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    Organizations As Organisms

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    Mudassir Farooqi
    This document summarizes key points from Chapter 3 of Gareth Morgan's book "Images of Organization" which presents an organism metaphor for understanding organizations. It discusses how organizations are like living systems that depend on their environments to meet needs, and how the Hawthorne studies influenced understanding of worker motivation and social needs. Maslow's hierarchy of needs is compared to what workers need from an organization. Organizations are described as open systems that must adapt to survive. Different organizational structures are likened to different species that are effective in different conditions. Strengths and weaknesses of the organism metaphor are outlined.

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    Organizations As Organisms

    Uploaded by

    Mudassir Farooqi
    268 views12 pages
    This document summarizes key points from Chapter 3 of Gareth Morgan's book "Images of Organization" which presents an organism metaphor for understanding organizations. It discusses how organizations are like living systems that depend on their environments to meet needs, and how the Hawthorne studies influenced understanding of worker motivation and social needs. Maslow's hierarchy of needs is compared to what workers need from an organization. Organizations are described as open systems that must adapt to survive. Different organizational structures are likened to different species that are effective in different conditions. Strengths and weaknesses of the organism metaphor are outlined.

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    Chapter 3 of Morgan

    Original Title

    Organizations as Organisms

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    This document summarizes key points from Chapter 3 of Gareth Morgan's book "Images of Organization" which presents an organism metaphor for understanding organizations. It discusses how organizations are like living systems that depend on their environments to meet needs, and how the Hawthorne studies influenced understanding of worker motivation and social needs. Maslow's hierarchy of needs is compared to what workers need from an organization. Organizations are described as open systems that must adapt to survive. Different organizational structures are likened to different species that are effective in different conditions. Strengths and weaknesses of the organism metaphor are outlined.

    Copyright:

    © All Rights Reserved
    Download as PDF, TXT or read online from Scribd
    Download as pdf or txt
    268 views12 pages

    Organizations As Organisms

    Uploaded by

    Mudassir Farooqi
    This document summarizes key points from Chapter 3 of Gareth Morgan's book "Images of Organization" which presents an organism metaphor for understanding organizations. It discusses how organizations are like living systems that depend on their environments to meet needs, and how the Hawthorne studies influenced understanding of worker motivation and social needs. Maslow's hierarchy of needs is compared to what workers need from an organization. Organizations are described as open systems that must adapt to survive. Different organizational structures are likened to different species that are effective in different conditions. Strengths and weaknesses of the organism metaphor are outlined.

    Copyright:

    © All Rights Reserved
    Download as PDF, TXT or read online from Scribd
    Download as pdf or txt
    of 12

    Organizations as Organisms - Chapter 3

    Images of Organization by Gareth Morgan

    Sam Sager and Shine Nissar


    CSUSB
    EDUC 705 Organizational Leadership
    Professor Thelma Moore-Steward

    Organizations as Organisms
    organizations are living systems, depending
    on their wider environment to meet their
    needs.
    This metaphor moved away from the 1st
    metaphor from a mechanistic view to a more
    biological view.
    Just as the body needs its organs to function,
    an organization needs its workers (organisms)
    to function in a cohesive manner.

    Organizations as Organisms
    The Hawthorne studies (conducted at the
    Hawthorne Plant of Western Electric Co. in
    Chicago) conducted in 1920s and 1930s
    investigated the relation between the conditions
    of work and the incidence of fatigue and
    boredom of employees.
    Researches understood the workers social
    needs and motivation. The idea is that the
    organization can grow, change, and survive like
    an organism with the impact of internal and
    external forces.

    Organizations as Organisms
    Maslows theory of Hierarchy of Needs
    (Physiological, security, social, ego, and selfactualizing) is compared to a workers needs in
    an organization in Human Resource
    Management
    Physiological Need safe working environment
    & salary, Security Need Job tenure, Social
    Need interactions of colleagues, Ego Need
    recognition for good performance, and Selfactualizing Need contribution to society to
    make an impact).

    Organizations as Organisms

    Organizations as Organisms
    Organizations are Open Systems and must
    adapt to grow and survive.
    If they do not adapt they will weaken and may
    die.
    The importance of completing tasks in groups
    rather than alone and organizations environment
    is emphasized.
    Organizations are made up of interrelated subsystems, like organisms are made of interrelated
    parts and organs.

    Organizations as Organisms
    Gareth Morgan mentions Mintzberg's five configurations of
    organization as expressing "Variety of Species". An effective
    organization depends on a cohesive set of relations between structural
    design, the organization's age, size, technology, and the conditions of
    its industry.
    i & ii The Machine Bureaucracy and The Divisionalized Form effective only when tasks and environment are simple and stable.
    iii. The Professional Bureaucracy effective when autonomy to staff
    is allowed.
    iv. The Simple Structure effective in unstable environments with an
    entrepreneur or group of operators who do the basic work.
    v. The Adhocracy effective in unstable environmental conditions. i.e.
    Project types of work where people come together to achieve a goal
    and disappear research project, network, computer programming

    Organizations as Organisms
    http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YuF5edzSiZs
    &feature=youtu.be

    Organizations as Organisms
    Strengths:
    Emphasis placed on organizations relationship
    with its environment (internal and external)
    Survival of the organization can be improved
    through the needs of its employers.
    By identifying a variety of species, there is a
    range of options
    Innovation with the need internal balance as well
    as in relation to its exterior environment.

    Organizations as Organisms
    Weaknesses:
    Most organizations are not as functionally
    organized as organisms.
    Can lead us to see other relevant views as
    wrong.
    Danger of metaphor becoming an ideology, as
    happened with machine theory. i.e. only the
    fittest will survive.

    Organizations as Organisms
    Post Activity Assessment

    Any questions?
    Thank you!
    Sam & Shine

    sam.sager@gmail.com

    shinenissar7@gmail.com

    Organizations as Organisms
    References
    Morgan, G. (1986). Images of Organization. Sage
    Publications: Beverly Hills, CA.

    Images : www.dragoart.com
    Video: www.youtube.com

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