Org. Theory and Design: Chapter 12 (Matching)

Programmed decision making = Involves selecting easy, repetitive, and routine operating procedures Nonprogrammed decision making = Involves making creative, novel, and unstructured decisions Rational model of decision making = A straightforward three-stage process of identifying problems and seeking alternative courses of action Organizational decision making = The process of responding to a problem by searching for and selecting a solution that creates the most value for organizational stakeholders

Programmed decision making = Increases efficiency and reduces costs of goods and services Nonprogrammed decision making = Finds solutions to changing and uncertain conditions Rational model of decision making = Designs and develops alternative courses of action to solve identified problems Organizational decision making = Creates the most value for organizational stakeholders

Rational model = Managers make decisions that favor their own interests over those of other functions Incrementalist model = Managers make incremental decisions within an overall framework of identification, development, and selection stages Unstructured model = Decision-making takes place when uncertainty is high and incremental decisions are made within an overall framework of identification, development, and selection stages Garbage-can model = Managers propose solutions to problems that do not exist and create problems to solve with pre-existing solutions

Exploration = Organizational members experiment with new forms of organizational activities and procedures to increase effectiveness Exploitation = Organizational members refine and improve existing organizational activities and procedures to increase effectiveness Individual level of organizational learning = Encouraging employees to challenge themselves and develop a sense of personal mastery Group level of organizational learning = Encouraging learning through various types of groups to enhance performance

Individual level = Members need to develop a sense of personal mastery and empowerment Group level = Encouraging learning by promoting groups as settings for synergy and enhanced performance Organizational level = Promoting learning through the creation of structure and culture by managers Interorganizational level = Encouraging learning at the interorganizational level to enhance overall effectiveness

Listening to dissenters = Surrounding managers with diverse viewpoints Converting events into learning opportunities = Redesigning structure and culture to motivate managers Experimenting = Avoiding overcommitment to previous solutions Using game theory = Viewing interactions between organizations as a competitive game

Sequential move games = Players move in turn and select strategies after considering rivals' choices Simultaneous move games = Players act at the same time in ignorance of rivals' current actions Devil’s advocacy = Challenging beliefs of more powerful people and resisting influence attempts Dialectical inquiry = Evaluating several solutions and recommending the best one

Wheel configuration = Decreases organizational learning, works best for simple problems Circle configuration = Promotes team and organizational learning, encourages interaction among top managers Collateral organizational structure = Establishes a parallel information organization to shadow decision making Experimenting = Avoiding overcommitment to previous solutions

Devil’s advocacy = Questioning beliefs of more powerful people and resisting influence attempts Dialectical inquiry = Evaluating several solutions and recommending the best one Collateral organizational structure = Establishing a parallel information organization to shadow decision making Listening to dissenters = Surrounding managers with diverse viewpoints

Converting events into learning opportunities = Motivates managers to find better ways to respond to a situation Experimenting = Improves both incremental and garbage-can decision-making processes Using game theory = Helps managers improve decision making and enhance learning Devil’s advocacy = Challenges beliefs and works to convince others about flawed or harmful ideas

Cognitive dissonance = The state of discomfort or anxiety that a person feels when there is an inconsistency between his or her beliefs and actions Illusion of control = A cognitive bias that leads managers to overestimate the extent to which they can control a situation because they have the skills and abilities needed to manage uncertainty and complexity Frequencies and representativeness = Cognitive biases that deceive people into assuming that extreme instances of a phenomenon are more prevalent than they really are, and lead managers to form judgments based on small and unrepresentative samples Projection and ego-defensiveness = Cognitive biases that allow managers to justify and reinforce their own preferences and values by attributing them to others, and lead managers to interpret events in such a way that their actions appear in the most favorable light

Codication approach = Knowledge is carefully collected, analyzed, and stored in databases where it can be retrieved easily by users who input organization-specific commands and keywords Personalization approach = Pursued when an organization needs to provide customized products or solutions to clients, when technology is changing rapidly, and when employees rely much more on know-how, insight, and judgment to make decisions

Adaptive cultures = Value innovation, encourage and reward experimenting, and risk-taking by middle and lower-level managers Inert cultures = Cautionary and conservative, do not value middle and lower-level managers taking such action, and may actively discourage such behavior

Knowledge management = The sharing and integrating of expertise within and between functions and divisions through real-time, interconnected IT Interorganizational learning = Important because organizations can improve their effectiveness by imitating each other's distinctive competences

Programmed decision making = Drives out nonprogrammed decision making, leading to a reduction in organizational learning over time Blindness and rigidity in organizational decision making = May lead to a full-blown crisis as it prevents the organization from learning and adapting to its environment

Cognitive biases = Systematically bias cognitive structures and affect organizational learning and decision making Cognitive dissonance = Shapes the way top managers make decisions, determining the degree to which forces in the environment are perceived as opportunities or threats

Illusion of control = Leads managers to misinterpret real threats facing an organization, muddling through even when the organization is in crisis Frequency bias = Deceives people into assuming that extreme instances of a phenomenon are more prevalent than they really are

Projection bias = Allows managers to justify and reinforce their own preferences and values by attributing them to others Escalation of commitment = Leads managers to remain committed to a losing course of action, refusing to admit they have made a mistake