| Abstract: | Michel's notion of the inevitable and ironic transformation of groups with egalitarian intent into groups with oligarchical practices is examined through an analysis of thirty-four role playing partisan groups. Each group is a triad with an extended shared history or a history of equality that comes with friendship. Each group differentiated itself by selecting a representative to confront another student who played the role of a university dean. In nineteen of the groups the constituents obtained a news report of the outcome of those negotiations independent of their representative's report. In the other fifteen groups the constituents had to depend on their representative's report. In those groups that relied solely on their representative's report, oligarchical interrelations emerged. This contrasts with the news report groups who maintained egalitarian relationships while developing a political standpoint toward each other, the opposition and the future. We conclude that Michels' statement on organizational oligarchy is illuminated further by a consideration of an emergent monopoly of knowledge. |
