A STUDY OF DECISION MAKING" IN FOUR COMPLEX ORGANIZATIONS by EDWARD FRANKLIN BURNS HARVEY B.A., The U n i v e r s i t y o f B r i t i s h Columbia, 1963 A THESIS SUBMITTED IN PARTIAL FULFILMENT OF THE REQUIREMENTS FOR THE DEGREE OF MASTER OF ARTS i n the Department of Anthropology and S o c i o l o g y We accept t h i s required t h e s i s as conforming to the standard THE UNIVERSITY OF BRITISH COLUMBIA April, 1964 In presenting this thesis in partial fulfilment of the requirements for an advanced degree at the University of British Columbia, I agree that the Library shall make i t freely available for reference and study* I further agree that per- mission for extensive copying of this thesis for scholarly purposes may be granted by the Head of my Department or by his representatives. It is understood that,copying or publication of this thesis for financial gain shall not be allowed without my written permission* Department of <3 do L O C\y The University of British Columbia, Vancouver 8, Canada ABSTRACT A model of organizational decision making i s developed i n terms of which c e r t a i n components of the process - formation of goals, search procedures, making of a choice etc. - are conceptualized continuum. as being arranged sequentially along a temporal The temporal extensiveness of this continuum i s seen as l a r g e l y being a function of bargaining processes v i s a-vis components of a given decision by the d i f f e r e n t i a t e d sub-units of an organization. Research carried out among four technologically d i f f e r e n t i a t e d organizations provides empirical v e r i f i c a t i o n f o r the conceptual model and i l l u s t r a t e s c e r t a i n l i m i t a t i o n s to organizational r a t i o n a l i t y and the role of organizational p o l i t i c s i n decision making. ACOOWLEDGEMENTS To Dr. Martin Meissner, f o r the help which enabled a beginning i n t e r e s t i n organizations to grow. To Dr. Kaspar D. Uaegele, f o r the opportunity to discuss i n seminar some of the ideas contained i n t h i s report. To the I n s t i t u t e of I n d u s t r i a l Relations at the University of B r i t i s h Columbia, and i t s d i r e c t o r , f o r the f i n a n c i a l support which made possible t h i s research. To my wife, Lorna, f o r typing, l e t t e r i n g and much encouragement. To the members of the organizations studied, f o r making available t h e i r time and f i l e s . generously TABLE OP CONTENTS page ABSTRACT i ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS LIST OP TABLES LIST OP FIGURES i i iv v CHAPTER 1 A General Conceptual Scheme For the Study of Organizational Decision Making Processes 1 CHAPTER 2 Case 1: The Elton Drug Store Chain 19 CHAPTER 3 Case 2: The Northlands F i s h Cannery 43 CHAPTER 4 Case 3? The Gresham Cement Company 64 CHAPTER 5 Case 4: The "X" University Case 81 CHAPTER 6 A Study of Decision Making Processes i n Four Complex Organizations: Theoretical Implications and Conclusions 104 LITERATURE CITED 110 LIST OF TABLES Table page CHAPTER 2 1. Number of Decisions 36 2. D i f f i c u l t y of Decisions 37 3. Time of Decisions 38 1. 2. 3. CHAPTER 5 Frequency of Attendance at Television and Live Lectures Preferences f o r Live and Television Lectures 995 96 Response to the P o s s i b i l i t y of T e l e v i s i o n Being Offered i n Other Courses 97 4. Level of Attention 98 5. A c t i v i t y Other Than Listening to Lecturer 99 LIST OP FIGURES Figure page 1:1 A Conceptual Model of Decision Making 17 3:1 Plan of Weston Community 51 4:1 Layout of Gresham Cement Company Depots 66 4:2 The Gresham Organization Before the E l g i n Report 69 4:3 The Gresham Organization A f t e r the E l g i n Report 72 5:1 Television Layout (September 16, 1963) 931 5:2 Television Layout (September 30, 1963) 91 C H A P T E R .,1 A General Conceptual Scheme For the Study of Organizational Decision Making Processes z. I t i s the purpose o f t h i s c h a p t e r to p r e s e n t the g e n e r a l c o n c e p t u a l scheme which w i l l i n f o r m the subsequent a n a l y s i s o f the o r g a n i z a t i o n s c o n s i d e r e d i n t h i s s t u d y . The g e n e r a l aim o f the r e s e a r c h p r e s e n t e d here has been to generate t h e o r y c o n c e r n i n g the d e c i s i o n making p r o c e s s e s o f o r g a n i z a t i o n s . C e r t a i n s p e c i f i a b l e methods have attended t h i s F i r s t l y , i t was toward d e c i d e d t h a t the r e s e a r c h would be aim. directed t h o s e d e c i s i o n s i n an o r g a n i z a t i o n which are c o n s i d e r e d to be "key" o r n o n - r o u t i n e d e c i s i o n s . Secondly, an attempt has been made t o p r e s e n t , wherever p o s s i b l e , a p r o c e s s o r i e n t e d account o f the d e c i s i o n s s t u d i e d . Put another way, the r e s e a r c h has been aimed a t d e p i c t i n g i n d e t a i l the a c t u a l b e h a v i o u r of the p a r t i e s to the d e c i s i o n s . F i n a l l y , t h e g e n e r a l methods employed i n t h i s c o n n e c t i o n have been those o f p e r s o n a l o b s e r v a t i o n , p e r s o n a l i n t e r v i e w s wi-th the p a r t i e s to the d e c i s i o n s , i n p a r t i c u l a r making use o f r e s p o n d e n t s ' memories, and, wherever p o s s i b l e , the v e r i f i c a t i o n o f such d a t a t h r o u g h the use o f o r g a n i z a t i o n a l r e c o r d s and documents. I n the d i s c u s s i o n o f the i n d i v i d u a l c a s e s , I s h a l l r e p e a t the s p e c i f i c methods used. Having p r e s e n t e d some g e n e r a l background I s h a l l next d e f i n e the s p e c i f i c aims o f the r e s e a r c h . These aims r e l a t e to the a n a l y t i c d i s t i n c t i o n and e m p i r i c a l v e r i f i c a t i o n o f major dimensions o f d e c i s i o n making p r o c e s s e s i n o r g a n i z a t i o n s . I s h a l l h e n c e f o r t h r e f e r to these two major f a c t o r s as the t e m p o r a l d i m e n s i o n and the p o l i t i c a l d i m e n s i o n . dimensions two These two and, i n p a r t i c u l a r , the p a t t e r n s o f i n t e r a c t i o n 3. between them w i l l be i n l a r g e p a r t the b a s i s f o r the theor e t i c a l p r o p o s i t i o n s u l t i m a t e l y o f f e r e d here. D e f i n i t i o n o f a Dimension: The Temporal Dimension S e v e r a l s t u d i e s o f o r g a n i z a t i o n a l d e c i s i o n making have noted that the a c t u a l time s c a l e o f most key o r g a n i z a t i o n a l d e c i s i o n s i s very much l o n g e r than the f o r m a l i s t i c a n a l y s i s 1 of such d e c i s i o n making processes would i n d i c a t e . consider L e t us now some examples from the l i t e r a t u r e which exemplify this concept o f the temporal dimension. 2 1) In 1956, Cyert, Simon and Trow reported o f a d e c i s i o n to i n s t a l l e l e c t r o n i c data p r o c e s s i n g in the h i s t o r y equipment a medium s i z e d manufacturing and s e l l i n g c o r p o r a t i o n . A l - though a very good case e x i s t e d f o r the i n s t a l l a t i o n o f t h i s equipment, p r a c t i c a l l y f o u r years elapsed before a definite d e c i s i o n was reached. 3 2) , I n 1958 Cyert, D i l l and March reported another case h i s t o r y i n v o l v i n g a d e c i s i o n to r e p l a c e hazardous overhead cranes in a heavy manufacturing c o r p o r a t i o n with m a g n e t i c a l l y cranes. controlled I n t h i s case, two years o f i n v e s t i g a t i o n and n e g o t i a t i o n t r a n s p i r e d before a d e f i n i t e proposal to r e p l a c e the cranes emerged. The p r o p o s a l was, i n f a c t , u l t i m a t e l y turned down. 1 I r e f e r here to many economic t h e o r i e s o f d e c i s i o n making which have tended to i g n o r e o r overlook the many b e h a v i o r a l aspects o f d e c i s i o n making i n o r g a n i z a t i o n s , i n p a r t i c u l a r , elements of the i n f o r m a l o r n o n - r a t i o n a l . 2 R.M. Cyert, H.A. Simon, and D.B. Trow, "Observation o f a Business D e c i s i o n " , J o u r n a l o f Business, XXIX(6ctober 1956)pp 237-48 3 R.M. Cyert, w.R. D i l l and J.G. March, "The Role o f E x p e c t a t i o n s i n Business D e c i s i o n Making", A d m i n i s t r a t i v e Science Q u a r t e r l y , V o l . I l l , (December 1958), pp. 307-40. 3) E l l i o t Jacques, i n his well-known study of the Glacier 4 Metal Company, made numerous recommendations i n the areas of general philosophy and s p e c i f i c p o l i c i e s f o r that company. Some eight years l a t e r (i960), W. Brown, Glacier s chief executive 5 |! o f f i c e r reported on the processes by which Jacques ' recommendations 1 had been gradually examined and put into action. A comparison of these two documents gives a p a r t i c u l a r l y good example of the temporal dimension as i t operates i n organizational decision making processes. 4) The l a s t example I . s h a l l present i n connection with 6 t h i s discussion of the temporal dimension i s Chamberlain's account of the telephone company's decision r e l a t i v e to a p o l i c y f o r dealing with employee transfers within the company. The problems associated with i n t e r n a l transfers had been a matter of company concern since 1926 although active policy reformulation did not begin u n t i l 1943. Another two years elapsed before the reformu- lated p o l i c y became operational. The question now arises as to whether i t i s simply the nature of key decisional processes to take a long time or i f the temporal dimension i s the variable and manifest expression of other forces operational i n organizational decision making 4 E l l i o t t Jaques, The Changing Culture of a Factory, New York, Dryden Press, 1952"! 5 W. Brown, Exploration i n Management, New York, John Wiley and Sons, I960. 6 N. Chamberlain, Management i n Motion, New Haven, Labor and Management Center, Yale University, 1950. 5. processes. The view T s h a l l take here i s t h a t w h i l e c e r t a i n t e c h n i c a l contingencies may (such.a.s simply gathering information) somewhat i n f l u e n c e the l e n g t h of d e c i s i o n making the l e n g t h o f such processes processes, i s much more s t r o n g l y i n f l u e n c e d by the o p e r a t i o n of another dimension - the p o l i t i c a l dimension. D e f i n i t i o n o f a Dimension; The P o l i t i c a l Dimension As i n the case o f the temporal dimension, a number o f s t u d i e s o f o r g a n i z a t i o n a l d e c i s i o n making processes t h a t i s i t the nature have observed o f o r g a n i z a t i o n s to embody d i f f e r e n t i a l p o l i t i c a l i n t e r e s t s and t h a t these i n t u r n i n f l u e n c e the o f d e c i s i o n making processes i n organizations. character By drawing upon a number of examples from the l i t e r a t u r e I s h a l l attempt to d e f i n e the sense i n which the term " p o l i t i c a l ' 1 i s being used here and the i m p l i c a t i o n s t h a t i t holds f o r d e c i s i o n making. l) Tom Burns has expanded on the n o t i o n of c o r p o r a t i o n p o l i t i c s i n the sense I employ i t . To exemplify this conception o f formal o r g a n i z a t i o n s as p o l i t i c a l systems i n t h e i r own and right to i n d i c a t e the p o s s i b i l i t i e s o f p o l i t i c a l a c t i o n w i t h i n t h e i r spheres, I s h a l l quote p a r t o f the a b s t r a c t to a r e c e n t paper o f 7 Burns . 1 While the c o r p o a t i o n i s h a r d l y a microcosm o f the s t a t e , study of the i n t e r n a l p o l i t i c s o f u n i v e r s i t i e s and b u s i n e s s concerns may develop i n s i g h t s c o n t r i b u t i n g to the understanding of p o l i t i c a l a c t i o n i n general. ,7; Tom Burns, " M i c r o p o l i t i c s : Mechanisms of I n s t i t u t i o n a l Change", A d m i n i s t r a t i v e Science Q u a r t e r l y , V o l . VI, 1961-62, pp 257-281. C o r p o r a t i o n s are c o - o p e r a t i v e systems assembled out o f the u s a b l e a t t r i b u t e s of people. They are a l s o s o c i a l systems w i t h i n which people compete f o r advancement; i n so doing they may make use o f o t h e r s . Behavior i s i d e n t i f i e d as p o l i t i c a l when o t h e r s are made use o f as r e s o u r c e s i n c o m p e t i t i v e s i t u a t i o n s . M a t e r i a l , or extra-human, r e s o u r c e s are a l s o s o c i a l l y organizued. Additional r e s o u r c e s , r e s u l t i n g from i n n o v a t i o n or new types of p e r s o n a l commitment, a l t e r the p r e v a i l i n g e q u i l i b r i u m and e i t h e r i n s t i g a t e or r e l e a s e p o l i t i c a l a c t i o n s . Such a c t i o n i s a mechanism of s o c i a l change.8 9 2 ) In h i s study o f Standard Motors, a n o t a b l e account of the p o l i t i c a l elements r e l a t i v e to o r g a n i - z a t i o n a l d e c i s i o n making p r o c e s s e s . to Melman has provided In t h i s case, the d e c i s i o n d e c e n t r a l i z e d e c i s i o n making processes c a l l e d f o r reformu- l a t i o n s o f the p o l i t i c a l r o l e s and r e s p o n s i b i l i t i e s of both management and workers. These p o l i t i c a l i n v o l v e d the passage of time. temporal 3) Here, the connection between the and p o l i t i c a l dimensions Cyert, D i l l accomodations of course i s particularly clear. and March present another example o f p o l i t i c a l processes at work i n o r g a n i z a t i o n a l d e c i s i o n making i n t h e i r account o f the search f o r new 10 working q u a r t e r s f o r a department with a doubtful f u t u r e . In t h i s case, the more s t r a i g h t f o r w a r d problem o f l o c a t i n g a new s i t e was temporally extended and gen- e r a l l y complicated by p o l i t i c a l maneuvering between the head o f 8 Ibid., p.257. 9 Melman, S., D e c i s i o n Making and P r o d u c t i v i t y , B a s i l Black-well, 1958. 10 R.M. C y e r t , W.R. Dill Oxford, and J.G. March, l o c . c i t . 7 the department i n q u e s t i o n , who wished to ensure the c o n t i n u i t y o f h i s department, and e x e c u t i v e s i n o t h e r departments not w i s h to see the department c o n t i n u e . 1 who did The theme o f p o l i t i c a l competition over scarce o r g a n i z a t i o n a l resources i s c l e a r i n t h i s case. 11 4) T u r n i n g a g a i n to Chamberlain's study here the a u t h o r g i v e s a d e t a i l e d account o f the o r g a n i z a t i o n a l p o l i t i c s i n v o l v e d i n the employee t r a n s f e r d e c i s i o n . Once a g a i n , t h i s may be seen as i n f l u e n c i n g t h e t e m p o r a l e x t e n s i v e n e s s o f the d e c i s i o n p r o c e s s . 12 5) Elsewhere I have attempted to demonstrate a connection between the p o l i t i c a l d e s i g n s o f c e r t a i n s u p e r v i s o r y employees o f a government water a u t h o r i t y and, i n p a r t i c u l a r , one major d e c i s i o n a l p r o c e s s l e a d i n g to the i n s t a l l a t i o n o f an e l e c t r o n i c b i l l i n g system. q u e s t i o n may The t e m p o r a l d i m e n s i o n o f the d e c i s i o n i n be seen, i n t h i s c a s e , as a d i r e c t r e f l e c t i o n o f " s t e e r i n g " o r impeding a c t s on the p a r t o f d i f f e r e n t members o f the o r g a n i z a t i o n . Having s e t f o r w a r d these two dimensions and h a v i n g sug- g e s t e d the p o s s i b i l i t i e s o f i n t e r a c t i o n between them, I s h a l l now a m p l i f y the more g e n e r a l c o n c e p t u a l framework i n which they o c c u r . F i r s t l y , i t w i l l be n e c e s s a r y to a r r i v e a t an u n d e r s t a n d i n g o f what the term " o r g a n i z a t i o n " means i n the c o n t e x t o f t h i s s t u d y . 11 N. Chamberlain, l o c . c i t . 12 E. Harvey, "Some I m p l i c a t i o n s o f T e c h n i c a l and Superv i s o r y Change i n a Government Water A u t h o r i t y " , U n p u b l i s h e d paper, 1963. 8. D e f i n i n g the Term " O r g a n i z a t i o n " The d e f i n i t i o n o f o r g a n i z a t i o n s which informs the research presented here d e r i v e s from a conceptual scheme developed by 13 James G. March and o t h e r s . March has expressed the c e n t r a l assumptions o f t h i s scheme i n the f o l l o w i n g way. B a s i c a l l y , we assume t h a t a business f i r m i s a p o l i t i c a l c o a l i t i o n and the e x e c u t i v e i n the f i r m i s a p o l i t i c a l broker. The composition of the f i r m i s not g i v e n ; i t i s negotiated. The goals of the f i r m are not g i v e n ; they are bargained. 14 By t h i s d e f i n i t i o n , then, one may see the o r g a n i z a t i o n as a coming t o g e t h e r of d i f f e r e n t i n t e r e s t s , a " p o l i t i c a l " of sub-units i n the sense t h a t a p a r t i c u l a r i n t e r e s t liason (theoretically at l e a s t ) remains i n the o r g a n i z a t i o n o n l y as l o n g as there i s "something i n i t f o r them". course Such d i f f e r e n t i a l i n t e r e s t s are o f a m p l i f i e d by t e c h n i c a l s p e c i a l i z a t i o n and f u n c t i o n a l d i f f e r e n t i a t i o n w i t h i n the o r g a n i z a t i o n . A g a i n s t t h i s background, the p o l i t i c a l aspects o f o r g a n i z a t i o n a l d e c i s i o n making r e f e r r e d to e a r l i e r become c l e a r e r . Given t h i s s i t u a t i o n of i m p l i c i t o r e x p l i c i t the q u e s t i o n a r i s e s of how d u c t i o n o f o t h e r concepts Firstly, two do o r g a n i z a t i o n s endure. w i l l f a c i l i t a t e this there i s the n o t i o n o f b a r g a i n i n g . levels. There i s , f i r s t of a l l , conflict, The intro- explanation. This may be seen at the g e n e r a l l e v e l of 13 James G. March, "The Business Firm as a P o l i t i c a l C o a l i t i o n " , J o u r n a l of P o l i t i c s , V o l . 24, 1962, pp.662-678. See a l s o J.G. March and H.A. Simon, O r g a n i z a t i o n s , lew York, Wiley, 1958, and R.M. Cyert and James G". March, A B e h a v i o r a l Theory o f the Firm, P r e n t i c e H a l l , New J e r s e y , 1963. 14 I b i d . , p.672 3. "a b a r g a i n s t r u c k " ( i . e . the g e n e r a l agreement t h a t c e r t a i n members o f the o r g a n i z a t i o n w i l l be p r o d u c t i o n w o r k e r s , certain o t h e r s e x e c u t i v e s and so' on) which s e r v e s to mark out the g e n e r a l dimensions o f the c o a l i t i o n and to g i v e a measure o f to the e n t e r p r i s e . T h i s may stability be seen as k i n to the n o t i o n o f a g e n e r a l p o l i c y o r c h a r t e r i n an o r g a n i z a t i o n ; many members o f the o r g a n i z a t i o n may p o l i c y o r may have w i d e l y d i f f e r e n t i n t e r p r e t a t i o n s o f the not even know what i t i s . I t s mere p r e s e n c e , a c t s as a b i n d i n g f o r c e . however, The p r i m a r y b a r g a i n i n g r e f e r r e d t o , t h e n , s e r v e s to e s t a b l i s h a measure o f o r g a n i z a t i o n a l s t a b i l i t y and a l s o p r o v i d e s a base f o r the secondary b a r g a i n i n g , the " j o c k e y i n g to improve one's p o s i t i o n " w i t h i n the o r g a n i z a t i o n . Thus the s u b - u n i t s o f an o r g a n i z a t i o n a l c o a l i t i o n make d i f f e r e n t i a l c l a i m s to s c a r c e o r g a n i z a t i o n a l r e s o u r c e s . dimensions o f the c l a i m s are a r e f l e c t i o n o f the The sub-unit's i m p o r t a n c e to the o r g a n i z a t i o n . (Thus, f o r example, the engineering d i v i s i o n o f an o r g a n i z a t i o n i s l i k e l y to have a g r e a t e r c l a i m on the o r g a n i z a t i o n ' s r e s o u r c e s t h a n , say, the t y p i n g p o o l . ) suceed, the c o a l i t i o n must b a l a n c e the p r o c e s s e s o f b a r g a i n i n g . To claims against resources through The b a r g a i n i n g p r o c e s s d e f i n e s the dimensions o f a " s i d e payment" (an a l l o c a t i o n o f o r g a n i z a t i o n a l r e s o u r c e s by one s u b - u n i t o f the o r g a n i z a t i o n to another w h i c h the c o a l i t i o n can bear and which the s u b - u n i t w i l l The sub-unit) accept. " s i d e payments" assume v a r i o u s forms, such as money, s e r v i c e s , the a l l o c a t i o n o f a u t h o r i t y , equipment and so The on. c o a l i t i o n i s f e a s i b l e because n o t a l l o f i t s members are s i m u l t a n e o u s l y engaged i n making demands on the coalition's /o. scarce resources. T h i s i s f u r t h e r guaranteed by t h e o r g a n i - z a t i o n a l c o a l i t i o n , however, through, f o r m a l arrangements which s p e c i f y s e q u e n t i a l a t t e n t i o n t o t h e c l a i m s o f t h e d i f f e r e n t subunits. The b a s i s o f such a sequence would most p r o b a b l y be t h e f u n c t i o n a l s i g n i f i c a n c e o f the sub-unit t o t h e o r g a n i z a t i o n as a whole o r perhaps t h e degree o f a u t h o r i t y w i t h i n t h e o r g a n i z a t i o n p o s s e s s e d by t h e s u b - u n i t . Arrangements o f jthis type mean t h a t the t o t a l c l a i m s o f t h e s u b - u n i t s , a t any g i v e n t i m e , s u f f i c i e n t t o exhaust t o t a l l y o r g a n i z a t i o n a l r e s o u r c e s same p o i n t i n t i m e . organization's are n o t a t the The d i f f e r e n c e between t h e two i s t h e "slack" o r resource pool. I t s presence may be viewed as a c r i t i c a l c o n d i t i o n f o r t h e c o n t i n u a t i o n o f t h e organization. To b r i e f l y summarize, t h e n , an o r g a n i z a t i o n has been d e f i n e d as a c o a l i t i o n o f s u b - u n i t s w i t h d i f f e r e n t i a l i n t e r e s t s . It is the i n v o l v e m e n t o f t h e s e d i f f e r e n t u n i t s i n t h e d e c i s i o n making p r o c e s s e s o f t h e o r g a n i z a t i o n which r e f l e c t s t h e p o l i t i c a l dimens i o n r e f e r r e d to e a r l i e r . One f i n a l a s p e c t o f t h i s definition