What are Morgan's 8 Organizational Metaphors? An Organization is Like a...

Sometimes the best way to understand something complicated and abstract is with a metaphor. Gareth Morgan suggested we can gain some good insights into the nature of organizations from 8 organizational metaphors.
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The Nature of Organizations: A Management Courses Introduction
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The Nature of Organizations
=======================
This video is part of course module number 6.1.1
Program 6: Managing within Organizations
Course 1: The Nature of Organizations
Section 1: Introduction to Organizations
Other videos in this section include:
- What is an Organization? • What is an Organizatio...
- Organizations as Structures: Understanding an Organization as a Structure • Organizations as Struc...
- Organizations as Processes: Understanding an Organization as a Set of Processes • Organizations as Proce...
- The Features of Organizations: What an Organization Needs • The Features of Organi...
- Why do we need Organizations? Structure vs Agility • Why do we need Organiz...
LESSON NOTES
============
None of these 8 organizational metaphors is sufficient in itself to fully understand organizations. They each give complementary perspectives:
1. Machines
A mechanistic view of organizations that stresses process and efficiency. Possibly at the cost of poor human relations and lower agility.
2. Organisms
Living systems adapt to their environments. But if they fail to adapt, they fail to thrive.
3. Brains
Rationality, learning and creativity. Stress the role of organizations as information processors.
4. Cultures
Sees organizations as a collection of values, beliefs, traditions, and rituals that provide distinctness.
5. Political Systems
A view that stresses the roles of interests, agendas, influence, alliances and, of course, power.
6. Psychic Prisons
Perceiving organizations as systems that repress and restrain members, due to conscious and unconscious pressures.
7. Flux and Transformation
Organizations are a platform for changes that can be adaptive or chaotic.
8. Instruments of Domination
Organizations are a means to overcome and dominate competitors - socially, economically, or politically.
RECOMMENDED EXERCISE
======================
Think about organizations where you have worked, or that you have encountered and know quite well.
1. For each one, which of the eight organizational metaphors works well? (4 MC CPD Points)
2. Can you find an example of an organization you know or have heard about, which fits with each of the eight organizational metaphors? (4 MC CPD Points)
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RECOMMENDED READING
=====================
- Understanding Organizations geni.us/oB774Do
- Images of Organization geni.us/hrOemEs
- Inside Organizations: 21 Ideas for Managers geni.us/YwwL
- Gods of Management: The Four Cultures of Leadership geni.us/bpPeC5
Managers Need a Basic set of kit to do your job well. Here are my top recommendations: kit.co/MikeClayton/manager-s-... (the links are affiliated)
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#Management #ManagementCourses #OrganizationalMetaphors

[@ManagementCourses]

Is an organization a machine? Or is it an organism? Or, perhaps, it's some sort of instrument of domination! Here are 8 ways to think about what an organization is, and how it works. Each one is instructive in a different way. So, if you are studying organizations - or just interested - I promise this video will be thought-provoking.

[@ManagementCourses]

⚙️ 🦟 ⚔️

[@urbanlegendsandtrivia2023]

Thanks for the overview. We are currently studying this topic in my Organizational Management (OM) course.

[@ManagementCourses]

Glad it was helpful!

[@ASMRHongKong]

Thanks Professor 🙌🙌🙌 I love your Explaining Speed 🫡 Perfect Lesson for my life 👍👍

[@ManagementCourses]

You're very welcome. And thank *you.

[@smb9099]

I appreciate the concise nature of the video, you've clearly put forward the concepts with no fluff. I'm studying a management paper to finish my degree and your course is far easier to learn from than the course at my university. Thank you!

[@ManagementCourses]

You're very welcome - glad to help!

[@alicecampbell3131]

Great precis of Morgan. Intrigued by your channel! I am studying organizational development and will be subscribing for more gems like this -- thank you!

[@ManagementCourses]

Thank you. Welcome aboard!

