HOME

TheInfoList



Click Here for Items Related To - Decentralized Decision-making
OR:
Decentralized Decision-making on:   [Wikipedia]   [Google]   [Amazon]

{{no footnotes, date=June 2016 Decentralized decision-making is any process where the decision-making authority is distributed throughout a larger group. It also connotes a higher authority given to lower level functionaries, executives, and workers. This can be in any organization of any size; it may be present in a governmental authority to a
corporation A corporation or body corporate is an individual or a group of people, such as an association or company, that has been authorized by the State (polity), state to act as a single entity (a legal entity recognized by private and public law as ...
. However, the context in which the term is used is generally that of larger organizations. This distribution of power, in effect, has far-reaching implications in the fields of management, organizational behavior, and government. The decisions arising from a process of decentralized decision-making are the functional result of group intelligence and crowd wisdom. Decentralized decision-making also contributes to the
core knowledge Core or cores may refer to: Science and technology * Core (anatomy), everything except the appendages * Core (laboratory), a highly specialized shared research resource * Core (manufacturing), used in casting and molding * Core (optical fiber), t ...
of group intelligence and crowd wisdom, often in a
subconscious In psychology, the subconscious is the part of the mind that is not currently of focal awareness. The term was already popularized in the early 20th century in areas ranging from psychology, religion and spirituality. The concept was heavily popu ...
way à la
Carl Jung Carl Gustav Jung ( ; ; 26 July 1875 – 6 June 1961) was a Swiss psychiatrist, psychotherapist, and psychologist who founded the school of analytical psychology. A prolific author of Carl Jung publications, over 20 books, illustrator, and corr ...
's
collective unconscious In psychology, the collective unconsciousness () is a term coined by Carl Jung, which is the belief that the unconscious mind comprises the instincts of Jungian archetypes—innate symbols understood from birth in all humans. Jung considered th ...
.
Decision theory Decision theory or the theory of rational choice is a branch of probability theory, probability, economics, and analytic philosophy that uses expected utility and probabilities, probability to model how individuals would behave Rationality, ratio ...
is a method of
deductive reasoning Deductive reasoning is the process of drawing valid inferences. An inference is valid if its conclusion follows logically from its premises, meaning that it is impossible for the premises to be true and the conclusion to be false. For example, t ...
based on formal
probability Probability is a branch of mathematics and statistics concerning events and numerical descriptions of how likely they are to occur. The probability of an event is a number between 0 and 1; the larger the probability, the more likely an e ...
and
deductive reasoning Deductive reasoning is the process of drawing valid inferences. An inference is valid if its conclusion follows logically from its premises, meaning that it is impossible for the premises to be true and the conclusion to be false. For example, t ...
models. It is also studied in a specialized field of mathematics, wherein models are used to help make decisions in all human activities including the sciences and engineering. (See also
Game theory Game theory is the study of mathematical models of strategic interactions. It has applications in many fields of social science, and is used extensively in economics, logic, systems science and computer science. Initially, game theory addressed ...
,
Uncertainty Uncertainty or incertitude refers to situations involving imperfect or unknown information. It applies to predictions of future events, to physical measurements that are already made, or to the unknown, and is particularly relevant for decision ...
, Expectation maximization principle.)


History

Decentralization and centralization have been consistent themes throughout history pertaining to governmental authority and political theory. From the rise and fall of the Roman Empire, there have been periods of centralization and decentralization in societies worldwide. Almost any political movement, from the rise of
city states A city-state is an independent sovereign city which serves as the center of political, economic, and cultural life over its contiguous territory. They have existed in many parts of the world throughout history, including cities such as Rome, ...
in
Roman Roman or Romans most often refers to: *Rome, the capital city of Italy *Ancient Rome, Roman civilization from 8th century BC to 5th century AD *Roman people, the people of Roman civilization *Epistle to the Romans, shortened to Romans, a letter w ...
times, to the later rise and downfall of
feudal Feudalism, also known as the feudal system, was a combination of legal, economic, military, cultural, and political customs that flourished in Middle Ages, medieval Europe from the 9th to 15th centuries. Broadly defined, it was a way of struc ...
empires during the
Middle Ages In the history of Europe, the Middle Ages or medieval period lasted approximately from the 5th to the late 15th centuries, similarly to the post-classical period of global history. It began with the fall of the Western Roman Empire and ...
, to the rise of
fascism Fascism ( ) is a far-right, authoritarian, and ultranationalist political ideology and movement. It is characterized by a dictatorial leader, centralized autocracy, militarism, forcible suppression of opposition, belief in a natural social hie ...
in Germany prior to
World War II World War II or the Second World War (1 September 1939 – 2 September 1945) was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War II, Allies and the Axis powers. World War II by country, Nearly all of the wo ...
, and to the late 20th century formation of the European Economic Union; the history of Europe has been one of cycles of centralization and decentralization.
MIT The Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT) is a private research university in Cambridge, Massachusetts, United States. Established in 1861, MIT has played a significant role in the development of many areas of modern technology and sc ...
Professor
Thomas W. Malone Thomas W. Malone (born 1952) is an American organizational theorist, management consultant, and the Patrick J. McGovern Professor of Management at the MIT Sloan School of Management. Biography Malone received his BA in applied mathematics, g ...
explains that "decentralization has three general benefits: # encourages motivation and creativity # allows many minds to work simultaneously on the same problem # accommodates flexibility and individualization Decentralized decision-making, Malone says, tends to create less rigidity and flatter hierarchies in organizations. When upper management delegates decision-making responsibilities, there also exist wider spans of control among managers, creating a more lateral flow of information. Thus, there will be more bottom up directional information flow, allowing for more innovation and efficiency closer to the means of production. This increased flow of information thereby allows for innovation in what is called as
Total quality management Total quality management (TQM) is an organization-wide effort to "install and make a permanent climate where employees continuously improve their ability to provide on-demand products and services that customers will find of particular value." ...
.


