Prisoners of myth : the leadership of the Tennessee Valley Authority, 1933-1990 / Erwin C. Hargrove.

Format:

Book

Author/Creator:

Hargrove, Erwin C.

Series:

Princeton Studies in American Politics: Historical, International, and Comparative Perspectives

Princeton Studies in American Politics: Historical, International, and Comparative Perspectives ; 39

Language:

English

Subjects (All):

Electric utilities--Tennessee River Valley--Management--History.

Electric utilities.

Government corporations--United States--Management--History.

Government corporations.

Leadership.

Tennessee Valley Authority--Management--History.

Tennessee Valley Authority.

Physical Description:

1 online resource (391 pages)

Edition:

1st ed.

Place of Publication:

Princeton, NJ : University of Tennessee Press, 1994.

Language Note:

English

Summary:

Prisoners of Myth is the first comprehensive history of the Tennessee Valley Authority from its creation to the present day. It is also a telling case study of organizational evolution and decline. Building on Philip Selznick's classic work TVA and the Grass Roots (1949), a seminal text in the theoretical study of bureaucracy, Erwin Hargrove analyzes the organizational culture of the TVA by looking at the actions of its leaders over six decades--from the heroic years of the New Deal and World War II through the postwar period of consolidation and growth to the time of troubles from 1970 onward, when the TVA ran afoul of environmental legislation, built a massive nuclear power program that it could not control, and sought new missions for which there were no constituencies. The founding myth of multipurpose regional development was inappropriately pursued in the 1970's and '80's by leaders who became "prisoners of myth" in their attempt to keep the TVA heroic. A decentralized organization, which had worked well at the grass roots, was difficult to redirect as the nuclear genii spun out of control. TVA autonomy from Washington, once a virtue, obscured political accountability. This study develops an important new theory about institutional performance in the face of historical change.

Contents:

Front matter

Contents

Preface

Acknowledgments

CHAPTER 1. History and Theory

PART I: The Founding Generation

CHAPTER 2. Visions of an Institution

CHAPTER 3. Lilienthal's TVA: The Politics of Leadership

CHAPTER 4. The Development of TVA Organizational Culture

CHAPTER 5. The Organization in Action

EPILOGUE: PART I The Past as Prologue

PART II: Prisoners of Myth

CHAPTER 6. Consolidating Leadership: Clapp and Vogel

CHAPTER 7. Rise and Fall of the Dynamo

CHAPTER 8. The Politics of Organizational Renewal

CHAPTER 9. Denouement

EPILOGUE: PART II New Departures

CHAPTER 10. Reflections

Notes

Index

Notes:

Description based upon print version of record.

Includes bibliographical references and index.

ISBN:

9786612752100

9781282752108

1282752103

9781400821532

1400821533

9781400812004

1400812003

OCLC:

705526979