Managerial Dilemmas: The Political Economy of Hierarchy (Political Economy of Institutions and Decisions)
Cambridge University Press, 4/9/1992
EAN 9780521372817, ISBN10: 052137281X
Hardcover, 274 pages, 22.9 x 15.2 x 1.9 cm
Language: English
In organisation theory a schism has developed between the traditional organisational behaviour literature, based in psychology, sociology and political science, and the more analytically rigorous field of organisational economics. The former stresses the importance of managerial leadership and cooperation among employees, while the latter focuses on the engineering of incentive systems that will induce efficiency and profitability, by rewarding worker self-interest. In this innovative book, Gary Miller bridges the gap between these literatures. He demonstrates that it is impossible to design an incentive system based on self-interest that will effectively discipline all subordinates and superiors and obviate or overcome the roles of political conflict, collective action, and leadership in an organisation. Applying game theory to the analysis of the roles of cooperation and political leadership in organisational hierarchies, he concludes that the organisation whose managers can inspire cooperation and the transcendence of short-term interest in its employees enjoys a competitive advantage.
List of tables and figures
Series editors' preface
Acknowledgements
Part I. Why Have Hierarchy?
1. Market failures and hierarchical solutions
the tension between individual and social rationality
2. Bargaining failure
coordination, bargaining, and contracts
3. Voting failure
social choice in a dictatorial hierarchy
Part II. Managerial Dilemmas
4. Horizontal dilemmas
social choice in a decentralised hierarchy
5. Vertical dilemmas
piece-rate incentives and credible commitments
6. Hidden action in hierarchies
principals, agents, and teams
7. Hidden information in hierarchies
the logical limits of mechanism design
8. Hierarchical failures and market solutions
can competition create efficient incentives for managers? Part III. Cooperation and Leadership
9. The possibilities of cooperation
repeated vertical dilemmas
10. The indeterminacy of cooperation
conventions, culture, and commitments
11. The political economy of hierarchy
commitment, leadership and property rights
Epilogue
politics, rationality, and efficiency
References
Name index
Subject index.