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ABSTRACTDespite the central place of rationality and political behavior in the decision‐making literature, we know little about the relationship between these two dimensions. Can decisions be made using both rational and political methods, or must managers use one approach or the other? These questions were addressed in a study of 61 strategic decisions in 24 companies using a multiple‐informant, structured interview protocol. Results indicate that procedural rationality and political behavior are independent dimensions of the strategic decision‐making process. The implications of our findings for future strategic decision‐making research are discussed.

When President Kennedy appointed Robert McNamara Secretary of Defense in January, 1961 and McNamara called on Charles Hitch to join him, a new era of defense policy leadership was clearly at hand. Great problems of organization had emerged along with vast increases in American responsibility for the security of the free world in the post-war era of rapidly changing military technology. Defense department unification and other controversial questions of organiz

© 2019, Springer Science+Business Media, LLC, part of Springer Nature.Literature on informal political institutions has focused on the national level, disregarding sub-national contexts where one can expect increased informality. This article analyzes locally allocated Chilean public investment to understand how informal institutions affect regional development and local democracy. Based on 59 interviews with key stakeholders and national authorities, this research analyses the flow of the decision-making process on funds for regional investment. The results show that local bureaucrats introduce innovations to cope with the weaknesses of formal decision-making regulations, and that these may become informal institutions that complement or accommodate the process to obtain the outcomes expected under the formal rule.

This article describes an exercise in political decisionmaking for use in introductory political science courses. Based upon participatory democratic theory, the exercise is a covert simulation project aimed at providing students with an experiential understanding of the political decisionmaking process. This activity is useful for exposing the latent political structure which underscores most social settings and for allowing a clear analysis of the exercise of power in a small, educational arena; the simulation provides a unique opportunity for combining subject matter and pedagogical technique.The procedure will be described in some detail, the initial results generated are discussed, the topics related to the experience later in the course are examined, and suggestions for instructor preparation are made. This procedure has been successfully used in undergraduate classes of Introduction to American Government and in Introduction to Political Science over a five year period.