From Organized Anarchy to Controlled Structure: Effects of Planning on the Garbage-Can Decision Processes

Abstract

In this paper the effects of planning on complex decisionmaking processes are explored. Planning is defined narrowly here as a comparison of and selection among available related choices. The model used to represent the complex decisionmaking processes is called the garbage-can model and was originally proposed by Cohen et al (1972). Two simulations were conducted. In the first the effects of planning investments on organizational choice behavior were considered. Planning investments were conceived of as the decision time horizons of planning taken into account at a particular time step in making a decision. The second simulation was similar to the first except that a particular type of organization, the land development firm, was used and its decision processes were compared with those of a generic organization. The results suggested that planning increases decisionmaking efficiency but at the cost of resolving fewer problems. The land development firm is not different from the generic organization in terms of planning effects on their decision processes. Extensions of the current formulation are suggested for understanding the effectiveness of planning.