ABSTRACT
THE unequal distribution of power in most organizations presents an enduring ideological problem for the United States. Describing the early twentieth century, Charles Perrow (1986) identifies the issue succinctly: “On the one hand, democracy stressed liberty and equality for all. On the other hand, large masses of workers and nonsalaried personnel had to submit to apparently arbitrary authority, backed up by local and national police forces and legal powers, for ten to twelve hours a day, six days a week” (p. 53). While working conditions have improved for most Americans over the years, this fundamental contradiction persists. In a society that is commit- ted in the abstract to democratic values, it is at the very least ironic that most U.S. workers have both few liberties at work and little power to influence the decisions that most affect their work lives.
