Computational Organization Theory / Edition 1

by Kathleen M. Carley, Michael J. Prietula

Overview

This volume represents an advance in our understanding of how to represent and reason about organizational phenomena. Although organizational theorists have long grappled with the complexities of adaptive agents, ecological systems, and non-linear relations among the basic elements of organizational design, they have not, until recently, had the tools to grapple with these complex relationships. Recent advances in logic, symbolic programming, network analysis, and computer technology have made possible a series of tools that can be used to understand the complexities of organizational behavior. New computational techniques make it possible to develop and test more realistic models of organizational behavior. This volume offers examples of this new breed of models, and provides insight into how these advances and techniques can be used to extend our theoretical understanding of organizations.

Authored by leading researchers in the area of computational organization theory, the various chapters demonstrate the value of computational analysis for organizational theory and advance our understanding of the relationship between organizational design and performance. This book contains both theoretical and methodological contributions that enable organizational theorists to use computational and mathematical techniques to systematically address the complex relationships that underlie organizational life. It also presents new -- or sometimes, renewed -- approaches on how to conduct organizational research from multiple formal perspectives including: simulation, numerical analysis, symbolic logic, mathematical modeling, and graph theory.

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9780805814064
Publisher:	Taylor & Francis
Publication date:	06/01/1994
Edition description:	New Edition
Pages:	336
Product dimensions:	6.00(w) x 9.00(h) x (d)
Lexile:	1370L (what's this?)

About the Author

Kathleen M. Carley, Michael J. Prietula

Table of Contents

Contents: R.M. Cyert, Foreword. K.M. Carley, M.J. Prietula, Introduction: Computational Organization Theory. R.E. Levitt, G.P. Cohen, J.C. Kunz, C.I. Nass, T. Christiansen, Y. Jin, The "Virtual Design Team": Simulating How Organization Structure and Information Processing Tools Affect Team Performance. K. Crowston, Evolving Novel Organizational Forms. H. Verhagen, M. Masuch, TASCCS: A Synthesis of Double-AISS and Plural-Soar. K.M. Carley, M.J. Prietula, ACTS Theory: Extending the Model of Bounded Rationality. D. Krackhardt, Graph Theoretical Dimensions of Informal Organizations. Z. Lin, A Theoretical Evaluation of Measures of Organizational Design: Interrelationship and Performance Predictability. M. Verkama, R.P. Hämäläinen, H. Ehtamo, Modeling and Computational Analysis of Reactive Behavior in Organizations. H.H. Baligh, R.M. Burton, B. Obel, Validating an Expert System That Designs Organizations. T.K. Lant, Computer Simulations of Organizations as Experiential Learning Systems: Implications for Organization Theory. N.S. Glance, B.A. Huberman, Social Dilemmas and Fluid Organizations. D.K. Gode, S. Sunder, Human and Artificially Intelligent Traders in Computer Double Auctions. P. Shi, P.B. Luh, D.L. Kleinman, Team Coordination Under Individual and Team Goals. G.E.G. Beroggi, W.A. Wallace, A Decision Logic for Operational Risk Management.

Editorial Reviews

"This is a useful contribution. The models are interesting and suggestive of promising further work."
—Canadian Artificial Intelligence

"Professors Carley and Prietula have done the field of organization theory a great service by putting this selection of chapters together....an excellent summary of the computational approach....In the new approaches represented in this book, the incentive for the simulations comes to a much greater extent from artificial intelligence and its derivative, expert systems....more than a series of chapters on organizational design. A wide range of topics in organizational theory is considered."
—Richard M. Cyert
Carnegie Mellon University, from the Foreword

From the Publisher