Bureaucracy or Participation: The Logic of Organization

In this theoretical study Professor Abrahamsson creates a process model of organizations based on the idea that organizations are instruments for the pursuit of class or group interests. The book is composed of three main sections: (1) a review of the existing theories of bureaucracy with special emphasis on classical Marxism, Weber and Robert Michels; (2) a critique of the accepted systems theory of organizations which points to a basis for the development of an alternative theory; and (3) a summary of the 'radical democratic'/'democratic elitism' debates with a critique of the assumptions of the former school. 'A theoretically sophisticated critique of organization theory from a coherent, scholarly perspective...one of the overall strengths of the book is the interdisciplinary and cross-national perspective he (Abrahamsson) brings to bear on modern organization theory.' -- Perspective, April 1978 'In the course of the survey, all major organization theorists are covered, from Aiken, Barnard, Blau and Blauner to Woodward, and all major topics and controversies are summarized...well worth having.' -- Contemporary Sociology, November 1978