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Mixed-scanning: A “Third” Approach to Decision-making*
Abstract
A rationalistic approach to decision-making requires greater resources than decision-makers command. The incremental strategy, which takes into account the limited capacity of actors, fosters decisions which neglect basic societal innovations. Mixed-scanning reduces the unrealistic aspects of rationalism by limiting the details required in fundamental decisions and helps to overcome the conservative slant of incrementalism by exploring longer-run alternatives. (Incremental decisions tend to imply fundamental ones, anyway.) The mixed-scanning model makes this dualism explicit by combining (a) high-order, fundamental policy-making processes which set basic directions and (b) incremental ones which prepare for fundamental decisions and work them out after they have been reached. Mixed-scanning has two further advantages over incrementalism: It provides a strategy for evaluation and it does not include hidden structural assumptions. The flexibility of the different scanning levels makes mixed-scanning a useful strategy for decision-making in environments of varying stability and by actors with varying control and consensus-building capacities.
... A mixed-scanning strategy involves using two cameras: a wide-angle camera to capture the entire sky with limited detail and a second camera to focus on certain locations identified by the first camera for further inspection. Mixed-scanning may overlook details that only a detailed camera can uncover, but incrementalism is less likely to miss evident danger locations in new environments (Etzioni, 1967). ...
... The Model's Development Through Time Amittai Etzioni, a sociologist, developed the mixed scanning method. Two levels of planning, tactical and strategic, were suggested by Etzioni (1968) for organisations. He suggested that organisations may do this by thoroughly examining the environment at many levels and thereafter selecting diverse strategies and methods to deal with the identified factors. ...
... «Fuggelmyra skole» var komplementaert til pensum, og skulle bidra med ulike perspektiver slik at studentene fikk øve seg i å se utfordringer både i et teoretisk og i et situasjonsbestemt perspektiv. Å veksle på disse kaller Etzioni (1973) for et «mixed scanning approach». Med dette undervisningsopplegget hadde vi et ønske om å utvikle god praksisbasert undervisning der teori og praksis skulle kobles tettere sammen ved å veksle på hvilke av disse perspektivene vi brukte. ...
... I lys av funnene kan teoribasert kunnskap betraktes av studentene å ha en forrang foran den mer praksisbasert kunnskapen på campus fordi de har et pensum å forholde seg til. Ved å sørge for at teoretisk og erfaringsbasert kunnskap fremstår som mer integrert for studenten blir det lettere for studentene å forstå det kompliserte samspillet mellom teori og praksis (Heggen & Raaen, 2014), og det er fruktbart å bytte mellom både teoretiske og situasjonsbestemte perspektiver (Etzioni, 1973). Slik kan vi oppnå en laererutdanning som er basert både på forsknings-og erfaringskunnskap, slik forskriften slår fast (Forskrift om rammeplan for grunnskolelaererutdanning for trinn 1-7, 2016). ...
For many years, ”drawing a mathematics teacher” has been an activity that new student teachers in mathematics have been required to do in their first teaching session within the teacher training program. Having already been students themselves for at least thirteen years, during which most of them had mathematics classes several times a week, they had quite clear preconceptions of how teaching mathematics occurs, what kind of mathematics is taught and by whom. In this chapter I address what these drawings produced by student teachers can tell us: They bear imprints of all three elements, that is, the type of teaching, the nature of mathematics and the behavior or appearance of the mathematics teacher. More than 400 drawings were collected over a six-year period and analyzed, and they revealed that there is a surprising consensus around these presentations.
... Environmental horizon scanning is an approach which highlights and plans for future scenarios and potential issues, and it has a long-established provenance in urban planning theory (Etzioni 1967;Faludi 1973). This approach eschews 'incrementalism' or 'muddling through', which we simply cannot afford to do in the light of urgent climate change issues. ...
Climate change is a globally significant issue. How we respond and adapt to it, will have implications for thousands of years (IPCC, 2023). This paper explores linkages between climate change and crime to contribute knowledge to this significantly under-researched area of study. We highlight five ways climate change and crime are linked and use place-based theories from environmental criminology and an environmental horizon scanning process to help develop best practice. We call on environmental criminology, situational crime prevention and crime prevention through environmental design to adopt longer-term perspectives and apply situationally bespoke thinking and responses to help mitigate against the effects of global warming and support the planning, design, development, and maintenance of more sustainable and resilient cities in a collaborative way.
... Assim, percebe-se uma formulação do tipo mixed-scanning, com dois níveis de decisão (Etzioni, 1967 E por que a saúde bucal nunca foi tratada como uma questão de saúde? Porque a questão da saúde bucal é uma doença de pobre, não é uma doença de rico. ...
