AMMDI is an open-notebook hypertext writing experiment, authored by Mike Travers aka mtraven. It's a work in progress and some parts are more polished than others. Comments welcome! More.
Must be a better source for the same idea. ChatGPT:
That idea is central to the work of sociologists and organizational theorists, particularly those in the field of organizational behavior and bureaucratic dysfunction. Here are some key thinkers who have written about it:
Robert K. Merton – In Bureaucratic Structure and Personality (1940), Merton discusses how bureaucracies develop rigid procedures that can lead to "goal displacement," where employees follow rules for their own sake rather than serving the organization's goals.
Michel Crozier – In The Bureaucratic Phenomenon (1964), Crozier argues that individuals within bureaucracies use their control over information and procedures to advance their own interests rather than those of the organization.
Anthony Downs – In Inside Bureaucracy (1967), Downs describes how bureaucrats pursue their own career ambitions and interests, sometimes at the expense of the organization’s official objectives.
James Q. Wilson – In Bureaucracy: What Government Agencies Do and Why They Do It (1989), Wilson examines how personal motivations, group dynamics, and institutional incentives shape bureaucratic behavior.
William Niskanen – In Bureaucracy and Representative Government (1971), Niskanen introduces the idea that bureaucrats seek to maximize their budgets and power rather than simply serving the public good.
Chester Barnard – In The Functions of the Executive (1938), Barnard discusses how informal organizations within a company influence decision-making, often diverging from official goals.
Philip Selznick – In TVA and the Grass Roots (1949), Selznick examines how organizations develop "institutional goals" that differ from their formal missions, as employees and subgroups pursue their own interests.
This idea is also explored in principal-agent theory in economics and political science, which looks at how employees (agents) often have different incentives than their employers (principals), leading to inefficiencies or strategic behavior.
Would you like recommendations for specific industries or case studies on this topic?