Computationally modeling organizational learning and adaptability as resource allocation: An artificial adaptive systems approach

A framework for and a computational model of organizational behavior based on an artificial adaptive system (AAS) is presented. An AAS, a modeling approach based on genetic algorithms, enables the modeling of organizational learning and adaptability. This learning can be represented as decisions to allocate resources to the higher performing organizational agents (i.e., individuals, groups, departments, or processes, depending on the level of analysis) critical to the organization's survival in different environments. Adaptability results from the learning function enabling the organizations to change as the environment changes. An AAS models organizational behavior from a micro-unit perspective, where organizational behavior is a function of the aggregate actions and interactions of each of the individual agents of which the organization is composed. An AAS enables organizational decision making in a dynamic environment to be modeled as a satisficing process and not as a maximization process. To demonstrate the feasibility and usefulness of such an approach, a financial trading adaptive system (FTAS) organization is computationally modeled based on the AAS framework. An FTAS is an example of how the learning mechanism in an AAS can be used to allocate resources to critical individuals, processes, functions, or departments within an organization.     

A Model to Evaluate the Effect of Organizational Adaptation

When an organization's output declines due to either internal changes or changes in its external environment, it needs to adapt. In order to evaluate the effectiveness of different adaptation strategies on organizational performance, an organizational model composed of individual models of a five stage interacting decision maker was designed using an object oriented design approach and implemented as a Colored Petri net. The concept of entropy is used to calculate the total activity value, a surrogate for decision maker workload, based on the functional partition and the adaptation strategy being implemented. The individual decision maker's total activity is monitored, as overloaded decision makers constrain organizational performance. A virtual experiment was conducted; organizations implementing local and global adaptation strategies were compared to a control organization with no adaptation. The level of tolerance of the organization, the workload limit based on the concept of the bounded rationality constraint, was used to determined when a decision maker was overloaded: the limiting effect of the workload on performance. The timeliness of the organization's response was used in order to evaluate organizational output as a function of adaptation strategy.     

Promotion Systems and Organizational Performance: A Contingency Model

This study explores the organizational impact of a variety of important promotion systems commonly practiced in organizations including up-or-out systems, absolute merit-based systems, relative merit-based systems, and seniority-based systems. Through the computer simulation of organizations in a distributed decision making setting, the results indicate that the effectiveness of any promotion system is dependent on a range of factors including the nature of the task environment, the design of the organizational structure, the frequency of monitoring, the criteria of performance, and the transferability of task knowledge. This study has implications not only for understanding organizational promotion systems from the contingency perspective, but also for bridging the fields of strategic human resource management and computational organization theory.     

The Dynamics of Cultural Influence Networks

This article investigates the behavior of cultural influence networks over time, using a computer simulation based on a formal model of cultural transmission in organizations. In the formal model, every organizational member exerts some cultural influence on, and is influenced by, every other member; these influence paths constitute a dense social network and the weights of paths (ties) vary throughout the network. Over time, each organizational member's enculturation level changes in response to influence from other members, and the influence weight of each path changes in relationship to the cultural similarity of the individuals connected by the path. Virtual experiments explore the configuration and evolution of the cultural influence network under varying demographic conditions and influence principles. Demographic effects are studied by varying organizational size, hiring selectivity and turnover rates. Two principles for determining initial influence path weights are examined, cohort-based influence and random influence. The simulations show that the cultural influence network evolves over time to a robust configuration, fluctuating around a stable dynamic equilibrium as individuals enter and leave the organization. As turnover rates rise, cohort-based influence strengthens the influence network and reduces network inequality. In this model, cohort-based influence processes promote cultural stability in organizations.     