Introdução: Desde a criação do Sistema Único de Saúde (SUS), a inserção da saúde bucal na agenda política tem sido marcada por contradições e conflitos tanto nas arenas formais quanto informais do processo de construção e manutenção de políticas públicas, realidade que impacta o sucesso e a longevidade dos programas focados no tema. Objetivo: Analisar a trajetória da Política Nacional de Saúde Bucal (PNSB) rumo a uma política de Estado, sendo utilizado o instrumental teórico-metodológico do ciclo das políticas públicas. Metodologia: Este é um estudo analítico retrospectivo, descritivo, com abordagem qualitativa, realizado por meio de análise documental, bibliográfica e de base de dados secundários. Incluíram-se documentos oficiais, livros e publicações científicas sobre o referencial teórico-conceitual, a PNSB e o Brasil Sorridente, além de informações sobre a evolução da oferta de serviços e do financiamento da política. Resultados: Um primeiro ciclo se inicia em 1990, com a publicação da Lei Orgânica do SUS, e, a partir de 2004, o Brasil Sorridente é implementado como uma Política de Governo. Observou-se a ampliação da cobertura de serviços básicos e especializados no território nacional, além da melhora dos indicadores de saúde bucal na população brasileira. No entanto, ainda há problemas que precisam ser abordados no novo ciclo da política, iniciado com a promulgação da Lei da Saúde Bucal, em 2023. Conclusão: Os resultados positivos do Brasil Sorridente explicitam o valor dessa política para a saúde pública brasileira, e reafirmam a importância da sua adequada condução, para que se torne uma Política de Estado de fato e de direito.
... El uso de estos medios está determinado por los intereses y las finalidades que cada uno de los actores tenga. Esto tiene importancia particularmente en las interacciones donde se busca influir en la definición y uso de bienes públicos; distintos actores buscan incidir en los distintos momentos de creación, operación y diagnóstico de las acciones de gobierno que operativizan el uso de los bienes públicos (Etzioni, 1967). ...
En los estudios sobre patrimonio cultural en México el papel del estado como actor, arbitro y finalmente custodio son tomados como un hecho, como algo dado. Los cuestionamientos generalmente recaen en dos ámbitos: los datos técnicos, históricos, arquitectónicos o culturales que permiten considerar a una construcción o actividad como parte del patrimonio, o la capacidad que tiene la autoridad para retomar principios sobre conservación patrimonial que han sido adoptados en otros países u organizaciones internacionales. Ante esto, el presente trabajo analiza el tema de la patrimonialización como un conflicto entre una organización civil mexicana que cuestiona el papel que debía desempeñar la autoridad en la salvaguarda del patrimonio y las instituciones estatales que estudian y tutelan los bienes culturales. El caso de estudio es la zona arqueológica de Huapalcalco en Hidalgo, la participación que tivieron la sociedad civil local, particularmente la organización Niebla y Tiempo, el gobierno local y el Instituto Nacional de Antropología e Historia en lograr este nombramiento durante los años 2008 al 2020.
... The theory seeks to ensure that in any decision-making quest, the best elements of rational choice thinking and Incrementalism are to be employed in order to arrive at a final conclusion. Mixed-Scanning Theory acquires its strength from its eclectic nature (Etzioni 1967). ...
This chapter entails brief elucidations of three decision-making theories, five economic theories, and eleven education (learning/teaching) theories. The theories on decision-making concern the action or process of choosing among alternative options, especially important ones. Those on economics deal with the production, consumption, and transfer of wealth. And those on education – learning/teaching – discuss the acquisition and instruction of knowledge or skills through experience, study, or by being taught.
The dichotomy between the rational and incremental models in planning theory is well known, that is their positioning on opposite sides of the spectrum of possible spatial planning approaches. it is also well recognized that the beginnings and the golden era of planning in Serbia and Yugoslavia were closely linked to the rational approach, the pyramid of plans and the systematic and careful separation of planning and project. With the radical change of the system, the planning approach also changed radically. The pyramid of plans collapsed, rational planning, which had by then evolved into strategic planning, remained at the national and regional level, but local planning became what incrementalism truly means: improvisation from case to case or muddling through. The parcel becomes the predominant theme of almost all plans and overtake any thought of a strategic approach to both plan making and public discussions. The main planning topics in public discourse are legalisation, parcelling, expropriation, land use change and location information. Although many experts argue that planning must adapt to the new market and investor-dominated conditions in order to survive, the decline of strategic thinking in spatial development planning, especially at the local level, is a cause for concern. in addition to observations on the current practice of planning at the local level in Serbia, the paper attempts to discuss the possibility that the above-aforementioned incrementalism could evolve into a more advanced form of planning that would be acceptable and less rigid for the public, authorities, and planners alike.
Abstract
This paper titled Spirituality and decision-making in industrial organisations: The current views examinedone of the most current issues in industrial organisational management today. This is the idea of allowingpeople’s spirituality to begin to influence their decision-making activities in the workplace. This exercisehitherto had been within the arm beat of formal, rational and bureaucratic principles in the organisation.Writers and supporters of this new move cite the nature of today’s industrial organisations as their reason.They cite the growing complexity and uncertainties of today’s industrial organisations as creating causesfor concern for both workers and management. Conclusions are that allowing spirituality to influenceorganisational decision-making would be for the good of workers and management. Among the key wordslooked at are spirituality, decision-making, organisation, and organisation culture.
