Technology, Organization, and Administration

Elaboration of technology leads to increasing complexity of the enterprise using it, and the type of technology available for particular purposes sets limits to the types of structures appropriate for organizations. Comparing the mining enterprise, the manufacturer, the hospital, and the university, the authors advance a number of propositions about relationships between technology and administrative processes. James D. Thompson is director of the A dministrative Science Center, University of Pittsburgh. Frederick L. Bates is associate professor of sociology in Louisiana State University.