1998 Volume 7 Issue 3 Pages 113-136
In this paper we discuss the relation between a few cooperation forms and an amount of task processing in terms of efficiency, focusing on relationship among personnel with respect to division of labor in organization. We define the cooperation forms that consist of a horizontal division of labor and of a vertical division of labor, and develope an operational organization model employing agents. Concerning researches of computational organization theory, the horizontal division of labor among autonomous agents is considerably discussed. However, the vertical division of labor is not included in the researches. Therefore the cooperation form is not sufficiently discussed in the researches in spite of its importance in organizing.
In order to discuss the cooperation forms based on horizontal and vertical division of labor, we develop our model based on our observation of cooperation among cooks in a family restaurant. In this model, the cooperation forms are classified into three types in terms of the horizontal and vertical division of labor; i. e., the segmented form, the decentralized form, and the integrated form. According to our results of simulation, the segmented form is the best one in the light load, the decentralized form in the middle load, and the integrated form in the heavy load. The load is an amount of tasks which should be processed by agents. Therefore it can be operationally explained that cooks in a kitchen of family restaurant effectively select the best one from cooperation forms that are generated by the cooks.
The model may describe the cooperation forms that consists of the horizontal and vertical division of labor with regard to a coordination between the task decomposition and its performance by agents. Organizations create and change an appropriate cooperation form to coordinate the decomposition and performance, depending on changes in environmental conditions. The creation and change are a primary theme in an organization design. Consequently the operational organization model can contribute an operational discussion concerning generation and reformation of an organization, and can be a basic model for an operational organization design.
