Abstract
This article attempts to explore the presumed distinctive character of educational organizations. This is done by explicating and proposing an integration of four organizational models. The models are called: the rational-, the political-, the social system-, and the anarchistic model, respectively. A basic assumption is that the models represent four complementary dimensions of organizations, rather than four mutually exclusive alternatives. A typology is outlined, indicating a set of conditions under which the four dimensions are assumed to be differently salient. In conclusion, it is argued that educational organizations may be conceived of as involving an interplay of four dimensions characterized by the keywords: truth (the rational dimension), trust (the social dimension), power (the political dimension), and foolishness (the anarchistic dimension).
Article PDF
Similar content being viewed by others
Avoid common mistakes on your manuscript.
References
Abrahamsson, B. (1975). Organisationsteori. Om byrakrati, administration och självstyre. Stockholm: AWE/Gebers.
Alderfer, C. P. and Brown, L. D. (1975). Learning from Changing. Organizational Diagnosis and Development. Beverly Hills, Calif.: Sage.
Allison, G. T. (1971). Essence of Decision: Explaining the Cuban Missile Crisis. Boston: Little, Brown.
Baldridge, V. J. (1971). Power and Conflict in the University. New York: Wiley.
Banks, O. (1976). The Sociology of Education. London: Batsford.
Benson, K. I. (1977). “Innovation and crisis in organizational analysis,” The Sociological Quarterly 18: 3–16.
Berg, G. (1981). Skolan som organisation. Analys av skolans organisatoriska struktur i ett förändringsperspektiv. Uppsala Studies in Education 15. Uppsala: Acta Universitatis Upsaliensis.
Bidwell, C. E. (1965). “The school as a formal organization,” in James G. March (ed.), Handbook of Organizations. Chicago, Ill.: Rand McNally.
Braybrooke, D. and Lindblom, C. E. (1970). A Strategy of Decision: Policy Evaluation as a Social Process. New York: Free Press.
Cohen, M. D. and March, J. G. (1974). Leadership and Ambiguity: The American College President. New York: McGraw-Hill.
Cohen, M. D., March, J. G. and Olsen, J. P. (1972). “A garbage can model of organizational choice,” Administrative Science Quarterly 17: 1–25.
Cyert, R. M. and March, J. G. (1963). A Behavioral Theory of the Firm. Englewood Cliffs N.J.: Prentice-Hall.
Ekholm, M. (1976). Social utveckling i skolan. Studier och diskussion. Göteborg Studies in Educational Science 18. Göteborg: Acta Universitatis Gothoburgensis.
French, W. L. and Bell, Jr., C. H. (1978). Organization Development. Behavioral Science Interventions for Organization Improvement, (2nd ed.). Englewood Cliffs, N.J.: Prentice-Hall.
Fullan, M., Miles, M. B. and Taylor, G. (1980). “Organization development in schools: The state of the art,” Review of Educational Research 50: 121–183.
Georgiou, P. (1973). “The goal paradigm and notes towards a counter paradigm,” Administrative Science Quarterly 18: 291–310.
Gouldner, A. W. (1959). “Organizational analysis,” in Robert K. Merton, Leonard Broom, and Leonard S. Cottrell (eds.). Sociology Today. New York: Basic Books.
Gross, N., Giaquinta, J. B. and Bernstein, M. (1971). Implementing Organizational Innovations: A Sociological Analysis of Planned Educational Change. New York: Basic Books.
Isling, Å. (1980). Kampen för och emot en demokratisk skola. 1. - Samhällsstruktur och skolorganisation. Stockholm: Sober förlag.
Katz, F. E. (1964). “The school as a complex social organization,” Harvard Education Review 34: 428–455.
Katz, D. and Kahn, R. L. (1978). The Social Psychology of Organizations. New York: Wiley.
Lindblom, C. E. (1959). “The science of muddling through,” Public Administration Review 19: 79–88.
March, J. G. (1976). “The technology of foolishness,” pp. 69–81 in James G. March, and Johan P. Olsen (eds.), Ambiguity and Choice in Organizations. Bergen, Norway: Universitetsforlaget.
March, J. G. (1978). “Bounded rationality, ambiguity, and the engineering of choice,” Bell Journal of Economics 9: 587–608.
March, J. G. (1981). “Footnotes to organizational change,” Administrative Science Quarterly 26: 563–577.
March, J. G. and Olsen, J. P. (1976). Ambiguity and Choice in Organizations. Bergen, Norway: Universitetsforlaget.
March, J. G. and Simon, H. A. (1958). Organizations. New York: Wiley.
Miles, M. B. and Schmuck, R. A. (eds.) (1971). Organization Development in Schools. Palo Alto, Calif.: National Press.
Miller, E. J. and Rice, A. K. (1967). Systems of Organization. London: Tavistock.
Olsen, J. P. (1976). “Choice in an organized anarchy,” pp. 82–139 in James G. March, and Johan P. Olsen (eds.), Ambiguity and Choice in Organizations. Bergen, Norway: Universitetsforlaget.
Pettigrew, A. M. (1973). The Politics of Organizational Decision-Making. London: Tavistock.
Pfeffer, J. (1981). Power in Organizations. Marchfield, MA: Pitman.
Pfeffer, J. and Salancik, G. R. (1974). “Organizational decision making as a political process: The case of a university budget,” Administrative Science Quarterly 19: 135–151.
Pusey, M. R. (1976). Dynamics of Bureaucracy. A Case Analysis in Education. Sydney: Wiley.
Richardson, E. (1973). The Teacher, the School, and the Task of Management. London: Heinemann.
Sandkull, B. (1981). Personalutbildning som medel att förverkligaskolans mål. En granskning av förutsättningar och föreställningar. I Pedagogiska nämnden. Redogörelse för verksamhetsåret 1980/81. Stockholm: Skolöverstyrelsen.
Sarason, S. B. (1971). The Culture of the School and the Problem of Change. Boston: Allyn and Bacon.
Shipman, M. D. (1968). Sociology of the School. London: Logman.
Thompson, J. D. (1967). Organizations in Action. New York: McGraw-Hill.
Weick, K. E. (1976). “Educational organizations as loosely coupled systems,” Administrative Science Quarterly 21: 1–19.
Weick, K. E. (1979). The Social Psychology of Organizing 2nd ed. Reading, MA: Addison-Wesley.
Author information
Authors and Affiliations
Additional information
The research reported in this article was supported by grants from the Swedish National Board of Education (project No. 4022) and from the Swedish Council for Research in the Humanities and Social Sciences (No. F 409/80).
Rights and permissions
About this article
Cite this article
Ellström, PE. Four faces of educational organizations. High Educ 12, 231–241 (1983). https://doi.org/10.1007/BF00136639
Issue Date:
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/BF00136639