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Administrative Behavior

Administrative Behavior: a Study of Decision-Making Processes in Administrative Organization is a book written by Herbert A. Simon (1916–2001). It asserts that "decision-making is the heart of administration, and that the vocabulary of administrative theory must be derived from the logic and psychology of human choice", and it attempts to describe administrative organizations "in a way that will provide the basis for scientific analysis".[1]: xiii–xiv [2]: xlv–xlvi [3]: xlvii–xlviii [4]: xi  The first edition was published in 1947; the second, in 1957; the third, in 1976; and the fourth, in 1997. As summarized in a 2001 obituary of Simon, the book "reject[ed] the notion of an omniscient 'economic man' capable of making decisions that bring the greatest benefit possible and substitut[ed] instead the idea of 'administrative man' who 'satisfices—looks for a course of action that is satisfactory'".[5] Administrative Behavior laid the foundation for the economic movement known as the Carnegie School.

Administrative Behavior: a Study of Decision-Making Processes in Administrative Organization
Title page of first edition
AuthorHerbert A. Simon
CountryUnited States
LanguageEnglish
PublisherMacmillan
Publication date
1947
Media typePrint (hardcover)
Pagesxvi + 259
OCLC356505
LC ClassHD31 .S55

The book crosses social science disciplines such as political science and economics.[6] Simon returned to some of the ideas in the book in his later works, such as The Sciences of the Artificial (1969).[6][7] The Royal Swedish Academy of Sciences cited the book as "epoch-making" in awarding the 1978 Nobel Memorial Prize in Economic Sciences to Simon.[8][9] A 1990 article in Public Administration Review named it the "public administration book of the half century" (1940-1990).[10] It was voted the fifth most influential management book of the 20th century in a poll of the Fellows of the Academy of Management.[11]

Background edit

The book is based on Simon's doctoral thesis in political science at the University of Chicago, which he began planning in 1937.[12]: 53  At the time, the chair of the political science department was Charles Edward Merriam.[12]: 55–63 

Beginning in 1936, Simon worked as a half-time research assistant and then as a full-time staff member at the International City Managers Association (ICMA).[12]: 69–92 [13]: 76–77, 84–87, 96–97  Among other activities at ICMA, he learned about administration and about scientific collaboration from director Clarence Ridley, and published his first book with Ridley in 1938.[12]: 64, 72 [14] Although Simon cites Ridley as a major influence on his thinking, Simon did not actually work on his thesis while at ICMA.[12]: 64–65, 69–72, 74 

Simon took a position at the Bureau of Public Administration at the University of California, Berkeley between 1939 and 1942.[12]: 78–85  It was at Berkeley that he completed his University of Chicago Ph.D. thesis, which was approved by a committee consisting of Leonard D. White, C. Herman Pritchett, Clarence Ridley, and Charner Marquis Perry.[12]: 84  Simon received his doctorate in 1942.[12]: 84–85 

Influences edit

In writing his thesis and book, Simon was influenced by The Functions of the Executive (1938) by Chester I. Barnard. In his 1991 autobiography, Simon wrote that he found Barnard's book "wholly superior to the other administrative literature of the day and fully compatible with my preference for looking at management in decision-making terms".[12]: 73  The book, which Simon read "with painstaking care", motivated Simon to reflect upon his experiences and to focus on administrative decision making.[12]: 73–74, 86–87  In a 1988 interview, Simon was quoted as follows:[7]

Of course I built squarely on Barnard, and have always felt deeply indebted to him; science is a cumulative endeavor...In the book itself there are fourteen references to Barnard...the notions of the contribution-inducement equilibrium, authority, and zone of acceptance were all derived from Barnard...What I would now regard as the principal novelties in Administative [sic] Behavior are the development of the concept of organizational identification...the description of the decision process in terms of the processing of decision premises, and the bounded rationality notions...Most of the rest is highly "Barnardian", and certainly even those "novel" ideas are in no way inconsistent with Barnard's view of organizations.

Mitchell and Scott have noted similarities in Barnard's and Simon's concepts of authority, organizational equilibrium, and decision making.[15]: 349–352 [16]: 9  For example, Barnard's "zone of indifference" (a subordinate's unquestioned acceptance of authority) became Simon's "zone of acceptance".[15]: 350 [17]: 266  In addition, Mitchell and Scott concluded that both Simon and Barnard believed that large organizations control individuals' behavior and manipulate their opinions.[15]: 357–364 

Philosophers who influenced Simon include William James, John Dewey, A. J. Ayer, and Rudolf Carnap.[1]: 45–46, 80, 82, 88, 90, 93, 96, 101, 186, 195, 199 [7][12]: 53–54, 58–59 [13]: 99–101 [18] The ideas of behavioral psychologist Edward C. Tolman and sociologist Talcott Parsons also contributed to Simon's work.[12]: 86, 114, 190–191 [13]: 101–105  Simon characterized his own philosophical approach as logical positivism.[1]: 45 [10]: 253 

Editions edit

Preliminary (1945) edit

In 1945, when Simon was at the Illinois Institute of Technology, he sent mimeographed copies of a preliminary version of the book (which was similar to his thesis) to about 200 people he thought might be interested in his work.[7][13]: 130–131  One of the recipients of the preliminary version was Barnard. Although Simon did not know Barnard personally, Barnard sent a total of 25 pages of detailed comments to Simon, which resulted in a thorough revision of the book.[13]: 131–133  Simon then asked Barnard to write the book's foreword.[12]: 88 

1st (1947) edit

The first edition had 16 pages of front matter (e.g., a foreword by Chester Barnard, a preface, and acknowledgements), as well as 259 pages of body matter (i.e., Chapters I-XI) and back matter (appendix and index).[1]

The published first edition was different from the preliminary version in many ways, including:[7][12]: 86 [13]: 133–134 

  • Mathematical appendices and a comparison of rats and humans in organizations was removed
  • The chapters were rearranged, with "Some Problems of Administrative Theory" moved up to Chapter II
  • Some discussion of logical positivism was deleted
  • There was more discussion of communication within organizations
  • Material that could be considered "political" (e.g., passages that appeared to support New Deal economics) had been taken out

In the foreword, Barnard states that Simon's conclusions are "consonant with [his] experience" as an executive, and expresses hope that "ultimately it may be possible to state principles of general organization".[1]: ix–xii [2]: xli–xliv [3]: xliiii–xlvi  In the Acknowledgements, Simon thanked Barnard for The Functions of the Executive, for "the extremely careful critical review he gave the preliminary version of this book", and for his foreword.[1]: xv–xvi [2]: xlvii–xlviii [3]: xlix–l [4]: xiii 

2nd (1957) edit

The second edition featured a new Introduction, causing the book to contain 48 pages of front matter and 259 pages of body and back matter.[2] The Introduction summarized the book's structure, suggested how practitioners might apply the book's lessons, discussed the concepts of rational behavior and satisficing, commented on specific chapters in the book, and provided recent references.[2]: ix–xxxix [7][19]

3rd (1976) edit

The third edition, which had 50 pages of front matter and 364 pages of body and back matter, placed the original Chapters I-XI and Appendix into a Part I.[3]: 1–253  Its "Part II" consisted of six new chapters (XII through XVII) based on articles that Simon had written:[3]: ix–x, xiii–xiv, 255–356 [18]: 256 [19]

  • XII: "On the Concept of Organizational Goal" (pages 257-278), originally published in 1964[20]
  • XIII: "The Future of Information-Processing Technology" (pages 279-287), originally published in 1968[21]
  • XIV: "Applying Information Technology to Organization Design" (pages 288-308), originally published in 1973[22]
  • XV: "Selective Perception: the Identifications of Executives (with DeWitt C. Dearborn)" (pages 309-314), originally published in 1958[23]
  • XVI: "The Birth of an Organization" (pages 315-324), originally published in 1953[24]
  • XVII: "The Business School: a Problem in Organizational Design" (pages 335-356), originally published in 1967[25]

4th (1997) edit

 
Cover of 4th edition (1997); note change of subtitle to "...Organizations"

For the fourth edition, with 15 pages of front matter and 368 pages of body and back matter, the last word in the subtitle was changed from "Organization" to "Organizations".[4] The fourth edition lacked Barnard's foreword which had been present in the first through third editions.[19] Instead of the third edition's lengthy Introduction and Part II, in the fourth edition the Introduction was briefer and Simon's commentaries followed each chapter of the original text.[18]: 256 [19]

Summary edit

The text and pagination of the 253 pages of Chapters I-XI and of the Appendix ("What Is an Administrative Science?") were the same in the 1st, 2nd, and 3rd editions. Although the text of Chapters I-XI and the Appendix was the same in the 4th edition, the pagination was different.

