Designing Organizations: Does Expertise Matter? Articles uri icon

authors

  • SANCHEZ MANZANARES, MIRIAM
  • RICO, RAMON
  • GIL, FRANCISCO

publication date

  • December 2008

start page

  • 87

end page

  • 101

issue

  • 3-4

volume

  • 23

International Standard Serial Number (ISSN)

  • 0889-3268

Electronic International Standard Serial Number (EISSN)

  • 1573-353X

abstract

  • From an organizational cognition standpoint, we approach organizational design as an ongoing creative sensemaking process. This study examined the role of expertise in the cognitive problem-solving patterns underlying design processes and the resulting organizational forms. The simulated problem elicited the mental models applied by naives, novices, and experts in designing an organization. The thinking-aloud protocol analysis revealed quantitative and qualitative expert/nonexpert differences in problem-solving strategies, the time spent onproblem representation, and the justifications and difficulties expressed in the course of the design process. In addition, our results showed that naives created organizations consistent with mechanistic structures, while novices and experts created organizations consistent with organic structures. We discuss the implications of these findings for the understanding of the cognitive basis of organizational design and the development of effective training programs.