This paper provides part of the theoretical underpinning for a series of studies on the environment for teaching. Addressed primarily to organizational researchers, it deals with the relation between educational innovation and the organizational structure of schools. Three assumptions made widely in previous studies relating technology to structure are questioned, and suggestions for their modification are made. The assumptions of homogeneity of technology and social structure, rationality of organizational participants, and concensus among participants on the task and the technology employed are questioned. However, the authors, while acknowledging the effect of technological factors on organizational structure, argue that such factors are both more complex and subtle in their operation than previous analyses have suggested. Specifically, it is argued that (1) not one but many technologies associated with many structures may be present in an organization; (2) organizational participants may hold differing conceptions of the nature of the technology employed; (3) different task conceptions can lead to different sets of preferences for work arrangements; and (4) nonrational factors may also enter into the formation of task conceptions and into the establishment of work arrangements. A 24-item bibliography is included. (Author/DN)