(1) (PDF) SPIRITUALITY AND DECISION-MAKING IN INDUSTRIAL ORGANISATIONS; THE CURRENT VIEWS. Available from: https://www.researchgate.net/publication/381614384_SPIRITUALITY_AND_DECISION-MAKING_IN_INDUSTRIAL_ORGANISATIONS_THE_CURRENT_VIEWS [accessed Jun 22 2024].
The first chapter outlines the concepts of policy and policymaking, distinguishing them from politics and presenting the evolution of the policy concept in the twentieth century. Various approaches to policymaking are presented, including the positivist approach, according to which public affairs are governed in a rational-comprehensive manner. An alternative is the post-positivist approach, eliminating the illusion of certainty and acknowledging the existence of divergent opinions or viewpoints. Then, the method of analysis based on the policy cycle model is described, with special emphasis on processes such as: (1) agenda setting; (2) policy formulation; (3) decision-making; (4) policy implementation; (5) policy evaluation. Furthermore, attention is drawn to the question of ethical values and group identity, which form the basis for understanding human cognition and conduct. Factors influencing the shift in policymaking approaches, including the argumentative turn, the increasing role of open participation, and the epistemic value of civic deliberation, are discussed. Issues of civic activity and social self-organization are highlighted as crucial, with the premise that active and engaged citizens are the core of effective deliberation. The chapter demonstrates how the shift towards deliberation, dialogue, and civic engagement in public policy has led, in the early 21st century, to the development of various innovative e-participatory mechanisms classified as 'open' policymaking. It concludes that open policymaking necessitates a different analytic approach compared to traditional policymaking, potentially involving the scrutiny of collective intelligence manifestations in online projects.
There are striking .regularities in the budgetary process. The evidence from over half of the non-defense agencies indicates that the behavior
of the budgetary process of the United States government results in aggregate decisions similar to those produced by a set of simple
decision rules that are linear and temporally stable. For the agencies considered, certain equations are specified and compared with data
composed of agency requests (through the Bureau of the Budget) and Congressional appropriations from 1947 through 1963. The comparison indicates that these equations summarize accurately aggregate outcomes of the budgetary process for each agency.
The scrutiny of governmental decision making and policy judgments is unceasing. A recent National Academy of Sciences report, for example, criticized the government for technological decisions that did not take cognizance of their impact on the deployment and utilization of scientists and engineers. The total issue is again joined in this symposium which presents some sharply contrasting viewpoints on administration, politics, and social change. Yehezkel Dror of the Hebrew University reexamines the decision making theory of Charles Lindblom's 1959 Review article, finds it wanting where rapid social change is occurring, and presents a new "normative" model for policy makers. Lindblom, now with the Department of State, defends his thesis in the context of American political change. Examining both the original Lindblom thesis and the Dror critique, Roger Jones of the Budget Bureau finds practicing administrators to be extremely skeptical of models and "other prescribed methodology as a road to administrative salvation." Placing the Lindblom essay in the perspective of public administration as a continuing study, Mickey McCleery of Antioch College finds in it an insightful contrast to the traditional theory of responsible bureaucracy. However, he joins with Jones in doubting the utility of models, and with Heydebrand in noting the philosophical difficulty of accepting what is as what ought to be. A University of Chicago sociologist, Wolf Heydebrand critiques the Dror model and the "essentially conservative framework" of Lindblom's argument.
Short courses, books, and articles exhort administrators to make decisions more methodically, but there has been little analysis of the decision-making process now used by public administrators. The usual process is investigated here-and generally defended against proposals for more "scientific" methods. Decisions of individual administrators, of course, must be integrated with decisions of others to form the mosaic of public policy. This integration of individual decisions has become the major concern of organization theory, and the way individuals make decisions necessarily affects the way those decisions are best meshed with others'. In addition, decision-making method relates to allocation of decision-making responsibility-who should make what decision. More "scientific" decision-making also is discussed in this issue: "Tools for Decision-Making in Resources Planning."
See also Herbert A. Simon, Models of Man The Politics of the Budgetary ProcessThe Science of 'Muddling Through Strategy of Decision, op. cit.; and The Intelligence of Democracy
- Charles E Lindblom
See review of A Strategy of Decision by Kenneth J.
Arrow in Political Science Quarterly, Vol. 79 (1964),
p. 585. See also Herbert A. Simon, Models of Man
(New York: Wiley, 1957), p. 198, and Aaron Wildavsky,
The Politics of the Budgetary Process (Boston: Little,
Brown and Co., 1964), pp. 147-152.
' Charles E. Lindblom, "The Science of 'Muddling
Through'," Public Administration Review, Vol. 19
(1959), pp. 79-99; Robert A. Dahl and Charles E. Lindblom, Politics, Economics and Welfare (New York:
Harper and Brothers, 1953); Strategy of Decision, op.
cit.; and The Intelligence of Democracy, op. cit.
6 Lindblom, The Intelligence of Democracy, op. cit.,
pp. 144-148.
The Intelligence of Democracy
- Lindblom
A Strategy of Decision
- Lindblom Braybrooke
Boulding in a review of A Strategy of Decision in the
- E Kenneth
The Power of the Purse, loc. cit
- Fenno