ABSTRACT
In his book Modern Organization (1961), Victor Thompson asserts that a major problem for many modern bureaucracies is the imbalance between ability and authority. Increasingly, the knowledge needed to operate the organization is found among specialists and professionals who do not have significant positions of authority. At the same time, bureaucracy by its very nature places the right to exercise authority and the responsibility for outcomes in the hands of hierarchic superiors. The result is continuing confusion and conflict.
