Knowledge that Transforms

Although bureaucratic theory holds that technical-professional demands exert an overriding claim in decision making in large, complex organizations, considerable evidence suggests that other decisional premises compete strongly with such demands. Prominent among such premises is that of organizational necessity, i.e., demand for decisions that seem necessary for the good of organization, even though they may be technically and professionally inapposite. The author defines latter as administrative criteria, and calls criteria reflecting professional demands official. Research data on classification of neuropsychiatric casualties during World War II are presented toshow that administrative criteria played as significant a role as official criteria in determining classification of combat breakdown cases.' Arnold M. Rose is professor of sociology in University of Minnesota.