A Simulation of the SIVA Model of Organizational Behavior

The purpose of this paper is to describe several computer simulations of an analytical (conceptual) model of a system which exemplify how simulation can provide an economical test of the internal consistency of such models. "An analytical model is a mental construct consisting of a set of elements in interrelation, the elements and their interrelations being precisely defined. "2 One basic test of a model is its internal consistency. If the model is not internally consistent, the amount of simplification that it achieves and its apparent isomorphism to real world events are less meaningful as criteria by which to judge that model. By "internal consistency" is meant simply that the underlying assumptions and propositions of the model are non-contradictory and that the model behaves in the way defined by those assumptions and propositions. It is difficult, ifnot impossible, to make such a test of a model which is constructed in the literary or qualitative mode unless a translation can be made into the mode of formal operational statements. Such an operational model may be purely mathematical, a mechanical or similar analogue, or any type of process which creates a dynamic working representation of the conceptual model in which the entities and variables are replaced by operational equivalents for the purpose of evaluating over-all system performance. Theodore Caplow3 has proposed a "single analytical model" of organizational behavior which he conceives to be culture free, that is, applicable to organizational situations which differ greatly in scale and outward appearance but which are thought o have the same basic pattern-a pattern activated when two or more individuals having some common and some disparate goals engage in joint action. The model is limited to four variables for which Caplow uses the letters S, I, V, and A as a mnemonic device to indicate the similarity of different aspects of these four variables which are thought o be basic to the organization in action. The S variable refers to some aspect of the relative strength of the parties, the I variable refers to the degree of their mutual influence within the relevant action system, the V variable measures the volitional component of the situation, and the A variable measures the results of the joint action of the parties within the relevant context. "4 The purpose of the model is to predict the changes that will occur in the entire system composed of these variables, each of which is a function of every other, when a change in any one variable is imposed from the outside. The model is one of dynamic equilibrium and is assumed to have the property of "stability in the small"; that is, "a minor change in S, 1, V or A imposed by an outside force tends to be followed by a series of successive changes the ultimate effect of which is to restore the initial values of the variables. "5 Caplow has presented four different sets of such SIVA variables which represent different levels and/or situations of organizational life but which were meant to conform to a single set of functional interThe author gratefully acknowledges the constructively critical comments of Harold Guetzkow and support from the Danforth Foundation of St. Louis, Mo.