Strategic Chioce and the Structure of Desision Processes

Much of the literature on public policy with its institutional and legislative emphases conveys the view that organizational effectiveness is primarily dependent on actors external to the agency. That is, laws prescribe programs and operating procedures; overlapping jurisdictions restrict innovative behavior; and the politics o f fund budgeting encourage complacency and incrementalism. This article proposes an alternative set of propositions explaining policy outcomes and agency performance as a function of internal administrative considerations. The propositions are empirically evaluated using data from Pacific Coast port authorities during the "container revolution" and environmental movement. The results suggest that variance in strategic performance can be attributed to (1) perceptions about intergovernmental relations and performance gap, (2) an agency micro-structure for strategic planning and policy analysis, and (3) a set of intervening administrative variables. Copyright 1988 by The Policy Studies Organization.

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Strategy and Structure: Reconceiving the Relationship

Boschken

1990

Journal of Management

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Discussions have drawn attention to the relationship between strategy and structure for much of the last quarter century. Yet, no firm basis has emerged to settle the issue of causal direction or to affirm the relationship's effects on organizational performance. By adding a new dimension to the strategy-structure model, this article attempts to conceptually link long-term performance with (a) the presence of subunits having distinctive competence in strategic planning and (b) the coordination of these differentiated subunits into a discernable microstructure embedded within the overall organization. This new dimension is explored and developed by use of a case of the Pacific Coast seaport industry.

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Strategic Chioce and the Structure of Desision Processes

Cited by 4 publications

References 18 publications

Between Economic-Technical and Socio-Political Rationality: Multilevel Decision Making in a Multinational Organisation

Between Economic-Technical and Socio-Political Rationality: Multilevel Decision Making in a Multinational Organisation

Turbulent Transition and Organizational Chance: Relating Policy Outcomes to Strategic Administrative Capacities

Strategy and Structure: Reconceiving the Relationship

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