John Meyer and Brian Rowan argue that in organizations officially governed by formal rules and procedures, much of the work is usually done with minimal regard to the rules. What, then, is the role of rules in organizations, according to Meyer and Rowan

The rules serve to legitimize the work being done.

Explanation:

The contribution of John Meyer and Brian Rowan was described as one of the most important contributions to the field of sociology.

They based their findings on organization where they argued that organizations are driven by what is known as 'institutional myth'. They made it known that the forms of organization are through the myths in an environment.

They made it known that the disconnection of structure and activity helps in avoiding the recognition of inconsistency.

In this case, it means that rules set have minimal effect on most of the work done, but help to make the work being done legitimate.