基于多Agent仿真的双元创新平衡与组织绩效关系研究

运用多主体仿真方法,探讨了双元创新平衡对组织绩效的作用机理,并且检验了个体间模仿学习速度、任务复杂度、人员流动、环境扰动等情境因素与双元创新平衡对组织绩效的交互影响。仿真实验的结果表明,当组织处于稳定环境下,任务复杂程度适中,并且个体间模仿学习速度中等时,双元创新平衡参数与组织绩效间呈现倒U型的影响关系;当任务过于复杂或者过于简单时,任务本身的特性削弱了双元创新平衡参数对组织绩效的影响,不同平衡模式对应的组织绩效没有明显的差距;当个体间模仿学习速度比较慢时,增强了组织的探索性,此时具有利用式创新倾向的组织可以更好地提升组织绩效水平。但当个体间模仿学习速度过快时,组织更多的倾向探索式创新对组织绩效的提升更有利;当组织存在人员流动和外部环境扰动时,更多的利用式创新可以提升组织对现有知识进行重组和整合的能力,从而更好地适应环境的动态变化。     

DOES COMPETENCY-BASED TRUST BENEFIT ORGANIZATIONAL PERFORMANCE—A MESO EXPLORATION USING COMPUTER MODELING

From a competency-based perspective of trust and an open system's view of organizations, this study explores the micro-macro linkage between interpersonal trust and organizational performance in work organizations where internal and external contexts can matter. With the help of a formal computer model for meso theorizing, this study shows that competency-based trust generally does not benefit organizational performance in a distributed decision-making setting, except under incorrect information conditions or when no formal procedure is available. The study further demonstrates that external environments, organizational structures, and internal operating conditions can all moderate such trust-performance relationships. Findings from this study suggest the need for new thinking relating to trust in organizations and the possibility to integrate psychological, economic, and sociological perspectives on trust.     

Towards an Organizational Model of Attitude Change

Building on the growing literature that views organizations as complex adaptive systems, this paper proposes a general model to analyze the relationship between organizational context and attitudes. In particular, we focus on how the system of formal and informal communication channels that characterize an organization and the timing of information flows affect the dynamic process of attitude change. We also use a stylized version of the model to illustrate how the general framework is able to generate insights that are relevant to particular situations.     

Modeling centralized organization of organizational change

Organizations change with the dynamics of the world. To enable organizations to change, certain structures and capabilities are needed. As all processes, a change process has an organization of its own. In this paper it is shown how within a formal organization modeling approach also organizational change processes can be modeled. A generic organization model (covering both organization structure and behavior) for organizational change is presented and formally evaluated for a case study. This model takes into account different phases in a change process considered in Organization Theory literature, such as unfreezing, movement and refreezing. Moreover, at the level of individuals, the internal beliefs and their changes are incorporated in the model. In addition, an internal mental model for (reflective) reasoning about expected role behavior is included in the organization model.     

Computational and mathematical organization theory: Perspective and directions

Computational and mathematical organization theory is an interdisciplinary scientific area whose research members focus on developing and testing organizational theory using formal models. The community shares a theoretical view of organizations as collections of processes and intelligent adaptive agents that are task oriented, socially situated, technologically bound, and continuously changing. Behavior within the organization is seen to affect and be affected by the organization's, position in the external environment. The community also shares a methodological orientation toward the use of formal models for developing and testing theory. These models are both computational (e.g., simulation, emulation, expert systems, computer-assisted numerical analysis) and mathematical (e.g., formal logic, matrix algebra, network analysis, discrete and continuous equations). Much of the research in this area falls into four areas: organizational design, organizational learning, organizations and information technology, and organizational evolution and change. Historically, much of the work in this area has been focused on the issue how should organizations be designed. The work in this subarea is cumulative and tied to other subfields within organization theory more generally. The second most developed area is organizational learning. This research, however, is more tied to the work in psychology, cognitive science, and artificial intelligence than to general organization theory. Currently there is increased activity in the subareas of organizations and information technology and organizational evolution and change. Advances in these areas may be made possible by combining network analysis techniques with an information processing approach to organizations. Formal approaches are particularly valuable to all of these areas given the complex adaptive nature of the organizational agents and the complex dynamic nature of the environment faced by these agents and the organizations.This paper was previously presented at the 1995 Informs meeting in Los Angeles, CA.     

Adaptation as a Morphing Process: A Methodology for the Design and Evaluation of Adaptive Organizational Structures

Changes in objectives, in resources, or in the environment may necessitate the adaptation of an organization from one form to another. However, in many cases, the organizations need to continue functioning while adaptation takes place, i.e., it is not possible to stop the organizational activity in order to reorganize, and then start again. In this case, adaptation can be expressed as a morphing process in which the organization transitions from one form with its attendant task allocation to a different one through a series of incremental steps that preserve overall functionality and performance. Coordination between organization members during adaptation is critical. A computational model for this type of organizational adaptation at the operational level is presented. The model is implemented using the Colored Petri Net formulation of discrete event dynamical systems. A design methodology that utilizes this model is outlined and a simple example is used to illustrate the approach.     

