Secchi Extendable Rationality

Understanding Decision Making in Organizations
1. Auflage 2010
ISBN: 978-1-4419-7542-3
Verlag: Springer US
Format: PDF
Kopierschutz: 1 - PDF Watermark

E-Book, Englisch, 161 Seiten

Reihe: Organizational Change and Innovation

“How do people make decisions in organizations?” is the question at the core of this book. Do people act rationally? Under what conditions can information and knowledge be shared to improve decision making? Davide Secchi applies concepts and theories from cognitive science, organizational behavior, and social psychology to explore the dynamics of decision making. In particular, he integrates “bounded rationality” (people are only partly rational; they have (a) limited computational capabilities and (b) limited access to information) and “distributed cognition” (knowledge is not confined to an individual, but is distributed across the members of a group) to build upon the pioneering work of Herbert Simon (1916-2001) on rational decision making and contribute fresh insights. This book is divided into two parts. The first part (Chapters 2 to 5) explores how recent studies on biases, prospect theory, heuristics, and emotions provide the so-called “map” of bounded rationality. The second part (Chapter 6 to 8) presents the idea of extendable rationality. In this section, Secchi identifies the limitations of bounded rationality and focuses more heavily on socially-based decision processes and the role of “docility” in teaching, managing, and executing decisions in organizations. The practical implications extend broadly to issues relating to change and innovation, as organizations adapt to evolving market conditions, implementing new systems, and effectively managing limited resources. The final chapter outlines an agenda for future research to help understand the decision making characteristics and capabilities of an organization.

Zielgruppe

Research

Autoren/Hrsg.

Secchi, Davide

Inhaltsverzeichnis

1;Preface;6
2;Acknowledgments;10
3;Contents;13
4;List of Figures;15
5;List of Tables;16
6;1 Introduction;17
6.1; What to Expect;18
6.2; Book Structure;21
6.3; Notes;22
7;Part I The Limited Cognition;23
7.1;2 Rationalization and Rationality;24
7.1.1; Kinds of Decisions;24
7.1.1.1; Mechanical Decisions;24
7.1.1.2; Decisions that Imply a Choice;25
7.1.1.3; Creative Decisions;27
7.1.1.4; Epistemological Corner;27
7.1.2; The Legacy of Herbert Simon;28
7.1.2.1; Rationalization;29
7.1.2.2; Rationality;31
7.1.3; Summary;32
7.1.4; Notes;32
7.2;3 Bounded Rationality;34
7.2.1; What Is Bounded Rationality;34
7.2.1.1; Substantive and Procedural Rationality;35
7.2.1.2; External and Internal Limitations;37
7.2.1.3; Satisficing;37
7.2.1.4; Bounds or Limits?;38
7.2.2; Summary;39
7.2.3; Notes;39
7.3;4 Maps of Bounded Rationality (I);41
7.3.1; Prospect Theory;41
7.3.1.1; The Certainty Effect;41
7.3.1.2; The Possibility Violation;43
7.3.1.3; The Reflection Effect;44
7.3.1.4; The Point on Bounded Rationality;45
7.3.2; This Is a Biased World;45
7.3.2.1; The Endowment Effect;45
7.3.2.2; The Status Quo Bias;46
7.3.2.3; Anchor Bias;47
7.3.2.4; Bandwagon Effect;48
7.3.2.5; Prejudices;49
7.3.2.6; Errors;50
7.3.3; Summary;52
7.3.4; Notes;52
7.4;5 Maps of Bounded Rationality (II);54
7.4.1; Heuristics;54
7.4.1.1; The Fast and the !Frugal!;55
7.4.1.2; Organizational Heuristics;57
7.4.1.3; Emotionally Bounded;59
7.4.2; Accessibility, Representation, and Framing;61
7.4.2.1; Epistemological Corner;62
7.4.3; Two Logics;64
7.4.3.1; The Logic of Consequence;65
7.4.3.2; The Logic of Appropriateness;66
7.4.4; Implications of Using One or More Maps;67
7.4.4.1; The Biases Paradigm;67
7.4.4.2; The Toolbox Paradigm;68
7.4.4.3; Final Remarks;68
7.4.5; Summary;69
7.4.6; Notes;69
8;Part II The Extended Brain;73
8.1;6 Simons Error;74
8.1.1; Distributing Cognition;75
8.1.1.1; An Irreverent Hypothesis on Cognition;76
8.1.1.2; Boundaries of the Mind: The Through Doing Logic;79
8.1.1.3; Externalizing and Reprojecting;81
8.1.1.4; The Extended Mind;84
8.1.2; How Bounded Is Rationality?;85
8.1.2.1; Cognition and Rationality;85
8.1.2.2; Problem Solving;85
8.1.2.3; Moving Bounds;86
8.1.2.4; What Error?;87
8.1.3; Summary;88
8.1.4; Notes;88
8.2;7 Stretching the Bounds (I);91
8.2.1; Through Doing Decision Making;92
8.2.1.1; Emotions and Decision Making;93
8.2.1.2; Morality;95
8.2.1.3; A Third Logic: The Logic of Adaptiveness;97
8.2.2; The Rationality of Change;99
8.2.2.1; Innovative High Technology;99
8.2.2.2; The Process of Change;101
8.2.3; Summary;103
8.2.4; Notes;103
8.3;8 Stretching the Bounds (II);106
8.3.1; The Others;106
8.3.2; Advice Taking;107
8.3.2.1; The Judge-Advisor System;108
8.3.2.2; Variables Affecting Advice Taking;110
8.3.2.3; Information Richness;111
8.3.2.4; Information Richness and Advice Taking: A Proposal;113
8.3.2.5; Perspectives on Advice Taking;116
8.3.3; Passive Advice Taking xx ;117
8.3.4; Summary;119
8.3.5; Notes;119
8.4;9 The Docile Organization;121
8.4.1; The Docile Individual;121
8.4.1.1; Fitness;123
8.4.1.2; From Evolution to Social Relations;124
8.4.1.3; Active and Passive;126
8.4.2; Levels of Docility;127
8.4.2.1; The Prerequisites of Docility;127
8.4.2.2; Docility in Organizations;129
8.4.3; Understanding Docility;131
8.4.3.1; Bandwagon Versus Docility;131
8.4.3.2; Individual Social Responsibility xxxii ;134
8.4.3.3; A Theoretical Framework for Advice Giving and Taking;136
8.4.4; What Is a Docile Organization?;137
8.4.5; Summary;139
8.4.6; Notes;139
8.5;10 Conclusions;142
8.5.1; The Point on Rationality;142
8.5.2; What Are We Mapping?;144
8.5.3; The Individual and the Group;145
8.5.4; A Methodological Note;148
8.5.5; Extendable Rationality;150
8.5.6; Notes;151
9;Afterword;153
10;References;154
11;Index;164

Über Autor(innen)

Davide Secchi, PhD, is an Assistant Professor of Organizational Behavior at the University of Wisconsin-La Crosse. His research interests include “distributed cognition” and its implications for management; human cognition and decision making; and social responsibility. He received his masters degrees (in venture finance and international finance) and his doctorate from the University of Pavia in Italy, and holds a BS from the University of Cagliari. He presents frequently at conferences and has published widely in scholarly journals and edited volumes, including the Journal of Business Ethics (Springer).