Summer 2

Reading

Cohen, M. D., March, J. G., & Olsen, J. P. (1972). A garbage can model of organizational choice. Administrative Science Quarterly, 72(1), 1–25.

Background

Cohen and colleagues focus on universities as examples of a certain type of organization. They summarize recent (in relation to 1972) studies pointing out that organizations are “…collections of choices looking or problems…” Their goal is to develop a model for understanding the rationale behind particular choices made by organizations.

There is a lot in this article, so take your time reading through it. Don’t get too caught up in the math; focus on the principles.

Questions

1. What does the “garbage can” represent in organizations?

2. Choose one of the graphs on page 13, 15, or 16. Explain the graph and provide an example of its application in the realm of education.

3. To what extent does the evolution of your current organization reflect the characteristics described by Cohen and colleagues?

Reading

March, J. G. (1991). Exploration and exploitation in organizational learning. Organization Science, 2(1), 71–87.

Background

The March article dissects the process of organizational learning, described from a — relatively — rational perspective. The notion that organizations can learn presupposes that these entities are more than the sum of the individuals who constitute them. Depending on what we want to understand about organizations, we may conceptualize them as a collection of individuals in specific roles or as a set of cultural norms, values, and practices. March builds his argument around the socialization of members of an organization in relation to an organizational code of perceived truth.

Don’t get caught up in the math of the argument, but instead focus on the relationships between learning and pace, turnover, etc.

Questions

4. Define and contrast the processes of exploration and exploitation.

5. Referring to the concepts laid out by March, describe the trade-offs between exploration and exploitation in a school (K-12 or higher ed) environment. How do teachers and groups of teachers manage the allocation of resources? How do the outcomes from these two practices vary, regarding magnitude of the impact, degree of uncertainty, and timeframe?

6. Describe the mechanisms associated with, and outcomes of, socialization within an organization.

7. Explain the graph on page 76.

8. Describe the relationship between learning and competition.

9. Contrast learning in an open system with learning in a closed system.