Chapter I. Decision-Making and Administrative Organization edit

This chapter was based on a 1944 article with the same name in Public Administration Review.[26] Simon distinguishes between "value judgments" (which "lead toward the selection of final goals") and "factual judgments" (which "involve the implementation of such goals"),[1]: 4–5 [4]: 4  a topic which he explores more fully in Chapter III. The relationship of the individual and the group in decision-making is explored; for example, influences upon individuals include authority, organizational loyalty, efficiency, advice and information, and training.[1]: 11–16 [4]: 9–13 

Chapter II. Some Problems of Administrative Theory edit

Based on a 1946 article in Public Administration Review entitled "The Proverbs of Administration",[27] Chapter II is notable for the following passage near its beginning:[1]: 20–21 [4]: 29 [28]: 279 

It is a fatal defect of the current principles of administration that, like proverbs, they occur in pairs. For almost every principle one can find an equally plausible and acceptable contradictory principle. Although the two principles of the pair will lead to exactly opposite organizational recommendations, there is nothing in the theory to indicate which is the proper one to apply. To substantiate this criticism, it is necessary to examine briefly some of the leading principles.

  1. Administrative efficiency is increased by a specialization of the task among the group
  2. Administrative efficiency is increased by arranging the members of the group in a determinate hierarchy of authority
  3. Administrative efficiency is increased by limiting the span of control at any point in the hierarchy to a small number
  4. Administrative efficiency is increased by grouping the workers

These principles were found in the 1937 book Papers on the Science of Administration edited by Luther Gulick and Lyndall Urwick.[13]: 97 [29] After pointing out the shortcomings in the four principles, such as ambiguities and lack of empirical evidence, Simon states that "over-all efficiency must be the guiding criterion" in administrative organizations and that scientific methods must be applied to determine how to improve that efficiency.[1]: 36, 42–44 [4]: 43, 48–49 

Chapter III. Fact and Value in Decision-Making edit

Chapter III "clarifies foundational aspects of the logic of choice."[30]: 504  The first section of the chapter provides details for the explanation in Chapter I of "facts" versus "values". The chapter's second section on "Policy and Administration" discusses how the legislative and executive branches of government apply facts and values.[1]: 52–59 [4]: 61–67 

Chapter IV. Rationality in Administrative Behavior edit

After considering how the ideas of means and ends relate to decision-making,[30]: 504  Simon distinguishes among "objectively", "subjectively", "consciously", "deliberately", "organizationally", and "personally" rational decisions.[1]: 76–77 [4]: 85 

Chapter V. The Psychology of Administrative Decisions edit

In the first part of this chapter, "The Limits of Rationality", Simon wrote:[1]: 81 [4]: 93–94 

Actual behavior falls short, in at least three ways, of objective rationality…:

(1) Rationality requires a complete knowledge and anticipation of the consequences that will follow on each choice. In fact, knowledge of consequences is always fragmentary.
(2) Since these consequences lie in the future, imagination must supply the lack of experienced feeling in attaching value to them. But values can be only imperfectly anticipated.
(3) Rationality requires a choice among all possible alternative behaviors. In actual behavior, only a very few of all these possible alternatives ever come to mind.

The remainder of the chapter concerns "Purposive Behavior in the Individual" and "The Integration of Behavior".

Chapter VI. The Equilibrium of the Organization edit

As summarized by Simon in the 4th edition's "Commentary on Chapter VI", the central idea of this chapter is that "the survival and success of organizations depend on their providing sufficient incentives to their members to secure the contributions that are needed to carry out the organizations' tasks".[4]: 164 

Chapter VII. The Role of Authority edit

Chapters VII-X deal with four ways in which an organization can influence an individual's decisions: authority, communication, criterion of efficiency, and loyalties and organizational identification.

In Chapter VII, Simon discusses the nature of authority and how it is used in organizations: enforcing responsibility, obtaining decision-making expertise, and coordinating activity. Four methods are described for avoiding conflicts in authority when a subordinate has multiple superiors.

Chapter VIII. Communication edit

Simon defines communication as "any process whereby decisional premises are transmitted from one member of an organization to another".[1]: 154 [4]: 208  Communication can be formal or informal, may need to be archived to provide "memory" for an organization, and is sometimes accomplished through training. The 4th edition's "Commentary on Chapter VIII" discusses computerized communications which were unavailable in 1947.[4]: 223–249 

Chapter IX. The Criterion of Efficiency edit

This chapter expands upon a concept that had been mentioned briefly in preceding chapters.[1]: 14, 122 [4]: 12, 149–150  In a for-profit organization, the "criterion of efficiency" states than an individual will select an alternative that will maximize income and minimize cost so as to "yield the greatest net (money) return to the organization".[1]: 172–173 [4]: 250–251  More generally (i.e., to include nonprofit organizations) the criterion causes "that choice of alternatives which produces the largest result for the given application of resources."[1]: 179 [4]: 256  In the remainder of the chapter, Simon counters criticisms of the efficiency criterion and outlines methods by which efficiency can be attained (e.g., by "functionalization" and by the public budgeting process).

Chapter X. Loyalties and Organizational Identification edit

Following a concept of Harold Lasswell, Simon asserts that "a person identifies himself with a group when, in making a decision, he evaluates the several alternatives of choice in terms of their consequences for the specified group."[1]: 205 [4]: 284  Such organizational identification can be associated with decisions that are not optimal in terms of an organization's efficiency or adequacy ("the degree to which its goals have been reached").[1]: 212 [4]: 290 

Chapter XI. The Anatomy of Organization edit

Simon describes the organizational decision-making process and writes:[1]: 240–241 [4]: 322 [18]: 263 

The need for an administrative theory resides in the fact that there are practical limits to human rationality, and that these limits are not static, but depend upon the organizational environment in which the individual's decision takes place. The task of administration is so to design this environment that the individual will approach as close as practicable to rationality (judged in terms of the organization's goals) in his decisions.

Appendix: What Is an Administrative Science? edit

In the final part of the book common to all editions, Simon discusses the "theoretical" (descriptive) aspects and "practical" aspects (i.e., leading toward the improved attainment of objectives) of the science of administration.

Criticism edit

  • Robert A. Dahl wrote in 1947 that a science of organizations was impossible due to cultural differences among organizations.[17]: 263  Similarly, a 1957 review of the second edition questioned whether scientific studies of important aspects of organizational decision-making "under controlled conditions" could ever be undertaken.[28] Simon responded to the 1957 review that "as knowledge advances...administrative practice will come to rest largely on scientifically tested knowledge of fundamental underlying mechanisms".[31]
  • The book played a central role in what is known as the "Simon-Waldo debate" published in the American Political Science Review in 1952.[7][13]: 134–135 [32][33] Using "purple prose", Simon and Dwight Waldo exchanged articles in which Simon "accuse[d] Waldo of logical unrigor" while Waldo "charge[d] Simon with philosophical myopia" due to Simon's reliance on logical positivism in Administrative Behavior.[32]: 445–446 
  • In 1962 Herbert Storing edited a book entitled Essays on the Scientific Study of Politics; one of the essays therein, by Storing himself, critiqued Administrative Behavior.[34] In his autobiography, Simon wrote that the essays in Storing's book "were such egregious examples of the practice of reading texts unsympathetically and without a genuine attempt to understand them that [he] never felt an urge to respond to them".[12]: 63, 270 [19] One analysis notes differences in Storing's and Simon's styles of thinking ("dichotomous" versus "synthetic"), levels of abstraction, and "assumed 'goodness' of organizations".[35]
  • Simon does not offer any convincing replacement for the principles of organization that he critiques.[17]: 267 
  • Simon's introductions and commentaries in the second through fourth editions interpret material in the first edition in a way that stretches its meaning or contradicts it.[18]: 256–257  For example, Simon saw "satisficing man" in the 1947 text but other authors saw "maximizing man".[17]: 267 
  • The fact/value and policy/administration distinctions have been criticized as unnecessary.[7]: 290–293 [18]: 256 
  • The book minimizes the role of emotions and habit in organizations.[30]: 506 
  • Simon did not analyze how immoral behavior, such as police corruption, can occur within organizations.[33]
  • A 1990 essay asserts that Chapter II ("Some Problems of Administrative Theory") did not criticize Gulick's work fairly in that Gulick already recognized most of the problems that Simon discussed.[36]

