Garbage can model
The garbage can model describes the chaotic reality of organizational decision making in an organized anarchy. The model originated in the 1972 seminal paper, A Garbage Can Model of Organizational Choice, written by Michael D. Cohen, James G. March, and Johan P. Olsen.
Organized anarchies are organizations, or decision situations, characterized by problematic preferences, unclear technology, and fluid participation. While some organizations are more frequently characterized by these traits of organized anarchy, the traits can be partially descriptive of any organization, part of the time.
Within this context, of an organized anarchy view of organizational decision making, the garbage can model symbolizes the choice-opportunity/decision-situation as a "garbage can" that participants are chaotically dumping problems and solutions into, as they are being generated. The "garbage can" term's significance is best understood by considering the manner in which items in a trash can are organized, which is a messy, chaotic mix. The model portrays problems, solutions, and participants/decision-makers as three independent "streams" that are each generated separately, and flow disconnected from each other. These three streams only meet when the fourth stream of choice opportunity arises, as a garbage can, for the streams to flow into. The mix of garbage in a single can depends on the mix of cans available, on the labels attached to each can, and on what garbage is currently being generated. The mix of garbage in a single can also depend on the speed at which the garbage is collected and removed from the scene, for example, how long before problems, solutions, or participants move on to other choice opportunities, or, depending on how long the current choice opportunity remains available. This anarchic view of decision making contrasts with traditional decision theory.
Organized anarchy
Organized anarchies can be characterized by a sense of chaos and dynamism. Problems and solutions are loosely coupled. Proposed solutions change during bargaining. All participants involved do not get the chance to fully participate, and have limitations on their time and energy. Many things happen at once, all competing with each other for attention. Amongst the confusion, participants try to make sense of their role in the organization.General properties
The behavioral theory of organized anarchy views organizations, or decision-situations/choice-opportunities, as generally characterized by the three properties of problematic preferences, unclear technology, and fluid participation. These properties of organized anarchy are characteristic of any organization in part, part of the time.Problematic preferences
The organization has no clear preference or guidelines. It operates on the basis of a variety of inconsistent and ill-defined preferences, goals, and identities. The organization can be described more accurately as a loose collection of ideas, rather than as a coherent structure. Organizations discover their preferences through actions, more than actions are taken on the basis of preferences. It is unclear which problems matter, and which do not.Unclear technology
The organization's processes are not understood by the organization's own members. The organization operates based on trial and error procedures, learning from accidents of past experiences, and pragmatic inventions of necessity. It is not clear what the consequences are for proposed solutions, or how to solve problems with solutions that lack evidence.Fluid participation
Participants vary in how much time and effort they commit to different domains. Participant involvement also varies, depending on the time. Consequently, the boundaries of the organization are continuously uncertain and changing. Audiences and decision makers for any type of choice change suddenly and unpredictably.Meaning making
Organizations can be viewed as vehicles for solving problems, or structures where conflict is resolved through bargaining. However, organizations also provide procedures through which participants gain an understanding of what they are doing and what they have done. Organizations, especially organized anarchies, may have difficulty creating their collective platform and identity. In situations of ambiguity, decision making moves away from ideas of reality, causality, and intentionality, to thoughts of meaning. Therefore, decisions become seen as vehicles for constructing meaningful interpretations of fundamentally confusing worlds, instead of outcomes produced by comprehensible environments. As the complexity of decision situations increase so that they more closely resemble reality, they become meaning generators instead of consequence generators.Hence, we understand organized anarchies as meaning makers that we need within organizations so that we can feel like we have reasons and identities for which to be present at the organization and to address many types of concerns, such as in meetings, where the issues may or may not be relevant to the existing topic of discussion. Within this perspective, an organization is a collection of choices seeking problems, issues and feelings seeking decision situations where they can be raised, solutions seeking issues to which they may be able to solve, and decision makers seeking out work.
The Garbage Can Model
Whereas the theory of organized anarchy provided a larger view to describe how organizations and decision situations function, the garbage can model focuses in on how decisions get made within these organized anarchies. The model details what elements are involved in the decision-making process, how the outcomes are generated, and who/what is able to access this interaction.Decision streams
The garbage can model views decisions as outcomes of four independent streams within organizations. Prior to the garbage can model, the decision process was imagined very differently, as visually displayed, based on references from the foundational literature, in the figures below.Problems
Problems arise from people both inside and outside of the organization, and for many different reasons, all consuming attention. Examples may include family, career, distribution of status and money, or even current events in the media. These problems do not need to be real, or actually important, but only to be perceived as such by the decision makers.Solutions
Solutions are an individual's or a collective's product. Examples may include ideas, bills, programs, and operating procedures. None of the solutions need to pertain to an existing problem. Instead, participants use the solutions generated to actively seek out problems that the solutions may be able to solve.Participants
Participants have other demands on their time, and actively arrive to, and leave from, the decision-making process. They may also have different preferences for different solutions.Choice opportunities
Choice opportunities give the organizations chances to act in ways that can be called decisions. These opportunities occur regularly, and organizations are able to determine moments for choice. Examples may include the signing of contracts, hiring and firing employees, spending money, and assigning tasks.The first three streams of problems, solutions, and participants, flow into the fourth stream of choice opportunities, and mix based on chance, timing, and who happens to be present.
The decision arena
While the first three streams of problems, solutions, and participants, meet in the stream of choice opportunity, the decision/choice arena is the larger domain where all four of these streams meet. This arena can be the type of organization or the greater setting in which this interaction is occurring. For example, a board or committee may be a choice arena, while the committee's annual elections may be a choice opportunity. Choice opportunities may also move between different choice arenas, such as a decision being passed between committees, or departments.Decision outcomes
The outcomes of how the four streams mix in a choice arena can vary. Sometimes decisions are made. Other times no decisions are made. Still other times, decisions are made, but do not address the problem that they were meant to solve.Resolution
Resolution occurs when the choices taken resolve the problem that was being addressed. This success occurs when problems arise in choice opportunities, and the decision makers present have the energy/ability to properly address the problems' demands.Oversight
Oversight occurs when a decision is taken before the problem reaches it. This happens when choice opportunities arrive and no problems are attached to them. This may be due to problems being attached to other choice arenas at the moment. If there is sufficient energy available to make a choice quickly, participants will make the choice and move on before the relevant problem arrives.Flight
Flight occurs when a decision is taken after the problem goes away. This happens when problems are attached to choice opportunities for a period of time and exceed the energy of their respective decision makers to stay focused on the problem. The original problem may then move to another choice arena. Examples are tabling, or sending decisions to subcommittees, where the problems may not get attached to solutions.Early implications
The Fortran model simulations, used in the original paper, found that, most often, decisions are not made to resolve problems. Decision-making processes were found to be very sensitive to variations in energy and time. Decision makers and problems were also found to seek each other out, and continue to find each other.Three key aspects of the efficiency of the decision process are problem activity, problem latency, and decision time. Problem activity is the amount of time unresolved problems are actively attached to choice situations. This is a rough measure of the potential for decision conflict in an organization. Problem latency is the amount of time problems spend activated but not linked to choices. Decision time is the persistence of choices. Good organizational structures would be assumed to keep problem activity and problem latency low by quickly solving problems with choices. Notably, this result was not observed in the garbage can model.
The model's processes are very interactive, and some phenomena are dependent on specific combinations of other structures at play. Important problems were found more likely to be solved than unimportant ones, and important choices were less likely to solve problems than unimportant ones.