Garbage Can Model
Version 1.0.0 · Updated 2026-07-30
CORE DEFINITION
An organizational decision-making model proposed by Cohen, March, and Olsen, which posits that organizations are "organized anarchies." Decisions are not rational choices but the result of random collisions among problems, solutions, participants, and choice opportunities in a "garbage can."
SCAFFOLDING EFFECT
Reduce cognitive load
Explains irrational decision-making. It explains why organizations make seemingly "irrational" decisions and why the same organization can make completely different choices at different times. It is enlightening for understanding the decision-making logic of bureaucracies.
Anchor fast decisions
Cohen, March, and Olsen proposed that organizations are "organized anarchies," and decision-making is not a linear rational choice but a random collision of four independent streams of elements—problems, solutions, participants, and choice opportunities—in a "garbage can." When they happen to come together, a decision is made. The mechanism is "confluence" rather than "problem-solving."
MINIMUM ACTION
In progress 0/4Practice this model in one real situation:
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Source support: Explicit
- en.wikipedia.orghttps://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Garbage_can_modelverified
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