Communication in organizations: ohgarchies, hierarchies and committees

Abstract

In a series of papers Sah and Stlglitz (1985,1986,198S) have investigated communication within organizations. Their approach has been that human beings by their very nature are fallible in their decision making and the question of the structure of decision making within organizations must be concerned with minimizing these errors. In Sah and Stiglitz (1986) they study two systems hierarchies and polyarchies and examine the difference in the quality of decision making. Polyarchies constitute a system where authority to take decisions is delegated to individuals within an organization. As such, they enjoy a fair degree of autonomy. In contrast a hierarchy exhibits more centralized decision making with only a few individuals at the top of cne bureaucracy authorized to make decisions, while others at lower levels provide support to those in authority.