In order to identify significant aspects in the organizational  context of inventories four dimensions can be distinguished。 They are the allocation of tasks, decision-making processes, communication processes and behavior of the parties involved,as displayed in Fig。 1。 First, the allocation of tasks is an important dimension in the organizational context of inventories。 According to Lovejoy (1998) this dimension should be part of the foundations of an integrated view on operations

management issues。 Relevant characteristics in this respect are the number of people that are responsible for inventory management, their functional positions and their hierarchical positions in the organization。 Another relevant characteristic is the fit between allocated responsibilities and authorities。 Each one of these characteristics might influence the effectiveness of inventory control。

Second, organizational theory shows that decision-making processes form a significant organizational dimension (e。g。 Daft, 1998)。 Like in other organizational areas, many decisions are made in inventory management, varying from annual strategic decisions to operational decisions concerning day-to-day activities。 The resulting inventory control is influenced by how these decisions are made。 Furthermore, the effectiveness of inventory control depends on the ways in which inventory decisions relate to each other and to other decisions in the organization。 It is evident that, for instance, contradicting decisions or decisions that are based on wrong information can influence the effectiveness of inventory control。

Third, communication processes represent another dimension in the organizational context of inventories。 As stressed by organizational behaviorists,communication is a key process underlying all aspects of organizational operations (e。g。Greenberg and Baron, 1993; Robbins, 1993)。 In this respect it is important to consider the influence of communication processes on inventory control。For example, the forwarding of inventory information,the quality of that information and the provision of feedback can have a large impact on the effectiveness of inventory control。

The fourth and final dimension of the organizational context that is important with respect to inventory control is the behavior of the parties involved。 Since the Hawthorne experiments in the thirties it is widely recognized that social aspects influence the functioning of organizations (Dessler,1986; Paul et al。, 1994)。 Lovejoy (1998) points out that human behavior should not be ignored in operations management issues。 In fact, social aspects can be significant determinants of the effectiveness of inventory control。 For example,conflicts might prevent people from passing   on   important   inventory   information。   In   addition,power   can    obstruct

decision-making processes concerning inventory。 Likewise, motivational problems,uncertainty or incompetence influence the ways in which inventory tasks are executed。 Therefore, it is important to consider not only the formal aspects of the allocation of tasks,decision-making processes and communication processes, but also the informal aspects in terms of behavior and underlying factors。

Hence, in the organizational context of inventories four dimensions that play a significant part in inventory control can be identified。 These dimensions should be taken into consideration when dealing with practical inventory control problems, additional to the traditional points for attention following from the field of operations management and operations research。 The resulting approach can be called an organizational perspective on inventory control。 This approach has two important characteristics。 In the first place, the concept of inventory control is looked at from a multiform point of view。 This means attention is no longer focused on just order quantities, order intervals and inventory control systems。 Instead, other aspects of inventory control, belonging to the fields of organizational theory and organizational behavior, are highlighted as well。 In the second place, the concept of inventory control is looked at from an integrated point of view。 This means not only several different sides of inventory control are discussed, but also a great deal of attention is paid to the coherence between the different dimensions。This is an important aspect, since it is the coherence that ultimately determines the effectiveness of inventory control in a practical situation。For example, suitable replenishment strategies can be counteracted by inappropriate allocation of responsibilities。 In the same way undesirable behavior may disturb sound decision-making and communication processes。 A lack of coherence can easily arise as a result of conflicting interests。 It is generally accepted that organizational members involved in for instance sales, production  or finance value inventories differently (Plossl, 1985;Silver et al。, 1998)。 Depending on their involvement in determining aspects of inventory control,there will be little or much coherence。 Thus, it is desirable to pay attention to the interaction between the several dimensions of inventory control rather than to traditional aspects or communication processes separately。 The next section of this article presents a framework that can  be