Philip Selznick: Structure

Philip Selznick was American sociologist. Explore interesting quotes on structure.

Philip Selznick: 40 quotes 0 likes

“An organization is a group of living human beings. The formal or official design for living never completely accounts for what the participants do. It is always supplemented by what is called the “informal structure,” which arises as the individual brings into play his own personality, his special problems and interests. Formal relations co-ordinate roles or specialized activities, not persons.”

Philip Selznick

Source: Leadership in Administration: A Sociological Interpretation, 1957, p. 8

Problem , Personality

“[Formal structures of formal organizations] never succeed in conquering the non-rational dimensions of organizational behavior.”

Philip Selznick

Source: "Foundations of the Theory of Organization," 1948, p. 25

Behavior

“Trade unions, governments, business corporations, political parties, and the like are formal structures in the sense that they represent rationally ordered instruments for the achievement of stated goals.”

Philip Selznick

Source: "Foundations of the Theory of Organization," 1948, p. 25

Business , Sense

“There seems to be little doubt that the factor of sheer size is a very important element in concrete bureaucratic structures. However, because of the patterns exhibited in the behavior of agents in small organized groups and because of the implications for greater generality, the formulation used here does not make the factor of size crucial for the existence of bureaucratic behavior patterns.”

Philip Selznick

Source: "An Approach to a Theory of Bureaucracy," 1943, p. 50

Behavior

“Cooptation is the process of absorbing new elements into the leadership or policy- determining structure of an organization as a means of averting threats to its stability or existence.”

Philip Selznick

Source: TVA and the grass roots : a study in the sociology of formal organization, 1949, p. 13