The "Carnegie School" was a so-called "Freshwater

Saltwater school (economics)

In economics, the freshwater school comprises macroeconomists who, in the early 1970s, challenged the prevailing consensus in macroeconomics research. Key elements of their approach was that macroeconomics had to be dynamic, quantitative, and based on how individuals and institutions make...

" economics intellectual movement in the 1950s and 1960s based at Carnegie Mellon University

Carnegie Mellon University

Carnegie Mellon University is a private research university in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, United States....

 and led by Herbert Simon

Herbert Simon

Herbert Alexander Simon was an American political scientist, economist, sociologist, and psychologist, and professor—most notably at Carnegie Mellon University—whose research ranged across the fields of cognitive psychology, cognitive science, computer science, public administration, economics,...

, James March, and Richard Cyert

Richard Cyert

Richard Michael Cyert was an American economist and statistician who served as the sixth President of Carnegie Mellon University in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, United States.-Early life:...

.

The focus of the research was on organizational behavior and the application of decision analysis

Decision analysis

Decision analysis is the discipline comprising the philosophy, theory, methodology, and professional practice necessary to address important decisions in a formal manner...

, management science, and psychology

Psychology

Psychology is the study of the mind and behavior. Its immediate goal is to understand individuals and groups by both establishing general principles and researching specific cases. For many, the ultimate goal of psychology is to benefit society...

 as well as theories such as bounded rationality

Bounded rationality

Bounded rationality is the idea that in decision making, rationality of individuals is limited by the information they have, the cognitive limitations of their minds, and the finite amount of time they have to make a decision...

 to the understanding of the organization and the firm.

Organizations, Administrative Behavior, and A Behavioral Theory of the Firm were three highly influential works done by researchers at the Carnegie School as well as work by Victor Vroom

Victor Vroom

Victor H. Vroom is a business school professor at the Yale School of Management, who was born on 9 August 1932 in Montreal, Canada. He holds a PhD from University of Michigan....

, Oliver E. Williamson

Oliver E. Williamson

Oliver Eaton Williamson is an American economist, professor at the University of California, Berkeley and recipient of the Nobel Memorial Prize in Economic Sciences....

 and other faculty and graduate students.

The interdisciplinary approach featured faculty at Carnegie Mellon's departments of economics, business

Tepper School of Business

The Tepper School of Business is a private business school located on Carnegie Mellon University’s campus in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, USA.The school consistently ranks highly among the top business schools in the U.S., as well as in a wide range of specializations, such as finance,...

, public policy

Heinz School

The H. John Heinz III College at Carnegie Mellon University in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, United States is a graduate college that consists of one of the nation's top-ranked public policy schools and I-schools. It is named after Pennsylvania U.S. Senator H. John Heinz III...

, psychology, computer science

Carnegie Mellon School of Computer Science

The School of Computer Science at Carnegie Mellon University in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, USA is a leading private school for computer science established in 1965. It has been consistently ranked among the top computer science programs over the decades. U.S...

, and statistics.