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Organizational theorists, at least since the pioneering work of Burns and Stalker, 1961 and Joan Woodward, 1965 and others in what came to be called the contingency school, have recognized that centralization is appropriate for organizations with routine tasks, and decentralization for those with nonroutine tasks. For an early statement see Perrow 1967, and Lawrence and Lorch, 1967.

— Charles Perrow

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More quotes by Charles Perrow

Technology is a technique or complex of techniques employed to alter “materials” (human or nonhuman, mental or physical) in an anticipated manner.

For many purposes of organizational analysis technology might not be an independent variable but a dependent one.

Charles Perrow (1967)

People's attitudes are shaped at least as much by the organization in which they work as by their pre-existing attitudes.

The essence of the normal accident [is] the interaction of multiple failures that are not in a direct operational sequence.

Apparent leadership problems are often problems of organizational structure.

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Quote text and notes from Wikiquote: Charles Perrow (page history), available under CC BY-SA 4.0. Source quality and labels are our own summary of what Wikiquote records.