Legacy edit

Simon felt that the reviews of the first edition "were generally kind, but the reviewers were not exhilerated [sic]",[7] and that the book "created no sensation" at first.[12]: 88 [19] Nevertheless, it became notable for the following innovations:

  • A scientific approach to administration.[15]: 356–357 
  • A focus on organizational decision making as the basis for organizational action, as opposed to John Dewey who emphasized habit and action.[16]: 9 [30]: 505 
  • The initial description of what would later be called "bounded rationality,"[7][12]: 86, 87 [15]: 353 [37]: 743–744  a term that one paper concludes first appeared in Simon's 1957 book Models of Man,[38] In the 1st edition of Administrative Behavior, Simon used the phrases “limits to rationality” or “limits of rationality.”[1]: 39–41, 80, 241 [38]: 36, 38, 40 
  • The initial description of what a 1956 paper by Simon called satisficing.[39]: 129, 136 [40] As stated in the Introductions to the 2nd and 3rd editions, and in the 4th edition's "Commentary on Chapter V":[2]: xxiv [3]: xxviii [4]: 118 [33]

The central concern of administrative theory is with the boundary between the rational and the nonrational aspects of human social behavior. Administrative theory is peculiarly the theory of intended and bounded rationality – of the behavior of human beings who satisfice because they have not the wits to maximize.

Later in the 2nd through 4th editions, "to satisfice" is defined as "to look[] for a course of action that is satisfactory or 'good enough.'"[2]: xxv [3]: xxix [4]: 119  The word is not used in the 1st edition of Administrative Behavior, but the index to the 3rd edition indicates that pertinent passages are found in the 1st edition on pages 38-41, 80-81, and 240-244.[3]: 363 
  • The concept of organizational identification in Chapter X.[7][12]: 87 [41]

Simon would return to the concepts from Administrative Behavior in later books that he co-authored, including Public Administration (with Donald W. Smithburg and Victor A. Thompson, 1950); Organizations (with James G. March, 1958); and The Sciences of the Artificial (1969).[4]: 157, 229 [6][7][30]: 505 [42][43][44] Among books written by other authors, Administrative Behavior influenced:

In 1978, Sune Carlson said in a speech at the ceremony awarding Simon a Nobel Prize in Economics:[8]

…the study of the structure and the decision-making of the firm became an important task in economic science. … In his epoch-making book Administrative Behavior, which first appeared in 1947 and which has been translated into nearly a dozen languages, as well as in a number of subsequent works, Simon describes the company as an adaptive system of physical, personal and social components, which are held together by a network of intercommunications and by the willingness of its members to co-operate and to work towards common goals. …

Nevertheless, it was reported that economists Albert Ando and William Baumol had "made little reference to Administrative Behavior" in arguing to the Nobel Prize Committee that Simon should win.[19]: 138 

Between 1955 and 1988, the book was translated into 12 languages: Chinese, Dutch, Finnish, French, German, Italian, Japanese, Korean, Polish, Portuguese, Spanish, and Swedish.[10] A set of 12 papers about the book appeared in Public Administration Quarterly in 1988-1989 for the book's 40th anniversary.[17][50][51][52]

In 1990, Sherwood reported in Public Administration Review that 19 of 20 members of an informal advisory panel voted Administrative Behavior one of the "five or six most influential" books in academic public administration published between 1940 and 1990, making it the "public administration book of the half century."[10]: 249  It was the "overwhelming leader" among the books nominated, receiving "twice as many nominations as any other book."[10]: 251, 254  Despite over 150,000 copies of the book having been sold in English, in a small survey of recent graduates from a Master of Public Administration program, Sherwood found widespread belief in the administrative proverbs that Simon attempted to discredit in Chapter II.[10]: 252, 254 

The fourth edition of the book was released in 1997; its Introduction noted the book's "fiftieth birthday."[4]: vii  The book was cited in obituaries of Simon in 2001.[5][53]

By 2009, the book had received 7,746 citations on Google Scholar.[54] Of the articles that cited the book, the articles that were most-cited concerned organizational learning, the economic sociology, transaction cost economics, and organizational decision making.[54] Administrative Behavior appeared in at least three lists of "best" or "most influential" management and business books between 2001 and 2011.[11][55][56] As of 2012, the fourth edition of the book is still in print.[57]

