Lexical and Sequential Variety in Organizational Processes: Some Preliminary Findings and Propositions

Brian T. Pentland, Malu Roldan, Ahmed A. Shabana, Louise L. Soe and Sidne G. Ward

Working Paper Series from MIT Center for Coordination Science

Abstract: Routineness is a central concepts in organizational theory and design and is widely understood as a product of low task variety and high task analyzability. Standardized scales to measure these dimensions been developed and shown to be reliable, but preliminary results reported here suggest the possibility that these scales may measure routineness in the content of a task unit's work but not variety in the process. Comparing results from the standard measures and detailed observational studies in three task units, we discovered that work processes in the most "routinized" task units (as measured by the standard scales) are more varied than in the less "routinized" task unit. To help explain these findings, we introduce and operationalize the concepts of lexical and sequential variety and use them to formulate testable propositions. We also discuss the implications of this alternative view of routines and routineness for issues such as organizaitonal learning, process redesign, and mass customization.

Date: 1996-08
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