March, How we talk and how we act, 1980 Flashcards
What is March’s core message?
How we talk is always going to be different than how we act.
They affect each other.
Misleading theories (talk) confuses the way we act.
Hvad er usædvanligt ved Marchs tekst?
Det var en tale, som siden er nedskrevet.
Hvordan er samspillet mellem talk og act?
The two levels can clash
Nævn de fire assumptions March fortæller om.
1: The rigidity of organizations.
2: The heterogeneity of managers.
3: The clarity of objectives.
4: The instrumentality of action.
Forklar: the problem of the clash.
Dilemma alle står overfor:
- Act intelligently: i overensstemmelse med hvordan vi handler.
- Reputation of acting intelligently: følger hvordan vi taler.
Hvordan kommer vi uden om the problem of the clash?
Hvordan vi taler guider os, ikke styrer os, i hvordan vi handler.
Forklar assumption 1: the rigidity of organizations. Hvad er Marchs take?
Assumption: Organizations are rigid: It is hard to make changes. Changes are made through big strategic decisions.
March: Actually organizations are constantly changing in response to its environment.
Assumption 1: The rigidity of organizations.
Who is causing the change in organizations?
What do we need to focus on then?
Causing change: Routine activities, lower levels of the hierarchy.
Organizations are not rigid, they are changing all the time, just not in the ways we want. We therefore need to focus on the smaller things, the trivial, instead of the grandeur of strategic management.
March nævner Efficiency vs. Effectiveness. Hvad er forskellen?
Efficiency: Right things.
Effectiveness: Right way.
Assumption 1: The rigidity of organizations.
What’s the difference between talk and act?
Talk: Superman/leader is going to help us.
Act: Like a virus, constantly changing but not necessarily the way we want.
Assumption 2: The heterogeneity of managers.
Talk vs. act.
Talk: Heterogeneity of managers: They can either be extremely successful or extremely bad managers. The difference will explain the performance of the firm.
Act: The top managers of a firm are homogenous because they filter through the same “gates” (if the organization is functioning). We should cherish the development of managers AND the importance of each manager’s competency.
Assumption 3: The clarity of objectives.
Talk vs. act.
Talk: Managers should establish and communicate clear objectives, and actions should follow.
Act: Ambiguity of preferences: We don’t know our preferences. Too clear goals doesn’t allow for flexibility.
Assumption 4: The instrumentality of action.
Talk vs. act.
Talk: March criticizes instrumental actions as a way of dealing with uncertainties (ex: hiding behind bureaucracy/processes so the individuals can’t be held responsible).
Act: When engaging with uncertainties we use symbolic actions that will in part legitimize us as managers and legitimize our decisions.
We encourage managers to get decisions to work instead of stressing over which decision is the best, because we accept that every decision comes with positives and negatives. Through our actions we turn our choices in to good choices by dealing with the negative and exploiting the positive.
March nævner 6 perspektiver på organisatorisk handling. Kom med eksempler.
Handling kan ses som problemløsning
Handling kan ses som et resultat fra tidligere læring
Handling kan ses som et resultat af en konflikt
March nævner standard prescriptive theories of choice. Hvorfor? Hvad er implikationen?
Ifølge standard prescriptive theories of choice skal præferencer være (5 nævnes, her kommer 2):
- Stabile. Nuværende handlinger tages pba. nuværende præferencer. Den implicitte antagelse: præference er uændret, når resultatet er opnået.
- Præcise så tvetydighed ikke påvirker ens handlinger og beslutninger.
Implikation ifølge March:
Bygger på to gæt: Gæt om fremtidige konsekvenser og gæt om fremtidige præferencer for disse konsekvenser.
At spå om fremtiden indebærer stor usikkerhed.
