Communication · Executive Insight Brief · 509
A committee that governs nothing
Formal Structure as Myth and Ceremony reveals how legitimate organizational arrangements may be adopted without directing the work they appear to govern
Premise
A committee may exist, meet, and report full compliance without affecting a single operating decision. Formal Structure as Myth and Ceremony explains why organizations acquire recognizable structures partly to satisfy institutional expectations, not only to improve technical work. Calling every visible gap deception would miss this structural pressure.
The question is whether formal policies are operating mechanisms, legitimacy signals, or both. Governance requires knowing which audience demands the form, what resources depend on it, and how everyday decisions connect to the declared commitment.
What the model is: Formal Structure as Myth and Ceremony in Knowledge →
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- The essential model
- Why this matters
- Risks and limits
- Executive takeaway
- Key questions
- Selected sources
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- FamilyModel
- CategoryTheories & Explanatory Models
- DomainOrganization & Structure
What these mean
Editorial orientation · Family
Model
In this series, Model names the editorial family primarily used to understand and explain communication: theories, frameworks, effects, traditions, principles and other conceptual resources. It is an umbrella for a route into the field, not a claim that every included object is a predictive model.
Editorial orientation · Category
Theories & Explanatory Models
Explains how or why a communication process works by relating mechanisms, conditions or variables. Its value is an account that can guide inquiry into what produces an outcome, rather than a name for the outcome alone.