组织系统中领导绩效因素动态分析

组织系统的领导绩效主要取决于行为绩效、成本绩效和组织绩效.在行为绩效保持平稳的状态下,结合投入成本和组织绩效的变化情况,构建连续时间的领导绩效动态模型,以最优领导绩效为目标,应用边际分析方法和最优控制方法,定量分析组织系统的主控因素对于领导绩效的影响度.在组织系统中寻求改进和完善领导绩效的最优路径.     

Organizational Structure and Firm Innovation in a Retail Chain

Two organizational structures for a retail chain are examined fortheir effect on the rate of firm innovation. A centralized organization isdefined as one in which store practices are mandated from corporateheadquarters (HQ) and this results in HQ being the sole source of new ideas.A decentralized organization gives freedom to store managers to adopt theirown ideas and disseminates innovations made by store managers. Thedifference in average profit between the centralized and decentralizedorganizations is found to be a non-monotonic function of innovativeopportunities. The centralized organization is preferred when innovativeopportunities are moderate while the decentralized organization is preferredwhen such opportunities are rich. Centralization also tends to fare betterin environments in which ideas are relatively complex.     

Applying weak equivalence of categories between partial map and pointed set against changing the condition of 2‐arms bandit problem

The main interest of the organizational learning is that the agent balances between exploring and exploiting. When the agent decides the answer in finite time, it gives rise to the problem that is trade‐off between exploring and exploiting. This problem never arises in the given enough time. The agent must decide answer from his imperfect information, when the time is given finite for the task. 2‐arms bandit problem is often taken into consideration in this problem. In previous article, we proposed the model for weak identity that is dynamically changing the hierarchy of his knowledge. Recently, the method of the heuristic model is attracted to approach this problem. In this article, we proposed different approaches for 2‐arms bandit problem, and the model we proposed can adapt to the environment when the condition of the problem is changed and shows another approach to the organizational learning. © 2010 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. Complexity 16: 10‐21, 2011     

Organizations and Complexity: Searching for the Edge of Chaos

Traditional organizational theory advocates increased differentiation and horizontal integration for organizations in unstable environments or with uncertain technologies. This paper seeks to develop a better understanding of the relationship of group structure and the level of interdependency between individuals on group performance under various task complexities. Complexity theory in general, and NK models in particular, are introduced as theoretical frameworks that offer an explanation for group performance. Simulation models are developed, based on the communication network research of Bavelas (1948) and Leavitt (1952), to explore the effects of decentralization and interdependence. The simulation model developed here shows general consistency with previous human subject experiments. However, contrary to predictions, not all decentralized group structures perform well when undertaking complex task assignments. Structures that are highly connected (actors communicating with all others) perform much worse than those with a lower level of connection. Further experiments varying both the number of actors and the degree of interdependence between them find evidence of the edge of chaos. This research advances our understanding of organizations beyond earlier models by suggesting that there is an optimal range of interconnectedness between actors or tasks that explains the variation in performance. An intriguing result is that this optimal level of interdependence is fairly low, regardless of the size of the group.     

Performance of Organizational Design Models and Their Impact on Organization Learning

The performance of various organizational structures is an essential parameter in the reengineering of organizations, particularly in the current rapidly changing, competitive and information technology-dependent environment. This situation has generally resulted in a smaller workforce confronted with voluminous information-processing requirements. Naturally, the focus has been on the design of organzations that will support effective and efficient learning processes. This specific study is on the contingency modely by Ouksel et al. (1997) on the impact of organizational structure on organizational learning and performance. It expands the empirical evaluation of the model to test its robustness. This is done by conducting extensive simulations with (a) a larger number of variables in the decision tasks, and (b) a larger set of numbers for each of the numeric variables, than has been used in the past. Overall, the validity of previous results achieved has been confirmed, but the selection of the most appropriate design, that which will indeed improve learning, is even more nuanced than past studies have concluded.     