References edit

  1. ^ a b c d e f g h i j k l m n o p q r s t u Simon, Herbert A. (1947). Administrative Behavior: a Study of Decision-Making Processes in Administrative Organization (1st ed.). New York: Macmillan. OCLC 356505.
  2. ^ a b c d e f g Simon, Herbert A. (1957). Administrative Behavior: a Study of Decision-Making Processes in Administrative Organization (2nd ed.). New York: Macmillan. OCLC 964597.
  3. ^ a b c d e f g h Simon, Herbert A. (1976). Administrative Behavior: a Study of Decision-Making Processes in Administrative Organization (3rd ed.). New York: Free Press. ISBN 978-0029289716.
  4. ^ a b c d e f g h i j k l m n o p q r s t u v w Simon, Herbert A. (1997). Administrative Behavior: a Study of Decision-Making Processes in Administrative Organizations (4th ed.). New York: Free Press. ISBN 978-0684835822.
  5. ^ a b Lewis, Paul (10 February 2001). "Herbert A. Simon Dies at 84; Won a Nobel for Economics". New York Times. p. 13.
  6. ^ a b c Augier, Mie (2002). "Administrative Behavior: A Study of Decision-Making Processes in Administrative Organizations (book review)". The Economic Journal. 112 (480): F386–F388. doi:10.1111/1468-0297.t01-17-00050.
  7. ^ a b c d e f g h i j k l Golembiewski, Robert T. (1988). (PDF). Public Administration Quarterly. 12 (3): 275–300. JSTOR 40861423. Archived from the original (PDF) on 2022-01-21. Retrieved 2012-05-19.
  8. ^ a b Carlson, Sune (16 October 1978). "The Prize in Economics 1978: Award Ceremony Speech". Retrieved 2 May 2012.
  9. ^ Royal Swedish Academy of Sciences (16 October 1978). "The Prize in Economics 1978 – Press Release". Retrieved 2 May 2012.
  10. ^ a b c d e f g Sherwood, Frank P. (1990). "The Half-Century's 'Great Books' in Public Administration". Public Administration Review. 50 (2): 249–264. doi:10.2307/976872. JSTOR 976872.
  11. ^ a b Bedeian, Arthur G.; Wren, Daniel A. (Winter 2001). (PDF). Organizational Dynamics. 29 (3): 221–225. doi:10.1016/S0090-2616(01)00022-5. Archived from the original (PDF) on 2015-10-17. Retrieved 2012-05-19.
  12. ^ a b c d e f g h i j k l m n o p q r Simon, Herbert A. (1991). Models of My Life. [New York]: Basic Books. ISBN 978-0465046409.
  13. ^ a b c d e f g h Crowther-Heyck, Hunter (2005). Herbert A. Simon: the Bounds of Reason in Modern America. Baltimore: Johns Hopkins University Press. ISBN 978-0801880254.
  14. ^ Ridley, Clarence E.; Simon, Herbert A. (1938). Measuring Municipal Activities: a Survey of Suggested Criteria and Reporting Forms for Appraising Administration. Chicago: International City Managers Association. OCLC 2049544.
  15. ^ a b c d e Mitchell, Terence R.; Scott, William G. (Fall 1988). "The Barnard-Simon Contribution: a Vanished Legacy". Public Administration Quarterly. 12 (3): 348–368. JSTOR 40861427.
  16. ^ a b Mahoney, Joseph T. (2005). "Chapter 1: Behavioral Theory of the Firm" (PDF). Economic Foundations of Strategy. Thousand Oaks, CA: SAGE. pp. 1–53. ISBN 978-1-4129-0543-5.
  17. ^ a b c d e Golembiewski, Robert T. (1988). "Perspectives on Simon's Administrative Behavior: Stock-Taking on the Fortieth Anniversary – Part I". Public Administration Quarterly. 12 (3): 259–382. JSTOR 40861422.
  18. ^ a b c d e f Kerr, Gerry (2007). "The Development History and Philosophical Sources of Herbert Simon's Administrative Behavior". Journal of Management History. 13 (3): 255–268. doi:10.1108/17511340710754707.
  19. ^ a b c d e f g Sent, Esther-Mirjam (1999). "Administrative Man Versus/As Economic Man (book review)". Journal of Economic Methodology. 6 (1): 133–139. doi:10.1080/13501789900000008.
  20. ^ Simon, Herbert A. (1964). "On the Concept of Organizational Goal". Administrative Science Quarterly. 9 (1): 1–22. doi:10.2307/2391519. JSTOR 2391519.
  21. ^ Simon, Herbert A. (1968). "The Future of Information Processing Technology". Management Science. 14 (9): 619–624. doi:10.1287/mnsc.14.9.619. JSTOR 2628288.
  22. ^ Simon, Herbert A. (1973). "Applying Information Technology to Organization Design". Public Administration Review. 33 (3): 268–278. doi:10.2307/974804. JSTOR 974804.
  23. ^ Dearborn, DeWitt C.; Simon, Herbert A. (1958). "Selective Perception: A Note on the Departmental Identifications of Executives". Sociometry. 21 (2): 140–144. doi:10.2307/2785898. JSTOR 2785898.
  24. ^ Simon, Herbert A. (1953). "Birth of an Organization: The Economic Cooperation Administration". Public Administration Review. 13 (4): 227–236. doi:10.2307/973005. JSTOR 973005.
  25. ^ Simon, Herbert A. (1967). "The Business School a Problem in Organizational Design". Journal of Management Studies. 4 (1): 1–16. doi:10.1111/j.1467-6486.1967.tb00569.x.
  26. ^ Simon, Herbert A. (1944). "Decision-Making and Administrative Organization" (PDF). Public Administration Review. 4 (1): 16–30. doi:10.2307/972435. JSTOR 972435.
  27. ^ Simon, Herbert A. (1946). "The Proverbs of Administration" (PDF). Public Administration Review. 6 (1): 53–67. doi:10.2307/973030. JSTOR 973030.
  28. ^ a b Banfield, Edward C. (1957). "The Decision-Making Schema". Public Administration Review. 17 (4): 278–285. doi:10.2307/973419. JSTOR 973419.
  29. ^ Gulick, Luther; Urwick, L., eds. (1937). Papers on the Science of Administration. New York: Institute of Public Administration, Columbia University. OCLC 995995.
  30. ^ a b c d e f g Cohen, Michael D. (2007). "Administrative Behavior: Laying the Foundations for Cyert and March". Organization Science. 18 (3): 503–506. doi:10.1287/orsc.1070.0275.
  31. ^ Simon, Herbert A. (1958). "'The Decision-Making Schema': a Reply" (PDF). Public Administration Review. 18 (1): 60–63. doi:10.2307/973736. JSTOR 973736.
  32. ^ a b Harmon, Michael M. (1989). "The Simon/Waldo Debate: a Review and Update". Public Administration Quarterly. 12 (4): 437–451. JSTOR 40861434.
  33. ^ a b c d Gow, James Iain (2003). "Decision Man: Herbert Simon in Search of Rationality". Canadian Public Administration. 46 (1): 120–126. doi:10.1111/j.1754-7121.2003.tb01583.x.
  34. ^ Storing, Herbert J., ed. (1962). "The Science of Administration: Herbert A. Simon". Essays on the Scientific Study of Politics. New York: Holt, Rinehart and Winston. OCLC 497089.
  35. ^ Chisholm, Rupert F. (1989). "The Storing Critique Revisited: Simon as Seen in the Science of Politics". Public Administration Quarterly. 12 (4): 411–436. JSTOR 40861433.
  36. ^ Hammond, Thomas H. (1990). "In Defence of Luther Gulick's 'Notes on the Theory of Organization'". Public Administration. 68 (2): 143–173. doi:10.1111/j.1467-9299.1990.tb00752.x.
  37. ^ Moe, Terry M. (1984). "The New Economics of Organization". American Journal of Political Science. 28 (4): 739–777. doi:10.2307/2110997. JSTOR 2110997.
  38. ^ a b Klaes, Matthias; Sent, Esther-Mirjam (2005). "A Conceptual History of the Emergence of Bounded Rationality". History of Political Economy. 37 (1): 27–59. CiteSeerX 10.1.1.119.5260. doi:10.1215/00182702-37-1-27.
  39. ^ Simon, H. A. (1956). "Rational Choice and the Structure of the Environment" (PDF). Psychological Review. 63 (2): 129–138. CiteSeerX 10.1.1.545.5116. doi:10.1037/h0042769. PMID 13310708. …it appears probable that, however adaptive the behavior of organisms in learning and choice situations, this adaptiveness falls far short of the ideal 'maximizing' postulated in economic theory. Evidently, organisms adapt well enough to 'satisfice'; they do not, in general, 'optimize'.
  40. ^ Brown, Reva (2004). "Consideration of the Origin of Herbert Simon's Theory of 'Satisficing' (1933-1947)". Management Decision. 42 (10): 1240–1256. doi:10.1108/00251740410568944.
  41. ^ Jones, Candace; Volpe, Elizabeth Hamilton (2011). (PDF). Journal of Organizational Behavior. 32 (3): 413–434. doi:10.1002/job.694. Archived from the original (PDF) on 2015-04-29. Retrieved 2012-05-19.
  42. ^ Simon, Herbert A.; Smithburg, Donald W.; Thompson, Victor A. (1950). Public Administration. New York: Knopf. OCLC 1630919.
  43. ^ March, James G.; Simon, Herbert A. (1958). Organizations. New York: Wiley. ISBN 978-0471567936.
  44. ^ Simon, Herbert A. (1969). The Sciences of the Artificial. Cambridge, MA: M.I.T. Press. OCLC 4087.
  45. ^ Kaufman, Herbert (1960). The Forest Ranger, a Study in Administrative Behavior. Baltimore: Resources for the Future, Johns Hopkins Press. ISBN 978-0685184202.
  46. ^ Tipple, Terence J.; Wellman, J. Douglas (1991). "Herbert Kaufman's Forest Ranger Thirty Years Later: From Simplicity and Homogeneity to Complexity and Diversity". Public Administration Review. 51 (5): 421–428. doi:10.2307/976411. JSTOR 976411.
  47. ^ Rainey, Hal G. (1991). Understanding and Managing Public Organizations (1st ed.). San Francisco: Jossey-Bass. ISBN 978-1555423445.
  48. ^ Gavetti, Giovanni; Levinthal, Daniel; Ocasio, William (2007). "Perspective -- Neo-Carnegie: The Carnegie School's Past, Present, and Reconstructing for the Future". Organization Science. 18 (3): 523–536. doi:10.1287/orsc.1070.0277.
  49. ^ Allison, Graham T. (1971). Essence of Decision: Explaining the Cuban Missile Crisis. Boston: Little, Brown. ISBN 978-0673394125.
  50. ^ "Public Administration Quarterly Vol. 12, No. 3, Fall 1988 (Table of Contents)". Southern Public Administration Education Foundation. JSTOR i40038729. {{cite journal}}: Cite journal requires |journal= (help)
  51. ^ Golembiewski, Robert T. (1988). "Perspectives on Simon's Administrative Behavior: Stock-Taking on the Fortieth Anniversary – A Symposium, Part II". Public Administration Quarterly. 12 (4): 389–391. JSTOR 40861431.
  52. ^ "Public Administration Quarterly Vol. 12, No. 4, Winter, 1989 (Table of Contents)". Southern Public Administration Education Foundation. JSTOR i40038730. {{cite journal}}: Cite journal requires |journal= (help)
  53. ^ Velupillai, K. Vela (13 February 2001). "Obituary: Professor Herbert Simon". The Independent.
  54. ^ a b Kerr, Gerry (2011). "What Simon Said: the Impact of the Major Management Works of Herbert Simon". Journal of Management History. 17 (4): 399–419. doi:10.1108/17511341111164418.
  55. ^ Crainer, Stuart (2003). "Herbert Simon, Administrative Behavior (1947)". The Ultimate Business Library: the Greatest Books That Made Management (3rd ed.). Oxford: Capstone Pub. pp. 257–259. ISBN 978-1841120591.
  56. ^ "Administrative Behavior by Herbert Simon". The Best Business Books Ever: The Most Influential Management Books You'll Never Have Time to Read (2nd ed.). New York: Basic Books. 2011. pp. 3–4. ISBN 9780465022366.
  57. ^ "Administrative Behavior, 4th Edition". Simon & Schuster Digital Catalog. Retrieved May 11, 2012.

