Power and Rules: The Driving Force of Organizational Action

Author: (French) E. Friedberg
Publisher:
Publish Date: 2005-10-01
Features: This book starts directly from the widest, most general attributes of organizational phenomena, viewing them as a process of constructing and reconstructing the field of action—where collective action occurs—based on their dynamic nature. This approach aims to grasp and analyze organizations, which constitutes the new synthesis sought by this book. It is one of the classic works of the distinguished French organizational sociologist étienne Friedberg, intended to explore the relationship between power and rules, and to study and reveal the nature, characteristics, structure, functions, and operational mechanisms of organizations at the level of action. The author transcends the dualism in related research that treats organizations and collective action as opposites, arguing that organizations are fundamentally dynamic and are processes of constructing and reconstructing the field of action. By generalizing organizations and viewing them as one of the fields of action, the author reveals the inherent uncertainty of the essence of construction and order within organizations, and explores the power processes, negotiation processes, and gradual structuring processes that occur beneath the surface order of action. In the book, the author introduces the concept of "local order," arguing that it is always a product of the partial, regional, and contingent aspects of social structure, while social structure itself is both a product and a reproduction of order. The explanation of social structure can be found in the analysis and revelation of specific organizational processes within different fields of action.