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Administrative Behavior: A Study of Decision-making Processes in Administrative Organisations
In this fourth edition of his ground-breaking work, Herbert A. Simon applies his pioneering theory of human choice and administrative decision-making to concrete organizational problems. To commemorate the fiftieth anniversary of the book's original publication, Professor Simon enhances his timeless observations on the human decision-making process with commentaries examining new facets of organizational behavior. Investigating the impact of changing social values and modem technology on the operation of organizations, the new ideas featured in this revised edition update a book that has become a worldwide classic.
Named by Public Administration Review as "Book of the Half Century," Administrative Behavior is considered one of the most influential books on social science thinking, and was referred to by the Nobel Committee as "epoch-making."
Written for managers and other professionals who wish to understand the decision-making processes at the heart of organization and management, it is also essential reading for students in business and management, economics, sociology, psychology computer science, government, and law.
Named by Public Administration Review as "Book of the Half Century," Administrative Behavior is considered one of the most influential books on social science thinking, and was referred to by the Nobel Committee as "epoch-making."
Written for managers and other professionals who wish to understand the decision-making processes at the heart of organization and management, it is also essential reading for students in business and management, economics, sociology, psychology computer science, government, and law.
386 pages, Kindle Edition
First published January 1, 1947
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October 30, 2018
First published in 1947, this book is known to be one of the most influential texts in social sciences. I say social sciences, because the subject matter of the book though focused in Administrative Behaviour, touches upon a wide variety of disciplines such as public administration, political science and economics. Also, I observe that although the title of the book is “Administrative Behaviour”, the central theme is better exposed by the subtitle which says “A Study of Decision Making Processes in Administrative Organizations”. Simon has expounded in detail the nature of administrative decision making in each chapter, developing in the mind of the reader a fresh perspective on one of the most important aspects of administration.
I observe that reading this book after Chester Barnard’s “Functions of the Executive” shows how Simon has developed on the ideas presented by the former. However, it is clear that Simon has greater clarity of vocabulary and cohesiveness of argument. In fact, it is interesting to observe that in his preface to the first edition, Simon highlights that “building a vocabulary” which permits the description of an administrative organization is the primary task he has set upon himself in this book. Also, he stresses that his attempt is not to constitute a theory of administrative behaviour except to reveal how decision making lies at the heart of administration. I find that to this promise, Simon has been true throughout the book.
The subject matter of the book is divided into two halves. The first 11 chapters, in my opinion are the groundwork that Simon lays for the discussions that ensue in the second part which is a new addition in the third edition of the book. Simon utilizes chapter 1 to lay the groundwork for the subsequent discussions in the next few chapters. I have particularly enjoyed chapter two, “Some Problems in Administrative Theory” which shows how management wisdom is often found in opposite pairs. Simon’s solution in the form of weighted evaluation agrees with common sense and he calls for further empirical research and experimentation to determine relative desirability of alternative administrative arrangements. Next, Simon presents the “factual” and “value” elements of decisions, showing how decisions are more than just means to achieve goals thus paving the way for a discussion on rationality.
It is very interesting to read Simon’s ideas on rationality. His eminence and acclaim comes largely for his nuanced explanation of bounded rationality- where an environment shapes and alters the rational choice that an individual makes. I believe that in context of management, bounded rationality is an everyday phenomenon that accompanies administrative decision making and must be studied closely. It is interesting to note that Simon explains rationality through the lens of psychology. He says “The limits of rationality have been seen to derive from the inability of the human mind to bring to bear upon a single decision all the aspects of value, knowledge and behaviour that would be relevant.” The psychological environment, thus becomes a boundary of human rationality. With this definition of rationality in mind, Simon presents a profound insight into integration (this is applicable to societies, organizations, etc.) as an end obtained by deliberate control of the decision making environment, which in this case is the human psychological state. This flows into his ideas in the next chapter which tackles the question of organizational equilibrium. The distinct feature of this chapter is its systems theory perspective: the organization is a system with inputs and outputs, but it explains equilibrium from a human-oriented perspective: that organizations are maintained by individuals who assume responsibility for sustaining it. Next, Simon discusses the role of authority in an organization. My favourite takeaway from this chapter is its lucid and pragmatic definition of authority-“Authority is exercised over an individual whenever that individual relaxing his own critical faculties permits the communicated decision of another person to guide his choice”. He uses this definition and combines it with the next chapter to address communication (particularly the kind that assists authority). Here, his discussion on personal motives and their interference in the communication channel is unique.
