Organizational Communications Systems and the Decision Process

The emergence and solution of organizational problems are examined from the framework of the communications system. A general model is developed based on the information-processing activities of the individual members of a communications network. The model describes the problem-solving process as a sequence of five stages: problem recognition, identification procedures, information acquisition and integration, definition of constraint set, and comparison and adaptation. The relations among the critical variables of the model are then specified in a series of propositions. The main purpose of the model, as exemplified in the propositions, is to provide a testable framework for the empirical analysis of the decision process in organizations.