| Abstract: | The facts and myths of changes in technology and authority structure in public organizations are investigated using data from a case study of structural reorganization and the mechanization and automation of mail processing in the United States Postal Service. External political pressure and internal labor-management conflict combined to cause changes that were legitimated by an institutional logic of scientific management and technical progress. Improvements in productivity and overall mail service have been limited by political and institutional considerations that continue to govern the operation of the Postal Service. |
