An Analysis of Informal Power in a Security Police Squadron.

Abstract

It is commonly accepted that an informal power structure parallels the formal one in most organizations. The investigators found no established methods outside of interviewing for measuring the informal structure. This study represented an effort to test some instruments and methodologies for this purpose. The results obtained are highly specific to the Air Security Squadron used for the demonstration and the individuals which comprised it at the time of testing. Highly dramatic departures from the official channels were found. The 'inclusion to deletion' ratio was found to be an important summary statistic. The nature of the departures from established channels seemed to be related to perceptions of job capacity, decision making power, and cooperativeness. The persons from the formal power structure most frequently deleted were seen as competent but uncooperative. (Author)

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Document Details

Document Type
Technical Report
Publication Date
Jan 01, 1977
Accession Number
ADA043102

Entities

People

  • Arthur B. Sweney
  • William Swenty

Organizations

  • Wichita State University

Tags

Communities of Interest

  • Biomedical
  • Energy and Power Technologies
  • Weapons Technologies

DTIC Thesaurus Topics

  • Attachment
  • Cooperation
  • Emergencies
  • Perception
  • Performance Appraisals
  • Personnel Management
  • Psychological Phenomena And Processes
  • Questionnaires
  • Scientific Research
  • Security
  • Squadrons
  • Task Forces
  • Training

Readers

  • Library and Information Science
  • Radar Systems Engineering.
  • Systems Analysis and Design