NCJ Number
247652
Date Published
2014
Length
240 pages
Annotation
This book describes the features and socioeconomic impact of "marginal" organizations, which operate on the margins of society, attempting to avoid compliance with government laws and regulations and operated for the benefit of individuals and segments of society that likewise want to avoid the scrutiny and control of mainstream laws and moral standards.
Abstract
The author, who has spent 35 years researching mainstream organizations, conducts a similar analysis of the structure, operations, personnel, and effects of marginal organizations. He uses the tools of business and organization theory to describe or compare marginal organizations with mainstream organizations so as to show their usefulness and limitations. The book also discusses what marginal organizations can do to maximize their operations and contribute to the societies within which they operate. The benefits as well as the detriments of marginal organizations are identified. Conclusions are drawn about what the policymakers and guardians of mainstream society can do to improve the mainstream's approach to marginal organizations. Distinctions are made in the mainstream's approach to "good" marginals (those that provide a needed benefit with limited harm) and "bad" marginals (those whose activities ultimately harm and undermine constructive socioeconomic transactions). Bibliography and index