Further reading edit

  • Peng, Wen-Shien (1992). "A Critique on H. A. Simon's Administrative Behavior Theory". Public Administration Quarterly. 16 (2): 254–264. JSTOR 40862285.
  • Dennard, Linda F. (1995). "Neo-Darwinism and Simon's Bureaucratic Antihero". Administration & Society. 26 (4): 464–487. doi:10.1177/009539979502600403. S2CID 145358411.
  • Balducci, Massimo (2009). "L'influence de Administrative behavior de H. Simon sur l'étude des organisations et sur la théorie du Public choice". Revue Française d'Administration Publique (in French). 131 (3): 541–554. doi:10.3917/rfap.131.0541.

External links edit

  • Simonsen, Jesper (Spring 1994). "Herbert A. Simon: Administrative Behavior. How Organizations Can Be Understood in Terms of Decision Processes" (PDF). Roskilde University. Retrieved May 11, 2012.
  • Rainey, Hal G. (2001). "A Reflection on Herbert Simon: A Satisficing Search for Significance" (PDF). Administration & Society. 33 (5): 491–507. doi:10.1177/00953990122019857. S2CID 141003120.
  • Ching, Brandon D. (October 17, 2008). "Abstract – Administrative Behavior by Herbert Simon". Digital Solipsist blog. Archived from the original on January 21, 2013. Retrieved May 11, 2012.

