Ensayo philip selznick

LEADERSHIP IN ADMINISTRATION Philip Selznick

Le 5 Octobre 1994 Amparo Jiménez

Selznick's book develops and applies a perspectiive, from a sociologicaltheory, for the study of leadership in administrative organisations. He emphasizes the principles of organizational development and character-formation to a wide variety of organizations. His main idea isto explain how organizations become institutions as well as its problems and opportunities that are created, and the understanding of the notion of leadership in both public and private organizations.Selznick considers that institutional approach is relevant because is "a voice of resistence to the culture of shortsightedness" in business of American society. For this reason, he attempts todeal with critical questions the nature of institutional leadership.
"Are we getting at what is truly basic in the
experience of institutional leaders? Are we
helping to improve theself-knowledge -and
thereby the competence- of men charged with
leadership responsabilities? Are we able to
link the development of managerial skills to
the larger problems of policy?" Pg3

Selznick states that the logic of efficiency is more clearly to subordinate units, which have defined responsabilities, communication channels, and a sure position in the command structure. Onthe contrary, the logic of efficiency is weak at the top of the piramid because problems at this level are more complex to be explained with the ordinary approach of management experts.
In thissense, Selznick does not believe that the approach of "human relations", with its understanding in the behavior of individuals, and the perceptions of themselves; would be sufficient to understand thesocial process. For him, it is necessary to link the larger view of social phenomena to the more limited one, to see how institutional change is produced by, and in turn understand the shape of the...