of t h e o r g a n i z a t i o n as a c o a l i t i o n which has r e l e v a n c e s t u d y should be mentioned. i n this That i s , t h e d e f i n i t i o n a l l o w s one t o a v o i d some o f t h e d i f f i c u l t i e s i m p l i c i t i n s t a t i n g an o r g a n i z a t i o n ' s boundaries. By t h e d e f i n i t i o n p r e s e n t e d h e r e , s u b - u n i t s are t e c h n i c a l l y o u t s i d e t h e r e a l m o f a s p e c i f i c which organization ( s u c h as t h e l o c a l government i n t h e cannery case t o be d i s c u s s e d below) b u t which may come t o e x e r t s t r o n g i n f l u e n c e on t h e d e c i s i o n making p r o c e s s e s o f t h e o r g a n i z a t i o n may, f o r t h e sake o f a n a l y s i s be viewed as s u b - u n i t s and o f t h e o r g a n i z a t i o n a t some p o i n t i n time as t h e r e f o r e i n f l u e n c i n g t h e p o l i t i c a l and t e m p o r a l dimensions o f d e c i s i o n making i n t h e o r g a n i z a t i o n . The Organization The vacuum. and I t s Environment o r g a n i z a t i o n d e s c r i b e d h e r e does not e x i s t i n a R a t h e r , i t i s p a r t o f a m i l i e u o f changing economic c o n d i t i o n s and competing o r g a n i z a t i o n s . o r g a n i z a t i o n may d e c l i n i n g and Thus, f o r example, an •• f i n d t h a t i t s share o f i t s g i v e n market i s t h i s w i l l become the s t a r t i n g p o i n t f o r d e c i s i o n making p r o c e s s e s w i t h i n the. o r g a n i z a t i o n . " l e a r n " from o t h e r o r g a n i z a t i o n s . disseminated, perceived, Hew Organizations also i d e a s and methods are t e s t e d and put i n t o p r a c t i c e . c a n t changes i n an o r g a n i z a t i o n ' s environment are c l e a r l y i m p o r t a n t source o f n o n - r o u t i n e d e c i s i o n a l p r o c e s s e s . same t i m e , however, i t must a l s o be r e c o g n i z e d o f a d e c i s i o n a l p r o c e s s may Signifi- At an the t h a t the inception w e l l r e l a t e to the s p e c i f i c political goals of a given o r g a n i z a t i o n a l sub-unit, a l t h o u g h such g o a l s are g e n e r a l l y r a t i o n a l i z e d i n terms o f e x t e r n a l c o n d i t i o n s , e x i s t e n t or otherwise. T h i s i s not to deny t h a t d e c i s i o n a l p r o c e s s e s emerging from e x t e r n a l c o n d i t i o n s may also represent sub-unit i n t e r e s t s . Organizational Goals R e f e r r i n g back to the d i s c u s s i o n o f an o r g a n i z a t i o n as a c o a l i t i o n o f d i f f e r e n t i a l i n t e r e s t s , i t c l e a r l y becomes d i f f i c u l t to speak o f g o a l s f o r the o r g a n i z a t i o n as a whole. Yet the d e c i s i o n a l p r o c e s s e s which emerge a l o n g the l i n e s d i s c u s s e d above are c e r t a i n l y d i r e c t e d toward some s o r t o f g o a l , however u n c l e a r or l o o s e l y formulated i t may be. I n t h i s connection, Cyert and March 15 have abandoned the o b v i o u s l y q u e s t i o n a b l e n o t i o n that o r g a n i z a t i o n s have a w e l l d e f i n e d s e t o f goals i n terms o f which they s o l v e a l l t h e i r problems. Instead, these authors have argued t h a t "...the goals o f a business f i r m are a s e r i e s o f more o r l e s s independent c o n s t r a i n t s imposed on the o r g a n i z a t i o n through a process o f b a r g a i n i n g among p o t e n t i a l c o a l i t i o n members and elaborated over time i n response to s h o r t - r u n pressures Thus when a problem comes to impinge upon an o r g a n i z a t i o n whether i t s d i r e c t i o n o f c a u s a t i o n i s from the e x t e r n a l e n v i r onment o r from w i t h i n the o r g a n i z a t i o n , the f o r m u l a t i o n o f some s o r t o f g o a l v i s - a - v i s the problem i s the next step i n the d e c i s i o n process a f t e r p e r c e i v i n g the problem. ( I would p o i n t out here that I am concerned with problems which cannot be handled by the r o u t i n e p o l i c i e s o f the o r g a n i z a t i o n . ) This process o f p e r c e i v i n g the problem and f o r m u l a t i n g goals i n con*.n e c t i o n with i t has two i m p l i c a t i o n s f o r the e a r l i e r d i s c u s s i o n o f the p o l i t i c a l dimension. Firstly, the a c t u a l problem may be d i f f e r e n t i a l l y p e r c e i v e d by d i f f e r e n t members o r sub-units o f the o r g a n i z a t i o n . Secondly, the goals u l t i m a t e l y formulated may w e l l r e p r e s e n t p a r t i c u l a r i n t e r e s t s w i t h i n the o r g a n i z a t i o n . Another important l e v e l they imply. aspect o f such goals i s the a s p i r a t i o n ( I r e f e r here to o r g a n i z a t i o n a l a s p i r a t i o n l e v e l r a t h e r than the term as i t i s a p p l i e d to i n d i v i d u a l s . ) 15 R.M. Cyert, J.G. March, "A B e h a v i o r a l Theory o f O r g a n i z a t i o n a l O b j e c t i v e s " , Modern O r g a n i z a t i o n Theory, ed.' M. H a i r e , New York, Wiley,. 195916 R.M. Cyert and J.G. March, A B e h a v i o r a l Theory o f the Firm, P r e n t i c e H a l l , lew J e r s e y , 1963, p.43. 13. G e n e r a l l y s p e a k i n g , the l e v e l o f a s p i r a t i o n w i l l be a f u n c t i o n o f the t y p e s o f g o a l s the o r g a n i z a t i o n has had i n the p a s t and the success o r f a i l u r e they have e x p e r i e n c e d i n c o n n e c t i o n w i t h them. The p r a c t i c e s o f o t h e r o r g a n i z a t i o n s c o n s t i t u t e another i m p o r t a n t i n f l u e n c e ( f o r to some e x t e n t o r g a n i z a t i o n s l e a r n from one a n o t h e r ) i n the g o a l f o r m a t i o n p r o c e s s . While the emphasis h e r e has been on the s h o r t - r u n and p o l i t i c a l a s p e c t s o f g o a l f o r m a t i o n , i t s h o u l d a l s o be mentioned t h a t o r g a n i z a t i o n s have, at a high l e v e l of d i f f u s e n e s s , c e r t a i n very general goals r e l a t i n g to such m a t t e r s as p r o d u c t i o n , market share and These v e r y g e n e r a l g o a l s may sales. be seen a s - p r o v i d i n g the c o n t e x t i n w h i c h more s p e c i f i a b l e g o a l s o c c u r . The I n f o r m a t i o n G a t h e r i n g P r o c e s s and Development o f E x p e c t a t i o n s The g o a l f o r m a t i o n p r o c e s s g i v e s o r g a n i z a t i o n a l d e c i s i o n making a g e n e r a l p l a n o f a c t i o n v i s - v i s a g i v e n problem. The development o f t h i s g e n e r a l p l a n i n v o l v e s i n v e s t i g a t i n g the f i e l d o f a c t i o n p o s s i b i l i t i e s , i n o t h e r words, the s e a r c h of d e c i s i o n a l processes. I n v i e w o f what has been s a i d aspect concerning the o r g a n i z a t i o n as a c o a l i t i o n and the n a t u r e o f o r g a n i z a t i o n a l g o a l s , c e r t a i n d i f f i c u l t i e s emerge i n the c l a s s i c a l theoretical f o r m u l a t i o n s c o n c e r n i n g o r g a n i z a t i o n a l e x p e c t a t i o n s and search. P o r example, the f o l l o w i n g p r o p o s i t i o n s are g e n e r a l l y a s s o c i a t e d w i t h c l a s s i c a l t h e o r e t i c a l approaches: 1) o r g a n i z a t i o n a l s e a r c h i s a complete c o n s i d e r a t i o n o f ..'all p o s s i b i l i t i e s . 2) as a r e s u l t o f t h i s o m n i s c i e n t s e a r c h , the r a t i o n a l l y best a l t e r n a t i v e i s selected. 3) o r g a n i z a t i o n s e n t e r upon d e c i s i o n a l p r o c e s s e s w i t h c l e a r e x p e c t a t i o n s c o n c e r n i n g c o s t s and r e t u r n s . L e t us examine a few d i f f i c u l t i e s w i t h these p r o p o s i t i o n s . f i r s t two p r o p o s i t i o n s r e l a t i n g to the omniscience and o f the The search t h a t the r a t i o n a l l y b e s t a l t e r n a t i v e i s s e l e c t e d d i s r e g a r d the sheer p h y s i c a l l i m i t a t i o n s on o r g a n i z a t i o n a l i n f o r m a t i o n g a t h e r i n g , t h e y do not c o n s i d e r the p o s s i b i l i t i e s o f political m a n i p u l a t i o n o r b i a s i n g w i t h i n o r g a n i z a t i o n s , and f i n a l l y do n o t c o n s i d e r the s i g n i f i c a n t r o l e p l a y e d by a l t e r n a t i v e s which a r e out l o o k i n g f o r o r g a n i z a t i o n s to adopt them. l a s t p r o p o s i t i o n , the r e s e a r c h p r e s e n t e d T u r n i n g to the here w i l l attempt to demonstrate t h a t o r g a n i z a t i o n a l e x p e c t a t i o n s r e g a r d i n g c o s t s and r e t u r n s are c o n s i d e r a b l y more f l e x i b l e t h a n the c l a s s i c a l formul a t i o n suggests. of/and I s h a l l a l s o attempt to d i s c u s s the o p e r a t i o n changes i n s e a r c h p r o c e d u r e and the development o f e x p e c t a t i o n s i n terms o f the p o l i t i c a l d i m e n s i o n o f d e c i s i o n a l processes. E x e c u t i v e Choice and the R e d e f i n i t i o n o f D e c i s i o n s The p e r c e p t i o n o f an o r g a n i z a t i o n a l problem, the g o a l f o r m a t i o n p r o c e s s , the g a t h e r i n g o f i n f o r m a t i o n and formation o f e x p e c t a t i o n s have been d i s c u s s e d here as elements o f the p o l i t i c a l dimension of o r g a n i z a t i o n a l d e c i s i o n processes. a c h o i c e i s made and act. the c h o i c e i t s e l f may be viewed as a p o l i t i c a l F o r i n the c o n t e x t o f a c h o i c e , the d e c i d i n g o f f i c e r o r o f f i c e r s have the o p p o r t u n i t y to express remaining may Ultimately, a p r e f e r e n c e between the alternatives or, i n rejecting a l l alternatives, they undo a sequence o f p o l i t i c a l events i n f a v o u r o f a d i f f e r e n t is-. commitment, t h e i r own. I t may "be p o i n t e d out t h a t o r g a n i z a t i o n s have such mechanisms as g e n e r a l " r u l e s o f the game" r e l a t i v e to such m a t t e r s as t a k i n g a d e c i s i o n , but h e r e , as i n the case o f the v e r y g e n e r a l g u i d i n g g o a l s r e f e r r e d to e a r l i e r , such mechanisms e s s e n t i a l l y p r o v i d e o n l y a c o n t e x t i n which more s p e c i f i a b l e (and p o l i t i c a l ) a f f a i r s take p l a c e . F o r the purposes o f t h i s s t u d y , n e i t h e r the dimension, temporal the p o l i t i c a l d i m e n s i o n o r t h e i r p a t t e r n s o f i n t e r - r e l a t i o n end w i t h the emergence o f a c h o i c e by some p a r t y o f a u t h o r i t y i n the o r g a n i z a t i o n . F o r w h i l e c e r t a i n members o f an o r g a n i z a t i o n have the a u t h o r i t y to mak:e d e c i s i o n s , o t h e r members w i t h o u t t h i s a u t h o r i t y do p o s s e s s a c e r t a i n power to r e d e f i n e a d e c i s i o n i n terms o f t h e i r r e s p o n s i v e 17 i n h i s study, o f Standard system, one behavior. Thus Melman, M o t o r s , speaks o f a double d e c i s i o n system r e l a t e s to management who may, f o r example, s e t p r o d u c t i o n f i g u r e s ; the o t h e r system r e l a t e s to the worker who may, f o r example, d e c i d e how much w i l l a c t u a l l y be produced. I n t h i s c o n n e c t i o n , Melman has observed The d e c i s i o n systems o f the management and o f the workers have been found to <be. o p e r a t i v e as s e p a r a t e , d i s t i n c t , u n i l a t e r a l systems, each p e r f o r m i n g the f u n c t i o n o f d e c i s i o n making on p r o d u c t i o n . To be s u r e , the d e c i s i o n system o f the employer has been by f a r the more i m p o r t a n t one i n the scope o f i t s e f f e c t on p r o d u c t i o n . I n the o p e r a t i o n o f the i n d u s t r i a l e n t e r p r i s e , however, the worker d e c i s i o n system has a l r e a d y had c l e a r and t r a c e a b l e e f f e c t s on the d e c i s i o n system o f the employer.18 17 Melman, l o c . c i t . 18 I b i d . , p. 19 T h i s suggests a n o t h e r p o i n t , f o r where a d e c i s i o n a l choice has been made t h e way i n w h i c h i t i s p u t i n t o e f f e c t may depend on t h e way i t i s r e c e i v e d by those who posses t h e power o f t h i s counter-decision system. Thus t h e p o l i t i c s o f d e c i s i o n p r o c e s s e s do n o t come t o an end w i t h e x e c u t i v e choice. F i g u r e 1:1 a t t e m p t s t o summarize t h e g e n e r a l conceptual framework p r e s e n t e d h e r e and s e r v e s as a background t o t h e ensuing p r e s e n t a t i o n o f the research o r g a n i z a t i o n has been d e f i n e d findings. and d i s c u s s e d F i r s t l y , the as a c o a l i t i o n p a r t i c u l a r l y i n s o f a r as t h i s r e l a t e s t o t h e p o l i t i c s o f d e c i s i o n making w i t h i n o r g a n i z a t i o n s . has been r e c o g n i z e d The o r g a n i z a t i o n ' s as a p o s s i b l e source o f problems toward which o r g a n i z a t i o n a l d e c i s i o n making may be d i r e c t e d . recognized, environment I t has a l s o been however, t h a t t h e impetus f o r an o r g a n i z a t i o n a l d e c i s i o n may come from w i t h i n the o r g a n i z a t i o n a l t h o u g h be r a t i o n a l i z e d i n terms o f e x t e r n a l f a c t o r s . processes, executive choice Goals, search and p r o c e s s e s o f r e d e f i n i t i o n have been p u t f o r w a r d as i n d e p e n d e n t l y d e f i n e d b u t i n t e r r e l a t e d o f o r g a n i z a t i o n a l d e c i s i o n making. aspects Any one o f these a s p e c t s o r a c o m b i n a t i o n o f them, i t ; i s s u g g e s t e d , may s e r v e as "arenas" f o r t h e p o l i t i c s o f o r g a n i z a t i o n a l d e c i s i o n making. dimension i s simply The p o l i t i c a l a c o n c e p t u a l i z a t i o n o f the i n t e r r e l a t e d n e s s o f t h e s e components o r a s p e c t s o f o r g a n i z a t i o n a l d e c i s i o n making. The temporal dimension measures t h e a c t u a l amount o f time t a k e n between g i v e n p o i n t s i n t h e course o f an o r g a n i z a t i o n a l process. decision As suggested e a r l i e r , t h e t e m p o r a l e x t e n s i v e n e s s /8. o f a g i v e n d e c i s i o n p r o c e s s may well reflect maneuvering w i t h i n the o r g a n i z a t i o n . political I n t h i s sense, t a k i n g i n t o account the temporal d i m e n s i o n o f an o r g a n i z a t i o n a l may " p o i n t the way" decision to p o l i t i c a l a s p e c t s o f d e c i s i o n making w h i c h are not p a r t i c u l a r l y v i s i b l e . ( F o r example, the e x t e n s i v e n e s s o f the g o a l f o r m a t i o n process reported temporal on i n c o n n e c t i o n w i t h the Gresham Cement Company case would a t l e a s t suggest the p o s s i b i l i t y of p o l i t i c a l f a c t o r s b e i n g w i t h i n the o r g a n i z a t i o n . ) w i t h i n o r g a n i z a t i o n s may operative A l s o , the n o t i o n o f time as a r e s o u r c e i n f l u e n c e events on the political d i m e n s i o n o f d e c i s i o n making. ( F o r example, the s c a r c e temporal r e s o u r c e s a v a i l a b l e to the N o r t h l a n d s Cannery d u r i n g the p r o c e s s e s a s p e c t of the ease r e p o r t e d below d i r e c t l y search influence the p o l i t i c a l d i m e n s i o n of the; d e c i s i o n i n q u e s t i o n . ) Two f i n a l p o i n t s should be noted i n c o n n e c t i o n w i t h the diagram. Firstly, the i n d i c a t e d " b e g i n n i n g " and p r o c e s s must be r e c o g n i z e d purposes o f a n a l y s i s . "end" of a given as a r b i t r a r y d i s t i n c t i o n s f o r decision the In r e a l i t y , o r g a n i z a t i o n a l d e c i s i o n processes are most p r o b a b l y always c i r c u l a r . Put a n o t h e r way, the p r o c e s s o f r e d e f i n i t i o n never ends but r a t h e r "feeds back" i n t o o r g a n i z a t i o n i n the form o f new the problems w h i c h r e q u i r e a t t e n t i o n . F i n a l l y , as suggested e a r l i e r on page 9 » the b o u n d a r i e s o f o r g a n i z a t i o n are a l s o somewhat a r b i t r a r y . d i s t i n c t i o n w i l l l a t e r enable one Recognizing t h i s to i n t r o d u c e , of a n a l y s i s , e n t i t i e s t e c h n i c a l l y outside f o r the purposes the o r g a n i z a t i o n w h i c h n o n e t h e l e s s have s i g n i f i c a n t i m p l i c a t i o n s f o r the and the but temporal p o l i t i c a l dimensions of o r g a n i z a t i o n a l d e c i s i o n making. C H A P T E R 2 Case 1; The Elton Drug Store Chain Description of the Organization i n Question The organization with which this case i s concerned i s The E l t o n Chain Drugstores Limited. As w i l l he explained i n the discussion of the s p e c i f i c decision process I am concerned with i n this case, the number of drug stores incorporated i n t h i s chain has fluctuated over time. At one point however, the number of stores was over 60 and, during the l a s t twenty years, the E l t o n chain has been regarded by i t s competitors as the most powerful and prosperous operation i n Province X. The Decision Process i n Question and I t s Approximate Time Span Put i n the simplest form, the decision process I am concerned with i s the development of a new policy within the E l t o n organization whereby the number of stores i n the chain was decreased while the f l o o r area of the remaining stores was doubled. The basic aims of t h i s new policy were to reduce operating overheads and to develop a better method of exploi- ting the market ( i n t h i s case, s e l f - s e r v i c e ) thereby increasing profits. Prom the time the new p o l i c y was f i r s t proposed to the time i t was f i r s t put into e f f e c t as operational p o l i c y , over four years elapsed. The Actors The following persons or groups w i l l be mentioned i n the discussion to follow. I t may be h e l p f u l to state t h e i r names and positions before proceeding further. John Elton, r e t i r e d president of the Elton Chain Roger Elton, his son, now president of the chain K a r l Graff, former manager, now Elton's " r i g h t hand vice-president; Roger man". James Williams, former vice president; resigned, 1955. The Pharmacist-managers and pharmacist employees of the E l t o n Chain. Specific Methods 1) Personal interviews with Roger Elton, Karl Graff and a sample of 30 pharmacist-managers and pharmacistemployees of the chain. 2) Use of respondent's memories i n these interviews. 3) V e r i f i c a t i o n of t h i s material through analysis of documents and 4) files. Data r e s u l t i n g from a questionnaire directed to a l l pharmacists i n Province 5) X. In order to make aspects of the p a r t i c u l a r decision process I am concerned with more understandable, T s h a l l present a c e r t a i n amount of h i s t o r i c a l background . Defining the Problem and i t s Background As proposed i n Chapter One, non-programmed decisions i n complex organizations generally develop i n response to some sort of change i n the organization's environment or some definable problem which has come to impinge upon the organization. To better describe the p a r t i c u l a r problem which came to concern the Elton Chain, I s h a l l b r i e f l y r e f e r to some of the relevant background. From i t s inception i n to 1952, the Elton Chain was i n a constant state of growth and expansion. chain owned and operated over 60 stores). (In 1952, the This s i t u a t i o n derived from John Elton's p o l i c y of immediate re-investment of p r o f i t s i n the construction of new stores and, secondly, taking over already operating independent ever the opportunity presented r e t a i l stores when- itself. During the three years or so leading up to 1952, i n d i c a tions began to develop that increased overheads and competition were reducing the company's p r o f i t s and market share. In p a r t i c u l a r , the expenses involved i n maintaining many of the company's urban s i t e s were no longer f u l l y j u s t i f i e d since the amount of business such stores were doing had f a l l e n o f f during the l a s t three years i n a very gradual way. Formation of Relevant Goals In the early part of 1952, meetings between John Elton, president of the chain, h i s son Roger, f i r s t vice president, James Williams, second vice president and K a r l Graff, general manager, attempted to reach some d i f i n i t i o n of the problem and from this develop remedial p o l i c y . I t was at one of the f i r s t of these meetings that Graff put forward the p o s s i b i l i t y of t r y i n g out a new type of store, one with at l e a s t double the f l o o r space of the present basic design and an emphasis on s<3lf-service displays and f a c i l i t i e s . Graff, during recent IS. t r i p s i n the United States, had noted the apparently successf u l development of such stores i n that country. Roger E l t o n expressed considerable i n t e r e s t i n Graff's proposal at this time. John Elton, however, was convinced that the p o l i c y which had guided the E l t o n Chain during i t s history of successful growth was s t i l l adequate. He suggested that the present d i f f i c u l t i e s rested not i n the number or the design of the Elton stores, but rather i n the way spoke of the need f o r "a new they were being operated. He s p i r i t of competition (vis-a-vis other stores) among the employees of the E l t o n Chain" and a need f o r extensive personnel re-organization i n several stores which had not been doing well i n recent months. James Williams was i n agreement with this proposal and offered (at t h i s meeting and subsequent meetings) a number of s p e c i f i c suggestions as to how In p a r t i c u l a r , he suggested such plans might be carried out. that the managers of Elton Chain stores be required to submit monthly reports i n which they would express t h e i r opinions as to why l i n e s had sold (or not sold) i n the way c e r t a i n basic market they had. He was also i n favour of much closer executive contact with actual store operations including, i n t h i s connection, spot inspection by management of d i f f e r e n t stores i n the chain. Through the balance of 1952 and into the middle of 1953 various personnel changes were made i n several stores belonging to the chain. were the replacement Examples of the type of action involved of "non-productive" managers, an incen- tive scheme to promote competition between managers, and the t r a n s f e r r i n g of managers from store to store. According to a f i n a n c i a l analysis made toward the end of 1953, the market share and p r o f i t s of the Elton Chain had both slightly increased over the two previous reports, but proportionate to r i s i n g costs, were not as high as they had been i n the past. In early 1954, Roger Elton succeeded president of the Chain. John Elton as At t h i s time, James Williams became f i r s t vice president, while Karl Graff became second vice president. The post of general manager previously held by K a r l Graff was closed at this time. v i s - a - v i s major issues was now men. Decision making power concentrated with these three As w i l l be seen, i t was this new arrangement of decision making power which expedited the formation of the organizational goals that gave d i r e c t i o n to the decisional process being considered here. A short while after these personnel changes, i t became apparent that the results derived from the f i n a n c i a l analysis of l a t e 1953 had not been i n d i c a t i v e of a l a s t i n g trend. The organization was once more faced with the problems of decreasing p r o f i t s and market share. A serious d i v i s i o n of opinion over what to do about these d i f f i c u l t i e s developed at t h i s time between James Williams and Karl Graff. Williams, who had been associated with the Elton Chain f o r over 18 years, desired that the existing p o l i c i e s , largely developed by John Elton and himself, should be continued with only minor r e v i s i o n s . is: Graff, who had been with the Elton Chain f o r less than 6 years and had gained most of his experience from operations i n the United States, recommended that the e x i s t i n g p o l i c i e s be suspended and that an e n t i r e l y new embarked upon. type of store operation be Graff presented a report to Roger Elton at t h i s time (late 1954) describing i n considerable d e t a i l the store designs, merchandise l i n e s , and other changes he had i n mind. The Graff report contained many observations and recom- mendations, the following of which are the most pertinent to this discussion: 1) that many urban s i t e s are becoming increasingly unprofitable as a r e s u l t of increased rentals, repairs and s a l a r i e s f o r personnel. 