administrative, behavior, study, decision, making, processes, administrative, organization, book, written, herbert, simon, 1916, 2001, asserts, that, decision, making, heart, administration, that, vocabulary, administrative, theory, must, derived, from, logic,. Administrative Behavior a Study of Decision Making Processes in Administrative Organization is a book written by Herbert A Simon 1916 2001 It asserts that decision making is the heart of administration and that the vocabulary of administrative theory must be derived from the logic and psychology of human choice and it attempts to describe administrative organizations in a way that will provide the basis for scientific analysis 1 xiii xiv 2 xlv xlvi 3 xlvii xlviii 4 xi The first edition was published in 1947 the second in 1957 the third in 1976 and the fourth in 1997 As summarized in a 2001 obituary of Simon the book reject ed the notion of an omniscient economic man capable of making decisions that bring the greatest benefit possible and substitut ed instead the idea of administrative man who satisfices looks for a course of action that is satisfactory 5 Administrative Behavior laid the foundation for the economic movement known as the Carnegie School Administrative Behavior a Study of Decision Making Processes in Administrative OrganizationTitle page of first editionAuthorHerbert A SimonCountryUnited StatesLanguageEnglishPublisherMacmillanPublication date1947Media typePrint hardcover Pagesxvi 259OCLC356505LC ClassHD31 S55The book crosses social science disciplines such as political science and economics 6 Simon returned to some of the ideas in the book in his later works such as The Sciences of the Artificial 1969 6 7 The Royal Swedish Academy of Sciences cited the book as epoch making in awarding the 1978 Nobel Memorial Prize in Economic Sciences to Simon 8 9 A 1990 article in Public Administration Review named it the public administration book of the half century 1940 1990 10 It was voted the fifth most influential management book of the 20th century in a poll of the Fellows of the Academy of Management 11 Contents 1 Background 2 Influences 3 Editions 3 1 Preliminary 1945 3 2 1st 1947 3 3 2nd 1957 3 4 3rd 1976 3 5 4th 1997 4 Summary 4 1 Chapter I Decision Making and Administrative Organization 4 2 Chapter II Some Problems of Administrative Theory 4 3 Chapter III Fact and Value in Decision Making 4 4 Chapter IV Rationality in Administrative Behavior 4 5 Chapter V The Psychology of Administrative Decisions 4 6 Chapter VI The Equilibrium of the Organization 4 7 Chapter VII The Role of Authority 4 8 Chapter VIII Communication 4 9 Chapter IX The Criterion of Efficiency 4 10 Chapter X Loyalties and Organizational Identification 4 11 Chapter XI The Anatomy of Organization 4 12 Appendix What Is an Administrative Science 5 Criticism 6 Legacy 7 References 8 Further reading 9 External linksBackground editThe book is based on Simon s doctoral thesis in political science at the University of Chicago which he began planning in 1937 12 53 At the time the chair of the political science department was Charles Edward Merriam 12 55 63 Beginning in 1936 Simon worked as a half time research assistant and then as a full time staff member at the International City Managers Association ICMA 12 69 92 13 76 77 84 87 96 97 Among other activities at ICMA he learned about administration and about scientific collaboration from director Clarence Ridley and published his first book with Ridley in 1938 12 64 72 14 Although Simon cites Ridley as a major influence on his thinking Simon did not actually work on his thesis while at ICMA 12 64 65 69 72 74 Simon took a position at the Bureau of Public Administration at the University of California Berkeley between 1939 and 1942 12 78 85 It was at Berkeley that he completed his University of Chicago Ph D thesis which was approved by a committee consisting of Leonard D White C Herman Pritchett Clarence Ridley and Charner Marquis Perry 12 84 Simon received his doctorate in 1942 12 84 85 Influences editIn writing his thesis and book Simon was influenced by The Functions of the Executive 1938 by Chester I Barnard In his 1991 autobiography Simon wrote that he found Barnard s book wholly superior to the other administrative literature of the day and fully compatible with my preference for looking at management in decision making terms 12 73 The book which Simon read with painstaking care motivated Simon to reflect upon his experiences and to focus on administrative decision making 12 73 74 86 87 In a 1988 interview Simon was quoted as follows 7 Of course I built squarely on Barnard and have always felt deeply indebted to him science is a cumulative endeavor In the book itself there are fourteen references to Barnard the notions of the contribution inducement equilibrium authority and zone of acceptance were all derived from Barnard What I would now regard as the principal novelties in Administative sic Behavior are the development of the concept of organizational identification the description of the decision process in terms of the processing of decision premises and the bounded rationality notions Most of the rest is highly Barnardian and certainly even those novel ideas are in no way inconsistent with Barnard s view of organizations Mitchell and Scott have noted similarities in Barnard s and Simon s concepts of authority organizational equilibrium and decision making 15 349 352 16 9 For example Barnard s zone of indifference a subordinate s unquestioned acceptance of authority became Simon s zone of acceptance 15 350 17 266 In addition Mitchell and Scott concluded that both Simon and Barnard believed that large organizations control individuals behavior and manipulate their opinions 15 357 364 Philosophers who influenced Simon include William James John Dewey A J Ayer and Rudolf Carnap 1 45 46 80 82 88 90 93 96 101 186 195 199 7 12 53 54 58 59 13 99 101 18 The ideas of behavioral psychologist Edward C Tolman and sociologist Talcott Parsons also contributed to Simon s work 12 86 114 190 191 13 101 105 Simon characterized his own philosophical approach as logical positivism 1 45 10 253 Editions editPreliminary 1945 edit In 1945 when Simon was at the Illinois Institute of Technology he sent mimeographed copies of a preliminary version of the book which was similar to his thesis to about 200 people he thought might be interested in his work 7 13 130 131 One of the recipients of the preliminary version was Barnard Although Simon did not know Barnard personally Barnard sent a total of 25 pages of detailed comments to Simon which resulted in a thorough revision of the book 13 131 133 Simon then asked Barnard to write the book s foreword 12 88 1st 1947 edit The first edition had 16 pages of front matter e g a foreword by Chester Barnard a preface and acknowledgements as well as 259 pages of body matter i e Chapters I XI and back matter appendix and index 1 The published first edition was different from the preliminary version in many ways including 7 12 86 13 133 134 Mathematical appendices and a comparison of rats and humans in organizations was removed The chapters were rearranged with Some Problems of Administrative Theory moved up to Chapter II Some discussion of logical positivism was deleted There was more discussion of communication within organizations Material that could be considered political e g passages that appeared to support New Deal economics had been taken outIn the foreword Barnard states that Simon s conclusions are consonant with his experience as an executive and expresses hope that ultimately it may be possible to state principles of general organization 1 ix xii 2 xli xliv 3 xliiii xlvi In the Acknowledgements Simon thanked Barnard for The Functions of the Executive for the extremely careful critical review he gave the preliminary version of this book and for his foreword 1 xv xvi 2 xlvii xlviii 3 xlix l 4 xiii 2nd 1957 edit The second edition featured a new Introduction causing the book to contain 48 pages of front matter and 259 pages of body and back matter 2 The Introduction summarized the book s structure suggested how practitioners might apply the book s lessons discussed the concepts of rational behavior and satisficing commented on specific chapters in the book and provided recent references 2 ix xxxix 7 19 3rd 1976 edit The third edition which had 50 pages of front matter and 364 pages of body and back matter placed the original Chapters I XI and Appendix into a Part I 3 1 253 Its Part II consisted of six new chapters XII through XVII based on articles that Simon had written 3 ix x xiii xiv 255 356 18 256 19 XII On the Concept of Organizational Goal pages 257 278 originally published in 1964 20 XIII The Future of Information Processing Technology pages 279 287 originally published in 1968 21 XIV Applying Information Technology to Organization Design pages 288 308 originally published in 1973 22 XV Selective Perception the Identifications of Executives with DeWitt C Dearborn pages 309 314 originally published in 1958 23 XVI The Birth of an Organization pages 315 324 originally published in 1953 24 XVII The Business School a Problem in Organizational Design pages 335 356 originally published in 1967 25 4th 1997 edit nbsp Cover of 4th edition 1997 note change of subtitle to Organizations For the fourth edition with 15 pages of front matter and 368 pages of body and back matter the last word in the subtitle was changed from Organization to Organizations 4 The fourth edition lacked Barnard s foreword which had been present in the first through third editions 19 Instead of the third edition s lengthy Introduction and Part II in the fourth edition the Introduction was briefer and Simon s commentaries followed each chapter of the original text 18 256 19 Summary editThe text and pagination of the 253 pages of Chapters I XI and of the Appendix What Is an Administrative Science were the same in the 1st 2nd and 3rd editions Although the text of Chapters I XI and the Appendix was the same in the 4th edition the pagination was different Chapter I Decision Making and Administrative Organization edit This chapter was based on a 1944 article with the same name in Public Administration Review 26 Simon distinguishes between value judgments which lead toward the selection of final goals and factual judgments which involve the implementation of such goals 1 4 5 4 4 a topic which he explores more fully in Chapter III The relationship of the individual and the group in decision making is explored for example influences upon individuals include authority organizational loyalty efficiency advice and information and training 1 11 16 4 9 13 Chapter II Some Problems of Administrative Theory edit Based on a 1946 article in Public Administration Review entitled The Proverbs of Administration 27 Chapter II is notable for the following passage near its beginning 1 20 21 4 29 28 279 It is a fatal defect of the current principles of administration that like proverbs they occur in pairs For almost every principle one can find an equally plausible and acceptable contradictory principle Although the two principles of the pair will lead to exactly opposite organizational recommendations there is nothing in the theory to indicate which is the proper one to apply To substantiate this criticism it is necessary to examine briefly some of the leading principles Administrative efficiency is increased by a specialization of the task among the group Administrative efficiency is increased by arranging the members of the group in a determinate hierarchy of authority Administrative efficiency is increased by limiting the span of control at any point in the hierarchy to a small number Administrative efficiency is increased by grouping the workers These principles were found in the 1937 book