Bureaucratic Structure Reconsidered

The purpose of this study was to examine the relationship among specified dimensions of a bureaucratic model and to relate the findings to bureaucratic theory. In particular, support was sought for either the Weberian or the Parsons-Gouldner notions of organizational control; that is, control vested solely in the hierarchy or control vested in some combination of the hierarchy and the staff’s expertise. The School Organizational Inventory was administered to teachers in a sample of relatively homogeneous secondary schools to tap the concept of bureaucracy. Factor analysis was employed to determine the relationship among bureaucratic dimensions. Findings tended to support the Parsons-Gouldner dualistic notion of organizational control.