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The Elite Question

Toward a Normative Elite Theory of Organization

Florida Atlantic University

This article reviews different theoretical perspectives on elite theory, raises the long neglected elite question as a central issue in the analysis of power structure in modern organizations, and offers, for the first time, a normative elite theory of organization that is both descriptive and prescriptive and that has predictive as well as prescriptive powers. Noting the deficiencies of the traditional theories of organization premised on instrumental rationality and void of normative dimensions of politics and power structure, the article stresses the need for research in the neglected area of organizational elite to understand better and predict organizational behavior for the elites and nonelites, especially in the age of rapid structural changes that affect billions of people around the globe. Discussions cover the concept and assumptions of organizational elite, the macro and micro levels of organizational elite analysis, the concept of organizational elite cohesion, and the significance and implications of the theory of organizational elite to organization theory and behavior in modern society.

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