Root Metaphors as an Aid to Understanding Organizational...

Robert Allen 11500024 Root metaphors as an aid to understanding organizational behaviour and their relevance to organizations in a knowledge based economy. Introduction The use of root metaphors to provide insight into organizations seems to be seen as a useful if limited way of understanding their complex natures (Morgan, 1997) (Andriesson, 2008), which may have been more suited to the industrial age. The rise of the Knowledge Based Economy (KBE) and post-industrial organizations pose further challenges to the effectiveness of root metaphors when attempting to understand organizations in what is now generally recognised as fast paced (Bart, Victor, and Stephens 1994), sometimes chaotic environments where knowledge and technology are†¦show more content†¦One can draw conclusions about BPS when applying principles first identified some seventy years earlier such as the owners or the stakeholders must decide on the definition of output. The organism metaphor can be seen as a way of extending the reach of modernist theories to explain and understand more complex organizations and is usually associated with theorists such as (Maslow, 1943) hierarchy of human needs, (McGregor, 1957) Theory X and Theory Y assumptions. However, the influence of earlier work of (Follett, 1926) participatory leadership and (Mayo, 1933) Hawthorne experiments also contributed to its evolution. This metaphors emphasis on transformation, cause and effect and survival of the fittest could be seen as having greater relevance than the machine metaphor to post industrial organizations operating in a KBE as it places emphasis on the importance of environment, technology and appropriate structure (Burns amp; Stalker, 1961). (Lewin amp; Johnston, 2000) draw attention to the pace of organizational change, competitive pressures and complex environments faced by such organizations This view of an organization can help us to draw useful inferences about its relationships with its environment, (Lawrence amp; Lorsch, 1967), the role of management (Eisenhardt, 1989), as an interdependent part of a system whose primary function is to exert authority andShow MoreRelatedOrganizational Behaviour Analysis28615 Words   |  115 PagesOrganising Processes Understanding Change Conflict, Negotiation, and the Politics of Change Group and Team Working Cultures and Leaders as Cultural Agents Trust Linking the Themes Introductory Notes on Organisational Analysis Understanding Organisations The Limits of Rationalism Levels of Analysis: The SOGI Model Limitations of the SOGI Model The Individual Level The Group Level The Organisation Level The Society Level Interactions between the Levels Morgan’s Metaphors The Metaphors in Brief TheRead MoreOrganisational Theory230255 Words   |  922 Pagesbook increases the understanding of a field that in recent years has become ever more fragmented. 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