The Structure of "Un- structured" Decision Processes

Abstract

June 1976, volume 21 A field study of 25 strategic decision processes, together with a review of the related empirical literature, suggests that a basic structure underlies these unstructured processes. This structure is described in terms of 12 elements: 3 central phases, 3 sets of supporting routines, and 6 sets of dynamic factors. This paper discusses each of these elements in turn, and then proposes a general model to describe the interrelationships among them. The 25 strategic decision processes studied are then shown to fall into 7 types of path configurations through the model.