2) that t h i s e x i s t i n g loss of p r o f i t i s being augmented byaa change i n buyer habits. In short, people are moving to the suburbs and consequently urban stores are l o s i n g patrons. Secondly, buyers want greater d i v e r s i f i c a t i o n i n a single store (along supermarket l i n e s ) . For example, they w i l l find i t convenient (and therefore purchase more from Elton stores) i f they can also obtain magazines, t e l e v i s i o n tubes, toys, cameras and confectionery while at the drug store. 3) therefore the Elton Chain must follow t h i s "move to the suburbs" and change i n buying habits by building highly d i v e r s i f i e d stores i n the suburbs. 4) i n order to carry maximum merchandise with minimum personnel cost, these "new type" stores w i l l stress s e l f - s e r v i c e . ZQ. To t h i s end, much greater f l o o r space (for display etc.) purposes w i l l be required. 5) greater emphasis must be placed on the strategic placing of a few large stores as opposed to the random placing of many small ones. To t h i s end, the number of stores i n the chain should be reduced. 6) f i n a l l y , the Elton policy of buying out and taking over independent r e t a i l s i t e s from time to time (largely as a means of eliminating competition) has certain disadvantages i n that many of the stores taken over w i l l sonn become unp r o f i t a b l e as the changes i n l i v i n g and buying habits become more pronounced. In t h i s connection, a new means of control- l i n g this competition must be found. Toward the end of 1954, Roger Elton called f o r a complete i n v e s t i g a t i o n of the implications of Graff's report and that during t h i s period, e x i s t i n g p o l i c i e s r e l a t i v e to the building and taking-over of stores would be suspended. James Williams expressed strong opposition to many of Graff's proposals and questioned the expenditure of time and other resources i n i n vestigating them. Roger Elton remained firm however concerning the necessity of investigating the proposals i n d e t a i l . months after this disagreement, James Williams l e f t the Elton Chain to accept an executive post elsewhere. p o s i t i o n was not f i l l e d . Pour His vacant Major decision making power now rested e n t i r e l y with Roger Elton and Graff. Z 1. Information Gathering Processes and Development of Expectations Investigation of Graff's proposals commenced i n early 1955 with a t r i p to the United States by Graff. of t h i s t r i p was The purpose to observe s i m i l a r store operations i n various parts of the country and to consult, wherever possible, with management and executive o f f i c e r s of such operations. The duration of Graff's i n v e s t i g a t i o n was two months, at the end of which he returned with considerable evidence i n support of the success elsewhere of operations s i m i l a r to the type he had e a r l i e r proposed. On the basis of the information Graff had obtained on his t r i p (information which included some very general i n d i cations of the costs involved) Elton and Graff proceeded to appropriate funds f o r the construction of one "new type" store (larger f l o o r area, s e l f - s e r v i c e arrangements, etc.) on a suburban s i t e and also f o r the modernization of an "old type" store located on a suburban s i t e . At approximately the same time, E l t o n closed out two "old type" stores (on urban s i t e s ) which had not been showing a good return. These moves should not be interpreted however, as a d e f i n i t e decision v i s - a - v i s the new policy proposed i n Graff's report. time of t h e i r inception (March 1955) be very tentative. At the they were considered to In t h i s sense, they were more representa- t i v e of a continuation of the information gathering and search processes rather than the establishment of d e f i n i t i v e p o l i c y . While these moves were being "tested out", the p o l i c y of 28. buying out competitive independent r e t a i l operations (as a means of combining expansion with control of competition) was suspended. The question now arose, however, of what would happen i n t h i s respect i f the new policy was adopted. For c l e a r l y , i f building stores of the new type and modernizing other stores should prove to be the answer to the chain's prof i t and market share problems, then the old policy was tionable on at l e a s t two 1) ques- grounds: that general expansion was no longer j u s t i f i a b l e as opposed to strategic exploitation of the market. 2) that many of the independent r e t a i l stores taken over i n this way would themselves require expensive modernization. It must be remembered that at this time (mid 1955) i t was s t i l l too early f o r the Elton management to know with certainty that such measures as the new type of store and modernization, i n general were solutions to t h e i r problems, nonetheless, Roger Elton concluded that there was a s u f f i c i e n t p o s s i b i l i t y of the old p o l i c y being abandoned permanently to warrant ex- p l o r i n g the f i e l d f o r methods of competition control other than the takeover process. In this connection, Graff suggested that the present wholesale f a c i l i t i e s owned and operated by the Elton Chain (used e n t i r e l y to stock and equip E l t o n stores) might be expanded i n such a way as to serve independent stores outside the chain. Graff proposed two immediate advantages to be derived zs. from such an arrangement: 1) an increased volume and turnover of wholesale goods would mean that the Elton Chain could service i t s own at stores a lower cost. 2) a p r o f i t could he realized on the wholesale goods sold outside the chain. In this sense, the Elton Chain would have the competition "working f o r them". The major d i f f i c u l t y i n implementing the plan was seen as drawing independent r e t a i l e r s away from t h e i r present wholesale supply sources without cutting prices to an unprofitable level. At the same time, however, i t was f e l t that the Elton Wholesale operation could o f f e r certain a t t r a c t i v e benefits which would not normally be available from other wholesale outlets. F i r s t l y , the E l t o n operation could supply rather costly advertising displays to accompany many l i n e s of wholesale merchandise (since i t would have these displays f o r i t s own in any event). stores Secondly, since the Elton Chain would never be primarily dependent on p r o f i t s derived from wholesale operations (as were a l l the other wholesale outlets at the time) i t would have more scope i n cutting prices but s t i l l remaining p r o f i t a b l e . Although i t was s t i l l unclear (June 1955) to what extent the new p o l i c y currently being tested would be adopted, and the future of a revised wholesale operation was d i f f i c u l t to predict with certainty, Elton and Graff carried out the f i r s t in a series of arrangements to increase the size of the whole- sale operation. JO. Executive Choice and the Processes of Redefinition A f i n a n c i a l analysis carried out i n March 1956 produced d e f i n i t e indications of p r o f i t a b l e operations at both the newly constructed suburban store and the modernized store. During the nine months or so preceding this f i n a n c i a l analysis, E l t o n and Graff had commenced the modernization of another s i t e , had dropped another unprofitable urban location, and had expanded the Elton Wholesale c l i e n t e l e to include supply contracts with s i x independent stores outside the chain. As a r e s u l t of the favorable nature of the test operations, i t was now decided to make the new p o l i c y f u l l y operational and expedite a l l of i t s f a c e t s — s t o r e modernization, the construction of stores of the new type, the relinquishing of unprofitable s i t e s (mainly urban) and the further expansion of wholesale operations. The p o l i c y thus implemented i s s t i l l operational at the present time (December 1963). I t s history, however, has not been uneventful, p a r t i c u l a r l y insofar as the p o l i c y has been received by the pharmacists employed by the chain. Put i n the simplest form, the new p o l i c y required certain new modes of performance from these pharmacists which the l a t t e r found to be i n c o n f l i c t with t h e i r professional role (as they defined i t at the time). Consequently, c e r t a i n aspects of the new policy were more or less resisted or redefined by these employees, p a r t i c u l a r l y during the f i r s t three years of the policy's implementation (1956-1959) when two stores of the new type were constructed, f i v e stores of the old type were relinquished, and over twenty other s i t e s were modernized. 31. What were these new performance expectations which became the object of a certain amount of employee resistance? the new type of store or modernized Firstly, store carried a much wider range of non-medicinal stock (eg. magazines, toys, cameras, etc.) than was previously the case. This involved the pharmacist i n many more duties of a c l e r i c a l or s e l l i n g nature than before. Secondly, these new stores or modernized stores did a much larger volume of business than the old type of store. This re- sulted i n considerably more work and r e s p o n s i b i l i t y f o r the pharmacist i n the area of managing cash (making up nightly statements, etc.) Although i n some cases, the pharmacist might acquire additional personnel to a s s i s t with the increased work load, he would then be expected to assume a managerial and coordinating p o s i t i o n v i s - a - v i s these employees. Some research on the occupation of pharmacy by Isidor 1 2 3 Thorner , R.W. Hornosty , and E. Harvey has strongly suggested that the type of professional education received by pharmacists (and the values inculcated i n this way) places l i t t l e emphasis on the s e l l i n g and managerial functions of the profession. papers mentioned The above have referred to the disillusionment experienced by a number of recently graduated pharmacists upon discovering the discrepancies between the profession as i t i s 1 I. Thorner, "Pharmacy: The Functional Significance of an I n s t i t u t i o n a l Pattern," Social Forces, XX:321-328, 1941-42. 2 R.W. Hornosty, Unpublished Research, 1963. 3 E. Harvey, " C o n f l i c t and Pharmacy: Some Implications of Internal D i f f e r e n t i a t i o n , " Unpublished paper, 1963. 31. presented i n the u n i v e r s i t y and the way i t i s practiced i n the field. Perhaps these comments w i l l give some i n d i c a t i o n of the background to the reaction toward the new p o l i c y by many of the pharmacists i n the Elton Chain. Of the t h i r t y pharmacist-managers and pharmacist-employees (from the Elton Chain) that I. was able to interview, 26 recalled t h e i r own reactions (and the reactions of others) to the new p o l i c y when i t was implemented i n force. In no case could the reaction be termed favourable, although the degree of resentment expressed toward the p o l i c y was variable. Statements such as "I couldn't see why I should be s e l l i n g d o l l s " (children's d o l l s were one of the new merchandise l i n e s introduced) and "I had enough to do i n the dispensary without ironing out s t a f f problems" were common. Some pharmacists attempted to redefine the new ex- pectations more r a d i c a l l y than others by such methods as trying to ignore despised l i n e s of merchandise and to avoid involvement i n personnel matters. During t h i s early period professional s t a f f turnover (from both voluntary and enforced resignations); reached the highest figure i n the organization's h i s t o r y . Roger Elton, president of the chain, commented i n this connection, "We did lose some money during that period (approximately 1959) 1956- although now that pharmacists have got used to i t , and we have had courses i n business management and incentive schemes and so on, things have improved." Elton also observed, "Even now we lose money on a newly graduated pharmacist. about two years to make a good manager of him. He I t takes doesn't 33. learn that at u n i v e r s i t y . Yes, we'd l i k e to see the university t r a i n i n g changed to include a l o t more business and managerial background". I t might be noted i n this connection that the E l t o n Chain has been the source of a number of l i b e r a l grants to the l o c a l pharmaceutical t r a i n i n g colleges although, to date, the t r a i n i n g program remains heavily weighted toward the prof e s s i o n a l aspects of pharmacy. Although the greatest amount of employee resistance to the new p o l i c y decision took place during the f i r s t three years of i t s implementation, i t could not be said that i t has now ceased e n t i r e l y . For example, one aspect of the new policy has been to introduce an ever widening range of non-medicinal merchandise year by year. I f the pharmacists I have interviewed are i n any way representative and I believe they are, then i t may be said that there i s a strong tendency f o r many pharmacists to resent the introduction of such new l i n e s , p a r t i c u l a r l y i n sofar as they increase the number of c l e r i c a l and merchandising problems. This resentment i s frequently expressed by a delay by the pharmacist i n discovering the most e f f e c t i v e means of achieving a desirable turnover on the new merchandise. l i n e s of merchandise Hew also invariably involve, at the beginning, an increase i n customer enquiries and complaints which v i r t u a l l y a l l of the pharmacists interviewed expressed a desire to avoid. Since the demand f o r pharmacists at this time (and i n recent years) has outweighed the supply, the pharmacist's p o s i t i o n v i s - a - v i s the r e d e f i n i t i o n of executive decisions may be considered quite a strong one. A major theme which emerged through the course of the interviews was that pharmacists employed i n the chain operation expressed the opinion that they had more s e l l i n g , c l e r i c a l and managerial functions to perform than was the case with independent r e t a i l e r s . Some datta from a recent questionnaire^" directed to a l l pharmacists i n Province X o f f e r s considerable support to t h i s suggestion. The questionnaire asked the following questions (among others): Question A~"pharmacist has to make decisions every day while at work. Some d i c i s i o n s take more time and are more d i f f i c u l t than others. Listed below are s i x job areas which involve the making of decisions. Using the categories l i s t e d below, please indicate which job areas involve the greatest number of decisions by writing i n EACH space below the number "1" f o r those job areas which involve many decisions 2" f o r those job areas which involve a moderate number of decisions "3" f o r those job areas which involve few decisions n (A) (B; (C) ID) (E) P i l l i n g Prescriptions R e t a i l s e l l i n g of non-medicinals Management of personnel Management of cash Providing information and advice regarding drugs and health problems to the public, the doctor and other members of the health professions. Other (please specify) (P) Question Using the categories l i s t e d below, please indicate which job areas involve decisions which are the most d i f f i c u l t to make by writing i n EACH space below the number. "1" M H f o r those job areas which involve decisions which are d i f f i c u l t to make 2" f o r those job areas which involve decisions which are neither d i f f i c u l t nor easy to make 3" f o r those job areas which involve decisions which are easy to make 4 Ibid, The design, response patterns and analysis of the questionnaire are discussed here i n some d e t a i l . 3S" (A) (B) (C) D) E) F i l l i n g Prescriptions R e t a i l s e l l i n g of non-medicihals Management of personnel Management of Cash Providing information and advice regarding drugs and health problems to the public, the doctor and other members of the health professions. Other (please specify) (F) Question Using the categories l i s t e d below, please indicate which job areas involve decisions which take the most time by writing i n EACH space below the number. "1" f o r those job areas which very time consuming 2 f o r those job areas which take a moderate amount of "3" f o r those job areas which take l i t t l e time n n involve decisions which are involve decisions which time involve decisions which (A) (BJ (C) (TJ) (E) F i l l i n g Prescriptions R e t a i l s e l l i n g of non-medicinals Management of personnel Management of cash Providing information and advice regarding drugs and health problems to the public, the doctor and other members of the health professions. (F) Other (Please specify) Referring to the categories (A,B,C,D,E,andF) l i s t e d above, categories A and E were thought of as r e l a t i n g more to the professional aspects of pharmacy; the remaining categories were viewed as r e l a t i n g more to the business or managerial aspects of the profession. As may be seen from Tables 1,2 and 3> those pharmacists employed i n chain operations make more decisions, f i n d these decisions more d i f f i c u l t , and spend more time over them i n categories B,C, and D than do pharmacists engaged i n independent r e t a i l operations. J9>. 1 s .-.-is^Mw^eftarr pTtno. I 5i «1 ^ 8i j o * ?i m & rf; ; - I. 1 *° 1 O ^ bo 1 i § *. : cv, fco :4 1 J1 iv 0 3 jaws aryu»v <iiNs*c=u:\_». t ^ /aa, <s3 5 ^ •I <>o § 2 • il 1, S :i v9 S I $ s Oo O 2 I 5 I o o -z 37. .mi X l » J Go 1 O 1 si- lo •* * Vo I 5 * 3: o Go 5: O *0 Go O r i3 ID !3 i 0 © 1 38. o)f fa c "5)1 Is I 7 CI 21 W\ S 'o\ 1 • t Ii ' " • > , . if. ^4- I ill 01 -.1 to d Go C! /*- * I ! ft i ^0 6 12II * $ r I f If 0 -cfl f 1 ~7 J f 1 o I O o a 0 0 3? 