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Provides a general description of the 688 distinct establishments included in the 1991 National Organizations Study, paying particular attention to variables that describe the composition & settings of these workplaces. Results reflect the concentration of the US economy in service-producing activities & industries. Fewer than 50% of for-profit workplaces are ages 20+ with establishments that are part of larger companies being older than other types of establishments. Women are employed in greatest numbers in the nonprofit sector, but compose 45% of full-time employees generally. Less extensive data were collected on the racial composition of establishments, though it seems that minorities tend to be concentrated in larger workplaces. Technical & institutional aspects of the environment of establishments are discussed & correlated with their for-profit, nonprofit, & public status. 5 Tables, 4 Figures. D. M. Smith

This article provides a descriptive overview of the work establishments in the National Organizations Study (NOS). It begins by reviewing their auspices, industry settings, and composition. Next, it introduces the survey items and scales used to measure coordination and control structures including structural differentiation, formalization, decentralization, and the presence of internal labor markets. Other items and scales refer to aspects of the technical and institutional environments. The NOS includes a quite diverse set of establishments, most of which provide services rather than produce goods. The public, nonprofit, and private, for-profit sectors are well represented. A sizable fraction of the workplaces are parts of larger organizations. Differences between descriptive statistics for the unweighted and weighted NOS samples highlight differences in the structures and environments of larger and smaller establishments.

Examines the organizational structures of establishments in the 1991 National Organizations Study, drawing on theories developed since the 1960. The principle postulate advanced by these theories is that organizations employ structural arrangements to achieve coordination & control over their activities. Further, coordination & control are assumed to be more difficult to achieve as the size of the organization increases. It is found that measures of coordination & control techniques eg, structural complexity, formalization, decentralization, & administrative intensity, are associated in ways that the literature proposes. Significant differences between large & small organizations in terms of organizational structure are found. Further, for-profit companies tend to be less formalized & more decentralized than nonprofit & public sector establishments. Thus, the dominant trend in organizational theory to stress the external, institutional sources of structural forms is confirmed. 5 Tables, 2 Figures. D. M. Smith

Measures of coordination and control techniques—including structural complexity, formalization, decentralization, and firm internal labor markets—are related to one another in theoretically anticipated ways for the diverse set of establishments in the National Organizations Study. Quite strong differences in structure between large and small organizations persist even after statistical adjustments for effects of contextual features, including auspices, environmental complexity, the presence of unions, and branch/subsidiary status. There are appreciable differences, net of size and complexity, in formalization and decentralization between public-sector, nonprofit, and private for-profit establishments. Branch/subsidiary establishments display higher levels of formalization and centralization than do comparable independent workplaces. The end of this article identifies five common profiles of coordination/control strategies. Two of these are variations on simple structure used predominantly in small, independent firms. The other three are varieties of bureaucracy found in large nonunionized, large unionized, and small branch establishments.