| Abstract: | Abstract. Since the early part of this century, we have been trying to explain the ‘conduct’ of organizations, and of individuals within organizations and/ or bureaucracies. Weber suggested an ‘ideal-type’ form of bureaucracy. Various authors (Merton, Gouldner, Selznick, Crozier) following him have studied certain dysfunctions of bureaucracy in relation to the ‘ideal type.’ One of these dysfunctions is goal displacement, which Selznick suggests can be attributed to decentralization (delegation of decision-making authority). In this article, we shall attempt to integrate Selznick's goal displacement model with Michel Crozier's ‘strategic behaviour’ model. The main idea behind this type of analyse stratégique is that organizational actors can be considered to have a more or less rational strategy for the maximization (or, at least, the enlargement) of their power or influence. |
