TENSIONS BETWEEN 'THE FIELD' AND 'HEADQUARTERS' ARE EXAMINED BY LOOKING IN TURN AT EACH DISTINCTIVE ROLE IN THE TWO ORGANIZATIONS -- THE OPERATORS, THE MANAGERS, AND THE EXECUTIVES. IN NEITHER THE FEDERAL BUREAU OF INVESTIGATION (FBI) NOR THE DRUG ENFORCEMENT ADMINISTRATION (DEA) DO OPERATORS (AGENTS) PERCEIVE ADMINISTRATORS ABOVE THEIR FIRST-LINE SUPERVISORS AS ESPECIALLY HELPFUL. THIS IS PARTICULARLY TRUE OF HEADQUARTERS ADMINISTRATORS NOMINALLY INVOLVED IN CASE SUPERVISION OR AGENT EVALUATION. IT IS POINTED OUT THAT OPERATORS IN FIELD OFFICES DEVELOP STYLES OF WORKING REFLECTIVE OF THEIR ORIGINAL TRAINING AND THE PRIORITIES THAT INITIALLY SET THEIR WORK PATTERNS. FBI AGENTS ARE CONSIDERED TO BE ESSENTIALLY INTERVIEWERS; DEA AGENTS, BASICALLY INSTIGATORS. EFFORTS AT HIGH MANAGEMENT LEVELS TO CHANGE WORKING STYLES AND EMPHASES OF OPERATORS HAVE PROVED LARGELY INEFFECTIVE. SPECIFIC EXAMPLES ARE CITED TO ILLUSTRATE HOW THE FBI MANAGEMENT LEVEL SOUGHT A SHIFT IN PRIORITIES TOWARD DEALING WITH WHITE-COLLAR CRIME AND THE DEA ADMINISTRATORS ATTEMPTED TO DIRECT THE ACTIVITY OF AGENTS TOWARD MORE SIGNIFICANT ARRESTS AT HIGH LEVELS OF NARCOTICS OPERATIONS. BOTH OF THESE ATTEMPTS BY HEADQUARTERS ADMINISTRATORS TO REORIENT AGENT BEHAVIOR IN THE FIELD ARE CONSIDERED TO HAVE MET WITH ONLY MODEST SUCCESS. EXECUTIVES ARE DEFINED AS THOSE PERSONS IN THE ORGANIZATION WHO OBTAIN THE MONEY, PERSONNEL, CLIENTS, GOODWILL, AND POLITICAL SUPPORT NECESSARY FOR THE ORGANIZATION TO THRIVE AS WELL AS SURVIVE. THE DISTINCTIVE EXECUTIVE HISTORIES OF THE FBI AND THE DEA ARE EXAMINED, WITH PARTICULAR ATTENTION TO THE UNIQUE POLITICAL DYNAMICS INVOLVED IN MAINTAINING A FEDERAL AGENCY. IT IS CONCLUDED THAT EXECUTIVE OPERATIONS IN BOTH THE FBI AND DEA IN RESPONSE TO POLITICAL REALITIES HAVE BEEN MORE IMPORTANT IN DETERMINING THE FORMS OF OPERATION IN THOSE AGENCIES THAN HAVE BEEN THE TASKS OF AGENTS IN THE FIELD; THIS INEVITABLY LEADS TO DISJUNCTION BETWEEN TASKS AND ADMINISTRATION. THREE STEPS ARE PROPOSED FOR THE RATIONAL ADAPTATION OF MANAGEMENT TO TASKS IN AN AN ORGANIZATION. FIRST, THE GOALS MUST BE SUFFICIENTLY OPERATIONAL SO THAT A REASONABLY UNAMBIGUOUS JUDGMENT CAN BE MADE ABOUT WHETHER OR NOT THEY HAVE BEEN ACHIEVED. SECOND, THE ORGANIZATION MUST POSSESS THE TECHNOLOGY TO ACHIEVE ITS GOAL. THIRD, THE ORGANIZATION MUST BE REASONABLY FREE TO APPLY A SUITABLE TECHNOLOGY TO A GIVEN OBJECTIVE. SOME IMPLICATIONS OF THESE STEPS FOR THE FBI AND THE DEA ARE DISCUSSED. NOTES AND AN INDEX ARE PROVIDED. (RCB)