Organsational

Metaphors

By Dr. Swati Rajgor

Metaphors
Metaphors seize our attention, connect us with
others, and simplify complex ideas. But they also
trap us into a simplified way of thinking. At work,
this means that the way we simplify our
organizations determines how we can lead and
embrace change.
Example-Life is a journey
Metaphors are incredibly powerful. A good one
grabs attention and helps people see through a
shared set of eyes. But metaphors can also be a
[Link] can obstruct our perspective, and in
turn, limit our understanding of a situation, and
confine our choices.
In his book, Images of Organization,
Gareth Morgan lays out eight metaphors
for an organization:
Eight Metaphors of Organisation
1. Machine: an organization is a series of connected parts arranged in a
logical order in order to produce a repeatable output
2. Organism: an organization is a collective response to its environment
and, to survive, must adapt as the environment changes
3. Brain: an organization is a set of functions designed to process
information and learn over time
4. Cultural System: an organization is a mini-society, with its own culture
and subcultures defined by their values, norms, beliefs, and rituals
5. Political System: an organization is a game of gaining, influencing, and
coordinating power
6. Psychic Prison: an organization is a collection of myths and stories
that restrict people’s thoughts, ideas, and actions
7. Instrument of Domination: an organization is a means to impose
one’s will on others and exploit resources for personal gains
8. Flux and Transformation: an organization is an ever-changing system
indivisible from its environment
Organization as Machine
People who see organizations as machines want a profound sense of order
and control. They strive for neatly partitioned roles and seek interchangeable
people to fill those roles. Above all, they expect logic and reason to always win
the day.
 When this metaphor works: it works in the same context as when
machines do, i.e. when there is a straightforward task, a stable environment,
a repeatable outcome, and a focus on precision
 When this metaphor fails: when the environment changes and when
employees crave a greater sense of purpose and human agency
 What this metaphor means for leadership: under this paradigm,
leaders think and workers do; it’s the duty of a leader to lay out exact
requirements for every role and swap people out when there is an under-
performance
 What this metaphor says about organizational change: people who
hold this view think that change is a matter of shutting down, replacing a
cog, and easily resuming production; obviously this overlooks how people
actually think and feel about change

Organization as Organism
People who see organizations as organisms are concerned with the
environment surrounding the organization and how best to fit into that
environment. They see changes to that environment as forces and factors to
respond to.
 When this metaphor works: when there is a clear and discrete change
in the environment that threatens the organization’s survival (e.g. a new
law is enacted)
 When this metaphor fails: when changes are continuous and when
uncertainty is rampant; i.e. when it’s unclear what’s called for in response
to seismic changes
 What this metaphor means for leadership: under this paradigm,
leaders are called to sense for changes and formulate a step-by-step plan of
action in response (this works when classical strategy also works, in a
world of discrete, and predictable changes)
 What this metaphor says about organizational change: traditional
models of change management fall here (e.g. Lewin), with the idea being
that you can make a change and then return to a state of normalcy
following the change vs adopting change as a constant state of being
Organization as Brain
People who see organizations as brains are concerned with the collective
intelligence and organized wisdom of the organization. They see employees as
sensors and management layers as sense-making functions in the pursuit of
developing a learning organization.
 When this metaphor works: when the environment is rife with
unknowns but relatively stable so that learnings are still relevant over time
(e.g. a team of medical researchers hoping to cure an infectious disease)
 When this metaphor fails: when change is so unprecedented that
knowledge of the past is no longer helpful for predicting and responding to
the future
 What this metaphor means for leadership: under this paradigm,
leaders are expected to install and instill the capacity for double-loop
learning, helping teams not only develop feedback loops that help them
gauge their effectiveness but also feedback loops that help them question
how they define effectiveness itself
 What this metaphor says about organizational change: this
metaphor assumes that past knowledge is always predictive of future
behavior, meaning that changes can be rationalized and planned for with
the benefit of enough hindsight and pattern recognition
Organization as Cultural System
People who see organizations as cultural systems are concerned with
the shared beliefs, norms, and rituals of an organization. They are often
thinking of the organization as a mini-society and are interested in the
holistic experience of being an employee of the organization.
When this metaphor works: when competition for talent is fierce
and employees desire for shared identity in their work
When this metaphor fails: when cultures become cult-like, i.e.
when entering and exiting the culture causes trauma; when external
changes are ignored in favor of group cohesion; when a push for a
homogenous culture drives out sub-cultures and drives away talent
who are not deemed “culture fits”
What this metaphor means for leadership: under this paradigm,
leaders are expected to be the embodiment of their cultures
What this metaphor says about organizational change: cultural
systems are inherently systems which favor tradition and reject
change; these organizations then struggle to assimilate changes which
threaten their core values and beliefs
Organization as Political System
People who see organizations as political systems are chiefly concerned with
gaining and wielding power and influence. They view employees as followers
to accrue, fellow leaders as either allies or foes, and superiors as those to
influence and control.
 When this metaphor works: when there are diverse and conflicting
interests and when self-interests overrule rationality
 When this metaphor fails: when a competitor or change of any kind
emerges as a threat so great that only the collective cooperation of the
organization can face it
 What this metaphor means for leadership: under this paradigm,
leaders are expected to vie for attention, influence, and dominance; this
leads to a single-minded obsession with how leaders are perceived (i.e.
how they perform in a meeting) even over their long-term performance
 What this metaphor says about organizational change: this
metaphor assumes that the leader who emerges victorious from a political
system is also a leader who can foresee and marshal change; alas history is
replete with examples of leaders who could manipulate a political system
and yet fail to respond to societal shifts
Organization as Psychic Prison
People who see organizations as a psychic prison want to broaden our ability
to perceive, question, and change our organizations. They fear that their
organizations are trapped in a static way of thinking, that they adopt
conformist ideals, and overall resist change.
Example: the social movements at companies like Google who want us to see
a broader, more inclusive world led by our organizations

