Critique of the Book 'Images of an Organization'

Critique of the Book 'Images of an Organization'

Overview of the Book

The American Gareth Morgan describes eight different metaphors and their implications for the development, modification and control of organizations, which include, organization as a machine, and organization as an organism, organization as a brain, organizational as a culture, organization as a political system, organization as a psychic prison, organization as a flux and transformation, and organization as an instrument of power. Our way of interpreting organizations, has a major influence on how we shape (Morgan, 1998).

Regarding the metaphor of organization as a machine, it can be said that if an organization is considered as a machine, it is expected that they work like machines - routine, efficient, reliable and predictable. The use of machinery requires the organization to adapt to the needs of the machine and bring fundamental changes in the work process and the supervision; it was to reduce the freedom of choice of the workers favor the control of machines and monitoring personnel (Venkat, 2010).

The organization as an organism is a living system that lives in an environment of which it is dependent on the satisfaction of various needs. Thus, the issue of adaptation to changing environments, the life cycle of organizations, different types (species) of organizations etc. come into view. Success of this approach is based on the "fit" between organization and environment, so there can be diversity in practice in extremely successful organizations (Venkat, 2010).

Moreover, in regard to the metaphor of organization as a brain, it can be said that the core concept of this metaphor is based on two approaches, the brain as an information-processing or as a holographic system and organizations as information systems, communication systems and as systems for decision making. The central question here is based on the issue that is it possible to make organizations so that they learn how a brain functions fully and can organize themselves? In order to answer this question, it is important to consider the learning and the self-organization capabilities of the organization (Matthew, 2009).

The core concept of the idea of an organization culture is based on the common meaning system of an organization; leadership as the management of meaning. In terms of relationships between organization and environment, the interpretation here is: select organizations and structure their environment through a variety of interpretive decisions. They act in these areas according to the definitions that superimpose them (Simsek, 1997).

Moreover, the analysis of organizational politics by focusing on the relationships between interests, conflict and power; organizations as loosely linked networks of people with different interests, banding together for the purpose of mutual benefit. Three approaches were: a) centralized approach: society as a unified whole, identical in the interests of the individual and of society. b) Pluralistic approach emphasizes the plural nature of the interests, conflicts and power sources, various groups negotiate for a share of the balance of power c) radical approach: society as a melting pot of opposing class interests (Simsek, ...