A METHODOLOGY AND EXPERIMENTAL SHELL FOR FORMALLY ADDRESSING CENTRALIZED DISTRIBUTED DECISION-MAKING CHOICES
Managers seeking optimal organizational design require a means for choosing between centralized and distributed decision making processes. We provide a methodology for modelling and subsequently comparing centralized and distributed decision making processes. A detailed example of the implementation of all but the final stage of this methodology is provided using the context of a flexible manufacturing system (FMS) environment. An adaptable experimental shell and interface is set forth and initial experimental results are used to illustrate our methodology. We also illustrate how experimental results can be used in the development of automated bidding systems (''expert'' systems) for use in subsequent simulations for comparing the performance of centralized and distributed decision making alternatives.
methodology distributed decision making fms laboratory experiments