When this metaphor works: when past success, societal norms, and
unconscious biases have deluded the organization into a state of complacency
and/or persistent discrimination
When this metaphor fails: when the need to embrace new ways of
thinking overrides the commercial realities of the organization
What this metaphor means for leadership: under this paradigm, leaders
are called to question their own self-awareness, prejudices, and biases in
order to create more inclusive and equitable environments
What this metaphor says about organizational change: this metaphor
encourages organizations to progress ahead of governmental and societal
changes; this is obviously difficult when an organization is large and diverse
enough to encompass a broad set of views and opinion
Organization as Instrument of
Domination
People who see organizations as an instrument of domination are
often terrible people to work with and for. They see employees as
objects to be subjugated. They also tend to see the natural resources
available to the company as theirs to exploit.
When this metaphor works: in some cases, this is the most
realistic view of organizational life (sadly)
When this metaphor fails: this view can be adopted by activists
who paint a miserable and myopic view of any kind of effort
concentrated to a capitalist end
What this metaphor means for leadership: under this paradigm,
leaders are expected to override the will and self-determination of
their subordinates
What this metaphor says about organizational change: this
metaphor fails to respond to meaningful external change because it
prioritizes the personal wants and needs of a leader; i.e. if a leader
doesn’t find it attractive to change, the organization will not change
 Organization as Flux and
Transformation
People who see organizations in terms of flux and transformation have
embraced uncertainty, complexity, and even chaos in terms of the changes
their organization is [Link] can think of this metaphor as an
evolution of Organism–rather than thinking that simply the environment
changes and then the organization must respond in kind, this metaphor says
that both the environment and organization influence one another and both
must respond to change.
When this metaphor works: when there is continuous and complex
change; when cause and effect no longer make neat sense
When this metaphor fails: when the organization itself need only work as
simply as a machine, OR when the external chaos causes leaders to throw up
their hands and abdicate responsibility for change
What this metaphor means for leadership: under this paradigm, leaders
are called to experiment with small, safe-to-fail changes and then marshal
resources to further successful experiments while shutting down failures; in
contrast to the organism view, changes within an organization also spur
changes in the environment
What this metaphor says about organizational change: this metaphor
advocates for a test and learn mentality, even over rushing to introduce a
series of planned changes informed by pattern recognition