organizational decision making

read to prepare yourselves for session 17

  1. Mintzberg, H. (1979). The Structuring of Organizations: A Synthesis of the Research. Englewood Cliffs, NJ: Prentice-Hall.
    Chapter 2, Five basic parts of the organization, pages 18-21 only
  2. Choo, C. W. (2006). The knowing organization: How organizations use information to construct meaning, create knowledge, and make decisions. New York: Oxford University Press. Chapter 3, "The management of ambiguity - Organizations as sense-making communities." 75-125

things we'll talk about


  • plan to discuss how organizational decision making is impacted by leadership, organizational structure, and organizational culture
  • plan to discuss Choo's model of organizational decision making [bounded rationality, process, political, anarchic]
  • plan to discuss Mintzberg's theories of work constellations, decision flows, and informal communications
slides for session 17