3o O <0 1 2 J 7. T h e o r e t i c a l I m p l i c a t i o n s o f the Case Now with reference to the c o n c e p t u a l scheme p r e s e n t e d e a r l i e r i t w i l l be p o s s i b l e to examine the ways i n which the p o l i t i c a l and t e m p o r a l dimensions o f d e c i s i o n making and o t h e r a s p e c t s of the c o n c e p t u a l scheme o c c u r i n v a r i o u s some aspects o f the E l t o n case. The Organization The and I t s Environment s i g n i f i c a n c e o f f a c t o r s i n the e x t e r n a l environment o f the o r g a n i z a t i o n i n t h i s case i n c o n s i d e r a b l e . the l i v i n g and consuming p a t t e r n s The changes i n o f customers d i r e c t l y affected the market share and p r o f i t s o f the E l t o n C h a i n and were a source o f p r e s s u r e on the o r g a n i z a t i o n to change i t s p o l i c i e s . example o f s i m i l a r o p e r a t i o n s i n the e x t e r n a l environment s t o r e s i n the U.S.A. which were r e f e r r e d t o ) p r o v i d e d w h i c h the E l t o n C h a i n " l e a r n e d " their The about p o s s i b l e new (the cues from directions for policies. D e f i n i t i o n o f the Problem and F o r m a t i o n o f Goals F i r s t l y , i t i s w o r t h n o t i n g t h a t some t h r e e y e a r s e l a p s e d d u r i n g which the Chain's b u s i n e s s was d u r i n g which time no gradually f a l l i n g off changes i n p o l i c y were i n t r o d u c e d . and Even a f t e r the i n c r e a s i n g l o s s o f p r o f i t s and market share were r e c o g n i z e d as problems, the t e m p o r a l e x t e n s i v e n e s s o f f o r m i n g p o l i c y was greatly increased by the o p e r a t i o n of d i f f e r e n t p o l i - t i c a l p o s i t i o n s among key members o f the o r g a n i z a t i o n . For i n t h i s c o n n e c t i o n i t w i l l be remembered t h a t John E l t o n and James had new Williams r a t h e r d i f f e r e n t i d e a s from Roger E l t o n and K a r l G r a f f as to the f u t u r e c o u r s e o f p o l i c y . Here o r g a n i z a t i o n a l p o l i t i c s were r e f l e c t e d i n d i f f e r e n t commitments to d i f f e r e n t p o l i c i e s as r e s u l t of d i f f e r e n t types of o r g a n i z a t i o n a l experience. a I n t h i s case t h e f o r m a t i o n o f g o a l s v i s - a - v i s t h e p r o blem support t h e s u g g e s t i o n t h a t t h e development o f o r g a n i z a t i o n a l goals i s a process o f b a r g a i n i n g among c o a l i t i o n members i n r e s p o n s e to problems o r p r e s s u r e s . W h i l e he was p r e s i d e n t o f t h e f i r m , John E l t o n ' s s u p e r i o r b a r g a i n i n g power was r e f l e c t e d i n t h e development o f g o a l s to w h i c h he was committed ('i.e. m a i n t a i n i n g the o l d p o l i c y w i t h a few changes). the b a l a n c e A f t e r h i s r e t i r e m e n t , however, o f p o l i t i c a l b a r g a i n i n g power w i t h i n t h e o r g a n i z a t i o n s h i f t e d and o t h e r g o a l s were f o r m u l a t e d . In particular, account may be c o n t r a s t e d w i t h those c o n c e p t i o n s this of organizational d e c i s i o n making which suggest t h a t o r g a n i z a t i o n s have a s e t o f w e l l a r t i c u l a t e d g o a l s i n terms o f which they s o l v e t h e i r problems. The i n f l u e n c e o f o t h e r o r g a n i z a t i o n s i n t h e environment r e l a t i v e to t h e p o l i c i e s u l t i m a t e l y developed i n t h e E l t o n case was d i s c u s s e d above. I n a d d i t i o n to the c o n s i d e r a t i o n s mentioned above, i t i s a l s o possible t o see t h a t the a s p i r a t i o n l e v e l i m p l i e d i n t h e g o a l s e v e n t u a l l y developed by Roger E l t o n and G r a f f were i n f l u e n c e d by t h e apparent success o f o t h e r operations w h i c h had made t h e type o f changes t h e E l t o n C h a i n was p l a n n i n g . O r g a n i z a t i o n a l Search and t h e Development o f E x p e c t a t i o n s T u r n i n g now to t h e q u e s t i o n o f o r g a n i z a t i o n a l s e a r c h and the development o f e x p e c t a t i o n s , i t i s d o u b t f u l i f G r a f f ' s two month t o u r c o u l d be regarded ibilities. as a complete i n v e s t i g a t i o n o f p o s s - I n any event, i t may be w o r t h n o t i n g t h a t when t h e p l a n s and c o s t s f o r t h e f i r s t "new t y p e " s t o r e were b e i n g dealt;i w i t h by E l t o n , G r a f f and a c o n s u l t i n g c o n t r a c t o r , no s p e c i f i c c a l c u l a t i o n s were made w i t h r e s p e c t to expected r e t u r n on investment i n the area where the s t o r e was being b u i l t . Rather, the g u i d i n g f i g u r e s were the very g e n e r a l ones G r a f f had while' i n v e s t i g a t i n g i n another country. plans f o r the E l t o n Wholesale Operations before c l e a r - c u t e x p e c t a t i o n s had e x p e r i m e n t with the "new obtained F u r t h e r to t h i s , were proceeded the with been formed r e l a t i v e to the type" s t o r e . These o b s e r v a t i o n s , then, are o f f e r e d i n support of the argument proposed i n Chapter 1, is, i t i s necessary that to c o n s i d e r l i m i t a t i o n s to r a t i o n a l i t y i n both o r g a n i z a t i o n a l search and o r g a n i z a t i o n a l e x p e c t a t i o n s . Redefinitions Taking up the q u e s t i o n o f employee r e d e f i n i t i o n o f the d e c i s i o n a f t e r i t had been o p e r a t i o n a l i z e d i n March 1956, p o s i t i o n assumed by pharmacist next three years may and the employees and managers d u r i n g be viewed as an e x t e n s i o n o f both the temporal dimensions of the d e c i s i o n a l p r o c e s s . assumed by a m a j o r i t y of the pharmacists was The political position p o l i t i c a l i n the sense t h a t i t r e f l e c t e d a set o f e x p e c t a t i o n s p e c u l i a r to f u n c t i o n i n the o r g a n i z a t i o n . the their When these e x p e c t a t i o n s were challenged by the changes t a k i n g p l a c e , many pharmacists resisted the d e c i s i o n w i t h the r e s u l t a n t l o s s o f money to the o p e r a t i o n and s t a f f turnover. The temporal dimension o f the decision:. extended by t h i s p o l i t i c a l r e s i s t a n c e f o r top management was r e q u i r e d to r e v i s e and - was now augment the d e c i s i o n i n such b a s i c ways as i n t r o d u c i n g management t r a i n i n g courses and i n c e n t i v e schemes. D e f i n i t i o n o f an O r g a n i z a t i o n as a C o a l i t i o n The u l t i l i t y o f the c o a l i t i o n d e f i n i t i o n i n a n a l y s i s i s r e f l e c t e d i n the E l t o n case i n two major ways. F i r s t l y , i t has i n f o r m e d the p o l i t i c a l p r o c e s s e s i n v o l v e d i n the d e f i n i t i o n o f the problem and mitted the f o r m a t i o n of goals. Secondly, i t has the i n c o r p o r a t i o h ( f o r the purposes o f a n a l y s i s ) 4 a n i f i c a n t e n t i t y - t e c h n i c a l l y outside t h e r e b y to a s s e s s i t s i m p l i c a t i o n s . - question I am t h i n k i n g here o f the r o l e o f the t r a i n i n g c o l l e g e f o r p h a r m a c i s t s and ence.' w h i c h i t s " p r o f e s s i o n " o r i e n t e d p o l i c i e s had expansions o f the E l t o n e n t e r p r i s e . sig- the E l t o n o r g a n i z a t i o n on the p o l i t i c a l d i m e n s i o n of the d e c i s i o n p r o c e s s i n and per- the on the influ- "business" Here, the types o f v a l u e s f o s t e r e d by the t r a i n i n g c o l l e g e were d i r e c t l y r e f l e c t e d i n the e a r l y p o l i t i c a l p o s i t i o n o f r e s i s t a n c e assumed by the p h a r m a c i s t s employed i n the The f i n a l manifestation of o r g a n i z a t i o n a l p o l i t i c s be c o n s i d e r e d the g r a d u a l chain. i n c o n n e c t i o n w i t h the E l t o n case may be seen i n r e d u c t i o n o f the number o f persons i n the to h o l d major d e c i s i o n making power. organization I t seems r e a s o n a b l e to suppose t h a t a t l e a s t i n p a r t t h i s r e p r e s e n t e d a move on p a r t o f Roger E l t o n and to the G r a f f to a v o i d the types o f d e c i s i o n making c o n f l i c t s among e x e c u t i v e s which had occured earlier. C H A P T E R 3 Case 2: The Northlands Pish Cannery D e s c r i p t i o n of the Organization i n Question The o r g a n i z a t i o n w i t h w h i c h t h i s case i s concerned i s the N o r t h l a n d s F i s h Cannery Company. The cannery, w i t h approx- i m a t e l y 100 employees, would be c o n s i d e r e d o f moderate s i z e i n comparison w i t h s i m i l a r o p e r a t i o n s i n i t s a r e a - t h e c o a s t o f P r o v i n c e X. The D e c i s i o n Process m Q u e s t i o n and I.xs Approximate Time Span B r i e f l y s t a t e d , t h e d e c i s i o n a l p r o c e s s t o be p r e s e n t e d i n t h i s case i s concerned w i t h t h e d e c i s i o n o f t h e N o r t h l a n d s Cann e r y Company t o open an a d d i t i o n a l cannery s i t e n e a r t h e community o f Weston some 50 m i l e s down t h e c o a s t from t h e i r p r e s e n t location. The time span o f t h e d e c i s i o n a l p r o c e s s i n q u e s t i o n was from F e b r u a r y , 1963 to September, 1963. The A c t o r s T h e e f o l l o w i n g p e r s o n s o r groups p l a y e d s i g n i f i c a n t r o l e s i n t h e d e c i s i o n p r o c e s s to be d i s c u s s e d h e r e . They a r e mentioned now as a r e f e r e n c e p o i n t . Kenneth B r a n c h , owner and p r e s i d e n t o f t h e N o r t h l a n d s Cannery. W e l l s J o n e s , N o r t h l a n d s ' v i c e p r e s i d e n t and s o l i c i t o r C h a r l e s Fox, r e p r e s e n t a t i v e o f the "Weston C i t i z e n s f o r I n c r e a s e d B u s i n e s s League". The Cannery Workers " U n i o n The Weston V i l l a g e Council The P r o v i n c e X Water A u t h o r i t y S p e c i f i c Methods The s p e c i f i c methods o f t h i s case r e l a t i n g to t h e community research are stated i n that s e c t i o n o f the d i s c u s s i o n . In h* r . a d d i t i o n to t h i s , I have had i n t e r v i e w s w i t h B r a n c h , Jones, Fox, a spokesman f o r the u n i o n , and a c o n t a c t i n the Water A u t h o r i t y . B r a n c h a l s o made a v a i l a b l e a g e n e r a l f i l e p e r t a i n i n g to the decision i n question. D e f i n i n g the Problem and I t s Background F o r s e v e r a l y e a r s up to 1956, a cannery i n v o l v e d i n the p r o c e s s i n g o f f i s h o p e r a t e d f a i r l y s u c c e s s f u l l y i n the v i l l a g e o f Weston, on the c a a s t o f P r o v i n c e X. The owner o f t h i s o p e r a t i o n , MB. Emmett B r a n c h , d i e d suddenly i n 1956, l e a v i n g one Kenneth B r a n c h , and a m a r r i e d d a u g h t e r , Mrs. W i l s o n . son, I n the sub- sequent d i v i s i o n - o f the p r o p e r t y o f the deceased, the machinery and equipment from the Weston Cannery was l e f t to Kenneth who Branch h i m s e l f owned and o p e r a t e d a f i s h cannery some 50 m i l e s f u r t h e r up the c o a s t - the N o r t h l a n d s Cannery. The buildings and grounds o f the Weston Cannery were l e f t to Mrs. W i l s o n who proceeded to r e n t t h e s e f a c i l i t i e s t o the Sea O i l Company f o r storage use. At t h i s time (1956) Kenneth Branch was still in the p r o c e s s o f e s t a b l i s h i n g h i s own cannery on a p r o f i t a b l e b a s i s and e v i d e n t l y had no i n t e r e s t i n n e g o t i a t i n g f o r an a d d i t i o n a l site. A few y e a r s l a t e r , i n F e b r u a r y , 1963, Mr. C h a r l e s Fox, a r e p r e s e n t a t i v e o f the "Weston C i t i z e n s f o r I n c r e a s e d B u s i n e s s League" approached Branch w i t h the f o l l o w i n g p r o p o s i t i o n : 1) t h a t the aforementioned c i t i z e n s were a n x i o u s to see the b u s i n e s s volume o f Weston i n c r e a s e d and t h a t to t h i s end ^6. Pox, as t h e i r r e p r e s e n t a t i v e , had i n t e r e s t e d Mrs. W i l s o n i n l e a s i n g the cannery p r o p e r t y ( t h e p r e s e n t l e a s e was about to ieacpire) to an e n t e r p r i s e t h a t would be o f more b e n e f i t to the community. 2) t h a t s i n c e B r a n c h was i n the cannery business and was Sirs. W i l s o n ' s b r o t h e r , they d e s i r e d t h a t he be g i v e n the f i r s t opportunity. At t i i s time..; B r a n c h had not been c o n t e m p l a t i n g an immediate e x p a n s i o n o f h i s b u s i n e s s , a l t h o u g h i t was fitably. Branch was now operating quite pro- c o n f r o n t e d w i t h a problem, however, i n t h a t i f he d i d not t a k e o v e r the s i t e he might be m i s s i n g an o p p o r t u n i t y to p r o f i t a b l y expand h i s b u s i n e s s . he d i d not take o v e r the s i t e , then i t was c o m p e t i t o r would. The presence Secondly, i f quite possible that a o f c o m p e t i t i o n nearby was (by Branch) as a c o n s i d e r a b l e problem. Under the viewed circumstances, he d e c i d e d t h a t he would.at l e a s t i n v e s t i g a t e the p o s s i b i l i t i e s o f the s i t e and a d v i s e d Pox a c c o r d i n g l y . The F o r m a t i o n o f R e l e v a n t Goals A f t e r e x p l o r a t o r y d i s c u s s i o n s w i t h W e l l s ^ones, N o r t h l a n d s ' v i c e p r e s i d e n t and s o l i c i t o r , A l l a n B a t e s , N o r t h l a n d s " c h i e f a c c o u n t i n g o f f i c e r and a p r e l i m i n a r y e x a m i n a t i o n o f the Weston s i t e t h r o u g h March 1963, B r a n c h concluded t h a t t a k i n g over the Weston s i t e would be to N o r t h l a n d s ' advantage, a l t h o u g h a complete i n v e s t i g a t i o n to v e r i f y t h i s d e f i n i t e l y was was required. Branch p a r t i c u l a r l y i n f l u e n e d a t |fcfcis time by a g e n e r a l t r e n d toward an i n c r e a s e i n the annual f i s h c r o p , h i s own company's h e a l t h y p r o f i t p o s i t i o n and the o b s e r v a t i o n t h a t o t h e r cannery o p e r a t i o n s he knew of had r e c e n t l y expanded o r were expanding. I n f o r m a t i o n G a t h e r i n g P r o c e s s e s and Development of E x p e c t a t i o n s Branch required answers to several major questions before he could proceed with the plans f o r expansion. Among these questions were: 1) what would he the most economical yet p r o f i t a b l e way of equipping the Weston s i t e . This included the problem of the condemned wharf serving that l o c a t i o n . Here the question was one of deciding between repairs or t o t a l replacement. 2) since the wharf had been condemned by a Federal department, i t would be necessary to meet with t h e i r expectations. It would be necessary to f i n d out what these were. 3) the water licence ((essential to the cannery's operation) had been abandoned by Mrs. Wilson because i t was not required while the buildings had been used f o r storage purposes. This would involve re-application to the P r o v i n c i a l a u t h o r i t i e s . 4) various arrangements would require to be made f o r the provision of e l e c t r i c i t y , foreshore and transportation f a c i l i t i e s at the Weston s i t e . The f i r s t of t h e s e q u e s t i o n s ( t h e problem o f equipment and the w h a r f ) l e d t o an o u t s i d e c o n s u l t i n g f i r m b e i n g c a l l e d i n . I n c o n n e c t i o n w i t h the o t h e r q u e s t i o n s , W e l l s Jones proceeded t o lodge e n q u i r i e s w i t h t h e governmental a u t h o r i t i e s and u t i l i t i e s •suppliers concerned. R e l a t i v e t o the l a s t mentioned, i t was n e c e s s a r y t o i n v e s t i g a t e b o t h s h i p and r a i l transportation arrangements t o d e t e r m i n e w h i c h would b e s t meet the r e q u i r e m e n t s of the Weston s i t e . Since t h e N o r t h l a n d s company had o n l y u n t i l the end o f April,1963 to s e c u r e the l e a s e on the Weston s i t e , a l l these s e a r c h p r o c e d u r e s were c o n s i d e r a b l y r u s h e d . S h o r t l y be-fcfre the end o f A p r i l , however, a c c e p t a b l e c o s t f i g u r e s had been secured on the wharf r e p a i r s and u t i l i t i e s . F e d e r a l a p p r o v a l o f the p l a n s f o r i n n o v a t i n g the wharf had been secured and the a p p l i c a t i o n for the water l i c e n c e was underway and appeared : to be p r o c e e d i n g smoothly. E x e c u t i v e Choice and the P r o c e s s e s o f R e d e f i n i t i o n On the b a s i s o f the i n f o r m a t i o n i n d i c a t e d above, Branch d e c i d e d to t a k e the f i v e y e a r l e a s e (no s h o r t e r time was a b l e ) on the Weston s i t e . W i t h i n one month o f t h i s avail- decision, however, two major events took p l a c e v i s - a - v i s N o r t h l a n d s ' p l a n s . F i r s t l y , a number o f the employees a t the N o r t h l a n d s number one s i t e , on l e a r n i n g t h a t they might be t r a n s f e r r e d to the Weston s i t e , took the m a t t e r up (anonymously, N o r t h l a n d s ' management was U n i o n which proceeded as f a r as concerned) w i t h the Cannery Worker"s to l o d g e a c o m p l a i n t w i t h Branch. S e c o n d l y , and b e f o r e the i s s u e w i t h the u n i o n was clarified, the p l a n s f o r the cannery development which had been s u b m i t t e d to the Weston v i l l a g e c o u n c i l were r e j e c t e d on the b a s i s t h a t the a r e a where the s i t e was l o c a t e d was no l o n g e r zoned f o r purposes. The c o u n c i l had, i n f a c t , industrial p l a n s f o r the development o f a m a r i n a and p a r k i n t h e a r e a and viewed as " i m p o s s i b l e " the o p e r a t i o n o f a cannery v i r t u a l l y n e x t door. E x p l a n a t o r y Note While i t i s t r u e t h a t a v i l l a g e c o u n c i l has wide powers i n the m a t t e r o f z o n i n g under the M u n i c i p a l i t i e s A c t , i t n o n e t h e l e s s seems s t r a n g e t h a t the N o r t h l a n d s Company, i n the p e r i o d i n v e s t i g a t i o n s , d i d not d i s c o v e r a n y t h i n g change. about t h i s of crucial As n e a r l y as I can d e t e r m i n e , W e l l s Jones must have made o n l y i n f o r m a l e n q u i r i e s o f the v i l l a g e c l e r k ( r a t h e r t h a n any f o r m a l Under t h e s e c i r c u m s t a n c e s , it i s q u i t e p r o b a b l e t h a t the c l e r k would have no knowledge o f the zoning submission of p l a n s ) . change which was most p r o b a b l y o n l y p e n d i n g at the time o f Jones' e n q u i r i e s . The d e v e l o p m e n t ' i n q u e s t i o n seems a l l the more i n c r e d i b l e s i n c e i t was a member of Weston community (Fox) who p r e s e n t e d the b u s i n e s s o p p o r t u n i t y u n d e r s t a n d the p o l i t i c a l to Branch. first I n o r d e r to b e t t e r f o r c e s a t work here and w h i c h u l t i m a t e l y f o r c e d B r a n c h to g i v e up h i s e x p a n s i o n p l a n s , i t w i l l be n e c e s s a r y to e x p l o r e i n some d e t a i l the p o l i t i c a l power s t r u c t u r e o f Weston. been o b t a i n e d The and i n f o r m a t i o n I s h a l l p r e s e n t here t h r o u g h a number of i n f o r m a l i n t e r v i e w s has with v i l l a g e c o u n c i l l o r s , p r o f e s s i o n a l s and businessmen p e r s o n a l l y known to me, and t h r o u g h the use o f the minutes o f the c o u n c i l m e e t i n g s , minutes o f the Community H a l l A s s o c i a t i o n , and past i s s u e s of the l o c a l weekly newspaper. B e f o r e d i s c u s s i n g the power s t r u c t u r e o f Weston, However, i t may be u s e f u l to c o n s i d e r a few g e n e r a l d e t a i l s about the community, i n c l u d i n g i t s socioeconomic zones and voters. Weston i s an i n c o r p o r a t e d a p p r o x i m a t e l y 2400. population persons and contains Little d i s t r i b u t i o n of v i l l a g e w i t h a p o p u l a t i o n o'f i n d u s t r y e x i s t s i n the a r e a , and a r a t h e r h i g h p r o p o r t i o n of w e l l - t o - d o C i v i l S e r v a n t s who work i n a nearby c i t y . The the retired affairs ro. of l o c a l government are c a r r i e d out by a c o u n c i l of f i v e members of the community who are e l e c t e d b i e n n i a l l y . 1 F i g u r e 3:1 d e f i n e s the community i n three b a s i c zones. .While t h i s d i v i s i o n i s somewhat a r b i t r a r y , I b e l i e v e i t i s r e p r e s e n t a t i v e of g e n e r a l p a t t e r n s . For example, Area C c o n t a i n s Weston's commercial and b u s i n e s s developments and the cannery s i t e . The i s n e a r e s t to commercial s t r i p i s surrounded by r a t h e r o l d , low tax r e s i d e n c e s , some of which have become rooming houses. As one moves outward, i n an e a s t e r l y d i r e c t i o n , from the centre of the community, through Area B, more houses become p r i v a t e l y owned and s i t u a t e on l a r g e r l o t s . become c o r r e s p o n d i n g l y h i g h e r . and Area A, Property taxes c l o s e s t to the s e a f r o n t e s t a b l i s h e d park areas, c o n t a i n s r e l a t i v e l y few houses, most o f which are on very l a r g e l o t s . Property taxes are h i g h e s t here. An attempt has been made to o b t a i n i n f o r m a t i o n concerning the s o c i a l c l a s s c h a r a c t e r i s t i c s of the m a j o r i t y of persons l i v i n g i n each area. The method used here has i n v o l v e d t a k i n g a random sample (from the v o t e r ' s l i s t ) of 100 contained 1623 persons. names, a l l of which were accompanied by p a t i o n a l i n f o r m a t i o n and list occu- strati2 f i e d by an a p p l i c a t i o n of B l i s h e n ' s o c c u p a t i o n a l c a t e g o r i e s . 