By chapter 9, Simon has constructed nearly all the vocabulary essential to presenting his ideas. There is an evident shift in how he begins to tackle themes by combining the concepts he has meticulously described in the previous chapters. Efficiency is discussed with relation to decision making and bounded rationality (result-maximization with limited resources), organization identification is explained on psychological bases where an individual substitutes organizational objectives for his own aims. One very important point that Simon makes is an observation of how loyalty can be counter-productive in areas of invention and promotion, leaving little space for experimentation. In his final chapter, Simon strings together the array of definitions and ideas previously presented to showcase the anatomy of an organization. True to his preface, I observe that there are no principles he has propounded so far, his work until this point is comprehensive vocabulary building so that we have a common understanding of the organization as a whole. He concluded by suggesting the development of further cases, techniques and investigations of control condition sunder which administrative decision making takes place.
Personally, I find this book a great development in the perspective of organizational theory and develops the initial ideas propounded by Chester Barnard, whose introduction to this book is fitting.
I observe that reading this book after Chester Barnard’s “Functions of the Executive” shows how Simon has developed on the ideas presented by the former. However, it is clear that Simon has greater clarity of vocabulary and cohesiveness of argument. In fact, it is interesting to observe that in his preface to the first edition, Simon highlights that “building a vocabulary” which permits the description of an administrative organization is the primary task he has set upon himself in this book. Also, he stresses that his attempt is not to constitute a theory of administrative behaviour except to reveal how decision making lies at the heart of administration. I find that to this promise, Simon has been true throughout the book.
The subject matter of the book is divided into two halves. The first 11 chapters, in my opinion are the groundwork that Simon lays for the discussions that ensue in the second part which is a new addition in the third edition of the book. Simon utilizes chapter 1 to lay the groundwork for the subsequent discussions in the next few chapters. I have particularly enjoyed chapter two, “Some Problems in Administrative Theory” which shows how management wisdom is often found in opposite pairs. Simon’s solution in the form of weighted evaluation agrees with common sense and he calls for further empirical research and experimentation to determine relative desirability of alternative administrative arrangements. Next, Simon presents the “factual” and “value” elements of decisions, showing how decisions are more than just means to achieve goals thus paving the way for a discussion on rationality.
It is very interesting to read Simon’s ideas on rationality. His eminence and acclaim comes largely for his nuanced explanation of bounded rationality- where an environment shapes and alters the rational choice that an individual makes. I believe that in context of management, bounded rationality is an everyday phenomenon that accompanies administrative decision making and must be studied closely. It is interesting to note that Simon explains rationality through the lens of psychology. He says “The limits of rationality have been seen to derive from the inability of the human mind to bring to bear upon a single decision all the aspects of value, knowledge and behaviour that would be relevant.” The psychological environment, thus becomes a boundary of human rationality. With this definition of rationality in mind, Simon presents a profound insight into integration (this is applicable to societies, organizations, etc.) as an end obtained by deliberate control of the decision making environment, which in this case is the human psychological state. This flows into his ideas in the next chapter which tackles the question of organizational equilibrium. The distinct feature of this chapter is its systems theory perspective: the organization is a system with inputs and outputs, but it explains equilibrium from a human-oriented perspective: that organizations are maintained by individuals who assume responsibility for sustaining it. Next, Simon discusses the role of authority in an organization. My favourite takeaway from this chapter is its lucid and pragmatic definition of authority-“Authority is exercised over an individual whenever that individual relaxing his own critical faculties permits the communicated decision of another person to guide his choice”. He uses this definition and combines it with the next chapter to address communication (particularly the kind that assists authority). Here, his discussion on personal motives and their interference in the communication channel is unique.
