Herbert Simon on organizational decision-making for long-term survival

摘要

This essay summarizes the Harry Camp Lectures of Herbert Simon as they pertain to organizational decision-making. Organizations struggle to survive in ways not unlike organisms in the natural world, whether by means of domination or adaptation - though with the profound advantage of making conscious decisions how to adapt, rather than trusting to trial-and-error. Unfortunately, many experts in decision-making advise organizations to adopt methods for optimization that are unrealistic, if not impossible, such that the objective of survival is actually threatened by such advice.