Organizational design often focuses on structural alternatives such as matrix, decentralization, and divisionalization. However, control variables (e.g., reward structures, task characteristics, and information systems) offer a more flexible approach. The purpose of this paper is to explore...

Organization theory is a positive science; organizational design is a normative science "concerned with how things ought to be, with devising structures to attain goals." The Organizational Consultant is a knowledge base expert system to help design organizations. That is, it takes facts about the...

We develop a rule-based contingency misfit model and related hypotheses to test empirically the Burton and Obel (1998) multi contingency model for strategic organizational design. The model is a set of "if-then" misfit rules, in which misfits lead to a loss in performance; they are complements to...

This is a model of a pure hierarchy which oversees a given number of productive units. Its aim is to minimize costs, which are the sum of wage costs and costs caused by delays in decision making. The advantage of the model is that it permits the calculation of an optimum formal structure of the...

This paper discusses a class of natural organizational phenomena called virtual positions and links them to the enactment of power. Virtual positions involve three or more persons from different parts of an organization working together on a recurring (and usually major) task process. A virtual...

This study compared the relationships between organizational context and the designs of environmental scanning systems for organizational with effective and ineffective scanning systems. The study analyzed data from over 100 North American business organizations. Results indicate that...

Concern with the effectiveness, productivity, efficiency or excellence of organizations is a subject that has motivated the writings of economists, organization theorists, management philosophers, financial analysts, management scientists, consultants, and practitioners. It has served as a...

Starting from the premise that individuals within an organization are fallible, this paper advances the study of relationships between the organization's decision-making structure and its performance. We offer a general treatment that allows one to analyze the full range of organizational...

This paper introduces and explicates the decision-making paradigm of organizational design. We argue that the domains of existing design paradigms are declining in scope, and that the nature of current and future organizational environments requires use of a design paradigm that responds to the...

This paper develops a research design for examining the relative influence of managers and environments on organizational activity over time. We outline three basic models of organization evolution: (1) an inertial model, which emphasizes constraints on evolution imposed by early patterns of...