1 influenced address. The Next, the sample was The C o n c e n t r i c Zone Theory o f Park and Burgess this discussion. has 2 B.R. B l i s h e n , "The C o n s t r u c t i o n and Use of an Occup a t i o n a l C l a s s S c a l e " , Canadian S o c i e t y , Toronto, The M a c M i l l a n Company of Canada L i m i t e d , 1961, pp. 477-485. Classes 1 and 2 were used to represent the high socioeconomic group i n the community, classes 3, 4 and 5 the middle, and classes 6 and 7 the low group, In the case of r e t i r e d persons, 3 who comprised 32$ of the sample, these were assigned to high,middle or low group on the basis of the smount of property tax they paid. F i n a l l y , correlations were run between p o s i t i o n on the scale and area of residence. Over 95$ of the persons i n the high socioeconomic group were found to reside i n Area A, the balance i n outer B. Of the middle group, 92$ resided i n Area B, 5$ i n Area A, 3$ i n Area C. Of the lowest group, 85$ resided i n Area C, the balance l i v i n g mainly near the inner parts of B. On the basis of the sample, the voter's l i s t breaks down i n the following way: approximately 20$ of the vote i n Area A; approximately 60$ of the vote i n Area B; approximately 20$ of the vote i n Area C. The members of the community I have d i s - cussed this with f e e l that this pattern may be generalized f o r the entire community. With t h i s background data i n mind i t i s now possible to examine i n some d e t a i l the nature of power groups i n the community and, through reviewing two major issues i n the community, to give an i n d i c a t i o n of some of the ways i n which they operate. Two competitive e l i t e groups have constituted the two major l o c i of power i n Weston f o r over ten years. During t h i s period, a t h i r d pressure group composed of persons generally 3 The community's l o c a t i o n by the sea and pleasant climate appear to make i t an a t t r a c t i v e place to r e t i r e f o r many persons from other parts of the country. S3. r e s i d e n t i n the l o w e r socioeconomic zone, A r e a 0, has r i s e n up from time to time i n c o n n e c t i o n w i t h i s s u e s which concerned them in a fairly s p e c i f i c sense. A f t e r b r i e f l y d e s c r i b i n g these g r o u p s , I s h a l l c o n s i d e r some o f the ways they have a f f e c t e d one another. I r e f e r to the f i r s t power group as "the n o n - b u s i n e s s elite". T h i s group i s composed o f most o f the community's p r o - f e s s i o n a l s and a number o f w e l l - t o - d o r e t i r e d p e o p l e . or Occupational s o c i a l c l u b l i n k s between the members (and key s u p p o r t e r s ) o f t h i s group are a t a minimum. The c h i e f bond which u n i t e s these 4 persons i s the v i l l a g e c o u n c i l . A t t e n d i n g o r h a v i n g an i n t e r e s t i n c o u n c i l b u s i n e s s has become r e a s o n enough f o r many i n f o r m a l meetings between members o f the n o n - b u s i n e s s e l i t e and key s u p p o r t e r s . their These g a t h e r i n g s u s u a l l y t a k e p l a c e at p r i v a t e homes; I am t o l d t h a t many community p r o j e c t s are f i r s t c o n s i d e r e d i n t h i s type o f c o n t e x t . of The n o n - b u s i n e s s e l i t e ' s g e n e r a l p o l i c y c o n t r o l l i n g commercial development and thus p r e s e r v i n g the e s s e n t i a l l y r e s i d e n t i a l q u a l i t y o f the v i l l a g e has r e c e i v e d the g e n e r a l s u p p o r t o f the many r e t i r e d persons end c i v i l s e r v a n t s l i v i n g i n the v i l l a g e . Such s u p p o r t , combined w i t h the wide powers o f the c o u n c i l under the M u n i c i p a l i t i e s A c t , has enabled the c o u n c i l ( w h i c h i s o n l y the f o r m a l organ o f the non-business e l i t e ) to put through many p o l i c y programs w i t h o u t much r e s i s t a n c e . I n s t e a d o f c o n s i d e r i n g t h e s e d e c i s i o n s , however, I w i l l be d i s c u s s i n g s i t u a t i o n s where new c o n f i g u r a t i o n s o f power appeared. But f i r s t i t i s n e c e s s a r y to d e s c r i b e the o t h e r two power groups. 4 They have n e v e r h e l d l e s s t h a n 3 o f the 5 s e a t s and, more u s u a l l y , 4 out o f 5. Thus the chairman has always been s e l e c t e d from t h i s group. TV: The second power group, and n e x t i n importance i n the community may he r e f e r r e d to as the " b u s i n e s s e l i t e " . It is composed o f the town's most s u c c e s s f u l merchants and a s m a l l number o f r e t i r e d persons who had p r e v i o u s l y f o l l o w e d b u s i n e s s careers. As f a r as I can d e t e r m i n e , these persons form a political e n t i t y more on the i d e o l o g i c a l b a s i s o f w a n t i n g to "promote b u s i n e s s c o n d i t i o n s and see p r o g r e s s i n the community" than as a r e s u l t of business t i e s . The R o t a r y C l u b , a Ratepayer's A s s o c i a t i o n and the " I n c r e a s e d B u s i n e s s League" w i t h the l o c a l newspaper are the c h i e f o r g a n i z a t i o n a l weapons o f t h i s The t h i r d p r e s s u r e group, as mentioned group. above, has become a c t i v e on few o c c a s i o n s , but i t has p r o v e n to be an i m p o r t a n t f o r c e i n c o n n e c t i o n w i t h two i s s u e s : sewers and the community h a l l . By t r a c i n g the c a r e e r s o f these i s s u e s , I s h a l l t r y to i l l u s t r a t e the workings o f the power groups f u r t h e r . the sewer i s s u e . sewers. P r i o r to 1953, L e t us f i r s t t u r n t o no p a r t o f Weston was At t h i s t i m e , the f i r s t two power i n t e r e s t s served by mentioned above were v e r y much concerned o v e r the p o s s i b i l i t y o f i n c o r p o r a t i n g the v i l l a g e . l i t t l e was Prom the v i e w p o i n t o f the non-business to be g a i n e d from the proposed move. The b u s i n e s s however, viewed i n c o r p o r a t i o n as a p r e c o n d i t i o n to e x p a n s i o n w i t h i n the v i l l a g e . elite, elite, commercial V a r i o u s measures were t a k e n by b o t h groups to g a i n s u p p o r t i n the v i l l a g e f o r t h e i r r e s p e c t i v e s t a n d s on the i s s u e . I n l a t e 1953, the p r o p o s a l f o r i n c o r p o r a t i o n was r e j e c t e d by a s u b s t a n t i a l m a j o r i t y . D u r i n g e a r l y 1954, of H e a l t h i n s p e c t o r s condemned the s e p t i c tank f a c i l i t i e s served a number o f d w e l l i n g s i n A r e a C. Board which I t soon became e v i d e n t to most o f t h e r e s i d e n t s i n A r e a C and a number o f p e r s o n s l i v i n g i n m a r g i n a l p a r t s o f A r e a B t h a t a sewer system was necessary. B e f o r e t h e money g r a n t s and l e g a l arrangements f o r such a system c o u l d be made, however, i t was n e c e s s a r y t h a t t h e v i l l a g e be i n c o r p o r a t e d . The b u s i n e s s e l i t e , o f c o u r s e , was s t i l l v e r y i n t e r e s t e d i n t h e i n c o r p o r a t i o n i s s u e and viewed t h e d e v e l o p i n g sewer i s s u e as a p o s s i b l e means o f r e a l i z i n g poration. incor- C e r t a i n key members o f t h e b u s i n e s s e l i t e met w i t h a r e p r e s e n t a t i v e o f t h e r e s i d e n t s o f A r e a C and p a r t s o f A r e a B i n o r d e r t o map o u t a program o f a g i t a t i o n f o r a n o t h e r v o t e on the incorporation issue. T h i s v o t e was h e l d i n June, 1954 and was i n f a v o u r o f i n c o r p o r a t i o n , w h i c h was p u t i n t o e f f e c t i n f o u r months. There now f o l l o w e d t h e f i r s t e l e c t i o n o f v i l l a g e cillors. coun- B o t h t h e b u s i n e s s and n o n - b u s i n e s s e l i t e s o f f e r e d c a n d i d a t e s ; t h e o n l y c a n d i d a t e from A r e a C was t h e i n d i v i d u a l who had been i n v o l v e d e a r l i e r i n t a l k s and meetings w i t h r e p r e sentatives of the business e l i t e . Of t h e f i v e o f f i c e s to be f i l l e d , f o u r were won by r e p r e s e n t a t i v e o f t h e non-business group w h i l e one s e a t was secured by a b u s i n e s s c a n d i d a t e . ' T h i s suggests t h a t , a t t h i s t i m e , t h e b u s i n e s s e l i t e r e q u i r e d t h e s u p p o r t o f t h e v o t e r s i n A r e a C, a s u p p o r t which i n t h i s case was d r a i n e d o f f by t h e p r e s e n c e o f an A r e a C c a n d i d a t e . Thus, w h i l e the business e l i t e could m o b i l i z e the r e s i d e n t s o f Area C and p a r t s o f A r e a B i n . c o n n e c t i o n w i t h an i s s u e which concerned the l a t t e r groups, they were u n a b l e to m o b i l i z e t h e s e groups f o r t h e i r own p o l i t i c a l pusposes when t h e s e o t h e r groups had n o t h i n g to gain. S6. A f t e r i n c o r p o r a t i o n and the e l e c t i o n , the sewer q u e s t i o n was q u i c k l y f o r g o t t e n about by b o t h the b u s i n e s s and elites. non-business A g i t a t i o n f o r sewers d i d n o t cease, however, among the r e s i d e n t s o f A r e a C and p a r t s o f A r e a B. Gradually, support o f the i s s u e by the b u s i n e s s e l i t e developed a g a i n and, a f t e r many meetings and d i s c u s s i o n s , a referendum was h e l d i n March, 1955. The dewer i s s u e was approved a t t h i s t i m e . The r e a s o n ( o r r e a s o n s ) f o r the b u s i n e s s e l i t e ' s resumed i n t e r e s t i n the sewer i s s u e i s open to s p e c u l a t i o n . The most p l a u s i b l e p o s s i b i l i t y , i t i s suggested h e r e , i s t h a t the b u s i n e s s e l i t e made t h i s move i n an attempt to secure the f u t u r e s u p p o r t o f those r e s i d e n t s i n f a v o u r o f the sewer i s s u e . A second i s s u e i n the community - the Community H a l l question, further i l l u s t r a t e s D u r i n g the summer o f 1957 juveniles the workings o f the power groups. a number o f c r i m i n a l i n c i d e n t s i n v o l v i n g o c c u r r e d i n Weston. I n o v e r 80$ o f these c a s e s , the j u v e n i l e s i n v o l v e d were from A r e a C. t e a c h e r from the l o c a l h i g h s c h o o l who Under the l e a d e r s h i p o f a d i d not l i v e w i t h i n the community, a v o c a l p r e s s u r e group o f A r e a C r e s i d e n t s was formed. A number o f meetings and d i s c u s s i o n s between some o f these r e s i dents and two t e a c h e r s from o u t s i d e the community l e d to the development o f the n o t i o n t h a t a community h a l l would be a d e s i r a b l e a d d i t i o n to the v i l l a g e . A t e n t a t i v e s u b m i s s i o n was made to the v i l l a g e c o u n c i l , at t h a t time d o m i n a n t l y n o n - b u s i n e s s e l i t e i n i t s composition. The s u b m i s s i o n was r e j e c t e d on the b a s i s that the c o n s t r u c t i o n o f such a h a l l would l e a d to e x c e s s i v e debt. Subsequent to t h i s r e j e c t i o n , Mr. B u r t o n , one o f the teachers, approached members o f t h e b u s i n e s s e l i t e w i t h t h e s u g g e s t i o n t h a t t h e c o n s t r u c t i o n o f a community h a l l would be p a r t i c u l a r l y in their interests. The arguments o f f e r e d a t t h i s time were t o the e f f e c t t h a t such j u v e n i l e i n c i d e n t s r e s u l t e d i n a burden o f property damage f o r t h e merchant and a l s o , t h a t an amenity such as t h e proposed community h a l l would encourage new r e s i d e n t s and t h e r e f o r e enhance t h e p o s s i b i l i t i e s o f commercial e x p a n s i o n . S h o r t l y a f t e r these d i s c u s s i o n s a s e r i e s o f a r t i c l e s i n t h e l o c a l newspaper, w r i t t e n by a member o f t h e b u s i n e s s e l i t e well-known i n t h e community, appeared s t r o n g l y i n f a v o u r o f t h e construction o f a community c e n t r e . A m a j o r i t y o f the v i l l a g e c o u n c i l l o r s made e x t e n s i v e u s e o f t h e i r powers u n d e r t h e M u n i c i p a l i t i e s A c t t o b l o c k a referendum w h i c h , however, was u l t i m a t e l y h e l d and p a s s e d . Branch's d i f f i c u l t i e s v i s - v i s t h e z o n i n g r e g u l a t i o n s may now be seen i n terms o f a l a r g e r and more h i s t o r i c a l c o n f l i c t t h a t o f the "business" and " n o n - b u s i n e s s " i n t e r e s t s i n Weston. At t h i s p a r t i c u l a r p o i n t i n time (1963) t h e " b u s i n e s s elite", a l t h o u g h as i n t e r e s t e d i n commercial e x p a n s i o n as e v e r , had o n l y one r e p r e s e n t a t i v e on t h e f i v e man v i l l a g e c o u n c i l . 1 On l e a r n i n g o f t h e v i l l a g e c o u n c i l ' s d e c i s i o n the z o n i n g r e g u l a t i o n s , W e l l s Jones c o n f e r r e d with three of the c o u n c i l l o r s i n an e f f o r t t o s e c u r e a r e - c o n s i d e r a t i o n . advised a t t h i s time t h a t t h e p l a n s regarding He was f o r t h e m a r i n a and p a r k a d j a c e n t were "under way" and no r e - c o n s i d e r a t i o n was p o s s i b l e . A f t e r f u r t h e r d i s c o v e r i n g that the P r o v i n c i a l a u t h o r i t i e s could o r would do n o t h i n g about t h e v i l l a g e c o u n c i l ' s z o n i n g Jones and Branch c o n t a c t e d C h a r l e s Pox. decision, J £5. Pox was o f the o p i n i o n t h a t i f a s u f f i c i e n t number o f p e r s o n s i n the community c o u l d be i n t e r e s t e d i n t h i s p a r t i c u l a r commercial e x p a n s i o n , i t s h o u l d be p o s s i b l e to b r i n g p r e s s u r e to b e a r on the c o u n c i l ' s d e c i s i o n and perhaps change i t . had a l r e a d y expended Branch a c o n s i d e r a b l e amount o f money on the c o n s u l t i n g f i r m and had committed h i m s e l f to l e a s i n g the s i t e . He d e c i d e d t h a t r a t h e r t h a n abandon the i s s u e , he would work w i t h Pox and h i s s u p p o r t e r s and t r y to b r i n g p r e s s u r e upon the coundil decision. The f i r s t move i n t h i s d i r e c t i o n was a meeting i n w h i c h c e r t a i n key members o f the b u s i n e s s e l i t e were brought t o g e t h e r . Promt t h i s m e e t i n g emerged a g e n e r a l p l a n by which each p e r s o n p r e s e n t would c o n t a c t o t h e r s and attempt to b r i n g a c t i o n to b e a r a g a i n s t the c o u n c i l d e c i s i o n . I n p a r t i c u l a r , the s u p p o r t o f Tom Grant* owner o f the o n l y newspaper i n Weston, was o b t a i n e d . S h o r t l y a f t e r t h i s meet ng, a s e r i e s o f a r t i c l e s i n the Weston G a z e t t e appeared s t r o n g l y i n f a v o u r o f commercial e x p a n s i o n i n g e n e r a l and the cannery p r o j e c t i n p a r t i c u l a r . Two days a f t e r the f i r s t o f t h e s e a r t i c l e s appeared, the v i l l a g e c o u n c i l h e l d a meeting the main aim o f which was to d e t e r m i n e p o l i c y v i s - a - v i s the b u s i n e s s e l i t e a g i t a t i o n . The g e n e r a l p o l i c y l i n e developed at t h i s time embodied two major aspects. F i r s t l y , t h a t the f o u r out o f f i v e c o u n c i l l o r s who agreed to oppose the a g i t a t i o n (as mentioned earlier, had one c o u n c i l l o r had c o n n e c t i o n s w i t h the b u s i n e s s community and cons e q u e n t l y d i s s e n t e d ) would u n d e r t a k e to e x p e d i t e c o m p l e t i o n o f the p l a n s f o r the m a r i n a and p a r k development and to g i v e t h e s e p l a n s c o n s i d e r a b l y more p u b l i c i t y t h a n would u s u a l l y be case. S e c o n d l y , the v i l l a g e c o u n c i l had the r e c e n t l y been served w i t h the n o t i c e ( s i n c e they h e l d a p r i o r l i c e n c e on the o f an a p p l i c a t i o n f o r a water l i c e n c e on O t t e r Lake by N o r t h l a n d s Company. I t was source) the decided at t h i s meeting t h a t the v i l l a g e would p l a c e a f o r m a l o b j e c t i o n to the a p p l i c a t i o n w i t h the P r o v i n c i a l Water A u t h o r i t y on the b a s i s o f the p r i o r i t y t h e i r own The of licence. events i n Weston d u r i n g the n e x t f o u r months are r a t h e r too d i f f u s e to be summarized h e r e . B r i e f l y , the b a s i c p o l i c i e s o f the b u s i n e s s and n o n - b u s i n e s s l e a d e r s had d e f i n e d r e s p e c t i v e l y i n terms o f a g i t a t i o n and been resistance ( i n v o l v i n g the o f f e r i n g o f an a l t e r n a t i v e ) . Many meetings were h e l d , proponents o f the marine and p a r k sdheme purchased advert i s i n g space i n the l o c a l newspaper f o r p r o p a g a n d i z i n g t h e i r cause and c e r t a i n o f the b u s i n e s s l e a d e r s c o n f e r r e d o f the Cannery Workers U n i o n w i t h r e s p e c t with representatives to a g i t a t i n g f o r the cannery scheme as an answer to the unemployment w h i c h had recently a f f e c t e d some of the r e s i d e n t s of A r e a C. I n August, 1963, v i l l a g e c o u n c i l had a p p r o x i m a t e l y f o u r months a f t e r the rejected Northlands' p l a n s f o r the Weston s i t e , the v i l l a g e c o u n c i l d e c i d e d t h a t the cannery i s s u e reached s u f f i c i e n t p r o p o r t i o n s h o l d i n g of a referendum. Two had i n the community to w a r r a n t the o t h e r i m p o r t a n t f a c t o r s , however, no doubt i n f l u e n c e d the c o u n c i l ' s d e c i s i o n at t h i s time. the v i l l a g e ' s o b j e c t i o n (made by the c o u n c i l ) to water a p p l i c a t i o n on O t t e r Lake had Firstly, Northlands' been s u s t a i n e d by the Water A u t h o r i t y on the b a s i s t h a t t h e r e was i n s u f f i c i e n t supply. It might be mentioned h e r e t h a t many o t h e r groups and persons had w a t e r l i c e n c e s on O t t e r Lake and t h a t they had a l s o p l a c e d o b j e c t i o n s when n o t i f i e d o£ the N o r t h l a n d s ' ' a p p l i c a t i o n . development the This meant t h a t t h e r e was l i t t l e a c t u a l p o s s i b i l i t y o f cannery development p r o c e e d i n g at Weston even i f the non- b u s i n e s s i n t e r e s t s l o s t the referendum. Secondly, recent h i g h - ways c o n t r a c t s had been opened up w h i c h c o n s i d e r a b l y reduced the number o f unemployed i n A r e a C. T h i s development had s e r v e d to make the v o t e r s i n t h i s a r e a c o n s i d e r a b l y more i n t e r e s t e d i n measures to improve and b e a u t i f y the community such as the m a r i n a and p a r k p l a n . I n any event, a m a j o r i t y o f t h o s e who v o t e d i n a referendum h e l d d u r i n g September, 1963 d e c i d e d ±n f a v o u r o f the m a r i n a and p a r k and r e j e c t e d the cannery d e v e l o p ment p r o p o s a l . Subsequent to t h i s development, Kenneth Branch arranged to s u b - l e t the cannery b u i l d i n g f o r boat s t o r a g e purposes, t h r o u g h the m a r i n a development committee. b/. T h e o r e t i c a l I m p l i c a t i o n s o f t h e Case L e t us now c o n s i d e r t h e f o r e g o i n g case r e l a t i v e t o the temporal d i m e n s i o n , p o l i t i c a l d i m e n s i o n and o t h e r a s p e c t s o f t h e c o n c e p t u a l scheme p r e s e n t e d i n Chapter 1 . The O r g a n i z a t i o n and i t s Environment I n t h i s c a s e , as i n t h e f o r e g o i n g one, events i n t h e e x t e r n a l environment o f t h e o r g a n i z a t i o n i n s t i g a t e d the d e c i s i o n process. P r e s e n t e d w i t h t h e o f f e r by Pox, Branch was suddenly f a c e d w i t h u n f o r e s e e n d i f f i c u l t i e s i n two r e s p e c t s . Firstly, to d e c l i n e the o f f e r might w e l l have l e d t o t h e e s t a b l i s h m e n t o f s e r i o u s c o m p e t i t i o n nearby. Secondly, w h i l e a c c e p t i n g t h e p o s s i b i l i t y p u t f o r w a r d by Pox would a v o i d t h i s i t would then open:;i many c o m p l i c a t e d q u e s t i o n s i n c a r r y i n g t h e d e c i s i o n t h r o u g h . F o r m a t i o n o f G o a l s : Search and Development o f E x p e c t a t i o n s The s c a r c i t y o f t e m p o r a l r e s o u r c e s a t the d i s p o s a l o f the o r g a n i z a t i o n (Branch h a d l l e s s t h a n two months i n which t o i n v e s t i g a t e and make a " f i n a l d e c i s i o n " ) i s r e f l e c t e d i n t h e r a t h e r h u r r i e d way i n which t h e s e p r o c e s s e s were c a r r i e d o u t . The time f a c t o r i n t h i s case may be seen i n r e l a t i o n t o t h e comments made e a r l i e r i n Chapter 1 w i t h r e s p e c t t o c e r t a i n l i m i t a t i o n s t o r a t i o n a l i t y i n t h e p r o c e s s e s o f s e a r c h and t h e development o f o r g a n i z a t i o n a l e x p e c t a t i o n s . I n t h i s case t h e l i m i t a t i o n s o f the s e a r c h procedure a r e most apparent i n t h e company s o l i c i t o r ' ^ f a i l u r e to a s c e r t a i n the formal p o s i t i o n o f the v i l l a g e council and, s e c o n d l y , i n n o t e x p l o r i n g f u l l y t h e p o s s i b i l i t i e s o f opp o s i t i o n t o t h e Cannery's a p p l i c a t i o n f o r a water l i c e n c e . Turning to t h e q u e s t i o n of o r g a n i z a t i o n a l expectations and t h e i r r a t i o n - a l i t y , I t h i n k t h a t Branch's d e c i s i o n t o " f i g h t i t o u t " w i t h the opponents to h i s scheme must be viewed as h i g h l y s p e c u l a t i v e l i t t l e r a t i o n a l guarantee o f r e t u r n s . with T h i s may, to some e x t e n t , be compared w i t h the d e c i s i o n o f the E l t o n management t o proceed w i t h t h e development o f the w h o l e s a l e o p e r a t i o n b e f o r e the "new t y p e " s t o r e experiment had been p r o v e n . R e t u r n i n g to the f o r m a t i o n o f g o a l s a s p e c t o f the d e c i s i o n , h e r e - as i n the E l t o n case - the o r g a n i z a t i o n ' s g o a l s emerged i n response t o t h e problem r a t h e r t h a n e x i s t i n g b e f o r e h a n d . as i n the E l t o n c a s e , the i n f l u e n c e o f o t h e r o r g a n i z a t i o n s Also, i n the environment and t h e i r p r a c t i c e s i s r e f l e c t e d i n the l e v e l o f a s p i r a t i o n o f the g o a l s developed by the N o r t h l a n d s In t h i s connection, organization. i t w i l l be remembered t h a t Branch i n c o n s i d - e r i n g the p o s s i b i l i t y o f e x p a n s i o n noted t h a t o t h e r c a n n e r i e s i n the a r e a had been e x t e n d i n g t h e i r business. Redefinitions I t i s i n t h i s a s p e c t o f t h e case t h a t the p o l i t i c a l and dimension t e m p o r a l d i m e n s i o n o f t h e d e c i s i o n are most c l e a r l y i l l u s t r a t e d i n t h e i r r e l a t i o n to one a n o t h e r . siveness I n terms o f the temporal e x t e n - o f the d e c i s i o n , i t i s c l e a r t h a t t h i s was g r e a t l y l e n t h - ened as a r e s u l t o f the r e s p e c t i v e p o l i t i c a l p o s i t i o n s assumed by B r a n c h and h i s opponents. I n a d d i t i o n to t h i s , i f t h i s c o n f l i c t o f i n t e r e s t s had n o t emerged o r s e r i o u s l y a f f e c t e d the outcome o f the d e c i s i