An Agent-Based Model of Miscommunication in Complex System Engineering Organizations

Abstract

Academy of Management Annual Meeting Proceedings includes abstracts of all papers and symposia presented at the annual conference, plus 6-page abridged versions of the “Best Papers” accepted for inclusion in the program (approximately 10%). Papers published in the Proceedings are abridged because presenting papers at their full length could preclude subsequent journal publication. Please contact the author(s) directly for the full papers. An Agent-Based Model of Miscommunication in Complex System Engineering OrganizationsJohn Meluso and Jesse Austin-BrenemanJohn Meluso U. of Michigan and Jesse Austin-Breneman U. of MichiganPublished Online:1 Aug 2019https://doi.org/10.5465/AMBPP.2019.14198abstractAboutSections ToolsDownload CitationsAdd to favoritesTrack Citations ShareShare onFacebookTwitterLinkedInRedditEmail AbstractCommunication in complex system design organizations affects the performance of the systems they design. Miscommunication occurs when communication results in a ""deficiency"" or ""problem"" that hinders parties from fulfilling their individual or collective values. A recent study demonstrated widespread miscommunication in a Fortune 500 engineering firm about the definition of ""an estimate"" in a complex system design context. Building on that work, this study used a Monte Carlo simulation (8800 runs) of an agent-based model to demonstrate how systemic design process miscommunication may affect complex system performance. Each run of the simulation created a unique 1,000-artifact system using a network generation algorithm and converged its design through optimization. Systems where estimates communicated ""current"" designs outperformed systems where estimates communicated ""future"" projections of their designs instead (p<0.001). Varying the fraction of the organization which uses each definition of an estimate varied system performance and uncertainty. Whether related to estimate definitions or more generally, organizational miscommunication may affect system performance.FiguresReferencesRelatedDetails Vol. 2019, No. 1 Permissions Metrics in the past 12 months History Published online 1 August 2019 Published in print 1 August 2019 InformationCopyright of Academy of Management Journal is the property of Academy of Management and its content may not be copied or emailed to multiple sites or posted to a listserv without the copyright holder’s express written permission. However, users may print, download, or email articles for individual use.KeywordsAOM Annual Meeting Proceedings 2019AOM Boston 2019