ABSTRACT
This chapter outlines the decision-making approach to the analysis of organization. It is done in the tradition of the descriptive rather than the normative orientation in that the chapter presents some ideas on how individuals (probably) make decisions rather than on how they should make them. The emphasis is placed on some of the conceptual and methodological problems involved in looking at administrative behavior in this fashion. The perceptive reader will discover for himself how illusive the line between normative and descriptive becomes when one begins to analyze decision-making. Policy-makers usually begin with an already ongoing set of programs, skills, and commitments. There are numerous "sunk costs" in the form of investments in technology, training, and experience that can be forgone only at a substantial loss to the organization. Controls from the environment in the form of laws, contractual obligations, professional standards, fiscal requirements, reporting procedures, and organized public opinion extend into the organization.
