Coordination without hierarchy - Informal structures in multiorganizational systems - Grand Format

The organizational history of American government during the past 100 years has been written principally in terms of the creation of ever larger public organizations. Chisholm directly challenges this received wisdom. Using the public transit system of the San Francisco Bay Area for illustrative purposes, Chisholm argues that, contrary to current canons of public administration, we should actively resist the temptation to consolidate and centralize our public organizations.
"[Coordination Without Hierarchy] couples strong field work with a broad appreciation of literature which spans the boundaries between political science, public administration, sociology and organizational theory.... Chisholm's book should be essential reading if our concern is with how best to achieve coordination between independent organizations using both formal and informal mechanisms. " - Michael Thrasher, Organization studies.
"This is a nice piece of work.... As in any good case study, the author provides us with a wealth of detail about the history and structure of the various organizations that make up the multicounty rail and bus transit system he is studying.... I plan to use this book in my next seminar." - R. Richard Ritti, Administrative Science Quarterly. "Thought-provoking.... While a full-blown science of organization has yet to emerge, [Coordination Without Hierarchy is a] highly readable and thoughtful example of exciting steps taken in that direction by social scientists struggling to understand why organizations matter." - Edella Schlager, American Political Science Review.
"A significant contribution to our understanding of coordination among organizations, a topic that has received limited attention.... Carefully written, sensibly interpreted, and worth reading." - Barry Bozeman, Policy Sciences.