ABSTRACT
This chapter looks at the fundamental clash between the rigorously rational organization and the individual member; the coerced "freedom" of the individual; the moral problems of dealing with ambiguity; and ambiguity as a selective force in separating the "abler" from the "less able" executives. Various students and practicing executives have made passing remarks about the effects of organization on the executive, and some students have analyzed the effects on production workers. Any systematic look at the place of a planned role in an organization, or the interplay between an office and the person in it becomes unreal if treated apart from the interfusion of official and informal acts. The individual manager is caught in a scheme of rational, emotional, social, and ethical claims. Whatever the limiting factors, executives of the "strong" type most aptly play multiple roles from the formal position, while they interpret, assess, and cross-reference the role repertories of associates.
