This paper examines the diffusion of a particular kind of multidivisional administrative structure---the "M-Form"---in two classes of large industrial firms. The M-Form organization is a multidivisional structure with quasi-independent divisions which are assigned profit center standing and...

This article examines an evolutionary pattern of relationships among technology, structure, environment and other contextual variables in 31 manufacturing organizations in a developing country. The results of bivariate analyses show that younger firms exhibit more mechanistic structure, a higher...

This paper describes the development of an operations management model and its implementation in a simulation mode in order to study the effects of alternative organizational designs and person/work assignment criteria on the utilization of the technological and human resources of a firm. The...

This paper describes the results of two studies where decentralized planning has been simulated. The coordination mechanisms employed were based on the Dantzig-Wolfe decomposition algorithm, and the Ten Kate decomposition algorithm, which are price directive and budget directive planning...

This paper investigates the relationship between the size of an organization and the number of its administrative personnel drawing upon information from 46 local electricity distribution divisions. Traditionally size has been treated as a uni-dimensional concept, and various single...

This paper develops a balanced growth fractional flow model for the opportunities for promotion, length of service, and career earnings of personnel in a hierarchical manpower organization, and relates these characteristics to the expenditures needed to maintain the system for a specified period...

A conceptually new first-cut decision-aid for optimal delegation is introduced. It takes a subjective approach to capital budgeting, from the delegator's perspective. A model captures the tradeoffs between the cost of centralized (duplicated) review, and the opportunity cost and risk of having...

This paper examines the problems of coordinating and controlling divisions of a large firm. Divisions are typically interdependent and the corporate headquarters plays an important role in coordinating such decisions as pricing, allocation of funds to the divisions, and determining the level of...