o n , B r a n c h would have s t i l l been r e q u i r e d to contend with the u n i o n w h i c h , i n terms o f i t s own p o l i t i c a l stand i n the m a t t e r , was concerned w i t h r e d e f i n i n g the d e c i s i o n . As i n t h e E l t o n c a s e , a group w i t h o u t a u t h o r i t y v i s - a - v i s the d e c i s i o n ( t h e p h a r m a c i s t s 4J. and the v i l l a g e c o u n c i l , u n i o n and P r o v i n c i a l Government r e s p e c t i v e l y ) n o n e t h e l e s s had c o n s i d e r a b l e power to r e d e f i n e i t . D e f i n i t i o n o f the O r g a n i z a t i o n as a C o a l i t i o n As i n t h e type o f r e l a t i o n s h i p c o n s i d e r e d e a r l i e r between the E l t o n C h a i n and the t r a i n i n g c o l l e g e f o r p h a r m a c i s t s , the d e f i n i t i o n o f t h e o r g a n i z a t i o n as a c o a l i t i o n has p r o v e n to be a u s e f u l way o f a n a l y s i n g the i m p l i c a t i o n s o f t h e v i l l a g e council, u n i o n and P r o v i n c i a l Government v i s - a - v i s t h e t e m p o r a l and p o l i t i c a l dimensions o f t h e d e c i s i o n i n q u e s t i o n . Por i n both cases thus f a r c o n s i d e r e d , e n t i t i e s t e c h n i c a l l y o u t s i d e the b o u n d a r i e s o f t h e o r g a n i z a t i o n i n q u e s t i o n have n o n e t h e l e s s imp i n g e d upon and i n f l u e n c e d the p o l i t i c a l p r o c e s s e s o f t h e d e c i s i o n a t some p o i n t on the t e m p o r a l d i m e n s i o n . ( A t t h e r e d e f i n i t i o n stage o f the cases c o n s i d e r e d . ) GiHAP T E E Case 3: The G-resham 4 Cement Company 10. Description of the Organization i n Question In t h i s case, the organization i n question changed i t s form r a d i c a l l y over the period concerned. P r i o r to I960, i t consisted of a number of sub-companies rather loosely tied together, f o r although the Gresham i n t e r e s t s held the c o n t r o l l i n g shares i n each of the sub-companies, i n many cases the companies had t h e i r own managements. sub- While these sub-manage- ments were ultimately responsible to the four man Executive Committee of the Gresham Cement Company, they nonetheless possessed a c e r t a i n amount of decision making power which could a f f e c t the organization as a whole. After I 9 6 0 , these sub-companies were formally dissolved into a single company—The Gresham Cement Company. As w i l l be seen from the ensuing discussion, t h i s change of organizational form i s intimately connected to the decisional process to be considered here. The Gresham Company (including the sub-companies when they existed) i s and has been throughout i t s h i s t o r y e s s e n t i a l l y a materials handling operation involved i n supplying cement, concrete mixes, gravel, etc. to contracting firms, private builders and so on. Referring to Figure 4:1, I s h a l l now the firm's operation i n f u l l e r d e t a i l . attempt to describe F i r s t l y , aggregates (sand, gravel etc.) are mined at various gravel p i t locations (not shown on Figure) further up (North-East) the r i v e r . These aggregates are then towed by the tugs and scows of the Marine D i v i s i o n of the firm to the Depots (Condor Street i s no,; w closed) 67. shown on the diagram. The Depots are equipped with cranes or conveyor belts and bunkers for the unloading and storage of the aggregates which are subsequently sold as such or used i n the production of concrete and cement mixes. The Decisional Process i n Question and I t s Approximate Time Span The decisional process considered here i s concerned with the Gresham Company's decision to modernize i t s aggregate hand l i n g and storage f a c i l i t i e s . This involved extensive work at the Greenford and Barnet Depots, the closing down of the Condor Street Depot i n favour of the development of the small Depot at B i r c h Island and f i n a l l y , changes to the Marine D i v i s i o n of the firm which served these Depots. c i s i o n process i s approximately The time span of the de- four years. The Actors The following persons or groups played s i g n i f i c a n t parts i n the decision process to be considered below. tioned now They are men- f o r reference. E r i c Brown, Vice President, Production, Gresham Cement Co. The Executive Committee, Gresham Cement Co. E l g i n Management Consultants Inc. A.G. Wilson, Manager, Greenford Depot and Marine Division L.B. Bland, Manager, Condor Street Depot T.R. Carr, Manager, Barnet Depot and Engineering D i v i s i o n L. H e l l e r, Project Engineer, Engineering Division R. Simpson, Maintenance Engineer, Engineering D i v i s i o n Richard Gallard, Vice President, Production (succeeding Brown) E l i o t Henderson, Executive Vice President, Gresham Cement Co. E.G. Wiley, Controller, Gresham Cement Co. M.N. Bater, Manager, Port City and Area Sales D i v i s i o n S p e c i f i c Methods <• 1) Personal interviews were obtained with Brown, Wilson, Bland, Carr, K e l l e r , Simpson, Gallard and Bater. 2) Documents and f i l e s pertaining to the Depot and Marine D i v i s i o n modifications were made available as were organizational charts showing changes i n structure over time. Defining the Problem and I t s Background In 1956, the Gresham Cement Company and i t s sub-companies had been i n operation f o r over 40 years. t h i s was One consequence of that equipment and i n s t a l l a t i o n s at the tbree major Depots (Barnet, Condor, Greenford) and the Marine D i v i s i o n were i n many cases approaching replacement. stages c a l l i n g f o r costly repair or In some cases, the sub-managements were i n the process of carrying out highly inadequate short term repairs i n an e f f o r t to postpone the day when much more r a d i c a l measures would be demanded. This s i t u a t i o n was mainly attributed (by present management) to a lack of vigorous d i r e c t i o n from the Gresham Executive Committee of the time which could have united the various e f f o r t s of d i f f e r e n t sub-managements into a planned program of modernization. I t i s open to question, however, i f vigorous d i r e c t i o n on the part of the Gresham Executive Committee could have alone overcome the manifold d i f f i c u l t i e s presented by the organizational structure diagrammed i n Figure 4:2. For example, 6S. 10. a program cbo modernize the Barnet Depot i n any extensive sense (prior to re-organization) would have required &he of the Gresham Cement Co., the Barnet Brick Co., mentioned's subsidiary—Heath-Howard Co., Co. A plan aimed at the modernization co-ordination the l a s t and the Adam Concrete of a l l four Depots and the Marine D i v i s i o n would of course involve even greater d i f f i culty. In addition to the repair and replacement d i f f i c u l t i e s referred to, a r i v a l aggregate supply company was i n the process of modernizing c e r t a i n aspects of i t s handling, production d i s t r i b u t i o n systems. and Some members of the Gresham organization perceived the increased e f f i c i e n c y r e s u l t i n g from t h i s as a threat to t h e i r own organization's market and p r o f i t Formation of Relevant In l a t e 1957, share. Goals through a retirement, a new man (Eric Brown) came to the post of Vice President, Production, on the four Gresham Executive Committee. Brown had previously managed one of the sub-companies i n the Gresham organization and was informed man well on the d i f f i c u l t i e s presently facing Depot and Marine D i v i s i o n operations. During the next two years, he directed his e f f o r t s i n three major areas: 1) to put the case f o r Depot and Marine D i v i s i o n moderni- zation before the other members of the Executive Committee and gain t h e i r support f o r i t . 2) to propose that measures be investigated toward the end of reforming the Gresham organization into one company. 3) that instead of waiting f o r these matters to take place, c e r t a i n key s t a f f of the three major Depots and the 71. Marine D i v i s i o n whould begin to consult and plan together with respect to some overall plan f o r modernizing. By l a t e 1959, the Executive Committee decided to import a consulting firm known to Brown to explore the p o s s i b i l i t i e s of re-organization. (As i s implied by the time elapsed, Brown's proposal did not win immediate acceptance). The firm i n question, E l g i n Management Consultants Inc., studied the Gresham organization f o r approximately s i x months. At the end of t h i s time, a number of recommendations designed to form the organization into one company were brought forward. Many of these recommen- dations were implemented very quickly. As one executive i n f o r - mant expressed i t , "I know of several cases where a man had a high s t a f f p o s i t i o n at 9 am i n the morning and by 5 pm he was out". Others resigned as a r e s u l t of substantially l o s i n g their authority within the organization. A few weeks after the E l g i n Report, a new organizational chart was i n e f f e c t . produced, Figure 4:3) (partly re- By this arrangement, the four Depots and the Marine D i v i s i o n we are concerned with were now divisions of the Gresham Cement Co. and part of one management system. Thus a major impediment to a program of modernization was largely eliminated. Information Gathering Processes and Development of Expectations In August, I960, a committee was formed &o investigate p o s s i b i l i t i e s of modernizing the Company's Depots and Marine Division. This committee was composed of A.G. Wilson, manager of the Greenford Depot and the Marine Division, L.B. Bland, manager of the Condor Street Depot, T.R. Carr, manager at 7Z. the Barnet Depot and head of the Engineering D i v i s i o n , L. K e l l e r , Project Engineer, Engineering D i v i s i o n and R„ Simpson, Mainte- nance Engineer, Engineering D i v i s i o n . A number of reports on the Depots and Marine Divisions were now forthcoming from the members of the committee. These reports provided up to date information on the condition of equipment and i n s t a l l a t i o n s i n connection with the d i v i s i o n s considered below. They also put forward s p e c i f i c recommendations. Greenford Depot: On Dec. 1, I960, a report submitted by I. K e l l e r on behalf of the committee pointed out that the storage bunkers at Greenford had been condemned by the Workmen's Compensation Board and that the crane servicing these bunkers was i n very poor condition. The estimated c a p i t a l cost of replacements and repairs was $305,000,00 with an annual saving i n operating costs of $16,600—a return of about 5.5$. t h i s return was considered to be rather low, Although the report pointed out that i n view of the p o s i t i o n taken by the Workmen's Compensation Board some measures would have to be taken very soon. Birch Island and Condor Street Depots: On Nov. 1, I960, a report by K e l l e r pointed out that the bunkers and crane at the Condor Street Depot were badly i n need of repair. estimated c a p i t a l cost i n t h i s connection was The $115,000,00. In addition to t h i s , however, the Condor Street Depot suffered from t i d a l problems which meant that the aggregate carrying scows could not be unloaded at a l l times. Coupled with i n e f f i c i e n t equipment, this became a frequent cause f o r delays and losses. production K e l l e r recommended that these d i f f i c u l t i e s and repairs 7^. would be avoided by improving the storage and unloading f a c i l i t i e s at the B i r c h Island Depot, thus permitting the closure of the Condor Street Depot. The estimated c a p i t a l cost f o r the work on Birch Island was $268,000.00 with an annual saving i n operating costs of $50,000.00—a return of about 18.5%. Marine D i v i s i o n : In a report dated February 24, 1961, written by A.G. Wilson, a very a t t r a c t i v e return was indicated on a proposed c a p i t a l investment i n Marine D i v i s i o n equipment. Three p r i n c i p a l reasons were l i s t e d f o r the (then) state of i n e f f i c i e n c y i n the D i v i s i o n : 1) Tugs are old and underpowered. 2) Shore f a c i l i t i e s are inadequate (bunkers, cranes) and scows must be used as f l o a t i n g storage. This makes i t impossible to dispatch tows on e f f i c i e n t schedules. 3) A f l e e t of 55 scows i s required to provide both towing and storage services. Of these 55 u n i t s , 19 are rented at an annual cost i n excess of $100,000.00 and many of the remaining 36 owned by the Company are too old and too small to be e f f i c i e n t . The report recommended the purchase of two 2,000 ton s e l f unloading scows costing $275,000.00 each and repowering the M.V. "Poplar" at a cost of $75,000.00 so as to provide the company with a second tug comparable to the M.V. "Prince" f o r towing the two new barges. This c a p i t a l expenditure of $625,000.00 was expected to show an annual saving i n marine operations of $270,000.00, or 43%. However, this very large return on investment i n marine equipment could not be achieved without equipping the three 75. Depots at Greenford: Birch Island and Barnet with bunkers and conveyors capable of receiving the discharge from a 2,000 ton self-unloading barge. To so equip these Depots, Wilson estimated, would require a c a p i t a l investment of $1,450,000.00 and would show an annual saving i n aggregate unloading and handling costs of $70,000.00, a return of about 5$. Although t h i s low return would not, of i t s e l f , j u s t i f y the expenditure f o r shore f a c i l i t i e s , the combined marine and shore saving of $340,000.00 represented a return of about 17$ on the combined c a p i t a l cost of $2,075,000.00. These findings led to a number of d i f f i c u l t i e s . The exigencies of the moment were c a l l i n g f o r a certain amount of expenditure with respect to Depot i n s t a l l a t i o n s . Yet Wilson's proposals f o r the Marine D i v i s i o n had a t t r a c t i v e aspects, part i c u l a r l y i n the long term sense. At the same time, a proposal to spend over 2 m i l l i o n d o l l a r s without investigation further to Wilson's report would encounter d i f f i c u l t i e s with the Exedutive Committee and Board of Directors. Although, as suggested earlier, the climate of the Executive Committee toward organizational change had altered somewhat with the a r r i v a l of E r i c Brown. During this period of aggregate handling investigations, Brown l e f t the Company to manage one of h i s own. His successor, Richard Gallard, was a supporter of the same p o l i c i e s i n any event as was another successor to the Executive Committee, E l i o t Henderson, who became Executive Vice President of the Gresham Company during t h i s period. In early March, 1961, two committees were formed to investigate f u l l y Wilson's proposals. The f i r s t committee was s e t the task of checking i n d e t a i l a l l c a l c u l a t i o n s as to c a p i t a l expenditures and savings which Wilson had p r e d i c t e d . Involved i n t h i s i n v e s t i g a t i o n were Wilson, F.G. Gresham's c o n t r o l l e r , and M.N. A r e a Sales D i v i s i o n . Wiley, B a t e r , manager of the Port C i t y A second committee was and formed to d e s i g n Depot i n s t a l l a t i o n s which would i n v o l v e low c a p i t a l c o s t , permit the use of s e l f - u n l o a d i n g scows, and charges to a minimum. reduce aggregate T h i s committee was comprised handling o f T.R. L. K e l l e r and R. Simpson, a l l of the E n g i n e e r i n g D i v i s i o n . E x e c u t i v e Choice and Carr, the Processes of R e d e f i n i t i o n W i t h i n two months of the b e g i n n i n g of i n v e s t i g a t i o n s , s t a n t i a l i n f o r m a t i o n on c o s t s and able i n support of Wilson's t e c h n i c a l changes was p r e d i c t e d r e t u r n of 17%. sub- avail- At this p o i n t , however, the E x e c u t i v e Committee s t i l l had r e s e r v a t i o n s concerning the l a r g e c a p i t a l expenditure t r a n s p i r e d , however, t h a t on May ment passed involved. 12th, 1961, It now the F e d e r a l Govern- l e g i s l a t i o n to the e f f e c t t h a t a subsidy of 40% would be p r o v i d e d i n r e s p e c t of a l l marine equipment b u i l t i n (name of the country) shipyards. T h i s event l e d to an immediate r e - e v a l u a t i o n o f the a t i o n by the c o s t s committee. a r e t u r n o f 19.9% (over 17%) e c u t i v e Committee now calculations on c a p i t a l expenditure. indicated The decided i n f a v o u r o f implementing p r o p o s a l s and on J u l y , 1961, P r o d u c t i o n , submitted The new The p r o p o s a l was Ex- Wilson's Richard G a l l a r d , Vice President, a p r o p o s a l to the Board recommending t h a t the Company expend $1,5000,000.00 f o r the modernization Depots at Barnet, situ- Greenford, accepted. B i r c h I s l a n d and of the the Marine D i v i s i o n . 77. I t i s d i f f i c u l t i n t h i s case to speak o f r e - d e f i n i t i o n o f t h i s d e c i s i o n by those a f f e c t e d by i t . l o s t t h e i r jobs, Those most a f f e c t e d F o r those who remained to o p e r a t e the new equipment t h e r e i s a p p a r e n t l y l i t t l e opportunity to " r e d e f i n e the new t e c h n i c a l p r o c e s s e s . I t i s , r a t h e r , the work p r o c e s s w h i c h " d e f i n e s " the a c t i o n s o f the worker i n v o l v e d i n i t . 0 78. T h e o r e t i c a l I m p l i c a t i o n s o f the Case L e t us now c o n s i d e r the f o r e g o i n g case r e l a t i v e to the t e m p o r a l d i m e n s i o n , p o l i t i c a l dimensions and o t h e r a s p e c t s o f the c o n c e p t u a l scheme p r e s e n t e d i n Chapter 1. The O r g a n i z a t i o n and i t s Environment As i n the c h a i n s t o r e and cannery c a s e s , c e r t a i n o c c u r e n c e s i n the environment o f the Gresham Cement Company may be seen as i m p o r t a n t i n f l u e n c e s v i s - a - v i s the d e c i s i o n j u s t d i s c u s s e d . Two major examples o f such i n f l u e n c e s are to be found i n the p r e s s u r e s brought to bear by the Workman's Compensation Board and the g e n e r a l program o f m o d e r n i z a t i o n c a r r i e d out by a competing f i r m . At the same t i m e , however, c e r t a i n events w i t h i n the company may a l s o be seen as i n f l u e n c i n g the c o u r s e o f the d e c i s i o n . In part- i c u l a r , I would suggest t h a t the appointment o f E r i c Brown as V i c e P r e s i d e n t o f P r o d u c t i o n r e s u l t e d i n a change o f m a n a g e r i a l p h i l o s o p h y w h i c h f a c i l i t a t e d the p r o g r e s s o f the d e c i s i o n . D e f i n i t i o n o f the Problem and F o r m a t i o n o f Goals I n the Gresham Cement c a s e , as i n the E l t o n Case, the p r o blems o f a g r e e i n g on a d e f i n i t i o n o f the o r g a n i z a t i o n ' s difficul- t i e s and the f o r m a t i o n o f g o a l s r e l a t i v e to t h e s e were t e m p o r a l l y extended by the disagreements r e s u l t i n g from the d i f f e r e n t i a l i n t e r e s t s of ohganizational sub-units. I n b o t h cases the p a s s i n g from the scene o f c e r t a i n i n d i v i d u a l s o r c o l l e c t i v i t i e s w i t h s p e c i f i c p o l i t i c a l i n t e r e s t s preceded the p o i n t where g o a l s became f u l l y a r t i c u l a t e d and o p e r a t i o n a l . .