ABSTRACT
Conflicts of power and policy between age-groups are a common feature of many organizational structures. This chapter examines some sources of age-graded power and their consequences for organizational stability in the Woman's Christian Temperance Union (WCTU). Within the WCTU two differing responses to the crisis of repeal were advocated at the time we studied the organization, 1952–1954. The organizational power of the older generation may stem from the mechanisms which maintain the incumbent in positions of power. One factor explaining the power of the incumbents on the national level is the scarcity of the skills and resources requisite for holding office in a woman's reform organization. Leadership in the day-to-day operation of an organization is of crucial importance in regulating control of policies. In organizations such as political parties, labor unions, or businesses, the pressures of financial commitment and career contingencies may act to balance the norms against inflicting ego-loss.