Papers on the Science of Administration edited by Luther Gulick and Lyndall Urwick 13 97 29 After pointing out the shortcomings in the four principles such as ambiguities and lack of empirical evidence Simon states that over all efficiency must be the guiding criterion in administrative organizations and that scientific methods must be applied to determine how to improve that efficiency 1 36 42 44 4 43 48 49 Chapter III Fact and Value in Decision Making edit Chapter III clarifies foundational aspects of the logic of choice 30 504 The first section of the chapter provides details for the explanation in Chapter I of facts versus values The chapter s second section on Policy and Administration discusses how the legislative and executive branches of government apply facts and values 1 52 59 4 61 67 Chapter IV Rationality in Administrative Behavior edit After considering how the ideas of means and ends relate to decision making 30 504 Simon distinguishes among objectively subjectively consciously deliberately organizationally and personally rational decisions 1 76 77 4 85 Chapter V The Psychology of Administrative Decisions edit In the first part of this chapter The Limits of Rationality Simon wrote 1 81 4 93 94 Actual behavior falls short in at least three ways of objective rationality 1 Rationality requires a complete knowledge and anticipation of the consequences that will follow on each choice In fact knowledge of consequences is always fragmentary 2 Since these consequences lie in the future imagination must supply the lack of experienced feeling in attaching value to them But values can be only imperfectly anticipated 3 Rationality requires a choice among all possible alternative behaviors In actual behavior only a very few of all these possible alternatives ever come to mind The remainder of the chapter concerns Purposive Behavior in the Individual and The Integration of Behavior Chapter VI The Equilibrium of the Organization edit As summarized by Simon in the 4th edition s Commentary on Chapter VI the central idea of this chapter is that the survival and success of organizations depend on their providing sufficient incentives to their members to secure the contributions that are needed to carry out the organizations tasks 4 164 Chapter VII The Role of Authority edit Chapters VII X deal with four ways in which an organization can influence an individual s decisions authority communication criterion of efficiency and loyalties and organizational identification In Chapter VII Simon discusses the nature of authority and how it is used in organizations enforcing responsibility obtaining decision making expertise and coordinating activity Four methods are described for avoiding conflicts in authority when a subordinate has multiple superiors Chapter VIII Communication edit Simon defines communication as any process whereby decisional premises are transmitted from one member of an organization to another 1 154 4 208 Communication can be formal or informal may need to be archived to provide memory for an organization and is sometimes accomplished through training The 4th edition s Commentary on Chapter VIII discusses computerized communications which were unavailable in 1947 4 223 249 Chapter IX The Criterion of Efficiency edit This chapter expands upon a concept that had been mentioned briefly in preceding chapters 1 14 122 4 12 149 150 In a for profit organization the criterion of efficiency states than an individual will select an alternative that will maximize income and minimize cost so as to yield the greatest net money return to the organization 1 172 173 4 250 251 More generally i e to include nonprofit organizations the criterion causes that choice of alternatives which produces the largest result for the given application of resources 1 179 4 256 In the remainder of the chapter Simon counters criticisms of the efficiency criterion and outlines methods by which efficiency can be attained e g by functionalization and by the public budgeting process Chapter X Loyalties and Organizational Identification edit Following a concept of Harold Lasswell Simon asserts that a person identifies himself with a group when in making a decision he evaluates the several alternatives of choice in terms of their consequences for the specified group 1 205 4 284 Such organizational identification can be associated with decisions that are not optimal in terms of an organization s efficiency or adequacy the degree to which its goals have been reached 1 212 4 290 Chapter XI The Anatomy of Organization edit Simon describes the organizational decision making process and writes 1 240 241 4 322 18 263 The need for an administrative theory resides in the fact that there are practical limits to human rationality and that these limits are not static but depend upon the organizational environment in which the individual s decision takes place The task of administration is so to design this environment that the individual will approach as close as practicable to rationality judged in terms of the organization s goals in his decisions Appendix What Is an Administrative Science edit In the final part of the book common to all editions Simon discusses the theoretical descriptive aspects and practical aspects i e leading toward the improved attainment of objectives of the science of administration Criticism editRobert A Dahl wrote in 1947 that a science of organizations was impossible due to cultural differences among organizations 17 263 Similarly a 1957 review of the second edition questioned whether scientific studies of important aspects of organizational decision making under controlled conditions could ever be undertaken 28 Simon responded to the 1957 review that as knowledge advances administrative practice will come to rest largely on scientifically tested knowledge of fundamental underlying mechanisms 31 The book played a central role in what is known as the Simon Waldo debate published in the American Political Science Review in 1952 7 13 134 135 32 33 Using purple prose Simon and Dwight Waldo exchanged articles in which Simon accuse d Waldo of logical unrigor while Waldo charge d Simon with philosophical myopia due to Simon s reliance on logical positivism in Administrative Behavior 32 445 446 In 1962 Herbert Storing edited a book entitled Essays on the Scientific Study of Politics one of the essays therein by Storing himself critiqued Administrative Behavior 34 In his autobiography Simon wrote that the essays in Storing s book were such egregious examples of the practice of reading texts unsympathetically and without a genuine attempt to understand them that he never felt an urge to respond to them 12 63 270 19 One analysis notes differences in Storing s and Simon s styles of thinking dichotomous versus synthetic levels of abstraction and assumed goodness of organizations 35 Simon does not offer any convincing replacement for the principles of organization that he critiques 17 267 Simon s introductions and commentaries in the second through fourth editions interpret material in the first edition in a way that stretches its meaning or contradicts it 18 256 257 For example Simon saw satisficing man in the 1947 text but other authors saw maximizing man 17 267 The fact value and policy administration distinctions have been criticized as unnecessary 7 290 293 18 256 The book minimizes the role of emotions and habit in organizations 30 506 Simon did not analyze how immoral behavior such as police corruption can occur within organizations 33 A 1990 essay asserts that Chapter II Some Problems of Administrative Theory did not criticize Gulick s work fairly in that Gulick already recognized most of the problems that Simon discussed 36 Legacy editSimon felt that the reviews of the first edition were generally kind but the reviewers were not exhilerated sic 7 and that the book created no sensation at first 12 88 19 Nevertheless it became notable for the following innovations A scientific approach to administration 15 356 357 A focus on organizational decision making as the basis for organizational action as opposed to John Dewey who emphasized habit and action 16 9 30 505 The initial description of what would later be called bounded rationality 7 12 86 87 15 353 37 743 744 a term that one paper concludes first appeared in Simon s 1957 book Models of Man 38 In the 1st edition of Administrative Behavior Simon used the phrases limits to rationality or limits of rationality 1 39 41 80 241 38 36 38 40 The initial description of what a 1956 paper by Simon called satisficing 39 129 136 40 As stated in the Introductions to the 2nd and 3rd editions and in the 4th edition s Commentary on Chapter V 2 xxiv 3 xxviii 4 118 33 The central concern of administrative theory is with the boundary between the rational and the nonrational aspects of human social behavior Administrative theory is peculiarly the theory of intended and bounded rationality of the behavior of human beings who satisfice because they have not the wits to maximize Later in the 2nd through 4th editions to satisfice is defined as to look for a course of action that is satisfactory or good enough 2 xxv 3 xxix 4 119 The word is not used in the 1st edition of Administrative Behavior but the index to the 3rd edition indicates that pertinent passages are found in the 1st edition on pages 38 41 80 81 and 240 244 3 363 The concept of organizational identification in Chapter X 7 12 87 41 Simon would return to the concepts from Administrative Behavior in later books that he co authored including Public Administration with Donald W Smithburg and Victor A Thompson 1950 Organizations with James G March 1958 and The Sciences of the Artificial 1969 4 157 229 6 7 30 505 42 43 44 Among books written by other authors Administrative Behavior influenced The Forest Ranger a Study in Administrative Behavior by Herbert Kaufman 1960 45 46 422 A Behavioral Theory of the Firm by Richard Cyert and James G March 1963 30 47 279 Together Simon 1947 March and Simon 1958 and Cyert and March 1963 are considered the foundational works for the Carnegie School of organizational decision making and economics based at Carnegie Mellon University 30 48 Essence of Decision Explaining the Cuban Missile Crisis by Graham T Allison 1971 specifically the organizational process model explanation for the crisis 10 253 33 49 In 1978 Sune Carlson said in a speech at the ceremony awarding Simon a Nobel Prize in Economics 8 the study of the structure and the decision making of the firm became an important task in economic science In his epoch making book Administrative Behavior which first appeared in 1947 and which has been translated into nearly a dozen languages as well as in a number of subsequent works Simon describes the company as an adaptive system of physical personal and social components which are held together by a network of intercommunications and by the willingness of its members to co operate and to work towards common goals Nevertheless it was reported that economists Albert Ando and William Baumol had made little reference to Administrative Behavior in arguing to the Nobel Prize Committee that Simon should win 19 138 Between 1955 and 1988 the book was translated into 12 languages Chinese Dutch Finnish French German Italian Japanese Korean Polish Portuguese Spanish and Swedish 10 A set of 12 papers about the book appeared in Public Administration Quarterly in 1988 1989 for the book s 40th anniversary 17 50 51 52 In 1990 Sherwood reported in Public Administration Review that 19 of 20 members of an informal advisory panel voted Administrative Behavior one of the five or six most influential books in academic public administration published between 1940 and 1990 making it the public administration book of the half century 10 249 It was the overwhelming