scholarly journals Division of Labor Through Self-Selection

2021 ◽  
Author(s):  
Marlo Raveendran ◽  
Phanish Puranam ◽  
Massimo Warglien
Keyword(s):  
Division Of Labor ◽  
Private Information ◽  
Narrow Range ◽  
Relative Advantage ◽  
Task Structure ◽  
Agent Based ◽  
Organizational Contexts ◽  
Matching Process ◽  
Self Selection ◽  
Agile Teams

Self-selection–based division of labor has gained visibility through its role in varied organizational contexts such as nonhierarchical firms, agile teams, and project-based organizations. Yet, we know relatively little about the precise conditions under which it can outperform the traditional allocation of work to workers by managers. We develop a computational agent-based model that conceives of division of labor as a matching process between workers’ skills and tasks. This allows us to examine in detail when and why different approaches to division of labor may enjoy a relative advantage. We find a specific confluence of conditions under which self-selection has an advantage over traditional staffing practices arising from matching: when employees are very skilled but at only a narrow range of tasks, the task structure is decomposable, and employee availability is unforeseeable. Absent these conditions, self-selection must rely on the benefits of enhanced motivation or better matching based on worker’s private information about skills, to dominate more traditional allocation processes. These boundary conditions are noteworthy both for those who study as well as for those who wish to implement forms of organizing based on self-selection.

Division of labor

2018 ◽  
Author(s):  
Phanish Puranam
Keyword(s):  
Division Of Labor ◽  
Task Allocation ◽  
Task Structure ◽  
Heuristic Approaches ◽  
Object Based ◽  
The Creation ◽  
Task Division ◽  
And Task

Division of labor involves task division and task allocation. An extremely important consequence of task division and allocation is the creation of interdependence between agents. In fact, division of labor can be seen as a process that converts interdependence between tasks into interdependence between agents. While there are many ways in which the task structure can be chunked and divided among agents, two important heuristic approaches involve division of labor by activity vs. object. I show that a choice between these two forms of division of labor only arises when the task structure is non-decomposable, but the product itself is decomposable. When the choice arises, a key criterion for selection between activity vs. object-based division of labor is the gain from specialization relative to the gain from customization.

How Neoliberal Globalization Directs Higher Education

2020 ◽  
pp. 52-64
Author(s):  
Binh C. Bui ◽  
Loan Phuong Thi Le
Keyword(s):  
Higher Education ◽  
Human Capital ◽  
Division Of Labor ◽  
Developing Country ◽  
Higher Education Institutions ◽  
Relative Advantage ◽  
Neoliberal Globalization ◽  
Universities And Colleges ◽  
Seminal Paper ◽  
International Conference

On the basis of the seminal paper presented at the International Conference on Taiwanese-Vietnamese Education in 2013, the authors further present how neoliberal globalization directs higher education. The purpose of the authors in this chapter is to critically analyze the complex interplay between neoliberal globalization and the employment prospects of graduates from universities and colleges. Revisiting the concept of relative advantage for division of labor, they delineated the neoliberal theory of globalization. Within this framework, they employed the Heckscher-Ohlin model and Stolper-Samuelson theorem to argue that if countries follow the relative advantage doctrine, the value of higher education will decrease in a developing country such as Vietnam. Neoliberal globalization therefore presents significant implications to the accumulation of human capital. If taking these implications seriously, individuals, higher education institutions, and policymakers can figure out better schemes to invest in higher education.

The Rule of Experts

2015 ◽  
pp. 342-363
Author(s):  
Roger Koppl
Keyword(s):  
Economic Theory ◽  
Medical Research ◽  
Bounded Rationality ◽  
Division Of Labor ◽  
Choice Theory ◽  
Individual Autonomy ◽  
Agent Based ◽  
Engineering Studies ◽  
Law And Justice ◽  
Epistemic Systems

The division of labor creates a division of knowledge, which creates expertise and the problem of experts. The rule of experts exists when experts have an epistemic monopoly and choose for others. Generally, experts may have power that threatens individual autonomy. Competition tends to dissipate the power of experts, although the details of market structure matter. Even well-meaning experts may fail because they have bounded rationality. Epistemic monopoly increases the risks of error and expert failure; competition reduces them. Information choice theory is an economic theory of experts. It may help in the design of epistemic systems, which are agent-based processes viewed from perspective of their knowledge properties. Epistemic engineering studies the design principles of epistemic systems. Economists should consider the epistemic properties of alternative institutions to minimize the problem of experts and avoid the rule of experts. Applications discussed include religion, law and justice, and medical research.

scholarly journals The evolution of germ-soma specialization under different genetic and environmental effects

2021 ◽  
Author(s):  
Denis Tverskoi ◽  
Sergey Gavrilets
Keyword(s):  
Division Of Labor ◽  
Environmental Gradients ◽  
Biological Organization ◽  
Trade Off ◽  
Agent Based ◽  
Number Of Genes ◽  
Microenvironmental Factors ◽  
General Mathematical Model ◽  
Multicellular Organisms

