130 ◾ Logics of Legitimacy
For our purposes, we simply need to understand that the organizing form of
bureaucracy was designed for command- and- control functions, primarily based
on the political authority and scope of action that was deemed legitimate for
administration. At that time, it was also deemed to be the most ecient way to
organize collective action. However, as the ineciencies of hierarchy became evi-
dent, managerial science began calling for a loosening of the hierarchical struc-
ture (Wilson 2000). is is precisely what management theory proceeded to do.
Ongoing study has led to ever- increasing eciency through myriad organizational
reforms and new management approaches. In contemporary organization theory, ...