(The r e t i r e m e n t o f Roger E l t o n and r e s i g n a t i o n o f James W i l l i a m s i n the E l t o n c a s e ; the r e - o r g a n i z a t i o n o f the companies i n the Gresham. case.) I n a l l the cases c o n s i d e r e d up to t h i s p o i n t the f o r m a t i o n o f g o a l s has. been seen as a p r o c e s s emerging from the d e f i n i t i o n o f a problem r a t h e r than p r e c e d i n g the problem. The process o f a r r i v i n g a t such g o a l s through b a r g a i n i n g c a r r i e d on by sub- u n i t s o f the o r g a n i z a t i o n a l c o a l i t i o n i s p a r t i c u l a r l y v i s i b l e i n the E l t o n and Gresham c a s e s . A l s o mentioned i n c o n n e c t i o n w i t h the E l t o n and Northlands cases has been the r o l e o f the p r a c t i c e s and e x p e r i e n c e s o f o t h e r o r g a n i z a t i o n s i n the environment r e l a t i v e to the development o f an a s p i r a t i o n l e v e l i n o r g a n i z a t i o n a l g o a l s . I n the Gresham case r e l a t i v e to t h i s , the m o d e r n i z a t i o n c a r r i e d out by the f i r m may be viewed as analogous competing to the o p e r a t i o n o f o t h e r c h a i n o p e r a t i o n s i n the U.S.A. i n the E l t o n case and a l s o to the e x p a n s i o n o f o t h e r , competing Search.and c a n n e r i e s i n the N o r t h l a n d ' s c a s e . Choice A l t h o u g h the s e a r c h p r o c e s s e s r e l a t i v e to the Gresham case were r a t h e r more e x t e n s i v e ( f a i r l y complete c o s t i n g and so on) t h a n i n the E l t o n o r N o r t h l a n d s c a s e s , one may s t i l l observe tendency i n which toward p o l i t i c a l i n t e r e s t s i n the way d i v i s i o n engaged i n i t s own s e a r c h and attempted p o s a l s which would be i n i t s own b e s t i n t e r e s t s . mentioned a each to p r e s e n t p r o I t might be t h a t s i n c e the Marine D i v i s i o n ' s p r o p o s a l was i n e f f e c t g i v e n p r i o r i t y and s t r o n g l y i n f l u e n c e d the n a t u r e o f the changes a t the o t h e r Depots, t h i s p a r t i c u l a r d i v i s i o n has gained p r e s t i g e w i t h i n the o r g a n i z a t i o n as a whole. o r g a n i z a t i o n may performed L a s t l y , the p o l i t i c s o f the be seen once a g a i n i n the i m p l i c i t b l o c k i n g a c t i o n by the E x e c u t i v e Committee r e l a t i v e to the l a r g e capital S o . e x p e n d i t u r e f i n a l l y proposed. D e f i n i t i o n o f an O r g a n i z a t i o n as a C o a l i t i o n I n theT'Elton and N o r t h l a n d s cases i t was suggested t h a t the d e f i n i t i o n o f t h e o r g a n i z a t i o n s as c o a l i t i o n s was u s e f u l , f o r a n a l y t i c a l p u r p o s e s , i n c o n s i d e r i n g how e n t i t i e s t e c h n i c a l l y o u t s i d e t h e o r g a n i z a t i o n might come to he i n v o l v e d i n t h e p o l i t i c a l and t e m p o r a l dimensions o f an o r g a n i z a t i o n a l d e c i s i o n . Relative to t h i s i n t h e c o n t e x t o f t h e Gresham case i t may be seen t h a t the Workman's Compensation Board and t h e F e d e r a l Subsidy p l a y e d Government i n f l u e n t i a l r o l e s a s m i l a r to t h e p o l i c i e s o f the p h a r m a c i s t ' s t r a i n i n g c o l l e g e i n t h e E l t o n case and t h e r o l e o f t h e v i l l a g e c o u n c i l and u n i o n i n t h e N o r t h l a n d s c a s e . F i n a l l y , viewing vided a perspective t h e o r g a n i z a t i o n as a c o a l i t i o n has p r o - f o r the d i s c u s s i o n o f the d i f f e r e n t i a l e s t s h e l d by s u b - u n i t s inter- o f t h e o r g a n i z a t i o n p r i o r to t h e r e - o r g a n i - z a t i o n and f o r e v a l u a t i n g t h e s i g n i f i c a n c e o f these i n t e r e s t s r e l a t i v e to t h e course o f t h e d e c i s i o n . C HA P I E R Case 4: 5 The "X" University Case D e s c r i p t i o n o f the O r g a n i z a t i o n The involved i n Question d e c i s i o n a l p r o c e s s to be d e s c r i b e d i n t h i s case c e r t a i n s u b - u n i t s o f U n i v e r s i t y X, i n p a r t i c u l a r , a Department o f the i n s t i t u t i o n . The q u i t e l a r g e (between 10,000 and 20,000 e n r o l l m e n t ) and w i t h the d i f f i c u l t i e s a s s o c i a t e d o f s t u d e n t s each y e a r . explored The u n i v e r s i t y i n question i s i s faced w i t h a r a p i d l y growing number These i m p l i c a t i o n s , however, w i l l be later. D e c i s i o n a l P r o c e s s i n Q u e s t i o n and I t s Approximate Time Span B r i e f l y , the d e c i s i o n a l p r o c e s s i n q u e s t i o n i s concerned w i t h the Department's attempt to s o l v e the problem o f an i n creasing enrollment i n i t s introductory of t e l e v i s i o n teaching methods. up f o r s e r i o u s c o n s i d e r a t i o n c o u r s e through the use T h i s p o s s i b i l i t y f i r s t came i n May, 1963. I t i s s t i l l underway at the p r e s e n t time ( J a n u a r y , 1964). The Actors Dean K e n t , Dean o f the F a c u l t y at X U n i v e r s i t y . Dean S e a r s , Dean o f I n t e r - f a c u l t y A f f a i r s at X U n i v e r s i t y . Mr. Borden, Head o f the Department at X U n i v e r s i t y . Mr. Timmins, P r o f e s s o r Mr. Simpson, A s s i s t a n t P r o f e s s o r Mr. 01ark, A s s i s t a n t P r o f e s s o r Mr. H o l l i s , Head, Teaching S e r v i c e s Mr. Morris, i n the Department. i n the Department,. i n the Department. Department, X U n i v e r s i t y . T e l e v i s i o n S p e c i a l i s t , Teacher Training- Division, X Univeristy. The Maintenance Department, X U n i v e r s i t y . 83. Mr. Ballard, s a l e s r e p r e s e n t a t i v e of the Edgeware Supply A member of the Department of another Company. university. Head of the V i s u a l Aids Department of another university. The students e n r o l l e d i n the i n t r o d u c t o r y course i n q u e s t i o n at X university. S p e c i f i c Methods The s p e c i f i c methods employed i n t h i s case are as f o l l o w s : 1) P e r s o n a l i n t e r v i e w s were obtained with Timmins, C l a r k , Simpson, H o l l i s , M o r r i s , B a l l a r d and a Mr. was Armitage, a lecturer in the i n t r o d u c t o r y course who not, however, d i r e c t l y i n v o l v e d in the d e c i s i o n i n the sense t h a t the o t h e r a c t o r s were. 2) The a n a l y s i s of documents and f i l e s p e r t a i n i n g to the 3) A q u e s t i o n n a i r e (copy and d e t a i l s u n d e r l e a f ) administered case. to students present i n the c l a s s e s of the i n t r o d u c t o r y course h e l d on January 15, 1964. D e f i n i n g the Problem and Formation of Relevant Goals During the s e s s i o n 1962-63* the i n t r o d u c t o r y course i n q u e s t i o n had an average to an i n i t i a l r e g i s t r a t i o n of approximately attendance of about 450. 600 with A l a r g e auditorium was accomodate the students d u r i n g t h i s s e s s i o n , although used this presented a number o f problems i n the p r e s e n t a t i o n of blackboard and other v i s u a l m a t e r i a l . expected With an i n i t i a l enrollment of i n the s e s s i o n 1963-64, i t became apparent 750 that the e x i s t i n g method of accomodating a l l the students i n one room could no l o n g e r c o n t i n u e . Three i n s t r u c t o r s had been a v a i l a b l e to teach the course 8f. d u r i n g 1962-63. Since each was branch of the d i s c i p l i n e i t was a specialist i n a (and the course was convenient to have one l e c t u r e r so on. a g e n e r a l overview) handle one p a r t of the course f o r 2-g- months, and another l e c t u r e r months and different handle the next 2-g- T h i s arrangement, however, depended on a l l the students being i n one room and f o r the coming s e s s i o n 1963 t h i s was now (September) - 1964 With t h i s problem i n view, Mr. c l e a r l y impossible (April). Borden, head of the ment, began to c o n s i d e r (mid-May, 1963) Depart- p o s s i b l e s o l u t i o n s . Prom these c o n s i d e r a t i o n s emerged the i d e a of h o l d i n g the course i n rooms l i n k e d by t e l e v i s i o n . To expand upon t h i s , the would present h i s m a t e r i a l " l i v e " i n one room; a camera i n t h i s room would p i c k up to o t h e r rooms equipped screens. I n t h i s way, television and r e l a y h i s image and with t e l e v i s i o n sound s e t s or image r e p r o d u c i n g the i n c r e a s e d number of students could be accomodated without severe crowding, presented i n such a way v i s u a l m a t e r i a l could be t h a t a l l might see, the number of l e c - t u r e r s would not need to be i n c r e a s e d and, ment whereby each man lecturer finally, the taught h i s s p e c i a l i t y would be arrange- continued. I n f o r m a t i o n Gathering Process and Development o f E x p e c t a t i o n s . In connection w i t h the p o s s i b i l i t y of employing Mr. Borden asked Mr. television, Timmins, a p r o f e s s o r i n the Department, to a d v i s e Dean Sears, Dean of I n t e r - F a c u l t y A f f a i r s , about the p r o p o s a l i n o r d e r t h a t rooms and definite decision. would c o n t a c t M . r times could be kept open pending Secondly, Mr. Borden asked Mr. a Timmins i f he H o l l i s o f the Teaching S e r v i c e s Department o f the u n i v e r s i t y to see what i n f o r m a t i o n o r a d v i c e he c o u l d concerning Mr. provide the p o s s i b i l i t i e s o f a t e l e v i s i o n arrangement. Timmins s u b s e q u e n t l y c o n t a c t e d Mr. H o l l i s to f i n d out what types o f p o s s i b i l i t i e s e x i s t e d , e m p h a s i z i n g a t t h i s time t h a t c o s t s would have to be k e p t at a minimum. Mr. H o l l i s suggested t h a t i t would p r o b a b l y be p o s s i b l e to equip one room w i t h a camera and the o t h e r two rooms w i t h p r o j e c t o r s and screens o r a number o f 23 i n c h m o n i t o r s f o r under | 2 0 0 a month by r e n t i n g the equipment from the Edgeware Supply Company. Mr. H o l l i s was f a m i l i a r w i t h the Edgeware S p p l y Company's l i n e o f equipment, U for they had e a r l i e r provided the f a c i l i t i e s f o r an educational t e l e v i s i o n hook-up i n the t e a c h e r t r a i n i n g d i v i s i o n o f U n i v e r s i t y X. Mr. Timmins r e q u i r e d some a d d i t i o n a l i n f o r m a t i o n about the use o f t e l e v i s i o n , however, and concerned Mr. H o l l i s , was so the m a t t e r , i n s o f a r as i t l e f t t e m p o r a r i l y i n abeyance. C o n c e r n i n g t h i s a d d i t i o n a l i n f o r m a t i o n , b o t h Mr. and Mr. for Timmins had A p r i l , 1963 seen a s h o r t r e p o r t i n a u n i v e r s i t y p e r i o d i c a l i n which was d e s c r i b e d the use o f e d u c a t i o n a l t e l e v i s i o n i n the Department o f a n o t h e r u n i v e r s i t y . happened, Mr. Borden C l a r k , a l e c t u r e r who As i t would be t e a c h i n g the I n t r o - d u c t o r y Course a t U n i v e r s i t y X d u r i n g 1 9 6 3 - 6 4 was i n the city Oat t h i s time e a r l y June) where the u n i v e r s i t y r e f e r r e d to i n the p e r i o d i c a l was Mr. located. I n t h i s c o n n e c t i o n , Mr. Simpson ( a l e c t u r e r a t U n i v e r s i t y X who Timmins askled would be teaching the I n t r o d u c t o r y Course i n 1 9 6 3 - 6 4 ) i f he c o u l d o b t a i n some a d d i t i o n a l i n f o r m a t i o n as to how had 'Vorked o u t " . the p r o j e c t a t the o t h e r u n i v e r s i t y 86. On June 11,1963, Mr. Simpson wrote to a member o f the Department at the o t h e r u n i v e r s i t y and a l s o to Mr. C l a r k i n order to o b t a i n some i n f o r m a t i o n . Meanwhile, Mr. Timmins had w r i t t e n to Dean Sears, Dean o f I n t e r - F a c u l t y A f f a i r s on June 7, 1963, w i t h a g e n e r a l o u t l i n e o f the change the department had i n mind. The of c h i e f purpose o f t h i s communication was to keep the q u e s t i o n room and t i m e t a b l e assignments f l e x i b l e u n t i l some s o r t o f d e c i s i o n was reached. On June 17, 1963, Mr. Simpson r e c e i v e d a r e p l y from a member o f the other u n i v e r s i t y s t a t i n g t h a t f u l l d e t a i l s on t h e i r i n s t a l l a t i o n were being forwarded by the s u p e r v i s o r o f v i s u a l a i d s at t h a t u n i v e r s i t y . Meanwhile, on June 18th, 1963, Mr. Simpson r e c e i v e d a l e t t e r from Mr. C l a r k i n which the l a t t e r r e p o r t e d on the r e s u l t s o f h i s d i s c u s s i o n s and o b s e r v a t i o n s a t the other u n i v e r s i t y . H i s l e t t e r mentioned that the use o f t e l e v i s i o n was c o n s i d e r a b l y more complicated than he had p r e v i o u s l y r e a l i z e d , p o i n t e d out here t h a t with the exceptions Teaching ( i t might be o f Mr. H o l l i s o f the S e r v i c e s Department and Mr. M o r r i s o f the Teaching T r a i n i n g D i v i s i o n , i . e . persons o u t s i d e the X U n i v e r s i t y Department, none o f the o t h e r i n d i v i d u a l s i n v o l v e d i n the d e c i s i o n a l process, except the s u p p l i e r s o f the equipment, could be s a i d to have s p e c i a l i z e d knowledge about the use o f t e l e v i s i o n i n educational s e t t i n g s ) . Mr. C l a r k ' s l e t t e r a l s o r e f e r r e d to the wide range o f euipment a v a i l a b l e and the c o n s i d e r a b l e expense i n v o l v e d i n such i n s t a l l a t i o n s . Also on June 18, 1963, Mr. 87. Simpson r e c e i v e d a r e p l y from the S u p e r v i s o r of V i s u a l Aids at the other u n i v e r s i t y i n which was p r o v i d e d a d e s c r i p t i o n of the equipment i n use at that u n i v e r s i t y , a c o s t breakdown on the equipment and a l i s t f o r i n f o r m a t i o n and o f s i x t e e n f i r m s which might he contacted equipment. S h o r t l y a f t e r Mr. responses Timmins d i s c u s s e d w i t h Mr. Simpson the to these e n q u i r i e s , he contacted Mr. H o l l i s of the Teaching S e r v i c e s Department and requested a more f o r m a l s t a t e ment of what equipment p o s s i b i l i t i e s were a v a i l a b l e w i t h i n the p r e v i o u s l y mentioned cost e x p e c t a t i o n (under $200 per month). Mr. H o l l i s r e p l i e d by l e t t e r (|une 25th, 1963) indicating that a l i n e of equipment c o u l d be rented from the Edgeware Supply Company f o r not more than $180 per month. T h i s equipment con- s i s t e d of the grade of V i t i c o n camera a v a i l a b l e w i t h i n t h i s p r i c e range and a c h o i c e between (or a combination o f ) a number o f 23inch monitors or two r e p r o d u c t i o n purposes l a r g e r screen p r o j e c t i o n u n i t s f o r i n the rooms connected to the " l i v e " room. Based l a r g e l y on the d a t a from the use of t e l e v i s i o n i n the Department of the o t h e r u n i v e r s i t y was used), Mr. (where a p r o j e c t o r Timmins decided i n favour o f u s i n g screens p r o j e c t o r s r a t h e r than monitors. On J u l y 22nd, 1963, Mr. wrote Mr. H o l l i s and requested that he enter i n t o a f i r m system and Timmins arrange- ment with the Edgeware Supply Company concerning the r e n t a l o f t h i s equipment f o r the academic year 1963-1964 at a f i g u r e o f not more than $180 per month. 88, E x e c u t i v e Choice and the P r o c e s s e s o f R e d e f i n i t i o n T e c h n i c a l l y , Mr. Timmon's l e t t e r to Mr. H o l l i s c o u l d he viewed as the making o f a c h o i c e , a l t h o u g h i n t h i s case the o n l y a l t e r n a t i v e i s s u e s i n v o l v e d r e l a t e d to the use o f m o n i t o r s o r the use o f p r o j e c t o r s and s c r e e n s . i f i t may I n any event, t h i s c h o i c e , he r e f e r r e d to as such, by no means r e p r e s e n t e d the end o f the d e c i s i o n p r o c e s s i n q u e s t i o n . to c o n s i d e r a b l e subsequent R a t h e r , i t was s u b j e c t r e d e f i n i t i o n by those persons i n v o l v e d i n i t s making and a l s o , u l t i m a t e l y , by the s t u d e n t s who be a f f e c t e d by came to it. Very s h o r t l y a f t e r Mr. Timmin's l e t t e r to Mr. Hollis r e q u e s t i n g t h a t the l a t t e r e n t e r i n t o a f i r m arrangement w i t h the Edgeware Supply Company, Dean Kent, Dean o f the f a c u l t y a t X U n i v e r s i t y , expressed i n a l e t t e r to the head o f the Department h i s g e n e r a l o p p o s i t i o n to the p r o p o s a l to the use o f t e l e v i s i o n methods i n the i n t r o d u c t o r y c o u r s e . H i s l e t t e r suggested such a l t e r n a t i v e s as the use o f mimeographed n o t e s and. w i r e and tape r e c o r d e r s as means o f c o p i n g w i t h i n c r e a s e d e n r o l l m e n t . I n response to t h i s o p p o s i t i o n , the Department p r e s e n t e d as arguments the r e a s o n s which had o r i g i n a l l y s u p p o r t e d the p r o p o s a l to use t e l e v i s i o n . t u a l l y approved As i t t r a n s p i r e d , Dean Kent even- the Department"s p l a n to emply t e l e v i s i o n . D u r i n g the i n t e r i m p e r i o d , however, c e r t a i n members o f the Department proceeded w i t h the numerous m a t t e r s to be attended to i f t e l e v i s i o n was to be implemented i n time f o r September l e c t u r e s , even though t h e r e was no assurance a t t h i s time t h a t Dean Kenf's v a l would be f o r t h c o m i n g . appro- 83. Thus, on August 12th, Morris ask 1963, Mr. Simpson wrote to Mr. of the Teacher T r a i n i n g D i v i s i o n T e l e v i s i o n System to (on the suggestion of Mr. B a l l a r d , one of the representatives o f the Edgeware Supply Company) i f i t would he p o s s i b l e to two cameras and a c o n t r o l console for the purposes of a demonstration organized from the D i v i s i o n ' s equipment 1963. the u n i v e r s i t y on August 21st, Mr. by Mr. Morris run u s i n g Mr. B a l l a r d at agreed to and on August 21st, and a p r o j e c t o r u n i t from the Edgeware Supply Company. s t a n d i n g was a t r i a l was use this M o r r i s " equipment The that the Edgeware Supply Company would l a t e r underprovide the camera o f the type a v a i l a b l e w i t h i n the r e n t a l fee and the second p r o j e c t o r , p r e s e n t l y on order, that would be provided as soon as i t a r r i v e d . Apart from Mr. B a l l a r d and Mr. l e c t u r e r s i n the i n t r o d u c t o r y Morris, course, Mr. two Simpson and were also present at the demonstrations which was a success. Since the f i r s t ember 16th, 1963, i t was the c o - a x i a l w i r i n g day now of l e c t u r e s was ( f o r transmission and of the introductory course. came under the Mr. three Clark, considered to be on U n i v e r s i t y which g e n e r a l l y r e q u i r e d inter-communication been e a r l i e r assigned The wiring the that a l l such work be c a r r i e d s t a f f to ensure the standard of the work done. necessary t h a t the very c o i n c i d e very w e l l w i t h t h i s d i d not for operation I n t h i s case, however, i t was q u i c k l y and be Sept- j u r i s d i c t i o n o f the Maintenance Department o f out by t h e i r own to necessary to proceed q u i c k l y with purposes) of the three rooms which had the t e a c h i n g o f the Maintenance Department's schedule at t h i s time. job be done the As a r e s u l t of v9C t h i s , an arrangement the had to he worked out whereby a crew from Edgeware Supply Company i n s t a l l e d v i s i o n o f a Maintenance Department o f f i c e r . On September 16th, the f i r s t was not y e t complete the w i r i n g under the super- day o f l e c t u r e s , the w i r i n g and only one p r o j e c t o r was a v a i l a b l e . Con- sequently, t h i s l e c t u r e and the next (September 18th) were can- celled. I t became apparent at t h i s p o i n t t h a t the second p r o - j e c t o r was not going to a r r i v e f o r two weeks o r so and some i n t e r i m arrangement would r e q u i r e to be made. therefore On September 20th, a l e c t u r e was h e l d i n which one o f the p r o j e c t o r s was used w h i l e f o u r monitors had been brought i n t e m p o r a r i l y to take the p l a c e o f the m i s s i n g p r o j e c t o r . arrangement F i g u r e 5:1 reproduces the at t h i s p o i n t i n time. L e c t u r e s were a l s o h e l d Monday, September 23rd and Wednesday, September 25th. ember 27th, however, the microphone f a i l e d cancelled. During the f i r s t On on Sept- and the l e c t u r e was three l e c t u r e s the p r o j e c t o r and s c r e e n u n i t had not f u n c t i o n e d w i t h the q u a l i t y o f image which had been seen at the t r i a l run on August 21st, 1963. Over the weekend o f September 27th - 30th, Mr. Hollis of the u n i v e r s i t y ' s Teaching S e r v i c e s Department and Mr. of the Edgeware Supply Company experimented w i t h v a r i o u s types o f screens i n an e f f o r t to secure an a c c e p t a b l e image. Ballard I t soon became apparent, however, t h a t the d i f f i c u l t y was w i t h the camera b e i n g used, a r e l a t i v e l y i n e x p e n s i v e model. I t w i l l be remembered t h a t the Teacher T r a i n i n g D i v i s i o n ' s camera, a much more expensive 1 model, had been used at the t r i a l of August j e c t o r and s c r e e n u n i t s had performed 21st where the p r o - satisfactorily. 3Z. As a consequence of these t e c h n i c a l problems, i t was necessary to r e p l a c e the p r o j e c t o r u n i t w i t h f o u r 23 monitors as were being used i n Room B. much too l a r g e f o r the e f f e c t i v e use these were p l a c e d (See Figure 5:2 was conseqently becoming the " l i v e " room. f o r the arrangement as of September 30th, 1963.) Supply Company was on o r d e r . Room C, however, of monitors and i n Room A, Room C now Since p r o j e c t o r u n i t s were now i t had inch required not to be used, the Edgeware to c a n c e l the other p r o j e c t o r u n i t T h i s r e s u l t e d i n the Edgeware Supply Company p a y i n g a c a n c e l l a t i o n charge o f $200 to another s u p p l i e r . The i n s t a l l a t i o n of monitors d i d not r e s u l t i n the a t i o n of t e c h n i c a l problems and more or l e s s continued I n t h i s connection, for during delays. the f i r s t Rather, such d i f f i c u l t i e s few weeks o f operation. i t might be noted t h a t the f i r s t duty-sheet p u t t i n g on the l e c t u r e s r o u t i n e l y d i d not October 27th and T h i s now t h i s was appear u n t i l i n f a c t s u b j e c t to f u r t h e r changes. opens the q u e s t i o n technical innovation. of student r e a c t i o n s to Some p r e l i m i n a r y enquiries course were r e d e f i n i n g or seeking i n favour ups to r e d e f i n e the the (December, i n d i c a t e d t h a t at l e a s t some students e n r o l l e d i n the d e c i s i o n by cess- 1963) introductory television such methods as a v o i d i n g the t e l e v i s i o n l e c t u r e s of the l i v e l e c t u r e s ( i n t h i s connection, began to form o u t s i d e t a l k i n g , reading and the l i v e room before long line- l e c t u r e s ) , by g e n e r a l l y engaging i n a c t i v i t y not r e l a t e d to the l e c t u r e when i n the t e l e v i s i o n rooms and by w r i t i n g c r i t i c a l or f a c e t i o u s l e t t e r s about the i n t r o d u c t o r y the student newspaper. course to 33. I n an attempt to explore f u r t h e r of these o b s e r v a t i o n s and e n q u i r i e s , l e a f ) was d i s t r i b u t e d introductory response a q u e s t i o n n a i r e (see under- to those students i n attendance course l e c t u r e o f January 15th, 1964. a t the Total to the q u e s t i o n n a i r e was 372 students, 244 o f these were p o l l e d i n the l i v e room, the remaining 128 responding b e i n g i n the two t e l e v i s i o n rooms. l), some o f the i m p l i c a t i o n s As may be seen from Table 1 there i s a h i g h c o r r e l a t i o n between a t t e n d i n g l i v e and b e i n g p o l l e d ('Question lectures i n the l i v e room and a l s o between a t t e n d i n g television lectures and b e i n g p o l l e d Of 372 respondents, o n l y 22 i n d i c a t e i n the t e l e v i s i o n rooms. that they attend about the same number o f l i v e and t e l e v i s i o n l e c t u r e s . Turning to Table 2 (Question 2 ) , i t may be seen that a preference f o r l i v e lectures e x i s t s among both those p o l l e d i n the l i v e room and i n the t e l e v i s i o n rooms. respondents preferring l i v e lectures The percentage o f i s much h i g h e r , however, among the l i v e room group than i t i s among the t e l e v i s i o n rooms (93$ as opposed to 55$). I t i s probable, however, that f l e c t s a process o f accomodation mentioned above, l i n e - u p s p r i o r to a l e c t u r e . by t e l e v i s i o n s t u d e n t s . invariably As form o u t s i d e the l i v e room Since the l i v e room can o n l y h o l d 250 people, some are excluded. this r e - about Those excluded are g e n e r a l l y those who a r r i v e l a t e because o f a p r e c e d i n g l e c t u r e - thus they are u s u a l l y l a t e every time and have to some extent become accustomed to the t e l e v i s i o n rooms. The remaining Tables (3, 4 and 5) a l l suggest that a m a j o r i t y o f students, p o l l e d rooms, f e e l : i n both the l i v e and t e l e v i s i o n 3 + . Ql. Please check the item below which most closely corresponds with your own attendance. 