The elements of organizational structuring---which show a curious tendency to appear in five's---suggest a typology of five basic configurations: Simple Structure, Machine Bureaucracy, Professional Bureaucracy, Divisionalized Form, and Adhocracy. The elements include (1) five basic parts of the...

The literature on strategy formation is in large part theoretical but not empirical, and the usual definition of "strategy" encourages the notion that strategies, as we recognize them ex post facto, are deliberate plans conceived in advance of the making of specific decisions. By defining a...

Introduction to a special section devoted to strategy formulation.

The progress of management science is dependent on our understanding of the manager's working processes. A review of the literature indicates that this understanding is superficial at best. Empirical study of the work of five managers (supported by those research findings that are available) led...

The solution of today's major social problems will come from more and better technology--not from less technology. For technology is just another name for human knowledge. We need to deepen our scientific knowledge, broaden our repertory of alternatives, and strengthen our technology of decision...

Bavelas, Smith and Leavitt (Bavelas, A. 1950. Communication patterns in task-oriented groups. J. Acoustical Soc. Amer. 22 725-730.) have posed the problem: what effect do communication patterns have upon the operation of groups? To study this problem they designed a laboratory situation that is...

The decision problems involved in setting the aggregate production rate of a factory and setting the size of its work force are frequently both complex and difficult. The quality of these decisions can be of great importance to the profitability of an individual company, and when viewed on a...