Proof of Concept: Development of a Framework to Model Dynamic, MultiLevel Interactions within an Organization (Topics: 4. Organizational Effectiveness and 5. Socio-Cultural Capabilities)
Abstract
Studying large, dynamic organizations like the military poses a number of challenges, such as accounting for hierarchically nested structures, incorporating multi-level processes, and exploring changes over time. Organizational culture, informal roles, and individual attitudes are key components that interact to influence organizational processes. In particular, culture, roles, and attitudes impact knowledge sharing, a process that has been found to be vital to organizational performance and innovation. Organizations are complex systems comprised of many dynamic and evolving interaction patterns among individuals and groups. Understanding these interactions and how patterns, such as knowledge sharing behavior, emerge are crucial to creating effective and efficient organizations. To explore such organizational dynamics, we developed an agent-based model (ABM) integrated with a cognitive model, dynamic social networks, and a physical environment, the combination of which represents a novel way to study organizations. We use a hospital in southwest Virginia as our case study. Hospitals contain similar organizational structures to those found in the U.S. military in that they are both structurally complex systems with subsystems. The agents in our model are the individual healthcare workers within the hospital and agent movement occurs over the physical environment of the hospital. Results find that the simulated hospital is resilient to attrition impacts but that communication approaches must be thought through strategically so as not to hinder knowledge sharing.
Document Details
- Document Type
- DoD Grant Award
- Publication Date
- Mar 04, 2019
- Source ID
- W911NF1610574
Entities
People
- Bianica Pires
Organizations
- Army Contracting Command
- United States Army
- Virginia Tech