Images of Organization -- The Executive EditionThis pioneering work is based on a simple premise with profound implications: All organization and management theories are based on images, or metaphors, with paradoxical effects: they can create profound insights but also great distortions. With this seminal work, Gareth Morgan shows how managers can broaden and deepen their understanding of organization and organizational problems, and use powerful new metaphors to shape new ways of working. The first book to offer a concrete method for integrating the strengths and overcoming the weaknesses of competing management perspectives, Images of Organization has established itself as a classic and has influenced management thinking throughout the world. This new edition retains all the vitality of the original and has been updated to integrate significant research of the last decade. It has also been abridged and revised to increase its accessibility and usefulness for today’s managers. This essential volume provides the kind of organizational "radar" system managers need to negotiate the demands of the 21st century. |
Contents
The Promise of Images of Organization | 3 |
The Power of Metaphor in Organization and Management | 4 |
Some Images of Organization | 15 |
Mechanization Takes Command Organizations As Machines | 17 |
Machines Mechanical Thinking and the Rise of Bureaucratic Organization | 19 |
Strengths and Limitations of the Machine Metaphor | 31 |
Nature Intervenes Organizations As Organisms | 35 |
Discovering Organizational Needs | 37 |
Organizations As Systems of Political Activity | 152 |
Strengths and Limitations of the Political Metaphor | 174 |
Exploring Platos Cave Organizations As Psychic Prisons | 181 |
The Trap of Favored Ways of Thinking | 183 |
Organization and the Unconscious | 186 |
Strengths and Limitations of the Psychic Prison Metaphor | 206 |
Unfolding Logics of Change Organization As Flux and Transformation | 213 |
Four Logics of Change | 214 |
Organizations As Open Systems | 40 |
Adapting Organization to Environment | 44 |
The Variety of the Species | 50 |
Promoting Organizational Health and Development | 52 |
The Population Ecology View of Organizations | 57 |
The Creation of Shared Futures | 61 |
Strengths and Limitations of the Organismic Metaphor | 63 |
Learning and SelfOrganization Organizations As Brains | 69 |
Images of the Brain | 70 |
Organizations as Information Processing Brains | 73 |
Creating Learning Organizations | 76 |
SelfOrganization and Regeneration | 92 |
Strengths and Limitations of the Brain Metaphor | 107 |
Creating Social Reality Organizations As Cultures | 111 |
Culture and Organization | 112 |
Creating Organizational Reality | 132 |
Strengths and Limitations of the Culture Metaphor | 140 |
Interests Conflict and Power Organizations As Political Systems | 147 |
Organizations As Systems of Government | 149 |
The Logic of SelfReference | 215 |
The Logic of Chaos and Complexity | 222 |
The Logic of Mutual Causality | 234 |
The Logic of Dialectical Change | 242 |
Strengths and Limitations of the Flux and Transformation Metaphor | 254 |
The Ugly Face Organizations As Instruments of Domination | 259 |
Organization as Domination | 261 |
How Organizations Use and Exploit Their Employees | 264 |
Multinationals and the World Economy | 282 |
Strengths and Limitations of the Domination Metaphor | 291 |
Implications for Practice | 295 |
Reading and Shaping Organizational Life | 297 |
Reading and Emergent Intelligence | 314 |
Using Metaphor to Manage in a Turbulent World | 317 |
Excerpt from Imaginization New Mindsets for Seeing Organizing and Managing | 321 |
Bibliography | 327 |
| 332 | |
| 348 | |
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Common terms and phrases
achieve action activities approach aspects attractor pattern autopoiesis become behavior brain bureaucratic challenge chaos theory chapter complex conflict context contingency theory corporate culture create cybernetic decision defined domination double-loop learning effect emerge employees encourages environment evolve example exhibit factory firm focus functions holographic human ical idea important industry influence innovation insights interests Japanese kind labor loops Lorenz attractor M. C. Escher machine mechanistic mindsets modes Multicom multinationals nature nizational norms operating operating norms orga organismic metaphor organization and management organization theory organizational organizational ecology paradox perspective political metaphor population ecology principles problems production psychic prison rational reality recognize relations role rules scientific management self-organizing shape situation skills social storyline strategy structure task tend termite theorists theory thinking tion transformation uncon unconscious understanding values Walsh and Bridges workers