Works
- Some social and psychological consequences of the longwall method of coal-getting, Human Relations 4(1), 3 to 38, 1951
- Organizational Choice: Capabilities of Groups at the Coal Face under Changing Technologies, Tavistock Publications, London; reissued by Routledge, 2013, 1963
- The causal texture of organizational environments, Human Relations 18(1), 21 to 32, 1965
In Organizational Structures
Known for
Founding the sociotechnical systems approach
Ideas
Sociotechnical system. Mechanized longwall coal mining broke up the self-regulating small groups of earlier working, showing that technology and social organization must be designed together. Caveat: The terms joint optimization and organizational choice are not in the 1951 article.
Organizational choice. Alternative modes of work organization can exist for the same technology, so work organization is a choice, not a technical given. Caveat: Kelly (1978) argued the cases showed the superiority of only one form, autonomous groups, so 'choice' was overstated.
Joint optimization and organizational choice. With Bamforth, Trist showed that the longwall method in coal mining broke up self-regulating work groups, and argued that social and technical systems must be designed together. Caveat: Both names for the idea came later (organizational choice is from Trist and others 1963); the 1951 article argues for a social as well as a technological whole. Kelly (1978) reread the cases and questioned joint optimization.