The document discusses the Garbage Can Model, highlighting its assumptions about decision-making in mechanistic organizations and organized anarchy. It emphasizes the complexity and sensitivity of decision-making processes, including the influence of energy levels and organizational structures. The model acknowledges that organizations often struggle with decision-making but offers insights for improving effectiveness through strategic structuring and empowerment.

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Rubens Yanes
JSGS 865 -Fall 2020
Garbage Can Model
Cohen, M., J. March and J. Olsen. 1972

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Two different paradigms
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Mechanistic organizations Organized Anarchy
Rationality Bounded rationality
Clear & consistent preferences Undefined & inconsistent
preferences
Goal oriented Contextual
Perfect information Incomplete information
Known technology Unknow technology
Certainty or risk conditions Uncertainty

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Basic Assumptions of the model
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Constrains:
- Time
- Energy
Types of Decision
- By flight
- By oversight
- By resolution

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Different Organizational Structures
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Access Structure
• A0: Unsegmented
• A1: Hierarchical
• A2: Specialized
Decision Structure
• D0: Unsegmented
• D1: Hierarchical
• D2: Specialized
Energy Distribution
• E0: Important people
– less energy
• E1: Equal Energy
• E2: Important people
– more energy

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1. Resolution is not the most common decision, exept when other
decision types are restricted.
2. Decision making is very sensitive to changes in energy levels
3. Decision makers & problems track to each other through choices
4. Different measures of timing are interconnected and there are some
tradeoffs between them (Problem activity, Problem latency, Decision time)
5. The process is highly interactive
6. Important problems are more likely to be resolved, as well as earlier
problems.
7. Important choices are made by oversight or flight. Unimportant
choices are made by resolution.
8. Choices of intermediate importance are always made. Failures are
registered at the extremes.
Results of the Model
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University cases
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Assessment
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1. Organizations are far from being perfect
solving-problem machines
2. As it happens with cognitive biases, we
can´t avoid organizational flaws but we
need to learn to live with them
3. The model provides some suggestions on
how to structure organizations if we
want to make them more effective, but
there are not magic solutions since
tradeoffs emerged.
4. Deadlines and empowering decision
making are other available options to
improve organization’s performance.