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ORGANIZATIONS AS COORDINATING DEVICES
Author(s) -
Ménard Claude
Publication year - 1994
Publication title -
metroeconomica
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 1.256
H-Index - 29
eISSN - 1467-999X
pISSN - 0026-1386
DOI - 10.1111/j.1467-999x.1994.tb00021.x
Subject(s) - hierarchy , section (typography) , interpretation (philosophy) , point (geometry) , business , law and economics , process management , computer science , industrial organization , knowledge management , economics , market economy , mathematics , geometry , advertising , programming language
The purpose of this paper is to offer a complex view of organizations as coordinating devices. In Section I, I briefly discuss the contractual interpretation, and I point out the inadequacy of contracts alone to coordinate organizational activities. In Section II, I explore the nature and characteristics of coordination through command, and I suggest making a distinction between authority and hierarchy. In Section III, I compare these two forms of coordination and show how they both operate. I conclude that it is the capacity of organizations to combine contract and command that determines their efficiency.