Is the French sociology of organisations specifically French?

Purpose – The purpose of this paper is to study the contribution of French sociology of organisations (mainly represented by M. Crozier, E. Friedberg and J.D. Reynaud) to the knowledge of organisations in the French context, specially through the “bureaucratic phenomenon”. Design/methodology/approach – The author shows that the work has provided a relevant picture of some of the main characteristics of a “French way of organising”, but shows in a second part that French specificities are only a part of the authors’ scientific project, and discusses some of the reasons why it did not get a large international recognition in the English-speaking literature. Findings – The article provides a summary of the analysis and a discussion of its relevance to the French context today. It opens a reflection about the question as to whether a sociological school based on field studies can be used outside of its original context of conception. Research limitations/implications – The author does not have the ambition of an exhaustive overview of the international impact of this school. Practical implications – The author aims at a reevaluation of the contribution, for English-speaking academics, and at a development of the thinking about the use of the “strategic analysis” model. Originality/value – An examination of the today relevance of the “bureaucratic” model in France, and a better knowledge of the interest of this school outside France.

Departementalitet eller guvernementalitet – organisationers og organisationsteoriers historiske sociologi

Artiklen undersøger de selvbeskrivelser, der er blevet fremsat i forsøgene på at organisere organisation lige siden 1000-tallet. Moderne organisationsforståelse er opstået gennem hundreder af år. Koder for organisatorisk kommunikation er blevet sammensat, udviklet og raffineret eksempelvis i konflikter om centralisering eller decentralisering i korpsånd og i bureaukrati. I tolkningen heraf anvendes Niklas Luhmanns begrebsdannelse, der udviser en anden tilgang til organisationshistorie og organisationssociologi, end den, der kendes fra Weber og Foucault. Søgeord: Organisationssociologi, Foucault, Luhmann, historisk sociologi. ENGELSK ABSTRACT: Gorm Harste: Departmentality or Governmentality – the Historical Sociology of Organisations and Organisation Theory History of organisations probably goes back to the 11th century. The long story of their development has been told by Max Weber and Michel Foucault. However Foucault did not elaborate a general organisational sociology and Weber’s story created a somewhat incomprehensible disordered complexity. Hence traditional organisational analyses trace organisation theory back a hundred years – to Weber and a few others. The present story about departmentality derives its conceptual framework not within governing or steering as Foucault does, but in the problem of delegation. The concept and theories of power were established in order to handle coordination at spatial distance. The aim of powerful concepts and theories of organisation was to establish communication in forms of simultaneous cooperation between distant operations. The article establishes this temporal conception in a historical sociology of organisation using Niklas Luhmann’s system theory. Power only empowers if centralised power is able to decentralise and abstain from forced control in favour of the activity of parts departed and detached from the whole. The parts and the members of the organ got their identity fi rst described in a conception of ”corpus spiritus”, later called ”esprit de corps” and then ”corporate spirit”. The article analyses these semantics and their developments. Key words: Luhmann, Foucault, history of organizations, historical sociology, governmentality, department.