Changing The Structure And Functioning Of An Organization: Report Of A Field Experiment

CHANGING THE STRUCTURE AND FUNCTIONING OF AN ORGANIZATION Report of a Field Experiment STANLEY Ef SEASHORE DAVID G. BOWERS MONOGRAPH NO. 33 SURVEY RESEARCH CENTER INSTITUTE FOR SOCIAL RESEARCH THE UNIVERSITY OF MICHIGAN - ANN ARBOR Generated on 2013-05-29 06:22 GMT / http://hdl.handle.net/2027/mdp.39015015291647 Public Domain, Google-digitized / http://www.hathitrust.org/access_use#pd-google 1963 fecial Wofk Library The Institute for Social Research was established for the objective study of man and his society. The two main divisions of the Institute are the Survey Re- search Center, concerned with the use of survey meth- ods in advancing social science, and the Research Cen- ter for Group Dynamics, engaged in the development of a basic science of behavior in groups. The main topics of study include economic behavior, political be- havior, youth and family life, organizational behavior and organizational change, mental health in industry, group effectiveness, and public attitudes and behavior in relation to public issues. Inquiries about the Institute may be addressed to the Director of the Institute. A list of Institute publi- cations since its founding in 1946 may be obtained on request. Copyright 0 1963 The University of Michigan Printed in the United States of America Library of Congress Catalog Card Number: 63-62981 Second printing, 1969 Third printing, 1970 Generated on 2013-05-29 06:22 GMT / http://hdl.handle.net/2027/mdp.39015015291647 Public Domain, Google-digitized / http://www.hathitrust.org/access_use#pd-google Fourth printing, 1971 PREFACE The study reported here is an attempt to apply experimental methods to the study of human behavior in a large, complex, for- mal organization. It represents the belief that a sound body of theory and related empirical knowledge must be derived from sev- eral different but related kinds of scientific endeavor—insightful observations, systematic and objective measurements, tentative generalizing and theory building, and also experimentation. The function of experimentation is, in the social sciences, primarily to explore the dynamic and causal relationships implied by the theory. There have been very few attempts to apply the canons of experimental method to the study of formal organizations. Ex- periments with large social systems involve special problems of experimental control, measurement, purposeful change induction, and the like. Accordingly, the value of early experiments is like- ly to lie as much, and perhaps more, in the exploration of prac- tical problems in experimental method as in the particular topical or theoretical content embodied in the experiment. For this rea- son our account of this experiment provides in considerable de- tail the stages of development of the experimental plan and the problems of method that were encountered. While the firm and the members of it must remain anony- mous, the reader will appreciate as we do the courage, gener- osity, and thoughtful interest in the social sciences that motivated these men to lend their resources and to risk their personal careers in a venture that held promise but little certainty of success. The firm provided most of the financial support for the study. Support for the costs of analysis of the field data and for the preparation of this report and