*Social Control

The loosely coupled organizational approach is evaluated in this paper. This essay evaluates this line of research by focussing on an analysis of schools, which are usually considered to be the epitome of loosely structured organizations. It is argued that distinguishing the mode and degree of organizational coupling and control depends on where, by what criteria, and how one looks. Although this debunking perspective rejects rational and efficiency models of organization, it unwittingly reproduces many of the latter's assumptions of organizational behavior, which are exemplified by: (1) a near universal concern with instruction and measurement by standardized tests; (2) rational and efficiency-based evaluations; and (3) neglect of the underlying social organization of power. In particular, loose coupling analysts adopt a framework that precludes the discovery of both the degree and forms o