leader among the books nominated receiving twice as many nominations as any other book 10 251 254 Despite over 150 000 copies of the book having been sold in English in a small survey of recent graduates from a Master of Public Administration program Sherwood found widespread belief in the administrative proverbs that Simon attempted to discredit in Chapter II 10 252 254 The fourth edition of the book was released in 1997 its Introduction noted the book s fiftieth birthday 4 vii The book was cited in obituaries of Simon in 2001 5 53 By 2009 the book had received 7 746 citations on Google Scholar 54 Of the articles that cited the book the articles that were most cited concerned organizational learning the economic sociology transaction cost economics and organizational decision making 54 Administrative Behavior appeared in at least three lists of best or most influential management and business books between 2001 and 2011 11 55 56 As of 2012 the fourth edition of the book is still in print 57 References edit a b c d e f g h i j k l m n o p q r s t u Simon Herbert A 1947 Administrative Behavior a Study of Decision Making Processes in Administrative Organization 1st ed New York Macmillan OCLC 356505 a b c d e f g Simon Herbert A 1957 Administrative Behavior a Study of Decision Making Processes in Administrative Organization 2nd ed New York Macmillan OCLC 964597 a b c d e f g h Simon Herbert A 1976 Administrative Behavior a Study of Decision Making Processes in Administrative Organization 3rd ed New York Free Press ISBN 978 0029289716 a b c d e f g h i j k l m n o p q r s t u v w Simon Herbert A 1997 Administrative Behavior a Study of Decision Making Processes in Administrative Organizations 4th ed New York Free Press ISBN 978 0684835822 a b Lewis Paul 10 February 2001 Herbert A Simon Dies at 84 Won a Nobel for Economics New York Times p 13 a b c Augier Mie 2002 Administrative Behavior A Study of Decision Making Processes in Administrative Organizations book review The Economic Journal 112 480 F386 F388 doi 10 1111 1468 0297 t01 17 00050 a b c d e f g h i j k l Golembiewski Robert T 1988 Nobel Laureate Simon Looks Back a Low Frequency Mode PDF Public Administration Quarterly 12 3 275 300 JSTOR 40861423 Archived from the original PDF on 2022 01 21 Retrieved 2012 05 19 a b Carlson Sune 16 October 1978 The Prize in Economics 1978 Award Ceremony Speech Retrieved 2 May 2012 Royal Swedish Academy of Sciences 16 October 1978 The Prize in Economics 1978 Press Release Retrieved 2 May 2012 a b c d e f g Sherwood Frank P 1990 The Half Century s Great Books in Public Administration Public Administration Review 50 2 249 264 doi 10 2307 976872 JSTOR 976872 a b Bedeian Arthur G Wren Daniel A Winter 2001 Most Influential Management Books of the 20th Century PDF Organizational Dynamics 29 3 221 225 doi 10 1016 S0090 2616 01 00022 5 Archived from the original PDF on 2015 10 17 Retrieved 2012 05 19 a b c d e f g h i j k l m n o p q r Simon Herbert A 1991 Models of My Life New York Basic Books ISBN 978 0465046409 a b c d e f g h Crowther Heyck Hunter 2005 Herbert A Simon the Bounds of Reason in Modern America Baltimore Johns Hopkins University Press ISBN 978 0801880254 Ridley Clarence E Simon Herbert A 1938 Measuring Municipal Activities a Survey of Suggested Criteria and Reporting Forms for Appraising Administration Chicago International City Managers Association OCLC 2049544 a b c d e Mitchell Terence R Scott William G Fall 1988 The Barnard Simon Contribution a Vanished Legacy Public Administration Quarterly 12 3 348 368 JSTOR 40861427 a b Mahoney Joseph T 2005 Chapter 1 Behavioral Theory of the Firm PDF Economic Foundations of Strategy Thousand Oaks CA SAGE pp 1 53 ISBN 978 1 4129 0543 5 a b c d e Golembiewski Robert T 1988 Perspectives on Simon s Administrative Behavior Stock Taking on the Fortieth Anniversary Part I Public Administration Quarterly 12 3 259 382 JSTOR 40861422 a b c d e f Kerr Gerry 2007 The Development History and Philosophical Sources of Herbert Simon s Administrative Behavior Journal of Management History 13 3 255 268 doi 10 1108 17511340710754707 a b c d e f g Sent Esther Mirjam 1999 Administrative Man Versus As Economic Man book review Journal of Economic Methodology 6 1 133 139 doi 10 1080 13501789900000008 Simon Herbert A 1964 On the Concept of Organizational Goal Administrative Science Quarterly 9 1 1 22 doi 10 2307 2391519 JSTOR 2391519 Simon Herbert A 1968 The Future of Information Processing Technology Management Science 14 9 619 624 doi 10 1287 mnsc 14 9 619 JSTOR 2628288 Simon Herbert A 1973 Applying Information Technology to Organization Design Public Administration Review 33 3 268 278 doi 10 2307 974804 JSTOR 974804 Dearborn DeWitt C Simon Herbert A 1958 Selective Perception A Note on the Departmental Identifications of Executives Sociometry 21 2 140 144 doi 10 2307 2785898 JSTOR 2785898 Simon Herbert A 1953 Birth of an Organization The Economic Cooperation Administration Public Administration Review 13 4 227 236 doi 10 2307 973005 JSTOR 973005 Simon Herbert A 1967 The Business School a Problem in Organizational Design Journal of Management Studies 4 1 1 16 doi 10 1111 j 1467 6486 1967 tb00569 x Simon Herbert A 1944 Decision Making and Administrative Organization PDF Public Administration Review 4 1 16 30 doi 10 2307 972435 JSTOR 972435 Simon Herbert A 1946 The Proverbs of Administration PDF Public Administration Review 6 1 53 67 doi 10 2307 973030 JSTOR 973030 a b Banfield Edward C 1957 The Decision Making Schema Public Administration Review 17 4 278 285 doi 10 2307 973419 JSTOR 973419 Gulick Luther Urwick L eds 1937 Papers on the Science of Administration New York Institute of Public Administration Columbia University OCLC 995995 a b c d e f g Cohen Michael D 2007 Administrative Behavior Laying the Foundations for Cyert and March Organization Science 18 3 503 506 doi 10 1287 orsc 1070 0275 Simon Herbert A 1958 The Decision Making Schema a Reply PDF Public Administration Review 18 1 60 63 doi 10 2307 973736 JSTOR 973736 a b Harmon Michael M 1989 The Simon Waldo Debate a Review and Update Public Administration Quarterly 12 4 437 451 JSTOR 40861434 a b c d Gow James Iain 2003 Decision Man Herbert Simon in Search of Rationality Canadian Public Administration 46 1 120 126 doi 10 1111 j 1754 7121 2003 tb01583 x Storing Herbert J ed 1962 The Science of Administration Herbert A Simon Essays on the Scientific Study of Politics New York Holt Rinehart and Winston OCLC 497089 Chisholm Rupert F 1989 The Storing Critique Revisited Simon as Seen in the Science of Politics Public Administration Quarterly 12 4 411 436 JSTOR 40861433 Hammond Thomas H 1990 In Defence of Luther Gulick s Notes on the Theory of Organization Public Administration 68 2 143 173 doi 10 1111 j 1467 9299 1990 tb00752 x Moe Terry M 1984 The New Economics of Organization American Journal of Political Science 28 4 739 777 doi 10 2307 2110997 JSTOR 2110997 a b Klaes Matthias Sent Esther Mirjam 2005 A Conceptual History of the Emergence of Bounded Rationality History of Political Economy 37 1 27 59 CiteSeerX 10 1 1 119 5260 doi 10 1215 00182702 37 1 27 Simon H A 1956 Rational Choice and the Structure of the Environment PDF Psychological Review 63 2 129 138 CiteSeerX 10 1 1 545 5116 doi 10 1037 h0042769 PMID 13310708 it appears probable that however adaptive the behavior of organisms in learning and choice situations this adaptiveness falls far short of the ideal maximizing postulated in economic theory Evidently organisms adapt well enough to satisfice they do not in general optimize Brown Reva 2004 Consideration of the Origin of Herbert Simon s Theory of Satisficing 1933 1947 Management Decision 42 10 1240 1256 doi 10 1108 00251740410568944 Jones Candace Volpe Elizabeth Hamilton 2011 Organizational Identification Extending our Understanding of Social Identities through Social Networks PDF Journal of Organizational Behavior 32 3 413 434 doi 10 1002 job 694 Archived from the original PDF on 2015 04 29 Retrieved 2012 05 19 Simon Herbert A Smithburg Donald W Thompson Victor A 1950 Public Administration New York Knopf OCLC 1630919 March James G Simon Herbert A 1958 Organizations New York Wiley ISBN 978 0471567936 Simon Herbert A 1969 The Sciences of the Artificial Cambridge MA M I T Press OCLC 4087 Kaufman Herbert 1960 The Forest Ranger a Study in Administrative Behavior Baltimore Resources for the Future Johns Hopkins Press ISBN 978 0685184202 Tipple Terence J Wellman J Douglas 1991 Herbert Kaufman s Forest Ranger Thirty Years Later From Simplicity and Homogeneity to Complexity and Diversity Public Administration Review 51 5 421 428 doi 10 2307 976411 JSTOR 976411 Rainey Hal G 1991 Understanding and Managing Public Organizations 1st ed San Francisco Jossey Bass ISBN 978 1555423445 Gavetti Giovanni Levinthal Daniel Ocasio William 2007 Perspective Neo Carnegie The Carnegie School s Past Present and Reconstructing for the Future Organization Science 18 3 523 536 doi 10 1287 orsc 1070 0277 Allison Graham T 1971 Essence of Decision Explaining the Cuban Missile Crisis Boston Little Brown ISBN 978 0673394125 Public Administration Quarterly Vol 12 No 3 Fall 1988 Table of Contents Southern Public Administration Education Foundation JSTOR i40038729 a href Template Cite journal html title Template Cite journal cite journal a Cite journal requires journal help Golembiewski Robert T 1988 Perspectives on Simon s Administrative Behavior Stock Taking on the Fortieth Anniversary A Symposium Part II Public Administration Quarterly 12 4 389 391 JSTOR 40861431 Public Administration Quarterly Vol 12 No 4 Winter 1989 Table of Contents Southern Public Administration Education Foundation JSTOR i40038730 a href Template Cite journal html title Template Cite journal cite journal a Cite journal requires journal help Velupillai K Vela 13 February 2001 Obituary Professor Herbert Simon The Independent a b Kerr Gerry 2011 What Simon Said the Impact of the Major Management Works of Herbert Simon Journal of Management History 17 4 399 419 doi 10 1108 17511341111164418 Crainer Stuart 2003 Herbert Simon Administrative Behavior 1947 The Ultimate Business Library the Greatest Books That Made Management 3rd ed Oxford Capstone Pub pp 257 259 ISBN 978 1841120591 Administrative Behavior by Herbert Simon The Best Business Books Ever The Most Influential Management Books You ll Never Have Time to Read 2nd ed New York Basic Books 2011 pp 3 4 ISBN 9780465022366 Administrative Behavior 4th Edition Simon amp Schuster Digital Catalog Retrieved May 11 2012 Further reading editPeng Wen Shien 1992 A Critique on H A Simon s Administrative Behavior Theory Public Administration Quarterly 16 2 254 264 JSTOR 40862285 Dennard Linda F 1995 Neo Darwinism and Simon s Bureaucratic Antihero Administration amp Society 26 4 464 487 doi 10 1177 009539979502600403 S2CID 145358411 Balducci Massimo 2009 L influence de Administrative behavior de H Simon sur l etude des organisations et sur la theorie du Public choice Revue Francaise d Administration Publique in French 131 3 541 554 doi 10 3917 rfap 131 0541 External links editSimonsen Jesper Spring 1994 Herbert A Simon Administrative Behavior How Organizations Can Be Understood in Terms of Decision Processes PDF Roskilde University Retrieved May 11 2012 Rainey Hal G 2001 A Reflection on Herbert Simon A Satisficing Search for Significance PDF Administration amp Society 33 5 491 507 doi 10 1177 00953990122019857 S2CID 141003120 Ching Brandon D October 17 2008 Abstract Administrative Behavior by Herbert Simon Digital Solipsist blog Archived from the original on January 21 2013 Retrieved May 11 2012 Retrieved from https en wikipedia org w index php title Administrative Behavior amp oldid 1168480382, wikipedia, wiki, book, books, library,

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