ABSTRACT

Organizations can be termed social inventions or tools developed by men to accomplish what otherwise would be unattainable. Organizations come into existence when explicit procedures are established to coordinate the activities of a group in the interest of achieving specified objectives. The concern with organizations is relevant to the study of our governmental response to transnational terrorism. Based upon Weber's concern with organizational structure another approach to the study of organizations developed in the 1920s. Classical administrative theorists must have a set of goals for the organization because without it, they cannot prescribe the appropriate organizing principles. Public organizations such as the Federal Bureau of Investigation have undergone similar changes throughout their history. Organizations, furthermore, must be able to conduct actions in which the behavior of hundreds of individuals is closely coordinated. The external environment with which organizations must deal is often more murky than clear.