Simulation: A Method of Appraising Communication Networks in Managerial Decision Making

Authors

  • Michael D. Crino
  • Michael C. White
  • Joseph F. Porfert

Abstract

A great deal of small group research has dealt with small group decision making. Much of this research has been concerned with interpersonal processes and the influence of communication networks on group performance. This was a pilot study which evaluated the influence of two kinds of communication networks on the quality of managerial decisions and individual participant satisfaction. The decision making task was the ADSIM computer simulation exercise. The emphasis of the study was on non face to face groups and used telephones. in offices as the primary channel of communication. The networks used were the wheel and the chain. The results indicated that the chain out performed the wheel in both profitability and stock market value. Overall satisfaction was approximately the same between both groups, as was both groups’ perception of the degree of organization. The wheel network was considered to be more authoritarian than the chain

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Published

1980-03-13