The organizational context of judgment and choice: Evaluation and approval of the Iranian hostage rescue mission

Studies of decision making have often been conducted either at the organizational or at the individual levels of analysis. Models of organizational decision making often overlook the importance of individual cognition and social context; and by contrast, our understanding of individual decision making often neglects social and organizational factors. This dissertation seeks to link disparate theoretical avenues by exploring how organizational context affects individual behavior, and how individual cognition affects organizational outcomes.;A historical case study is undertaken to examine these issues. The decision studied here concerns the evaluation and approval of the Iranian hostage rescue mission of April, 1980. Archival sources, historical documents, and interviews with many participants were used to explore issues of theoretical interest. Case study data suggest strongly that quite apart from organizational factors, biases in individual judgment affected the evaluation of the rescue mission and contributed to its approval. These biases may have been cognitive in nature, but may also have been the result of a desire for acceptability within a social setting.;Based on this case study, a series of propositions are set forth which suggest the ways that organizational structure, individual cognition, and social context affect each other. Suggestions for practicing managers and direction for further research are also set forth.