During 1974-75, a nine-month field study of the Michigan Department of Education (MDE) was performed. Researchers observed MDE members at work, attended meetings, conducted interviews, and read documentary material. Attention was focused on the MDE at a system level and on the top 30-40 persons whose actions both caused and reflected organizational behavior. Open Systems Theory was used as a conceptual framework, with emphasis on organization-environment interactions. The organizational strategies employed to acquire resources were observed through seven case studies of issues of major importance to the MDE, including higher education, special education, compensatory education, professional development of teachers, and federal Titles I, III, and V. The author concludes that powerful environmental elements usually weakened the MDE's ability to generate educational policy. This lack of power was not seen as a people problem; MDE members were found to be generally highly qualified and committed. The author suggests that the MDE's inability to demonstrate a "technical core" made it increasingly vulnerable to other weakening influences, especially political ones. (Author/JG)