Sociology of the Anarchists - Gozips.uakron.edu - The University of ...

Utilitarian organizations
Bureaucracy
rationality
Ideal type
Characteristics of bureaucracy:
Division of labor
hierarchy of authority
Rules and regulations
Qualification-based employment
Impersonality
Shortcomings of bureaucracies
inefficiency and rigidity
resistance to change
perpetuation of race, class, and gender inequalities
Anarchistic Theories of Organization
Herein two theories of “ideal types” of organizations will be reviewed, which are rather
anarchistic in nature. The first is from Rothschild-Whitt (1979) called “collectivistdemocratic
organizations” and the second is from Fitzgerald and Rodgers (2000) called
“radical social movement organizations”. These two models offer a compelling look at
alternatives to both bureaucratic-rational organizations and moderate social movement
organizations.
Rothschild-Whitt (1979) argues that there are eight characteristics of collectivistdemocratic
organizations. She bases her model upon worker collectives, and generally
does not imply such a structure for social movement organizations.
1. Authority: “Authority resides in the collectivity as a
whole; delegated, if at all, only temporarily and subject
to recall. Compliance is to the consensus of the
collective which is always fluid and open to
negotiation.”
2. Rules: “Minimal stipulated rules; primacy of ad hoc,
individuated decisions; some calculability possible on
the basis of knowing the substantive ethics involved in
the situation.”
3. Social Control: “Social controls are primarily based on
personalistic of moralistic appeals the election of
homogeneous personnel.”
4. Social Relations: “Ideal of community. Relations are to
be wholistic, personal, of value in themselves.”
5. Recruitment and Advancement: “(a) Employment based
on friends, social-political values, personality attributes,
and informally assessed knowledge and skills. (b)
Concept of career advancement not meaningful; no
[ Williams 70 ] [ this is a draft. do not cite. ]