Dimensions of Influence in Organizations

Abstract

Several recent research reports indicate that centralization in complex organizations may not be unidimensional. This article suggests that influence over decision making may be multidimensional, because it is based on the distribution of a variety of resources useful for different issues and because issues are of varying importance to different roles in the organization. Members of hospital staffs were asked for their perceptions of the distribution of influence over a variety of decisions. We are able to distinguish several decision-making structures in which the most influential positions represented three major subdivisions and operative goals of hospitals: Nursing, medical care, and administration. We also demonstrate that total influence may provide an index of the extent to which a decision is perceived as setting organizational policy. The findings indicate three reasons for caution when comparing organizations on a single index of centralization of influence: (1) influence must be distinguished from power, (2) influence is likely to be multidimensionally distributed, and (3) the concept of centralization may be misleading when several organization positions participate in decision making.