[@bucii01]

Thank God I found you! Helping me figure what my pub and nonprof mgt professor is talking about. My hole class is lost beyond lost.

[@ManagementCourses]

Glad to have helped!

[@PrabhakarKrishnamurthyprof]

Dear Professor, You made the complex topic easy to understand. Thank you sir.

[@ManagementCourses]

You're welcome, Prabhakar.

[@rfmoxon7175]

Very well explained, great video!

[@ManagementCourses]

Thank you v much

[@revolutionandy]

dunno... but you're soooo mod with the twist and yer target intro... love it.

[@ManagementCourses]

Thank you.

[@usman1318]

great video, helped me understanding the concept of 8 organizational metaphors. thank you

[@ManagementCourses]

Glad it was helpful!

[@soe8413]

Thank you very much for this video. And as mentioned towards the end of the video, I will try to keep learning for as long as I am alive.

[@ManagementCourses]

Fabulous!

[@carolinekadengwa2773]

Thank you, well explained

[@ManagementCourses]

Glad it was helpful!

[@silviaramirez7551]

Good!

[@ManagementCourses]

Thanks

[@enyinnayawankey9394]

These introductions to the 8 metaphors are great. Do you have videos on the explanation of underpinning theories for each of these metaphors? I'm sure that will help a lot of students.

[@ManagementCourses]

Thank you. I don't have a detailed video on each metaphor, but there I do have a large playlist of videos about the nature of organizations: kzbin.info/aero/PL6vWkk9L7LeGF14eUwmzg6rcqj8T_6W9U

[@urbanlegendsandtrivia2023]

By the way, if you Google, "Culture eats strategy for lunch" you will discover a book with those words in its title from 2012, so you still get partial credit (haha).

[@ManagementCourses]

OOPS

[@urbanlegendsandtrivia2023]

I noticed that Gareth Morgan is 80 years old and Karl Weick is 87 years old these days. I wonder why the former seems to be more well known in academic circles, as they both have studied metaphors extensively.

[@ManagementCourses]

I confess that I had not heard of Weick. It seems he is the originator of ideas of mindfulness, in the context of organizational theory, and sense-making. I think I need to learn more about his work! Thank you. (Maybe the relative familiarity of the names comes from Morgan appearing in a lot of undergraduate texts.)

[@urbanlegendsandtrivia2023]

@@ManagementCourses You're welcome. What you said makes a lot of sense, as I do think Weick deals with a bit more abstract concepts. Similarly, the incredible vocalist Laura Branigan was really overlooked in the 1980's. LOL!

[@BlonkDaSponk]

Nice one! Although You could probably improve the sound - sounds lika you have a very high noise gate, which makes the sound of your voice completely disappear - rather annoying. But good vid!

[@ManagementCourses]

Thank you. Unfortunately, I understand management better than video editing and audio effects!

[@angduong1902]

how did you do it can you share with me , thank you

[@ManagementCourses]

How did I do what?

[@proff6118]

On this day 2017

[@ManagementCourses]

???

[@loveintheair9260]

can one company be causedby more than 1 metaphor?

[@ManagementCourses]

Metaphors don't 'cause' anything - they are simply an evocative way to describe things. In this case, the answer is yes. Rarely will one metaphor fit a company perfectly. Aspects of 2, 3, or even more can describe a company - or different parts of one.

[@realfeedback2768]

Who is here because of the Design Thinking class?

[@ManagementCourses]

kzbin.info/www/bejne/npfMdKmYq82Zr5o

[@Meche697]

Isn't using "like“ or “as“ a simile, not a metaphor. Organization is a machine would be the metaphor...like a machine is a simile.

[@ManagementCourses]

You are correct. I was using the title to clarify what the topic is about. Many of my audience have English as a second (or third) language. And organization is a... would not necessarily suggest what a metaphor is. I can be pretty pedantic over use of language, but here, I decided to sacrifice precision for understanding.