Administrative Behavior

Administrative Behavior: a Study of Decision-Making Processes in Administrative Organization
Title page of first edition
AuthorHerbert A. Simon
LanguageEnglish
PublisherMacmillan
Publication date
1947
Publication placeUnited States
Media typePrint (hardcover)
Pagesxvi + 259
OCLC356505
LC ClassHD31 .S55

Administrative Behavior: a Study of Decision-Making Processes in Administrative Organization is a book written by Herbert A. Simon (1916–2001). It asserts that "decision-making is the heart of administration, and that the vocabulary of administrative theory must be derived from the logic and psychology of human choice", and it attempts to describe administrative organizations "in a way that will provide the basis for scientific analysis".[1]: xiii–xiv [2]: xlv–xlvi [3]: xlvii–xlviii [4]: xi  The first edition was published in 1947; the second, in 1957; the third, in 1976; and the fourth, in 1997. As summarized in a 2001 obituary of Simon, the book "reject[ed] the notion of an omniscient 'economic man' capable of making decisions that bring the greatest benefit possible and substitut[ed] instead the idea of 'administrative man' who 'satisfices—looks for a course of action that is satisfactory'".[5] Administrative Behavior laid the foundation for the economic movement known as the Carnegie School.

The book crosses social science disciplines such as political science and economics.[6] Simon returned to some of the ideas in the book in his later works, such as The Sciences of the Artificial (1969).[6][7] The Royal Swedish Academy of Sciences cited the book as "epoch-making" in awarding the 1978 Nobel Memorial Prize in Economic Sciences to Simon.[8][9] A 1990 article in Public Administration Review named it the "public administration book of the half century" (1940-1990).[10] It was voted the fifth most influential management book of the 20th century in a poll of the Fellows of the Academy of Management.[11]

  1. ^ Simon, Herbert A. (1947). Administrative Behavior: a Study of Decision-Making Processes in Administrative Organization (1st ed.). New York: Macmillan. OCLC 356505.
  2. ^ Simon, Herbert A. (1957). Administrative Behavior: a Study of Decision-Making Processes in Administrative Organization (2nd ed.). New York: Macmillan. OCLC 964597.
  3. ^ Simon, Herbert A. (1976). Administrative Behavior: a Study of Decision-Making Processes in Administrative Organization (3rd ed.). New York: Free Press. ISBN 978-0029289716.
  4. ^ Simon, Herbert A. (1997). Administrative Behavior: a Study of Decision-Making Processes in Administrative Organizations (4th ed.). New York: Free Press. ISBN 978-0684835822.
  5. ^ Lewis, Paul (10 February 2001). "Herbert A. Simon Dies at 84; Won a Nobel for Economics". New York Times. p. 13.
  6. ^ a b Augier, Mie (2002). "Administrative Behavior: A Study of Decision-Making Processes in Administrative Organizations (book review)". The Economic Journal. 112 (480): F386–F388. doi:10.1111/1468-0297.t01-17-00050.
  7. ^ Golembiewski, Robert T. (1988). "Nobel Laureate Simon 'Looks Back': a Low-Frequency Mode" (PDF). Public Administration Quarterly. 12 (3): 275–300. JSTOR 40861423. Archived from the original (PDF) on 2022-01-21. Retrieved 2012-05-19.
  8. ^ Carlson, Sune (16 October 1978). "The Prize in Economics 1978: Award Ceremony Speech". Retrieved 2 May 2012.
  9. ^ Royal Swedish Academy of Sciences (16 October 1978). "The Prize in Economics 1978 – Press Release". Retrieved 2 May 2012.
  10. ^ Sherwood, Frank P. (1990). "The Half-Century's 'Great Books' in Public Administration". Public Administration Review. 50 (2): 249–264. doi:10.2307/976872. JSTOR 976872.
  11. ^ Bedeian, Arthur G.; Wren, Daniel A. (Winter 2001). "Most Influential Management Books of the 20th Century" (PDF). Organizational Dynamics. 29 (3): 221–225. doi:10.1016/S0090-2616(01)00022-5. Archived from the original (PDF) on 2015-10-17. Retrieved 2012-05-19.