Ritual Conformity and Organizational Control: Loose Coupling or Professionalization?

Abstract

A study examined ritual conformity and loose coupling in the responses of community mental health organizations in North Carolina to legal policy encouraging the outpatient commitment of the mentally ill. Data from field notes on patient outcomes, interviews with organization participants, and case study materials indicate that organizations requiring legitimacy in an institutional environment (versus a technical environment) exhibit ritual conformity and are loosely coupled. Loose coupling, however, is difficult to distinguish conceptually and empirically from the professionalization of work roles. Professional organizations are loosely linked (i.e., buffered from the formal structure of the organization) because control over work activities is weak. The existence of professionals rationalizes and legitimates loose coupling, a way to conform with environmental (institutional) demands, and to resolve conflict between professional and bureaucratic elements. Further research is needed to distinguish empirically between loose coupling and professionalization, and to further refine the institutional model of organizational activity in bureaucratic, professional, and heteronomous organizations.