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Combining theoretical and empirical materials, this paper outlines why definitions of the situation are an important vehicle for analyzing the conditions under which communications are viewed as authoritative by subordinates in complex work organizations. It investigates an exemplary process of collective action—making orchestra music—as a means of understanding the development as well as the demise of consensually validated expertise. Evaluations of conductors as focal participants arise from musicians' conceptions of appropriate work roles and what they construe as information and knowledge which allow them to engage in lines of concerted action. Finally, the results are discussed with regard to their implications for the study of organizational dynamics generally. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]