Michel Crozier facts for kids

Michel Crozier (born November 6, 1922, in Sainte-Menehould, France – died May 24, 2013, in Paris) was a famous French sociologist. A sociologist studies how people behave in groups and how societies work. He was a member of important groups like the Académie des sciences morales et politiques and the American Academy of Arts and Sciences. He also won the Prix Alexis de Tocqueville in 1997, a big award for people who help society.

Michel Crozier's Life Story

Michel Crozier did not originally train to be a sociologist. His journey into sociology began thanks to a special scholarship. This scholarship allowed him to study how workers' groups, called labor unions, operated in the United States.

After studying business and law, he spent 14 months traveling across the US. This was right after World War II. He talked to many union members and leaders. This helped him understand the American labor movement and society much better.

When he returned to France, he wrote a book about his research. He then joined the French National Center for Scientific Research. This is where he officially became a sociologist.

In 1953, he started his first big research project. He studied office workers at the French Postal Bank. His findings, published in a book, made him well-known. He became an expert on how white-collar workers do their jobs.

This led to more studies on different organizations. He looked at insurance companies and a large national bank. He also studied the French tobacco monopoly, which was a government-run business.

In 1959, he was invited to a special research center in California. There, he began writing his most famous book. It was called The Bureaucratic Phenomenon. It was first published in English in 1964. This book helped make the study of organizations a real subject in France. In it, Michel Crozier started to explain his idea of "strategic analysis of organizations." This is a way to understand how people in organizations make decisions.

Founding a Research Center

The success of The Bureaucratic Phenomenon was huge around the world. It gave Michel Crozier the chance to create something new. He founded the Center for the Sociology of Organizations (CSO). This was a small group of young sociologists.

With this group, he started new research projects. They focused on how the French government worked and how it changed. He also continued to develop his ideas and methods for studying organizations.

In 1977, he worked with Erhard Friedberg to write another important book. It was called L’Acteur et le système (which means The Actor and the System). This book was very important in France and Europe. In it, they explained their way of looking at organizations. They believed that organizations work like games. People in them have different levels of power. They make choices based on their goals and how others might react.

Michel Crozier believed that sociology should be useful. He didn't just want to study society; he wanted to help improve it. He published seven books about making changes in government and society. He also worked as a consultant, giving advice to many groups. He wrote his life story in two books, Ma Belle Epoque (2002) and A Contre-Courant (2004).

Awards and Recognition

Michel Crozier received several important awards for his work:

• Officer of the Legion of Honour
• Commander of the Ordre national du Mérite

See also

In Spanish: Michel Crozier para niños

• Center for the Sociology of Organizations