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Paradoxical consequences of excess in structural complexity: a study of a state children's psychiatric hospital
Author(s) -
Blau Judith R.
Publication year - 1980
Publication title -
sociology of health and illness
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 1.146
H-Index - 97
eISSN - 1467-9566
pISSN - 0141-9889
DOI - 10.1111/1467-9566.ep11340698
Subject(s) - ambivalence , interdependence , power (physics) , organizational structure , psychology , state (computer science) , sociology , social psychology , psychiatry , political science , law , social science , physics , algorithm , quantum mechanics , computer science
This paper examines how a unique organizational structure promotes a high level of care and treatment in a large, public children's psychiatric hospital. The structure ‐ complex and interdependent ‐ is best understood in terms of three dimensions of staff relations: administration, child care, and clinical practice. Because these dimensions are independent of one another and each delineates positions for every staff member, everyone occupies several statuses simultaneously and thus has multiple role relations with nearly every other staff member. Consequences of this multiple‐matrix organization are: the importance of emergent coalitions and diffuse exchange relations for power and influence; a treatment approach that depends on professional expertise but must be legitimized in terms of lay values concerning youngsters; problems of morale and ambivalence. The complex structure engenders a high level of humane care and expert treatment, in part because multiple role relations foster a holistic view of youngsters.