Organizational Deviance: A Humanist View

Authors

David R. Simon, University of North Florida

Abstract

The sociological paradigm proposed by C. Wright Mills is advocated as a basis (model) for the study of elite deviance of an organizational nature. The relationship between social structure and social character within organizational environments is examined utilizing central concepts regarding both social character (i.e., alienation, other-directedness, and inauthenticity) and bureaucratic structural characteristics (e.g., routinization and fragmentation of tasks, dehumanization and groupthink, the construction of guilt neutralizing ideologies, and front activities). The paper concludes with a discussion of the implications of this approach for a humanist study of crime.

Recommended Citation

Simon, David R. (1985) "Organizational Deviance: A Humanist View," The Journal of Sociology & Social Welfare: Vol. 12: Iss. 3, Article 6.
DOI: https://doi.org/10.15453/0191-5096.1717
Available at: https://scholarworks.wmich.edu/jssw/vol12/iss3/6