Organizational Politics in Schools: Micro, Macro, and Logics of Action

Abstract

This article attempts to develop a framework for analyzing the politics of school organizations. After examining relevant literature, the authors maintain that a Weberian perspective (instead of Marxian or neo-Machiavellian perspectives) is appropriate for the examination of organizational politics. The concept of the "logic of action" (the implicit relationship between means and goals that is assumed by organizational actors) is developed as the focal point of organizational politics. It is further argued that the interest group is the appropriate unit of analysis in organizational politics. The micro- and macro perspectives are reexamined in that light, with specific references to interest groups and the strategies they pursue in school organizations. The authors conclude by arguing that to succeed, political analyses of school organizations must synthesize micro- and macroapproaches.