1. I attend more T.V. lectures than l i v e lectures i n Sociology 200. 2. • 3. I attend about the same number of each. I attend more l i v e lectures than T.V. lectures i n Sociology 200. Q2. I f you were asked to express your preference for either T.V. or l i v e lectures i n Sociology 200, which of the folio-wing statements most closely approximates your feelings? 1. Q3. 04. _. I prefer the T.V. lectures. 2. I prefer the l i v e lectures. 3. I t makes no difference. I f there was a p o s s i b i l i t y that T.V. lectures might be offered i n other courses, would you be: 1. Very pleased 2. F a i r l y pleased 3. Indifferent 4. Somewhat displeased 5. Very displeased Comparing the l e v e l of attention by students i n T.V. lectures i n Sociology 200 as opposed to l i v e lectures i n Sociology 200, would you say: 1. The l e v e l of attention i n T.V. lectures i s higher than i n l i v e lectures. The l e v e l of attention i n T.V. lectures i s lower than i n l i v e lectures. The l e v e l of attention i s about the same i n both types of lectures. 2. 3. Q5. In a lecture room i t i s always possible to do something other than l i s t e n to the lecturer. Examples of t h i s "other a c t i v i t y " would be t a l k i n g , reading, writing letters and so on. Please indicate the degree to which you have observed such behaviour i n T.V. lectures as opposed to l i v e lectures. 1. 2. 3. 4. : There i s much more of this type of a c t i v i t y i n the T.V. lectures. There i s s l i g h t l y more of this type of a c t i v i t y i n the T.V. lectures. The amount of such a c t i v i t y i s the same i n both types of lectures. There i s less of this type of a c t i v i t y i n T.V. lectures than there i s in l i v e lectures. Q6. Please l i s t the courses you are taking t h i s year, other than Sociology 200, which have more than 250 students i n ore room. Q7. Please l i s t these courses, including Sociology 200, i n order of preference below. Q8. Please f e e l free to state, on the back of this sheet, any complaints you may have about T.V. lectures, any d i f f i c u l t i e s or problems you would l i k e to see changed and f i n a l l y , the positive and desirable aspects of the T.V. method. r ^8. /OO. 1) "somewhat" o r " v e r y " d i s p l e a s e d about the p r o p e c t of t e l e v i s i o n l e c t u r e s being o f f e r e d i n other courses. 2) t h a t the l e v e l o f a t t e n t i o n i n t e l e v i s i o n l e c t u r e s i s l o w e r than i n l i v e 3 ) lectures. t h a t a c t i v i t y o t h e r than l i s t e n i n g to the l e c t u r e , such as r e a d i n g o r t a l k i n g , i s "much more" o r " s l i g h t l y more" i n t e l e v i s i o n l e c t u r e s than i n l i v e I n response lectures. to Q u e s t i o n 8, the most common problems mentioned by s t u d e n t s r e l a t e d to i n a d e q u a c i e s i n the t e c h n i c a l arrangements, such as poor sound, ppor image, time wasted i n " s e t t i n g up" b e f o r e l e c t u r e s , and the moise and distractions emanating from o t h e r s t u d e n t s i n the t e l e v i s i o n rooms d u r i n g lectures. I t seems c l e a r from the q u e s t i o n n a i r e d a t a and some g e n e r a l o b s e r v a t i o n s i n the t e l e v i s i o n rooms t h a t a number o f s t u d e n t s have r e d e f i n e d the d e c i s i o n i n one way o r a n o t h e r . The e x p r e s s i o n o f t h e i r p o s i t i o n , however, has been on an i n d i v i d u a l p l a n e r a t h e r than t h a t o f an o r g a n i z e d collectivity. IQI. T h e o r e t i c a l I m p l i c a t i o n s o f the Case I s h a l l now c o n s i d e r the t e l e v i s i o n case and some a s s o c i a t e d a s p e c t s o f the f o r e g o i n g cases i n terms o f the p o l i t i c a l and t e m p o r a l dimensions and o t h e r elements o f the c o n c e p t u a l scheme p r e s e n t e d i n Chapter 1. The O r g a n i z a t i o n and i t s Environment In the t e l e v i s i o n c a s e , as i n a l l those p r e c e d i n g i t , changes and c i r c u m s t a n c e s i n the e x t e r n a l environment o f the o r g a n i z a t i o n may "be seen as p l a y i n g a s i g n i f i c a n t p a r t i n the decision process. I n the t e l e v i s i o n case t h e s e i n f l u e n c e s and f a c t o r s a r e to he found i n the growth o f the number o f s t u d e n t s e n r o l l e d i n the i n t r o d u c t o r y course and i n the form o f the example s e t by the o t h e r u n i v e r s i t y i n t u r n i n g to t e l e v i s i o n methods. f o r m a t i o n o f Goals In the the cases c o n s i d e r e d to date i t has been suggested t h a t development o f o r g a n i z a t i o n a l g o a l s r e l a t i v e to a g i v e n problem emerged a f t e r the problem p r e s e n t e d i t s e l f r a t h e r t h a n e x i s t i n g beforehand i n w e l l a r t i c u l a t e d form. T h i s may a l s o be seen i n the t e l e v i s i o n case where the p r o p o s a l to use such a method r e s u l t e d from the problem, t h a t i s the i n c r e a s e d enrolment. The n o t i o n o f an a s p i r a t i o n l e v e l i n o r g a n i z a t i o n a l g o a l s d e v e l o p i n g from the p r a c t i c e s and s u c c e s s e s o f o t h e r o r g a n i z a t i o n s i n the environment has been r e f l e c t e d i n the p r e v i o u s cases ( e . g . the o t h e r c h a i n o p e r a t i o n s , the expanding c a n n e r i e s and the competing cement company). The r o l e p l a y e d by the o t h e r u n i v e r s i t y ' s tele- v i s i o n system may be seen as s i m i l a r to t h e s e examples r e l a t i v e tol. t o the g o a l s developed by U n i v e r s i t y "X". Search P r o c e d u r e s and the Development o f E x p e c t a t i o n s C e r t a i n l i m i t a t i o n s to r a t i o n a l i t y i n o r g a n i z a t i o n a l s e a r c h have been p a r t i c u l a r l y noted i n c o n n e c t i o n w i t h two o f the f o r e g o i n g c a s e s . P o r example, I would r e f e r to the r e l a t i v e l y s h o r t s e a r c h (and absence o f e x t e n s i v e p r e l i m i n a r y c o s t i n g ) i n the E l t o n case and a l s o to the apparent o v e r s i g h t s d i s c u s s e d r e l a t i v e to the s e a r c h p r o c e d u r e s c a r r i e d out by the company s o l i c i t o r i n the N o r t h l a n d s c a s e . I n the t e l e v i s i o n c a s e , a l t h o u g h a l i s t o f s i x t e e n p o s s i b l e s u p p l i e r s was Edgeware Supply Company was c o n t a c t e d . a v a i l a b l e , o n l y the I t might a l s o be noted t h a t a f t e r the Edgeware Supply Company became i n v o l v e d i n the d e c i s i o n i t was t h i s c o n c e r n which conducted most o f the e n s u i n g s e a r c h r a t h e r t h a n o f f i c e r s o f the U n i v e r s i t y . F u r t h e r to t h i s , i t w i l l be remembered t h a t Mr. Timmins r e q u e s t e d Mr. H o l l i s , J u l y 22, 1963 on to e n t e r i n t o a f i r m arrangement w i t h the Edgeware Supply Company f o r the r e n t a l eqipment. At t h i s p o i n t i n time the equipment to be r e n t e d had not a c t u a l l y been g i v e n a t e s t r u n a t the U n i v e r s i t y . L a s t l y , i n t h i s c o n n e c t i o n , as a r e s u l t o f these l i m i t a t i o n s to the completeness o f i n f o r m a t i o n d e r i v e d from the s e a r c h p r o c e d u r e , the e x p e c t a t i o n s h e l d by o f f i c e r s o f the U n i v e r s i t y r e l a t i v e to the outcome o f the d e c i s i o n changed over time. Redefinitions The p o l i t i c a l d i m e n s i o n o f o r g a n i z a t i o n a l d e c i s i o n making has been i l l u s t r a t e d i n the m a n a g e r i a l disagreements over p o l i c y i n the E l t o n c a s e , the subsequent r o l e o f the p h a r m a c i s t s i n t h a t c a s e , the d i f f e r e n t i a l i n t e r e s t s between the cannery, village council and union i n the Northlands case and i n the d i f f e r e n t interests held hy sub-units of the Gresham Company both before and after reorganization. In the t e l e v i s i o n case, the p o l i t i c a l dimension of the decision may be seen i n the position assumed by Dean Kent and subsequently i n the p o s i t i o n taken by aonumber of the students enrolled i n the introductory course. The p o s i t i o n taken by Dean Kent may be related to the r a t i o n a l i t y of expectations i n the t e l e v i s i o n case i n much the same way as Branch's decision to go ahead despite an unclear outcome may be viewed i n the Northlands case. S i m i l a r l y , the role played by the students i n extending the temporal dimension of the t e l e v i s i o n case may be. seen as closely related to the part played by the pharmacists i n the Elton case. Lastly, the d e f i n i t i o n of the organization as a c o a l i t i o n has provided a perspective from which the influence of such d i f f e r e n t i a t e d i n t e r e s t s v i s - a - v i s the decision has been analysed. CHAP I.. E R 1 6 A Study of Decision Making Processes i n Pour Complex Organizations: Theor e t i c a l Implications and Conclusions. The b a s i c concepts which were d i s c u s s e d now i n Chapter 1 have been somewhat a m p l i f i e d by the subsequent d i s c u s s i o n of i l l u s t r a t i v e cases. organizations I t i s now four i m p o r t a n t to note t h a t a l t h o u g h which have been c o n s i d e r e d the are t e c h n o l o g i c a l l y q u i t e d i f f e r e n t , c e r t a i n d e c i s i o n making themes have been r e c u r r e n t . T h i s suggests tthd; p o s s i b i l i t y o f now o f f e r i n g c e r t a i n general and i n t e r - r e l a t e d p r o p o s a l s about o r g a n i z a t i o n a l d e c i s i o n making p r o c e s s e s which l e n d c o n c e p t u a l u n i t y to the examples s t u d i e d which w i l l a l s o have a n a l y t i c u t i l i t y w i t h r e s p e c t d e c i s i o n p r o c e s s e s y e t to be c o n s i d e r e d Proposal i n the and to o r g a n i z a t i o n a l future. One " D e f i n i t i o n s o f Problems", "Formation o f G o a l s " , " I n f o r m a t i o n G a t h e r i n g P r o c e s s e s and "Executive Choice and the Development of Expectations", the R e d e f i n i t i o n o f D e c i s i o n s " may be seen as i d e n t i f i a b l e u n i t s s e q u e n t i a l l y arranged on the temporal continuum of o r g a n i z a t i o n a l d e c i s i o n making. Inasmuch as any them may be areas f o r the e x p r e s s i o n of o r g a n i z a t i o n they may be s a i d to form, singlyA;." o r i n c o m b i n a t i o n , the i c a l d i m e n s i o n o f o r g a n i z a t i o n a l d e c i s i o n making. p o l i t i c a l " a r e a s " may 1) and be d i s c e r n e d of politics, polit- Thus the major i n each c a s e : the d e f i n i t i o n o f the problem, f o r m a t i o n of- g o a l s d e c i s i o n a l r e d e f i n i t i o n a s p e c t s o f the E l t o n case. 2) the d e c i s i o n a l r e d e f i n i t i o n a s p e c t of the N o r t h l a n d s 3) the f o r m a t i o n case. o f g o a l s and executive choice aspects o f the Gresham c a s e . 4) "X" case. the d e c i s i o n a l r e d e f i n i t i o n a s p e c t s o f the U n i v e r s i t y Proposal Two I t i s proposed t h a t a more r e a l i s t i c account o f o r g a n i - z a t i o n a l d e c i s i o n making p r o c e s s e s w i l l r e s u l t i f these u n i t s a l o n g the temporal continuum are viewed as b e i n g h i g h l y v a r i a b l e . A major cause o f such v a r i a t i o n s , i t i s argued h e r e , i s the o p e r a t i o n o f d i f f e r e n t i a l and changing p o l i t i c a l f o r c e s and i n t e r e s t s w i t h i n the o r g a n i z a t i o n . T h i s would enable one, f o r example, to a v o i d c e r t a i n d i f f i c u l t i e s ( r e f e r r e d to i n Chapter pages 13 and 14) i m p l i c i t i n e s s e n t i a l l y r a t i o n a l i s t i c 1, concep- t i o n s o f o r g a n i z a t i o n a l g o a l s , s e a r c h and c h o i c e . Thus, f o r example, the cases p r e s e n t e d here q u e s t i o n the v i e w o f o r g a n i z a t i o n s as h a v i n g a s e t o f w e l l a r t i c u l a t e d a p r i o r i g o a l s i n terms o f which they approach the s o l u t i o n o f t h e i r problems. R a t h e r , i n every case c o n s i d e r e d h e r e , g o a l s have emerged as a consequence o f problems. p o s s i b l e to i d e n t i f y d i f f e r e n t i a l g o a l I t has a l s o been sets with d i f f e r e n t i a l p o l i t i c a l i n t e r e s t s , p a r t i c u l a r l y i n the E l t o n , N o r t h l a n d s Gresham c a s e s . and F u r t h e r to t h i s , the r o l e o f o t h e r o r g a n i z a t i o n s i n the environment has been r e f l e c t e d i n the g o a l f o r m a t i o n p r o c e s s i n terms o f o r g a n i z a t i o n a l l e a r n i n g and o r g a n i z a t i o n a l aspiration level. S i m i l a r l i m i t a t i o n s to r a t i o n a l i t y have been observed i n c o n n e c t i o n w i t h o r g a n i z a t i o n a l s e a r c h and the development o f e x p e c t a t i o n s , p a r t i c u l a r l y i n the E l t o n , N o r t h l a n d s and U n i v e r s i t y "X" c a s e s . lified The c o n c e p t i o n o f e x e c u t i v e c h o i c e has a l s o been amp- t h r o u g h the i n t r o d u c t i o n o f the p o l i t i c a l d i m a n s i o n which has been e x e m p l i f i e d by the p r o c e s s e s o f r e d e f i n i t i o n i n the E l t o n , N o r t h l a n d s and U n i v e r s i t y "X" cases and by the r o l e o f the E x e c u t i v e Committee i n the Gresham c a s e . 107. Proposal Three The e v i d e n c e from a l l f o u r cases s t r o n g l y suggests t h a t the p o l i t i c a l d i m e n s i o n d i r e c t l y a f f e c t s the t e m p o r a l d i m e n s i o n o f o r g a n i z a t i o n a l d e c i s i o n making. F o r example, the t e m p o r a l e x t e n - s i v e n e s s o f the g o a l f o r m a t i o n p r o c e s s i n b o t h the E l t o n and Gresham cases was a d i r e c t consequence o f the o p e r a t i o n o f d i f f e r e n t i a t e d " p o l i t i c a l " i n t e r e s t s w i t h i n b o t h these o r g a n i z a t i o n s . Ways i n which the t e m p o r a l d i m e n s i o n o f d e c i s i o n making might a f f e c t o r g a n i z a t i o n a l p o l i t i c s have o n l y been s l i g h t l y e x p l o r e d i n the p r e s e n t r e s e a r c h . I t might be suggested, however, t h a t the s c a r c i t y o f t e m p o r a l r e s o u r c e s i n the N o r t h l a n d s case d i d have an e f f e c t on the p o l i t i c a l d i m e n s i o n o f t h a t d e c i s i o n . The role o f the t e m p o r a l d i m e n s i o n i n t h i s c o n n e c t i o n w i l l r e q u i r e to be 1 f u r t h e r examined i n l a t e r developments o f the c o n c e p t u a l scheme. S i n c e the " a r e n a s " o f o r g a n i z a t i o n p o l i t i c s ( d e f i n i t i o n s o f problems, f o r m a t i o n o f g o a l s e t c . ) have been seen to be t i a l l y arranged on the t e m p o r a l d i m e n s i o n , i t may sequen- become a n a l y t i c a l l y p o s s i b l e to p r e d i c t p o l i t i c a l developments in a d e c i s i o n a l p r o c e s s through a c o n s i d e r a t i o n o f those p a t t e r n s which have emerged a l o n g the t e m p o r a l d i m e n s i o n . A study o f the t e m p o r a l d i m e n s i o n o f an o r g a n i z a t i o n a l d e c i s i o n may way" " p o i n t the to p o l i t i c a l a s p e c t s o f such d e c i s i o n s which might o t h e r w i s e he o v e r l o o k e d o r c o n c e a l e d . P r o p o s a l Four The f i n a l p r o p o s a l to be o f f e r e d h e r e r e l a t e s to the. 1 The book :,t Man, Time and S o c i e t y by W i l b e r t E. Moore p r e s e n t s an i n t e r e s t i n g d i s c u s s i o n o f the r o l e o f the t e m p o r a l v i s - a - v i s a number o f areas o f human a c t i v i t y . u t i l i t y o f d e f i n i n g o r g a n i z a t i o n s as c o a l i t i o n s i n the study o r g a n i z a t i o n a l d e c i s i o n making. Firstly, the c o a l i t i o n d e f i n i t i o n w i t h i t s i m p l i c a t i o n s o f s u b - u n i t s , b a r g a i n i n g and for scarce resources understandable i n f o r m s and r e n d e r s competition s u b s t a n t i a l l y more the o p e r a t i o n o f the p o l i t i c a l d i m e n s i o n a t p o i n t i n o r g a n i z a t i o n a l d e c i s i o n making. of any I t has, f o r example, been p o s s i b l e to r e c o g n i z e the o p e r a t i o n o f d i f f e r e n t i a l i n t e r e s t s i n each o f the cases r e p o r t e d . has allowed the s u s p e n s i o n Secondly, the c o a l i t i o n d e f i n i t i o n o f the a r b i t r a r y temporal and func- t i o n a l b o u n d a r i e s of the o r g a n i z a t i o n at c r u c i a l p o i n t s on temporal d i m e n s i o n i n o r d e r to a s s e s s , as p a r t o f the the political d i m e n s i o n , the s i g n i f i c a n t impingement o f e n t i t i e s w h i c h would g e n e r a l l y be regarded as b e i n g o u t s i d e the sphere o f the o r g a n i - zation i n question. The g e n e r a l p r o p o s a l s about o r g a n i z a t i o n a l d e c i s i o n making which ha\re been d e r i v e d from the a p p l i c a t i o n o f the scheme o r model p r e s e n t e d i n Chapter 1 are i n t e n d e d conceptual as o r i e n t a t i o n s to be employed i n f u r t h e r r e s e a r c h and are c e r t a i n l y not statements of any k i n d . final Perhaps what the model most u r g e n t l y r e q u i r e s i s to be employed many more times i n f i e l d s t u d i e s o f other organizations. As such d a t a i s gathered b o t h the c o n c e p t u a l r e f i n e m e n t o f hypotheses which may i t will permit o f the model and the f o r m u l a t i o n be r i g o r o u s l y t e s t e d . I n w o r k i n g toward these g o a l s , I would agree w i t h M a r i o n Levy's o b s e r v a t i o n t h a t , " i f one r e f u s e s to proceed w i t h a system of a n a l y s i s u n t i l he i s sure o f i t s t e n a b i l i t y , one i s r e f u s i n g to s e t up t o o l s f o r a task u n t i l the task i t s e l f i s already' accomplished." 2 2 Marion J . Levy, "Some Problems f o r a U n i f i e d Theory o f Human Nature", E.A. T i r y a k i a n , S o c i o l o g i c a l Theory, Values and S o c i o c u l t u r a l Change, The Free P r e s s , Glencoe, 1963, p.14. LITERATURE CITED B l i s h e n , B.R., "The C o n s t r u c t i o n and Use o f an Occupational C l a s s S c a l e " , Canadian S o c i e t y , Toronto, The MacMillan Company o f Canada L i m i t e d , 1961. Brown, W., E x p l o r a t i o n i n Management, New York, John Wiley and Sons, I960. Burns, Tom, " M i c r o p o l i t i c s : Mechanisms o f I n s t i t u t i o n a l Change", A d m i n i s t r a t i v e Science Q u a r t e r l y , V o l . VI, 1961-62. Chamberlain, N., Management i n Motion, New Haven, Labor and Management Center, Y a l e U n i v e r s i t y , 1950. Cyert, R.M., H.A. Simon, and D.B. Trow, "Observation o f a Business D e c i s i o n " , J o u r n a l o f Business,XXIX (October 1956). Cyert, R.M., W.R. D i l l , and J.G. March, "The l o l e o f E x p e c t a t i o n s i n Business D e c i s i o n Making", A d m i n i s t r a t i v e Science Q u a r t e r l y , V o l . I l l , (December 1958). Cyert, R.M., and J.G. March, A B e h a v i o r a l Theory o f the Firm, P r e n t i c e H a l l , New J e r s e y , 1963. Cyert, R.M., and J.G. March, "A B e h a v i o r a l Theory o f O r g a n i z a t i o n a l O b j e c t i v e s " , Modern O r g a n i z a t i o n Theory, ed. M. H a i r e , New York, Wiley, 1959. Harvey, E., "Some I m p l i c a t i o n s o f T e c h n i c a l and Supervisory Change i n a Government Water A u t h o r i t y " , Unpublished paper, 1963. Harvey, E., " C o n f l i c t and Pharmacy: Some I m p l i c a t i o n s o f I n t e r n a l D i f f e r e n t i a t i o n " , Unpublished paper, 1963. Hornosty, R.W., Unpublished r e s e a r c h , 1963. Jaques, E l l i o t t , The Changing C u l t u r e o f a F a c t o r y , New York, Dryden Press, 1952. Levy, Marion J,., "Some Problems f o r a U n i f i e d Theory o f Human Nature", S o c i o l o g i c a l Theory, Values, and C u l t u r a l Change, Free P r e s s , 19637 ' . March, J.G., "The Business F i n n as a P o l i t i c a l J o u r n a l o f P o l i t i c s , V o l . 24, 1962. March, J.G., and H.A. Simon, O r g a n i z a t i o n s , 1958. Coalition", New York, Wiley, Melman, S., D e c i s i o n Making and P r o d u c t i v i t y , Oxford, B a s i l B l a c k w e l l , 1958. Moore, ¥il"bert E., Man, and Sons, 1963. Time and S o c i e t y , New York, John Wiley Thorner, I . , "Pharmacy: The F u n c t i o n a l S i g n i f i c a n c e o f an I n s t i t u t i o n a l Pattern , S o c i a l F o r c e s , XX; 1941-4-2. 1
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A study of decision making in four complex organizations Harvey, Edward Franklin Burns 1964
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