Simulating Organizations: Computational Models of Institutions and Groups
Edited by Michael Prietula, Kathleen Carley, and Les Gasser
267 pp., bibliography, index, illus., $52.00 softcover, ISBN 978-0-262-66108-9
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Computational organization theory is the articulation of an organization theory in the form of a computer program. This volume adds forceful new evidence that computational modeling of organization is experiencing a sudden burst of new vitality and maturation. Object-oriented methodology now underlies many of the systems being developed, and ideas from the field of distributed artificial intelligence are directly in evidence in many of the chapters.
The results are at last beginning to look highly promising. While there is still a great deal of hard work to be done, we can begin to imagine a day when theorists of organizations will routinely state theories and derive their implications using computational tools that are easily comprehended and widely shared—though sharing the tools will only happen if the field commits itself to the special efforts it requires.