An approach to evolving novel organizational forms

A key problem in organization theory is to suggest new organizational forms. In this paper, I suggest the use of genetic algorithms to search for novel organizational forms by reproducing some of the mechanics of organizational evolution. Issues in using genetic algorithms include identification of the unit of selection, development of a representation and determination of a method for calculating organizational fitness. As an example of the approach, I test a proposition of Thompson's about how interdependent positions should be assigned to groups. Representing an organization as a collection of routines might be more general and still amenable to evolution with a genetic algorithm. I conclude by discussing possible objections to the application of this technique.Syracuse University School of Information Studies     

Success and survival of operational research groups—A review

Operational Research groups were established in private and public sector organizations following on from their success supporting the military in the Second World War. In the early years their numbers grew rapidly but by the mid-1970s evidence started to accumulate that they were being viewed less favourably. Many organizations chose not to set up OR groups. Established groups were closed down or dispersed to operating units in organizations, particularly during the recessionary periods. In 1993 following on the closures of some major OR groups in the UK, the Operational Research Society decided to fund research to examine those factors influencing a group's success and survival. This review, which forms part of the research, first examines the history of OR groups in the UK and North America, arguing that in practice they were one of a number of internal organizational consultancies. As such they were judged by their competitive performance. Despite the intent of the founding fathers of OR many groups found their scope was limited to mainly tactical problems using analytical model based approaches although there were exceptions that were successful in making major contributions at the strategic level also. Within their chosen fields of activity however many groups flourished whilst some failed. This review presents a comprehensive list of influences on success and survival. They include changes in the external environment, together with shifts in managerial style and culture, organizational factors, and the OR group itself. The review concludes that, while OR groups can do much to protect themselves from closure, organizational changes within a hostile managerial culture demand a creative response that acknowledges new requirements. Areas where an OR group has greatest influence over its effectiveness include its leadership and personnel, project balance and management. In addition, to be successful OR groups need to positively develop and market their services in an increasingly competitive managerial climate.     

When does management matter in a dog-eat-dog world: An “Interaction Value Analysis” model of organizational climate

Interaction Value Interaction Value Analysis (I.V.A.) models a network of rational actors who generate value by interacting with each other. This model can be used to understand human organizations. Since people form organizations to facilitate interactions between productive individuals, the value added by interaction is the contribution of the organization. This paper examines the result of varying the queuing discipline used in selecting among back-logged interaction requests. Previously developed I.V.A. models assumed a First-in-first-out (FIFO) discipline, but using other disciplines can better represent the “Climate” of an organization. I.V.A. identifies circumstances under which organizations that control members’ interaction choices outperform organizations where individuals choose their own interaction partners. Management can be said to “matter” when individual choices converge to a point where interactions generate a lower than optimal value. In previous I.V.A. models, relinquishing central control of interaction choices reduced the aggregate value by anything from 0% to 12%, depending on circumstances. This paper finds the difference between the two modes of organization to go as high as 47% if actors display preferences between interaction partners instead of treating all equally. A politically divided, dog-eat-dog, “Capitalist” climate follows one queuing discipline, which is found to generally increase the value that a strong control structure can add. A chummy, in-bred “Fraternal” climate gains from control in some circumstances (low interdependence or low differentiation), but not in others (high or medium interdependence and differentiation under low diversity, for example). These are compared to the previous version of I.V.A., in which the queuing discipline was FIFO and the climate deemed “Disciplined”. Previously published findings on Organizational Climate are duplicated and extended with a higher level of detail. Priority queuing in an I.V.A. model is thus a useful proxy for Organizational Climate, open to future validation because its detailed predictions can be confirmed or falsified by observation. Walid Nasrallah is currently Assistant Professor in the Engineering Management program at the American University of Beirut (AUB). He received his Ph.D. from the Construction Engineering and Management program at Stanford University in 2000 and his Master’s degree at MIT in 1989. Between the two, he occupied several positions in the construction and software engineering fields. His research interests today include simulation, decision theory, and the evolution of organizations in response to new technologies.     

Organizational Design of Post Corporation Structure Using Fuzzy Multicriteria Decision Making

A model for organizational design of post corporation structure is developed in this paper. Alternative organization solutions have been designed taking into account the post environment characterized by private operators' competition and development of new message transmission technologies. Criteria for organizational design have been considered as numerical and uncertain linguistic variables describes by fuzzy sets. The model has been tested on a numerical example.