By chapter 9, Simon has constructed nearly all the vocabulary essential to presenting his ideas. There is an evident shift in how he begins to tackle themes by combining the concepts he has meticulously described in the previous chapters. Efficiency is discussed with relation to decision making and bounded rationality (result-maximization with limited resources), organization identification is explained on psychological bases where an individual substitutes organizational objectives for his own aims. One very important point that Simon makes is an observation of how loyalty can be counter-productive in areas of invention and promotion, leaving little space for experimentation. In his final chapter, Simon strings together the array of definitions and ideas previously presented to showcase the anatomy of an organization. True to his preface, I observe that there are no principles he has propounded so far, his work until this point is comprehensive vocabulary building so that we have a common understanding of the organization as a whole. He concluded by suggesting the development of further cases, techniques and investigations of control condition sunder which administrative decision making takes place.
Personally, I find this book a great development in the perspective of organizational theory and develops the initial ideas propounded by Chester Barnard, whose introduction to this book is fitting.
July 18, 2012
A lot of insight in terms of understanding behavior inside of administrations, both public and private. The concept of "bounded rationality" plays a big role in Simon's theoretical framework. This is a dry book, and Simon is open throughout with the fact that he is merely trying to set up a bare bones framework to enable more serious research into the development of a "science" of administration. A secondary concept, that of the "satisficing" administrator, is also useful: that as opposed to the "economic man" who is always maximizing or optimally performing, the satisficing administrator merely meets a threshold of satisfying their administrative role with precisely that which will suffice (hence "satisficing") to maintain their position in the administrative hierarchy.
March 26, 2021
This is one of the most memorable books I have read to date. Herbert Simon's intellectual range—from philosophy to sociology to computer science—is remarkable and unified by a fundamental interest in rationality, its structure, and its limits. In Administrative Behavior, he systematically applies this interdisciplinary approach to the study of organizations and institutions. The resulting theoretical clarity and comprehensiveness is deeply impressive. Anyone familiar with more recent behavioral economists and cognitive scientists such as Daniel Kahneman or Gary Klein will appreciate Simon's work and quickly recognize his influence.
January 22, 2021
Partially read. I was only interested in the “bounded rationality”-related parts of this book (Chapters I, IV, and V, and especially his 1997 commentaries to each one of these). In fact, Herbert Simon makes his criticism clear against the notion of rational-choice, efficiency-based decisions, and “economic man” from traditional economics in this groundbreaking work. It seems almost natural that such an idea came from a social scientist with such a wide and diversified educational background in the study of the theory of Administration. It seems there is no better place than companies and organizations for the study of uncertainty and limited rationality when making decisions.
July 24, 2011
READ MAY 2009
Solid foundational description of organizational dynamics relative to decision-making.
Solid foundational description of organizational dynamics relative to decision-making.
January 18, 2022
The book was published in 1947. In this book, the author discusses scientific basis for study of administration and proposes decision as a unit of analysis.
The author observed a lot of divergence in the theory and practice of Public Administration and sought out to improve upon the explanations of the traditional theory of Public Administration through empirical approach. The author explores the concept of efficiency in public service and the limits to achieve it through a Logical Positivist approach. Placing the concept of efficiency at the heart of administrative effectiveness and further exploring how to achieve the efficiency in organization is the main theme of the book. He emphasizes the factual basis of decision making or rational decision making which is in consonance with the criterion of efficiency and choice making theories. Since there are boundaries to human rationality, the organizations may be designed to bring forth the maximum possible rationality in the decision making by the employees. The author introduces the elements of psychology in public administration as a basis for understanding human motivation to work for the defined purposes in an organization. The book visits the organizations, administrative responsibility, decision making process, authority, in an elaborate but generic manner and contributed to the development of the organizational theory relevant to both public and private sector.
