%0 Journal Article
%J Engineering Project Organization Journal
%D 2012
%T A contingency approach to designing project organizations: theory and tools
%A Carroll,Tim
%A Burton,Richard M
%K Management
%X Many firms have increasingly come to rely on projects as a fundamental approach to organizing work. Yet understanding the best way to organize projects is a challenge, given the various contingencies that impact project success. We focus here on three contingency-based project organization design tools (the design structure matrix, OrgCon™ and SimVision™) that help to manage project complexity and ensure project success by identifying misfits or misalignments between organizational elements. We discuss the application of these models to a large National Aeronautics and Space Administration project as an example. We conclude with a consideration of how the existing tools are useful, and where they fall short.
%B Engineering Project Organization Journal
%V 2
%P 5-14
%8 2012
%G eng
%U https://www.tandfonline.com/doi/abs/10.1080/21573727.2011.641118
%N 1-2
%2 a
%4 222943369216
%$ 222943369216

%0 Journal Article
%J Organization Science
%D 2006
%T Designing a New Organization at NASA: An Organization Design Process Using Simulation
%A Carroll,Tim
%A Gormley,Thomas J
%A Bilardo,Vincent J
%A Burton,Richard M
%A Woodman,Keith L
%K Management
%X The challenge for NASA’s Systems Analysis Integrated Discipline Team (SAIDT) is to develop a new organization design capable of performing complex modeling and analysis tasks, using team members at various NASA centers. The focus is on: (1) design as a process, (2) the effect of design tools on the process as well as alternative designs, (3) the fit between the tools and their fit with the organization, (4) the effect of an ongoing agency-wide transformation, and (5) implications for organizational contingency theory.
%B Organization Science
%V 17
%P 171-312
%8 2006
%G eng
%N 2
%2 a
%4 222727751680
%$ 222727751680

%0 Journal Article
%J Computational & Mathematical Organization Theory
%D 2000
%T Organizations and complexity: Searching for the edge of chaos
%A Carroll,Tim
%A Burton,Richard M
%K Management
%X Traditional organizational theory advocates increased differentiation and horizontal integration for organizations in unstable environments or with uncertain technologies. This paper seeks to develop a better understanding of the relationship of group structure and the level of interdependency between individuals on group performance under various task complexities. Complexity theory in general, and NK models in particular, are introduced as theoretical frameworks that offer an explanation for group performance. Simulation models are developed, based on the communication network research of Bavelas (1948) and Leavitt (1952), to explore the effects of decentralization and interdependence. The simulation model developed here shows general consistency with previous human subject experiments. However, contrary to predictions, not all decentralized group structures perform well when undertaking complex task assignments. Structures that are highly connected (actors communicating with all others) perform much worse than those with a lower level of connection. Further experiments varying both the number of actors and the degree of interdependence between them find evidence of the “edge of chaos.” This research advances our understanding of organizations beyond earlier models by suggesting that there is an optimal range of interconnectedness between actors or tasks that explains the variation in performance. An intriguing result is that this optimal level of interdependence is fairly low, regardless of the size of the group.
%B Computational & Mathematical Organization Theory
%V 6
%P 319-337
%8 2000
%G eng
%N 4
%2 a
%4 222943787008
%$ 222943787008