The Analysis of Bureaucratic-Professional Conflict: Functional Versus Dialectical Approaches*

The study of bureaucratic-professional conflict has generated empirical findings which strain the explanatory capacities of the functional scheme which has guided much of the research. It is argued here that a dialectical approach should now replace the functional approach to the study of bureaucratic-professional conflict. A dialectical approach linking bureaucratic-professional conflict to fundamental contradictions in organizations is proposed. Research should be focused on the contingencies affecting the occurrence, from, and intensity of conflict. A processual mode of analysis concentrated on the redefinition and re-negotation of order in major event-sequences is suggested.