This dissertation address concerns the distribution of influence in decision-making groups. One general hypothesis of the study was that influence perceptions of group members depend upon the phases of decision-making in which they participate. Another was that the effects of participation would vary with the nature of the decision task or with…

Little is known about subordinate attributions connected with perceptions of supervisory influence. Data about first- and second-level supervisors from a nationwide insurance organization revealed that perceived supervisory influence was significantly related to perceptions of supervisory effectiveness, influence over valued rewards and the task,…

The relationship between a group's power and prestige or status hierarchy and group members' patterns of reward allocation was investigated. The addition of evidence concerning actual task performance results in the alignment of reward and status rankings and encourages the use of distribution rules stressing equity as opposed to equality.…

The research reported in this article examines the accuracy of outside observers in perceiving emergent leadership in small groups. The level of precision reflected in the average of all subjects, indicated that the observers were generally accurate in knowing how group members were rated by their group. (Author/KM)

Patterns of relationships were identified between indices of organizational conflict and several measures of each of five organizational variables. The measures were adapted from 1500 questionnaires and 600 interviews in 28 public high schools. (Author)

Research showed that the center-periphery pattern of social structure, characteristic of many academic communities, also applies to political science. This pattern consists of a tightly knit group of leaders and increasingly looser groups of followers arrayed about them. Within the social structure, all members are familiar with the top…

Uses a laboratory experiment involving role-playing groups to show that an assigned majority rule is likely to lead to higher-quality solutions than unanimity and no-decision rule. Results indicated under majority rule workers resistance to the foreman's power often resulted in a successful search for a better solution. (JAC)

A stable, ordered dominance hierarchy was found via observational and sociometric methods for a group of 13-year-old boys during a five-week summer camp. This group structure was formed early in camp and was stable across settings, time, and types of dominance interactions. The hierarchy correlated significantly with the rank-orderings bed…

Investigated relationship between aspects of organizational structure and alienation as experienced by personnel (N=603) employed in nine social services organizations. Interviews with personnel making executive decisions, those making supervisory assessments, and those concerned with client interaction revealed that the best predictions of…

A hierarchical structure is a widespread organizational form in many areas. My aim in this paper is to provide a rationale for this fact based on two premises. First, a group organizes itself so as to achieve efficient coordination. Second, efficient coordination is achieved only if subgroups as well as individuals agree to cooperate. Even in…

Notes that to the extent to which solutions to major worldwide distributive problems require a cooperative-communal orientation, such solutions will not be achieved as long as the economic sphere and socializing agents persist in viewing agency-equity-competition as the natural state of mankind. (Author/AM)

Contemporary theories of organizations are assessed to determine whether their propositions and empirical findings can be directly applied to understand and explain voluntary associations. The inquiry is arranged under five types of characteristics: incentive systems and participant commitment, formal structures, leadership and authority,…

Hypotheses linking positional power in bargaining networks to evaluations of self and others were supported: (1) persons in central exchange network positions evaluate themselves as feeling more pleasant and more exhilarated; and (2) central persons impute lower status and higher positive evaluations to peripheral positions. (Author)

J. Hage and F. Hull (1981) developed a typology of organizations based on two major dimensions--scale and complexity. The typology delineates four types of organizations: Type 1, "traditional" organizations, typically small-scale structures with low complexity; Type 2, "mechanical" organizations that are large scale, low complexity structures…