Carolina QuotesIn research terms, the issue is to examine and explain the variations within and among residential institutions.
Charles Perrow Connected to the Carolinas
Source
p. vii
- work
- Organization for treatment, 1966
- year
- 1966
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“In research terms, the issue is to examine and explain the v…” Charles Perrow. Carolina Quotes, record CQ-2CB69191A5. https://carolinaquotes.com/quote/2cb69191a5
More from Charles Perrow
It is surprising how much discipline is imposed upon theory by requiring that it ‘make a difference’ and provide guidance or useful illumination. I learned long ago from students in professional schools that questions of ‘so what’ or ‘what relevance does this have’ do not signify impatience with theory per se, much less anti-intellectualism, but only impatience with the obvious, general, remote, and vague statements that often parade as social science theory. One test of good theory is that it have practical implications.
Engineers speak of a “control loop,” in which the “man in the loop” is the problematical element. This is the human component in a series of sequentially interacting pieces of equipment that control or adjust a function. But when the pilot is suddenly and unexpectedly brought into the control loop (in other words, participates in decision making) as a result of (inevitable) equipment failure, he is disoriented. Long periods of passive monitoring make one unprepared to act in emergencies. The sudden appearance of several alarms, all there for safety reasons, leads to disorientation.
From one point of view, structure is a part of technology; for example the spread of the bureaucratic form of organization might be said to be the most profound technological innovation in the last 3 or 4 centuries.