very time when we have learned to build rather precise and empirically verified theories of rational human decision-making there should be a vigorous renaissance of formal theorizing about economic man. The renaissance can be dated from the remarkable progress in game theory, owing

Components missing from the classical theory

Empirical study of decision-making quickly revealed that three basic components of the process were absent from the classical theory. One omission is the process of setting the agenda that determines what deci-sions will be made at what particular times. The second is the process of obtaining or constructing a representation for the problem selected

The Psychology of Administrative Decisions: The role of intuition

Objections are frequently raised to current decision-making theory on the grounds that almost exclusive attention is given to the systematic and “logical” aspects of the process without taking sufficient account of the large role that is played in these matters by human intuition and emotion. The dispute about “logical” versus “intuitive” decision-making goes back

The Psychology of Administrative Decisions: Knowledge and behavior

What managers know they should do, whether by analysis or intuition, is very often different from what they actually do. One common failing of managers, which all of us have observed (sometimes in ourselves), is the postponement of difficult decisions. What is it that makes decisions diffi- cult and hence tends to cause postponement?

The Equilibrium of the Organization: Types of organization participants

Organization members may be classified in other ways than in terms of the inducements they receive for their participation. They may be classified in terms of the types of contributions they make to the organization: specific services (a supplier of material); money or other neutral services that may be employed as incentives (customers); and

The Equilibrium of the Organization: Incentives for employee participation

To an employee of a non-volunteer organization the most obvious personal incentive that the organization offers is a salary or wage. It is a peculiar and important characteristic of his relation with the organization that, in return for this inducement, he offers the organization not a specific service but his undifferentiated time and effort.

Values derived from organization size and growth

The third type of incentive that induces individual participation in orga- nization derives from the size and growth of the organization. These might be referred to as “conservation” values. Most prominent in the group for whom these values are important is the entrepreneur. It is true that the entrepreneur, to the extent that he

Organization equilibrium and efficiency

The basic value criteria that will be employed in making decisions and choices among alternatives in an organization will be selected for the organization primarily by the controlling group—the group that has the power to set the terms of membership for all the participants. If the group that holds the legal control fails to

On the concept of organization goal

In Chapter VI, the survival and success of organizations was discussed in terms of organizational goals and two kinds of personal goals (obtaining rewards associated with organizational growth and success, and earning wages and other rewards not so associated). Viewed as forces motivating individuals to participate in the organization’s activities, organizational goals (i.e., the

The organization as workplace: satisfaction

The central thesis of Chapter VI is that the survival and success of organi- zations depend on their providing sufficient incentives to their members to secure the contributions that are needed to carry out the organizations’ tasks. Monetary rewards are, of course, important; but willingness to do the work and the enthusiasm with which

Definition of authority

Even the very simple illustrations that have been presented of organized behavior exhibit, in embryo at least, the phenomenon of authority. Authority” may be defined as the power to make decisions which guide the actions of another. It is a relationship between two individuals, one superior, the other “subordinate.” The superior frames and transmits

The uses of authority

Authority has been described as a relation that secures coordinated behavior in a group by subordinating the decisions of the individual to the communicated decisions of others. Thus, the exercise of authority in a group makes possible a large degree of separation of the decision-making processes from actual performance, or what might be called

The Role of Authority: Unity of command

In Chapter II some remarks were made on the inadequacy of the doctrine of unity of command, as that doctrine is usually stated. It was pointed out there that, in a trivial sense, unity of command is always achieved, for if a subordinate is instructed to base a decision on two confl icting premises

The Role of Authority: Formal and informal organization

The manner in which authority is used to maintain coordination in orga- nization has already been discussed. Procedural coordination—the speci- fication of the lines of authority, and the spheres of activity and authority of each organization member—creates a formal organization, a set of abstract, more or less permanent relations that govern the behavior of

Psychology and the theory of authority

It is important to note that propositions about human behavior, in so far as it is rational, do not ordinarily involve propositions about the psychology of the person who is behaving. Let us explain this rather paradoxical statement. In a given situation, and with a given system of values, there is only one course

Authority and alienation

Chapter VII describes how authority is used in organizations, and especially its role in the decision-making process. It will be informative to link that discussion of authority with the discussion of work satisfaction in the commentary to Chapter VI. Sometimes it is said that the main problem with organizations is that they require people

The Role of Authority: Employee participation in decision-making

For nearly a half century, a central theme in social psychological and sociological research on organizations and in the work of consultants on participation increases both employee satisfaction and productivity. The evidence from the numerous empirical studies that have been carried out is mixed. In general, participation does increase employee satisfaction, but it does

The Role of Authority: Attraction to power

We do need to discuss briefly, however, the attraction that the prospect of holding power exerts on some people, both employees and their employers. Power, and formal authority as a form of power, is a frequently useful tool for attaining one’s objectives. But it is not uncommon for power to become a goal in