Bruce H. Mayhew

System Size and Structural Differentiation in Formal Organizations: A Baseline Generator for Two Major Theoretical Propositions

Blaus (1970) two major theoretical propositions relating size and structural differentiation in formal organizations can be produced by the logical possibilities for differentiation that are generated by different values of size. The relationships specified by these propositions are illustrated with calculations from a computer algorithm that enumerates all possible structural forms for each size and assigns the same probability of occurrence to each structure. Theoretical implications of this model are discussed.

The structure of stratified systems and the structure of mobility: A first approximation to a structural theory of vertical mobility

This essay summarizes an inquiry that explores relations between the structure of stratified systems and the processes of vertical mobility. The inquiry considers economic stratification (the distribution of wealth) and is directed to determining whether the structural properties of stratification systems are sufficient to generate basic patterns in vertical mobility observed in empirical research, especially, the rank‐distance effect. In particular, the question is whether these patterns can be generated even if movement is constrained by nothing more than the size of the population over which wealth is distributed and the total amount of wealth to be distributed. Our results show that the rank‐distance effect emerges even under these minimal assumptions and, further, that rates and distances of vertical mobility are closely related to changes in these boundary parameters of a stratified system. The basic theory developed to relate structure and mobility provides results that are highly consistent with m...