Management Strategies in fixed-Structure Models of Complex Organizations II

Abstract

Part I of this effort suggests that switching net models provide useful insight into the behavior of complex organizational control systems. Equivalence relations on the responses of system elements were defined, namely internal homogeneity and forcibility. These in turn were interpreted as managerial strategies: management by exception and management by priority, respectively. The present article introduces a further equivalence relation-- extended threshold, which is interpreted as management by consensus. The notion of extended threshold and its interaction with internal homogeneity and forcibility are examined in detail. We then observe that organization-wide control may be exercised by varying strategy levels. Finally we speculate as to the psychological impact of the strategies on the work force and explore implications these interpretations have for organizational climate in complex enterprises.

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Document Details

Document Type
Technical Report
Publication Date
Sep 02, 1977
Accession Number
ADA048789

Entities

People

  • Alan E. Gelfand
  • Crayton C. Walker

Organizations

  • Stanford University

Tags

DTIC Thesaurus Topics

  • Classification
  • Contracts
  • Control Systems
  • Environment
  • Governments
  • Homogeneity
  • Human Behavior
  • Intensity
  • Intervention
  • Mathematics
  • Military Research
  • Organizational Structure
  • Security
  • Statistics
  • Switching
  • United States
  • United States Government

Readers

  • Mathematical Modeling and Probability Theory.
  • Organizational Psychology.
  • Systems Analysis and Design