See also

* Cointelligence *
Collective intelligence Collective intelligence (CI) is shared or group intelligence (GI) that Emergence, emerges from the collaboration, collective efforts, and competition of many individuals and appears in consensus decision making. The term appears in sociobiolog ...
*
Crowd psychology Crowd psychology (or mob psychology) is a subfield of social psychology which examines how the psychology of a group of people differs from the psychology of any one person within the group. The study of crowd psychology looks into the actions ...
* Crowd wisdom *
Delphi method The Delphi method or Delphi technique ( ; also known as Estimate-Talk-Estimate or ETE) is a structured communication technique or method, originally developed as a systematic, interactive forecasting method that relies on a panel of experts. Delphi ...
*
Early adopter An early adopter or lighthouse customer is an early customer of a given company, product, or technology. The term originates from Everett M. Rogers' ''Diffusion of Innovations'' (1962). History Typically, early adopters are customers who, in a ...
* Group intelligence *
Groupthink Groupthink is a psychological phenomenon that occurs within a group of people in which the desire for harmony or conformity in the group results in an irrational or dysfunctional decision-making outcome. Cohesiveness, or the desire for cohesivenes ...
*
Herd instinct Herd behavior is the behavior of individuals in a group acting collectively without centralized direction. Herd behavior occurs in animals in herds, packs, bird flocks, fish schools, and so on, as well as in humans. Voting, demonstrations, ...
*
Information cascade An information cascade or informational cascade is a phenomenon described in behavioral economics and network theory in which a number of people make the same decision in a sequential fashion. It is similar to, but distinct from herd behavior. A ...
*
Opinion leadership Opinion leadership is leadership by an active media user who interprets the meaning of media messages or content for lower-end media users. Typically opinion leaders are held in high esteem by those who accept their opinions. Opinion leadership com ...
*
Outline of management The following outline is provided as an overview of and topical guide to management: Management (or managing) is the administration of organizations, whether they are a business, a nonprofit organization, or a government body. The following ou ...
*
Social networks A social network is a social structure consisting of a set of social actors (such as individuals or organizations), networks of dyadic ties, and other social interactions between actors. The social network perspective provides a set of meth ...
*
Sociocracy Sociocracy is a theory of governance that seeks to create psychologically safe environments and productive organizations. It draws on the use of consent, rather than majority voting, in discussion and decision-making by people who have a shared ...


References and further reading

*Drucker, Peter F., ''Post-Capitalist Society''. (1993) HarperBusiness, New York. * Gerstner Jr., Louis V., ''Who Says Elephants Can't Dance? Inside IBM's Historic Turnaround''. (2002) HarperBusiness, New York. *Gladwell, Malcolm, ''The Tipping Point: How Little Things Can Make a Big Difference''. (2002) Little, Brown & Co., Boston. *Kahneman, Daniel, & Tversky, Amos, ''Choices, Values, and Frames'' (2000) Cambridge University Press, Cambridge, United Kingdom. *Malone, Thomas W.,"Is 'Empowerment' Just a Fad? Control, Decision-Making, and Information Technology," ''Sloan Management Review'' 23: 38, no. 2 (1997). *Malone, Thomas W., ''The Future of Work: How the New Order of Business Will Shape Your Organization, Your Management Style, and Your Life''. (2004) Harvard Business School Press, Cambridge, Massachusetts. *Trotter, Wilfred, ''Instincts of the Herd in Peace and War''. (1915) Macmillan, New York. *Surowiecki, James, ''The Wisdom of Crowds: Why the Many Are Smarter Than the Few and How Collective Wisdom Shapes Business, Economies, Societies and Nations''. (2004) Little, Brown, Boston. *Sunstein, Cass, ''Infotopia: How Many Minds Produce Knowledge''. (2006) Oxford University Press, Oxford, United Kingdom.


External links

*https://www.npr.org/2004/07/31/3806781/james-suroweicki-and-the-wisdom-of-crowds *http://www.randomhouse.com/features/wisdomofcrowds/excerpt.html *https://web.archive.org/web/20070920020436/http://weblamp.princeton.edu/~psych/psychology/research/kahneman/ *https://www.rand.org/pubs/occasional_papers/2005/RAND_OP153.pdf *http://www.infography.com/content/237200278899.html Decentralization Collective intelligence Management Decision-making