| Course | PSY-3600 Organizational Theory |
|---|---|
| Module | Module 3 |
| Paper type | Written assignment: power, leadership and decision making |
| Length | About 473 words, 4 pages |
| Format | APA 7 student paper |
| School | Thomas Edison State University |
| Program | Bachelor of Science in Organizational Leadership |
| Updated | October 2026 |
Free sample paper for PSY 3600 Module 3
Who Decides and How: Power, Bounded Rationality and a Warehouse Lease
Student Name
Bachelor of Science in Organizational Leadership, Thomas Edison State University
PSY-3600: Organizational Theory
Mentor Name
Month Day, Year
Who Decides and How: Power, Bounded Rationality and a Warehouse Lease
The Decision
Last year the owners leased a 60,000-square-foot warehouse in Piscataway for storage-in-transit, the short-term storage of household goods between moves. The decision took three weeks. It was pushed by the sales manager, who argued that the company's military relocation contracts would grow, and it was made after the owners toured two sites and chose the first that met their size and price limits. Six months later, the new warehouse is 55 percent full, and the operations team says it is too far from the main highway for efficient truck access.
Power
Pfeffer and Salancik (1978) argued that firms rely on outsiders for the resources they cannot do without, and that whoever inside handles that reliance gains influence. Military relocation contracts provide about 35 percent of our revenue, and the sales manager is the person who wins and maintains them. When she argued that the contracts would grow, her claim carried great weight because the company depends on what she controls. Tolbert and Hall (2009) note that power in organizations often follows such control over critical uncertainties rather than formal rank alone.
Operations, which knew most about truck access and warehouse workflow, had less power in the decision. No one from operations toured the sites.
How the Decision Was Made
Simon, whose writing on administrative behavior is among the classics in Shafritz et al. (2016), argued that decision makers face bounded rationality: limited information, time and capacity to compare alternatives. Rather than finding the best option, they search until they find one good enough. Cyert and March developed this into the idea of satisficing in organizations, in which search stops when an alternative meets aspiration levels.
That describes the warehouse decision. The owners set two criteria, size and price, and chose the first site meeting both. Truck access and future demand were never written criteria, and no one compared more than two sites.
| Concept | How it appeared in the decision |
|---|---|
| Resource dependence and power | The sales manager's control of military contracts gave her claims weight |
| Bounded rationality | Two sites seen in three weeks; little data on future demand |
| Satisficing | First site meeting size and price chosen |
| Exclusion of expertise | Operations not consulted on access or workflow |
Leadership
Leaders cannot make decision makers fully rational, but they can widen the search and the voices included. For the next major decision, the owners could set criteria with operations and sales together, require at least three alternatives and ask for a demand estimate from someone other than the person proposing the investment.
Conclusion
The warehouse decision was not irrational; it was normal. Power followed control of critical resources, and the search stopped at the first acceptable option. Knowing those patterns, leaders can design decisions that include the right expertise and look further before choosing.
References
Pfeffer, J., & Salancik, G. R. (1978). The external control of organizations: A resource dependence perspective. Harper & Row.
Shafritz, J. M., Ott, J. S., & Jang, Y. S. (Eds.). (2016). Classics of organization theory (8th ed.). Cengage Learning.
Tolbert, P. S., & Hall, R. H. (2009). Organizations: Structures, processes, and outcomes (10th ed.). Pearson Prentice Hall.
What the PSY 3600 Module 3 instructions ask for
The Module 3 written assignment in PSY-3600, one of six worth 35 percent, covers power, leadership and decision making, and the midterm's essay questions will draw on the same material. You will explain sources of power in organizations, analyze how a real decision was made using concepts such as bounded rationality and satisficing and consider what leaders can do. Tolbert and Hall's chapters on power and decision making and the classic readings by Simon and others in the Shafritz collection are the base. Use a decision you know well, with its timeline and participants, so the concepts can be applied step by step. Describe the decision's timeline and the people involved.
How the PSY 3600 Module 3 example is put together
The paper begins with a decision and its result: a warehouse chosen in three weeks that sits half full with poor truck access. Because the sales manager holds the contracts behind a third of revenue, resource dependence theory explains her sway, with Tolbert and Hall in support. Simon's bounded rationality and Cyert and March's satisficing explain why the search stopped at the first acceptable site. A four-row table maps each concept to the decision. A leadership section proposes joint criteria, more alternatives and an independent demand estimate. The conclusion calls the decision normal rather than irrational. The suggestions are modest changes that leaders could adopt for the next big decision. A table maps each concept to a moment in the decision.
Where the marks sit in the PSY 3600 Module 3 rubric
The paper is marked on correct use of power and decision theories, one real decision traced step by step, analysis and APA form. Papers that trace a real decision step by step and match each step to a concept show understanding. Explaining power through control of resources rather than personality shows command of the theory. Recognizing that bounded rationality describes normal behavior, not failure, shows maturity. Practical suggestions for leaders that follow from the analysis complete the paper. Explaining why the choice seemed sensible to the owners at the time shows that bounded rationality has been understood.
PSY 3600 Module 3 help from the desk
Students lose marks by defining power and decision models without applying them, by blaming individuals rather than analyzing the process or by recommending perfectly rational decisions that no organization can make. Choose a real decision, describe who was involved and how it unfolded, apply resource dependence and bounded rationality to specific moments and suggest changes leaders could realistically make. A free first draft of your PSY-3600 Module 3 written assignment can be built on a decision you have seen. Avoid hindsight blame; explain how the decision looked at the time and what process would have produced a better one. Name the expertise that was missing from the decision and how it could be included next time.
Write yours, or have the desk draft it
This paper is an original model document written by our desk, not a submitted student paper and not an official Thomas Edison State University document. Read it for the moves, then write your own to the instructions in your classroom. If you want one built to your exact prompt and rubric, the first custom sample is free and arrives in 24 to 48 hours.
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PSY 3600 Module 3 questions, answered
Where can I find a free PSY 3600 Module 3 sample paper?
The written assignment above analyzes a moving company's warehouse lease through power, resource dependence and bounded rationality.
What is resource dependence theory?
Pfeffer and Salancik's argument that firms rely on outside parties for resources, and that whoever handles those dependencies gains power.
What is bounded rationality?
Herbert Simon's point that people deciding for organizations never have full facts, time or mental bandwidth, so they settle for what works.
What is satisficing?
Stopping the search when an alternative meets minimum standards rather than continuing to find the best.
How can leaders improve organizational decisions?
By widening the search, including relevant expertise and setting criteria before alternatives are compared.