Integration of Effort

For a given division of labor, (potential) breakdowns of integration can be traced to either motivational or knowledge-related sources (or both). Integration failures arising from coordination problems require managing the need for and/or the extent of predictive knowledge; those arising from cooperation problems require managing the valence of interdependence. A fruitful area for further enquiry awaits the student of organization design at the intersection of these sources of integration failure. I outlined two possible approaches: a closer look at the interactions between knowledge and motivation-related issues, or a coarser bundling of both into the construct of integration. In particular, given the behavioral assumptions of adaptive rationality, thinking of integration of effort as a search problem may be an area of high research potential. It can help understand organizations as “marvels but not miracles”—how boundedly rational designers can nevertheless organize boundedly rational agents towards accomplishing goals.

DECISION STRATEGIES AND COGNITIVE ADAPTATIONS TO ECOLOGY

In this paper, I discuss the concept of adaptive rationality. I present a simple model of ecology and the set of decision rules. The basic structure of the process of cognitive adaptation to ecology is described as a structure comprising (1) perceptual space, (2) a function valuating perceived items, (3) a set of available decision rules and (4) the adaptation process - identification and selection of the best strategies in given ecological conditions. The presented model of ecosystem allows a conclusion that completely opposite strategies may be compatible with the assumption of adaptive rationality.