TVA and the Grass Roots¶
Selznick, P. (1949). TVA and the Grass Roots: A Study in the Sociology of Formal Organization.
Cited by¶
3 citations across 3 artifacts.
Each citation links to the sentence it supports in the citing article.
Primes¶
- Formal vs. Informal Structures
- The causal analysis of why the informal structure has its current shape (what formal inadequacies or historical patterns produced it) and design implications for improving fit
This sourceClassic study of how a formal organization's informal structure takes its actual shape under environmental pressure, coining 'informal cooptation' to explain why emergent practice diverges from official design; supports the causal analysis of why the informal structure has its current shape (re-sourced; replaces Weick 1995, which concerns retrospective meaning-making and does not address the origins of informal structure).
Supported in partVerified against the work's full text
Selznick gives a causal account of how outside pressures shape an organization's informal structure and policy (informal cooptation), but offers no design guidance for improving fit.
“organized forces which are able to threaten the formal authority may effectively shape its structure and policy.”
- The causal analysis of why the informal structure has its current shape (what formal inadequacies or historical patterns produced it) and design implications for improving fit
Mechanisms¶
- Advisory Group
- Philip Selznick named this dynamic: absorbing outside representatives can neutralize opposition rather than genuinely share influence.
This sourceDefines co-optation as absorbing outside representatives to avert threats, a process that can capture opposition without genuine power sharing.
- Philip Selznick named this dynamic: absorbing outside representatives can neutralize opposition rather than genuinely share influence.
- Affected-Party Review Panel
- Its central failure mode is co-optation — Philip Selznick's finding that bringing outsiders inside can absorb and neutralize their dissent, converting real voice into a legitimacy-lending rubber stamp
This sourceDefines co-optation as absorbing outside participants into institutional structures in ways that can neutralize their opposition.
- Its central failure mode is co-optation — Philip Selznick's finding that bringing outsiders inside can absorb and neutralize their dissent, converting real voice into a legitimacy-lending rubber stamp
Verification¶
Does it exist? Not checked yet. This entry carries no identifier to resolve. It was extracted from the citation as written in the article, normalized, and deduplicated against the rest of the registry.
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Links previously used in the corpus¶
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