The distinction between the policy and administration is explored based on facts and values dichotomy, prescribing the facts as the underlying basis for administrative functions and values driving the policy. However, the author is not able the justify his thoughts on the value basis of decision and focuses a lot on the fact basis though every decision in public service is value laden and involves the analysis of both facts and values. The theoretical and empirical basis of values has not been explored. There has been a weak linkage of the administrative behavior to the concept of democracy and upholding of democratic values of equity and fairness while maintaining levels of efficiency. Despite some weaknesses, the book creates a structured framework for the public organizations to function effectively. The relevance of the core idea of Administrative Behavior is widely accepted and adopted though there may be differences regarding the conclusions.
The author observed a lot of divergence in the theory and practice of Public Administration and sought out to improve upon the explanations of the traditional theory of Public Administration through empirical approach. The author explores the concept of efficiency in public service and the limits to achieve it through a Logical Positivist approach. Placing the concept of efficiency at the heart of administrative effectiveness and further exploring how to achieve the efficiency in organization is the main theme of the book. He emphasizes the factual basis of decision making or rational decision making which is in consonance with the criterion of efficiency and choice making theories. Since there are boundaries to human rationality, the organizations may be designed to bring forth the maximum possible rationality in the decision making by the employees. The author introduces the elements of psychology in public administration as a basis for understanding human motivation to work for the defined purposes in an organization. The book visits the organizations, administrative responsibility, decision making process, authority, in an elaborate but generic manner and contributed to the development of the organizational theory relevant to both public and private sector.
The distinction between the policy and administration is explored based on facts and values dichotomy, prescribing the facts as the underlying basis for administrative functions and values driving the policy. However, the author is not able the justify his thoughts on the value basis of decision and focuses a lot on the fact basis though every decision in public service is value laden and involves the analysis of both facts and values. The theoretical and empirical basis of values has not been explored. There has been a weak linkage of the administrative behavior to the concept of democracy and upholding of democratic values of equity and fairness while maintaining levels of efficiency. Despite some weaknesses, the book creates a structured framework for the public organizations to function effectively. The relevance of the core idea of Administrative Behavior is widely accepted and adopted though there may be differences regarding the conclusions.
March 16, 2026
Simon's work is a classic for a reason. In particular, his focus on the actual limits to human rationality leads to an interesting conclusion that only ORGANIZED human behavior can approach real rationality (in the sense of selecting among a set of alternatives the one which best satisfies given values). This bounded rationality concept is where the entire need for organizations comes from.
The downside is that Simon's organization is a strangely harmonious one aimed at rationally addressing an "organizational goal". Who sets the organizational goal is not explained in depth, nor are the considerations of power and hierarchy. Simon strongly deemphasizes hierarchy in describing organizations (certainly relative to earlier scholars like Taylor), and this is broadly a good step away from formalism and towards understanding the practical experience of administration.
But the consequence is that organizational coordination becomes something of a technocratic process in which differences of interest among participants are treated as borderline pathological. A rational actor, given a complete set of factual and ethical premises for a decision, can come to only ONE decision. And so for Simon, achieving rationality amounts to a process of "supplying" premises to the individual sufficient that they become rational, in the sense that when confronted with a choice, they perform the single correct decision from the perspective of the organization. The supply of premises may involve administrative fiat or coercion without disrupting Simon's theory.
I am not criticizing this approach for its amorality; that's fine, the point of science is not morality. But Simon does often slip from descriptive to normative modes of writing, which makes his (considerable!) social-scientific contributions hard to disentangle from his ethics and philosophy.
The downside is that Simon's organization is a strangely harmonious one aimed at rationally addressing an "organizational goal". Who sets the organizational goal is not explained in depth, nor are the considerations of power and hierarchy. Simon strongly deemphasizes hierarchy in describing organizations (certainly relative to earlier scholars like Taylor), and this is broadly a good step away from formalism and towards understanding the practical experience of administration.
