Agent Atlas

Decision premises

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Decision premises

Decision premises are the factual and value commitments from which a decision is reached in Simon’s analysis. Organizational influence can operate by determining some of these premises rather than prescribing every detail of an individual’s final action. Simon names authority, communication, training, efficiency, and identification (organizational loyalty) as modes of influence that can supply premises. He notes that these modes do not exclude one another. (Chapter VII, printed p. 177)1

Uses in the literature

Simon treats the scope of authority and the scope of discretion in terms of which premises are specified and which are left to the decision-maker. Different influences can constrain different parts of the same decision. His example of a composite decision shows that the officer who signs a contract may perform an almost ministerial function after many others have shaped its premises. An account of organization must therefore examine more than the final command or the signature. (Chapter XI, printed pp. 306–309)1

The Fact–value distinction separates claims about consequences from preferred ends. A premise may be an uncertain estimate, not a verified fact. Organizational authority is one way premises are accepted; it is not the only organizational influence. Information held in Agent memory becomes a decision premise only when it actually structures the choice; storage alone is not enough.

Operational example

An illustrative delegated agent receives a spending limit and a required delivery date, then chooses a supplier using price and stock estimates. Record the source of each constraint, the evidence for each estimate, and the choices still left open. If estimates change, reconsider the resulting decision rather than treating the original conclusion as an unconditional instruction.

Footnotes

  1. Simon, Herbert A. Administrative Behavior: A Study of Decision-Making Processes in Administrative Organizations. Fourth edition. The Free Press, 1997. ISBN 9780684835822. Publisher edition. Inspected Chapter VII, printed p. 177 (PDF p. 97), and Chapter XI, printed pp. 306–309 (PDF pp. 162–163). The private scan uses two-page spreads. ↩ ↩2

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