ABSTRACT
Organized anarchy is a theory outlined by Cohen and March in their book, Leadership and Ambiguity. These authors conducted their research on college presidents in the 1970s—research that yielded a particularly helpful perspective from which to understand higher education institutions. The organized anarchy model is a useful perspective to consider when thinking about disruptive technologies. Administrators and faculty must be nimble in organized anarchies to cope with the uncertainty, fluidity, and problematic environment of these organizations. The organized anarchy perspective provides a helpful approach to managing higher education institutions in ways that are more congruent with and accommodating to their unique structures and approaches. Uniquely to higher education and other client-serving organizations, the organized anarchy perspective provides a way to think about colleges and universities that can result in the achievement of a wide variety of institutional goals and societal purposes.