But the consequence is that organizational coordination becomes something of a technocratic process in which differences of interest among participants are treated as borderline pathological. A rational actor, given a complete set of factual and ethical premises for a decision, can come to only ONE decision. And so for Simon, achieving rationality amounts to a process of "supplying" premises to the individual sufficient that they become rational, in the sense that when confronted with a choice, they perform the single correct decision from the perspective of the organization. The supply of premises may involve administrative fiat or coercion without disrupting Simon's theory.
I am not criticizing this approach for its amorality; that's fine, the point of science is not morality. But Simon does often slip from descriptive to normative modes of writing, which makes his (considerable!) social-scientific contributions hard to disentangle from his ethics and philosophy.
August 2, 2019
An absolute masterclass in applying analogous understanding to build & present an extremely empowering point of view.
Here, Herbert A. Simon utilises his expertise across multiple disciplines to present a framework of how people may execute actions as a collective, via a fundamental understanding of how people may behave as individuals.
I find Simon's work to be both intellectually challenging & mentally stimulating, as I find a strong emphasis in constructing an appropriate question as opposed to providing the 'correct' answer, this work is a brilliant demonstration of the execution of this emphasis.
Here, Herbert A. Simon utilises his expertise across multiple disciplines to present a framework of how people may execute actions as a collective, via a fundamental understanding of how people may behave as individuals.
I find Simon's work to be both intellectually challenging & mentally stimulating, as I find a strong emphasis in constructing an appropriate question as opposed to providing the 'correct' answer, this work is a brilliant demonstration of the execution of this emphasis.
August 9, 2023
Obra que en su tiempo cambió la teoría económica. Aquí se introducen conceptos clave como "racionalidad limitada". El autor propone que en una organización se requiere de un administrador que tome decisiones "satisfactorias", proceso que sucede en un entorno real --en un sentido psicológico y de lo física y fisiológicamente posible. Lo anterior contrasta con el hombre de la teoría económica tradicional. El libro es algo árido pero los ejemplos son abundantes.
August 30, 2023
Must read for those in business
For a world where most people have no formal training in corporate governance or administration, this should be a must read as it systematically explores the nuances of administration. After reading this, the reader comes to understand that most organizations are held together by a few exceptional leaders as opposed to some formal implementation of administration.
For a world where most people have no formal training in corporate governance or administration, this should be a must read as it systematically explores the nuances of administration. After reading this, the reader comes to understand that most organizations are held together by a few exceptional leaders as opposed to some formal implementation of administration.
May 14, 2026
I will always remember watching Big Bang Theory and Sheldon mentioning satisficing and me feeling so smart because I had read this book. The theory is very interesting but the way it’s explained might only be suitable for economists.
June 17, 2020
Good foundation. Tedious though. Covered all the bases. ALL the bases.
March 20, 2022
Social sciences probably should have stopped and hung out here for a little longer.
not-interesting
December 22, 2022Feels outdated and the language does not speak to me.
September 25, 2026
The book was thought provoking. One of the more interesting reads I’ve had for class the ideas really stuck. It was dense at times but overall an interesting read
January 19, 2010
An interesting experience, reading this book. For one thing, my copy is an extremely old beat-up paperback that I got as a free library remainder from the NY Fed, so it was literally falling apart as I was reading it, and I would generally be carrying around a chunk of about 50 pages at any given time.
Herbert Simon is an extremely influential and original thinker. He is the only person ever to have won the Nobel Prize in econ and the Turing Prize, which is like the Nobel Prize for computer science. He essentially invented the concept of bounded rationality, and built models of the world where people don't optimize but "satisfice", going with the first acceptable solution they find. He emphasized how much of decisionmaking is consumed with figuring out what the options are, where classical economics assumes all the options are known beforehand.
