The concept of a meshing organization is defined. A meshing organization brings about coordination between political and bureaucratic entities without threatening their autonomy. Differences between meshing organizations and other coordinative structures are explored. The strategies are interpreted in terms of the resource-dependence model of interorganizational relations. Nine strategies through which the meshing organization can strengthen itself bureaucratically while increasing the degree of intergovernmental coordination are discussed. Examples of an active meshing organization in a conservative, metropolitan county.
Get full access to this article
View all access options for this article.
References
1.
ALDRICH, H. (1979) Organizations and Environments. Englewood Cliffs, NJ: Prentice Hall.
2.
ALDRICH, H. (1978) "Visionaries and villians: the politics of designing interorganizational relations."Org. and Admin. Sci.8, 1: 23-40.
3.
ALDRICH, H. (1976) "Resource dependence and interorganizational relations: local employment service offices and social services sector organizations."Admin. Sci. Q.7, 4: 419-454
4.
ALDRICH, H. and S. MINDLIN (1978) "Uncertainty and dependence: two perspectives on environment," pp. 149-170 in L. Karpik (ed.) Organization and Environment: Theory, Issues and Reality. Beverly Hills, CA: Sage.
5.
AMACHER, R. , R. TOLLISON and T. WILLETT [eds.] (1976) The Economic Approach to Public Policy. Ithaca, NY: Cornell Univ. Press.
6.
BACKOFF, R. and B. WECHSLER (1982) "Integrating tools and networks: a strategic management approach." Paper presented at the annual meeting of the American Political Science Association, Denver, Colorado.
7.
BALDINGER, S. (1971) Planning and Governing the Metropolis: The Twin Cities Experience. New York: Praeger.
8.
BENSON, J. K. (1978) "The interorganizational network as a political economy" pp. 69-102 in L. Karpik (ed.) Organization and Environment: Theory, Issues and Reality. Beverly Hills, CA: Sage.
9.
BLUMSTEIN, J. and B. WALTER [eds.] (1975) Growing Metropolis: Aspects of Development in Nashville, TN: Vanderbilt Univ. Press.
10.
EVAN, W. (1966) "The Organizational Set: Toward a Theory of Organizational Relations" pp. 173-192 in J. D. Thomson (ed.) Approaches to Organizational Design. Pittsburgh, PA: Univ. of Pittsburgh Press.
11.
FRIEND, K. , J. POWER and G. YEWLETT (1974) Public Planning: The Inter-Corporate Dimension. London: Tavistock
12.
FRIESEMA, H. (1971) Metropolitan Political Structure: Intergovernmental Relations and Political Integration in Quad Cities. Iowa City: Univ. of Iowa Press.
13.
HARRIGAN, J. and W. JOHNSON (1978) Governing the Twin Cities Region: The Metropolitan Council in Comparative Perspective. Minneapolis: The Univ. of Minnesota Press.
14.
HEALY, P. (1970) "Networking as a normative principle with particular reference to local government land use planning."Local Government Studies61 (January).
15.
HJERN, B. and D. PORTER (1979) "Implementation structures: a new unit of administrative analysis." Paper presented at the 1979 American Political Science Association Meeting, Washington, D.C.
16.
HOLDER, M. (1966) "Imperialism in bureaucracy."Amer. Pol. Sci. Rev.60, 3: 943-951.
17.
LAUMANN, E. , J. GALASKIEWICZ, and P. MARSDEN (1978) "Community structure as interorganizational linkages."Annual Review of Sociology4: 455-484.
18.
LEIFER, R. and G. HUBER (11977) "Relations among perceived environmental uncertainty: organization structure and boundary-spanning behavior."Admin. Sci. Q.22, 1: 235-248.
19.
LEVINE, S. and P. WHITE (1966) "Exchange as conceptual framework for the study of interorganizational relationships."Admin. Sci. Q. II, 3: 583-601.
20.
LEWIS, E. (1980) Public Entreprenueurship: Toward a Theory of Bureaucratic Political Power. Bloomington, IN: Indiana Univ. Press.
21.
LOVELL, C. (1979) "Coordinating federal grants from below."Public Admin. Rev.39, 5: 432-439/
22.
METCALF, L. (1978) "Policy making in turbulent environments," pp. in K. Hanf and F. Scharpf (eds.) Interorganizational Policy Making: Limits to Coordination and Central Control. Beverly Hills, CA: Sage.
23.
OLSEN, M. (1968) The Logic of Collective Action. New York: Schoeken.
24.
OSTROM, V. (1973) The Intellectual Crisis in American Public Administration. University, AL: Univ. of Alabama Press.
25.
PORTER, D. and D. WARNER (1979) Organizations and Implementation Structures. Berlin, Germany: International Institute of Management.
26.
PROVAN, K. , J. BEYER and C. KRUYTBOSCH (1980) "Environmental linkages and power in resource-dependence relations between organizations."Admin. Sci. Q.25, 1: 200-225.
27.
ROGERS, D. , D. WHETTEN and ASSOCIATES (1982). Interorganizational Coordination: Theory, Research, and Implementation. Ames, IA: Univ. of Iowa.
28.
RONDINELLI, D. (1978) "Policy coordination in metropolitan areas: an ecological perspective."Administration and Society: 10, 2: 203-233.
29.
ROSENTHAL, D. (1980) "Bargaining analysis in intergovernmental relations."Publics (Summer): 4-47.
30.
RUBIN, H. (1982) "The growth and anti-growth machine in suburbia." Paper presented at the annual meeting of the American Society for Public Administratation, Honolulu, Hawaii (March).
31.
RUBIN, H. (1980) Integrating Rural Development: The Problem and a Solution. Bloomington, IN: PASITAM Design Study.
32.
TABORS, R. and M. SHAPIRO (1977) Land Use and the Pipe. Lexington, MA: Lexington.
33.
TOFT, G. (1982) "Managing non-government organizations for public purposes: in search of new paradigms and strategies for interorganizational public administration." Paper presented at the annual meeting of the American Political Science Association, Denver, Colorado.
34.
WHETTEN, D. (1981) "Interorganizational relations: a review of the field."J. of Higher Education52, 1: 3-27.
35.
WIKSTROM, N. (1977) Councils of Government: A Study of Political Incrementalism. Chicago: Nelson-Hall.
36.
WRIGHT, D. (1980) "Intergovernmental games: an approach to understanding intergovernmental relations."Southern Review of Public Administration (March): 383-403.
