Skip to main content
SpringerLink
Log in
Book cover

Extendable Rationality

Understanding Decision Making in Organizations

  • Book
  • © 2011

Overview

Authors:
  1. Davide Secchi

    1. , Department of Management, University of Wisconsin-La Crosse, La Crosse, USA

    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed   Google Scholar

  • Applies the concepts of distributed cognition and bounded rationality to explore the dynamics of decision making in organizations
  • Multi-disciplinary, integrating insights from cognitive science, organizational behavior, management, and social psychology
  • One of the first books to put the concept of “docility” at the core of rationality and decision making
  • Includes supplementary material: sn.pub/extras

Part of the book series: Organizational Change and Innovation (OCI, volume 1)

This is a preview of subscription content, log in via an institution to check access.

Access this book

Log in via an institution
eBook USD 84.99
Price excludes VAT (USA)
  • Available as EPUB and PDF
  • Read on any device
  • Instant download
  • Own it forever
Softcover Book USD 109.99
Price excludes VAT (USA)
  • Compact, lightweight edition
  • Dispatched in 3 to 5 business days
  • Free shipping worldwide - see info
Hardcover Book USD 109.99
Price excludes VAT (USA)
  • Durable hardcover edition
  • Dispatched in 3 to 5 business days
  • Free shipping worldwide - see info

Tax calculation will be finalised at checkout

Other ways to access

Licence this eBook for your library

Institutional subscriptions

Table of contents (10 chapters)

  1. Front Matter

    Pages i-xix
    Download chapter PDF

  2. The Limited Cognition

    1. Front Matter

      Pages 7-7
      Download chapter PDF

  3. Introduction

    1. Introduction

      • Davide Secchi
      Pages 1-6

  4. The Limited Cognition

    1. Front Matter

      Pages 7-7
      Download chapter PDF

    2. Rationalization and Rationality

      • Davide Secchi
      Pages 9-18

    3. Bounded Rationality

      • Davide Secchi
      Pages 19-25

    4. Maps of Bounded Rationality (I)

      • Davide Secchi
      Pages 27-39

    5. Maps of Bounded Rationality (II)

      • Davide Secchi
      Pages 41-59

  5. The Extended Brain

    1. Front Matter

      Pages 61-61
      Download chapter PDF

    2. Simon’s Error

      • Davide Secchi
      Pages 63-79

    3. Stretching the Bounds (I)

      • Davide Secchi
      Pages 81-95

    4. Stretching the Bounds (II)

      • Davide Secchi
      Pages 97-111

    5. The “Docile” Organization

      • Davide Secchi
      Pages 113-133

    6. Conclusions

      • Davide Secchi
      Pages 135-145

  6. Back Matter

    Pages 147-161
    Download chapter PDF
Back to top

Keywords

About this book

“How do people make decisions in organizations?” is the question at the core of this book. Do people act rationally? Under what conditions can information and knowledge be shared to improve decision making? Davide Secchi applies concepts and theories from cognitive science, organizational behavior, and social psychology to explore the dynamics of decision making. In particular, he integrates “bounded rationality” (people are only partly rational; they have (a) limited computational capabilities and (b) limited access to information) and “distributed cognition” (knowledge is not confined to an individual, but is distributed across the members of a group) to build upon the pioneering work of Herbert Simon (1916-2001) on rational decision making and contribute fresh insights. This book is divided into two parts. The first part (Chapters 2 to 5) explores how recent studies on biases, prospect theory, heuristics, and emotions provide the so-called “map” of bounded rationality. The second part (Chapter 6 to 8) presents the idea of extendable rationality. In this section, Secchi identifies the limitations of bounded rationality and focuses more heavily on socially-based decision processes and the role of “docility” in teaching, managing, and executing decisions in organizations. The practical implications extend broadly to issues relating to change and innovation, as organizations adapt to evolving market conditions, implementing new systems, and effectively managing limited resources. The final chapter outlines an agenda for future research to help understand the decision making characteristics and capabilities of an organization.

Authors and Affiliations

  • , Department of Management, University of Wisconsin-La Crosse, La Crosse, USA

    Davide Secchi

About the author

Davide Secchi, PhD, is an Assistant Professor of Organizational Behavior at the University of Wisconsin-La Crosse. His research interests include “distributed cognition” and its implications for management; human cognition and decision making; and social responsibility. He received his masters degrees (in venture finance and international finance) and his doctorate from the University of Pavia in Italy, and holds a BS from the University of Cagliari. He presents frequently at conferences and has published widely in scholarly journals and edited volumes, including the Journal of Business Ethics (Springer).

Bibliographic Information

  • Book Title: Extendable Rationality

  • Book Subtitle: Understanding Decision Making in Organizations

  • Authors: Davide Secchi

  • Series Title: Organizational Change and Innovation

  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-1-4419-7542-3

  • Publisher: Springer New York, NY

  • eBook Packages: Business and Economics, Business and Management (R0)

  • Copyright Information: Springer Science+Business Media, LLC 2011

  • Hardcover ISBN: 978-1-4419-7541-6Published: 28 October 2010

  • Softcover ISBN: 978-1-4614-2717-9Published: 01 December 2012

  • eBook ISBN: 978-1-4419-7542-3Published: 20 October 2010

  • Series ISSN: 2625-9338

  • Series E-ISSN: 2625-9346

  • Edition Number: 1

  • Number of Pages: XIX, 161

  • Topics: Organization, Industrial and Organizational Psychology

Publish with us

Policies and ethics

Back to top

Search

Navigation