Networks of Decision-Making and Communicating Agents: A New Methodology for Design and Evaluation of Organizational Strategies and Heterarchical Structures

Abstract

In this paper, the authors explore the decomposition of organizational processes and decision-making, the coexistence of an organization's command and communication networks, and their effects on team performance. They present a methodology to design mission-based strategies and novel heterarchical organizational structures based on exploring information/command transfer and processing in the organizations. This methodology allows the synthesis of alternative C3I organizational structures that outperform traditional hierarchies in environments with heavy information volume, scarce resources, and strict knowledge and communication constraints.