For all these reasons, I grabbed this book from the library. I picked it up to read recently because I'm applying for an operations leadership job, and I thought it might have some interesting lessons for me. On the whole, I didn't find it terribly helpful, but there was some useful material. Unfortunately, I have the feeling that it's the sort of book that might be nice to have around, so I could look up relevant passages once in a while--unfortunately because it has completely fallen apart and I'm definitely going to have to recycle it.
The book was Simon's PhD dissertation in the '40s, and it represents his attempt to build a formal analytical foundation for the analysis of organizational structure and decision-making. A couple of chapters have been added on in later editions, which are basically just relevant papers that he published later. Much of these chapters is concerned with the impact of information technology on organizations, so I was very surprised to find them to be some of the most insightful of all--though Simon was writing before the advent of what we would consider to be moder computers, he makes many subtle points that I think most people are just now beginning to understand. In particular, I think his focus on attention as a scarce resource is very prescient.
There are other interesting insights scattered throughout, and I think his characterization of authority and influence as the ability to determine some of the premises that enter another's decision (but not the decision itself, usually) is a very useful analytical framework. As you might expect of a book trying to build a formal analytical foundation, however, a lot of it is kind of boring. I may have a look at some of his other work eventually, but not for a while.
Herbert Simon is an extremely influential and original thinker. He is the only person ever to have won the Nobel Prize in econ and the Turing Prize, which is like the Nobel Prize for computer science. He essentially invented the concept of bounded rationality, and built models of the world where people don't optimize but "satisfice", going with the first acceptable solution they find. He emphasized how much of decisionmaking is consumed with figuring out what the options are, where classical economics assumes all the options are known beforehand.
For all these reasons, I grabbed this book from the library. I picked it up to read recently because I'm applying for an operations leadership job, and I thought it might have some interesting lessons for me. On the whole, I didn't find it terribly helpful, but there was some useful material. Unfortunately, I have the feeling that it's the sort of book that might be nice to have around, so I could look up relevant passages once in a while--unfortunately because it has completely fallen apart and I'm definitely going to have to recycle it.
The book was Simon's PhD dissertation in the '40s, and it represents his attempt to build a formal analytical foundation for the analysis of organizational structure and decision-making. A couple of chapters have been added on in later editions, which are basically just relevant papers that he published later. Much of these chapters is concerned with the impact of information technology on organizations, so I was very surprised to find them to be some of the most insightful of all--though Simon was writing before the advent of what we would consider to be moder computers, he makes many subtle points that I think most people are just now beginning to understand. In particular, I think his focus on attention as a scarce resource is very prescient.
There are other interesting insights scattered throughout, and I think his characterization of authority and influence as the ability to determine some of the premises that enter another's decision (but not the decision itself, usually) is a very useful analytical framework. As you might expect of a book trying to build a formal analytical foundation, however, a lot of it is kind of boring. I may have a look at some of his other work eventually, but not for a while.
September 17, 2009
For class again, more interesting than the other one. Makes me think of my dad. Tired of looking at it too.
Did Not Finish
August 10, 2012There are some brilliant ideas in here but omg it's such a slog to get through.
July 15, 2013
Solid and foundation perspectives in Organisational behaviour.
Not so easy to get through but it was worthy the time spent.
Not so easy to get through but it was worthy the time spent.
February 5, 2014
An excellent book on the theory of management. Simon is a Nobel Prize winner, so this book is not an easy read. It has to be read slowly & thoughtfully, but it is well worth the effort.
April 6, 2014
This is rightly regarded as a classic of organizational psychology because it goes through what most people take for granted, especially because bureaucracies are composed of people.
January 3, 2016
Still in print, and still relevant, after all these decades.
Want to Read
June 23, 2016i want to read the most famous book of century.
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
November 16, 2009
Nobel-prize winning work indeed.
Currently Reading
May 1, 2017this is a good book.
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
Read
August 5, 2018DNF. This book is considered one of the preeminent books in the field, but I just cannot finish it. It's very dense and many of the subjects that were groundbreaking at time of original printing have now been explored and discussed at length by other authors.
Displaying 1 - 26 of 26 reviews