Division of labor exists at different levels of biological organization - from cell colonies to human societies. One of the simplest examples of the division of labor in multicellular organisms is germ-soma specialization, which plays a key role in the evolution of organismal complexity. Here we formulate and study a general mathematical model exploring the emergence of germ-soma specialization in colonies of cells. We consider a finite population of colonies competing for resources. Colonies are of the same size and are composed by asexually reproducing haploid cells. Each cell can contribute to activity and fecundity of the colony, these contributions are traded-off. We assume that all cells within a colony are genetically identical but gene expression is affected by variation in the microenvironment experienced by individual cells. Through analytical theory and evolutionary agent-based modeling we show that the shape of the trade-off relation between somatic and reproductive functions, the type and extent of variation in within-colony microenvironment, and, in some cases, the number of genes involved, are important predictors of the extent of germ-soma specialization. Specifically, increasing convexity of the trade-off relation, the number of different environmental gradients acting within a colony, and the number of genes (in the case of random microenvironmental effects) promote the emergence of germ-soma specialization. Overall our results contribute towards a better understanding of the role of genetic, environmental, and microenvironmental factors in the evolution of germ-soma specialization.

Agent-Based Integrated Product Teams

1997 ◽  
Author(s):  
Leo Obrst ◽  
Michael Woytowitz ◽  
Denny Rock ◽  
Susan Lander ◽  
Kevin Gallagher ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Data Structures ◽  
Concurrent Engineering ◽  
World Wide ◽  
Task Structure ◽  
Agent Based ◽  
Structure Specification ◽  
Related Agent ◽  
Automated Support ◽  
The Individual ◽  
Product Team

Abstract We propose an agent-based architecture for providing partially automated support to large, concurrent engineering environments that have adopted Integrated Product Team (IPT) practices. We describe classes of agents, show various views from the individual users to the network with a hierarchy for control and coordination, and sketch our strategies for incremental implementation. We have built a Task Structure Specification Tool to delineate and manage the IPT tasks, using blackboard data structures and World-Wide Web compatibility. We review related agent-based engineering efforts, which generally are not sufficient for IPT integration. We suggest that implementing computational IPTs remains a large challenge awaiting agent technologies.

Deal Initiation in Mergers and Acquisitions

2018 ◽  
Vol 53 (6) ◽  
pp. 2389-2430 ◽  
Author(s):  
Ronald W. Masulis ◽  
Serif Aziz Simsir
Keyword(s):  
Mergers And Acquisitions ◽  
Information Asymmetry ◽  
Private Information ◽  
Financial Constraints ◽  
Abnormal Returns ◽  
Financial Conditions ◽  
Self Selection ◽  
Weak Target ◽  
Merger Announcements

We investigate the effects of target initiation in M&As. We find target-initiated deals are common and that important motives for these deals are target economic weakness, financial constraints, and negative economy-wide shocks. We determine that average takeover premia, target abnormal returns around merger announcements, and deal value to EBITDA multiples are significantly lower in target-initiated deals. This gap is not explained by weak target financial conditions. Adjusting for self-selection, we conclude that target managers’ private information is a major driver of lower premia in target-initiated deals. This gap widens as information asymmetry between merger partners rises.

Private Information and the Allocation of Land Use Subsidies in Malawi

2013 ◽  
Vol 5 (3) ◽  
pp. 113-135 ◽  
Author(s):  
B. Kelsey Jack
Keyword(s):  
Land Use ◽  
Private Information ◽  
Cost Savings ◽  
Tree Planting ◽  
Public Programs ◽  
Self Selection ◽  
The Cost

Efficient targeting of public programs is difficult when the cost or benefit to potential recipients is private information. This study illustrates the potential of self-selection to improve allocational outcomes in the context of a program that subsidizes tree planting in Malawi. Landholders who received a tree planting contract as a result of bidding in an auction kept significantly more trees alive over a three year period than did landholders who received the contract through a lottery. The gains from targeting on private information through the auction represent a 30 percent cost savings per surviving tree for the implementing organization. (JEL D04, D44, D82, O13, Q24, Q28)

Recordkeeping and Human Evolution

2006 ◽  
Vol 20 (3) ◽  
pp. 201-229 ◽  
Author(s):  
Sudipta Basu ◽  
Gregory B. Waymire
Keyword(s):  
Human Brain ◽  
Division Of Labor ◽  
Human Evolution ◽  
Evolutionary Theory ◽  
Large Scale ◽  
Agent Based Models ◽  
Agent Based ◽  
Weights And Measures ◽  
Language And Law ◽  
Evolutionary Role

We seek to characterize the evolutionary role played by the transactional record that is the foundation of modern accounting. We theorize that systematic recordkeeping crystallizes memory and, along with other institutions (e.g., law, weights, and measures), promotes the trust necessary for large-scale human cooperation. Our theory yields two predictions: (1) permanent records emerge to supplement memory when complex intertemporal exchange between strangers becomes more common and (2) systematic records and other exchange-supporting institutions co-evolve and feed back to increase gains from economic coordination and division of labor. Many aspects of ancient Mesopotamian recordkeeping are consistent with these hypotheses, suggesting that our evolutionary theory is plausible. We outline ways to directly test our predictions with experiments, ethnographies, and agent-based models, and describe other techniques that can be used to explore the co-evolution of accounting with the human brain, language, and law.

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