Technocratic Organization and Control

Abstract

Technocracy, a new type of organizational control structure, is defined and analyzed. The culmination of a dialectical process of organizational rationalization, technocracy transcends and integrates earlier forms of organizational control, particularly technical control, bureaucratic control, and professional control. Technocratic organizations are characterized by a flattening of bureaucratic hierarchies, a polarization into 'expert' and 'non-expert' sectors, a substitution of expertise for rank position as the primary basis of authority, a de-emphasis on internal job ladders in favour of external credentialing and credential barriers, flexible configurations of centralization/decentralization, and other related organizational changes. Technocracy is analyzed with regard to its theoretical background, historical development, contemporary manifestations, and socio-political implications.