Philip Selznick Tva and the Grass Roots

Annotation

Whilst the greatest effort has been made to ensure the quality of this text, due to the historical nature of this content, in some rare cases there may be minor issues with legibility. The files and the personnel Of the Tennessee Valley Authority were the primary sources Of research data. The unpublished record has been accorded the same status as personal interview materials, so that sources and quotations cannot always be given specific reference. I have en deavored to protect the anonymity of those in and out of the Authority who have helped me to an understanding of the tva's methods and pro gram. At the same time, informants on questions Of detail have been restricted to those within tva who have worked on the programs dis cussed. A check with the written record was made wherever possible. Interviews with Officials in Washington and in the Tennessee Valley states were also of assistance. It is hoped that a contribution has been made here toward the evolu tion of a theory of organization. In that sense, the study is not practical or programmatic. It is believed, however, that a practical relevance will be discerned by those involved in action who must take into account such general relations within and among organizations as are studied here. It must also be emphasized that what is presented here is only one aspect Of the total tva picture. For more general presentations of the Author ity's program, the reader is referred to such volumes as David E. Lilien thal's tva: Democracy on the March, C. Herman Pritchett's The Tennessee Valley Authority: A Study in Public Administration, and Herman Finer's tva: Lessons for International Application.