Culture Metaphor - Morgan G.1986
Linh Nguyen – 1149482 AFM
Assignment 2 "One of the major strengths of the culture metaphor rests in the fact that it directs attention to the symbolic significance of even the most rational parts of organizational life" ( Morgan, G. 1986) Discuss the issues raised in the quotation above, and comment on:
• • •
the effects of organization culture on the design of organization structure; the effects of national culture on organization culture; and the ways in which power exists in different organization cultures.
Metaphor is a method to explain a phenomenon or create meaning by using one element of experience to understand another. Gareth Morgan uses this tool for building up theories about organization and management. He suggests the way of observing and thinking about organizations through different metaphors such as mechanistic, organic, political or cultural approach, etc. In scope of this essay, I will focus on issues raised by Gareth Morgan in 1986 “One of the major strengths of the culture metaphor rests in the fact that it directs attention to the symbolic significance of even the most rational parts of organizational life”. Furthermore, I will criticize the effects of organization culture on the design of organization structure based on Gareth Morgan’s theory and the effects of national culture on organization culture based on Hofstede’s idea. Lastly, I will explain how power can exist in different organization cultures by using theoretical approaches from Gareth Morgan and Mullins Book. In essence, organizational culture is a difficult context. It is hard to be conceptualized exactly so there are many different definitions of organizational culture. However, the definition given by Gareth Jones is broadly accepted. He considered organizational culture as “a set of shared values and norms that controls organization members’ interaction with each other, and with suppliers, customers and others outside the organization” [1]. Culture goes beyond an entity’s
Assignment 2 "One of the major strengths of the culture metaphor rests in the fact that it directs attention to the symbolic significance of even the most rational parts of organizational life" ( Morgan, G. 1986) Discuss the issues raised in the quotation above, and comment on:
• • •
the effects of organization culture on the design of organization structure; the effects of national culture on organization culture; and the ways in which power exists in different organization cultures.
Metaphor is a method to explain a phenomenon or create meaning by using one element of experience to understand another. Gareth Morgan uses this tool for building up theories about organization and management. He suggests the way of observing and thinking about organizations through different metaphors such as mechanistic, organic, political or cultural approach, etc. In scope of this essay, I will focus on issues raised by Gareth Morgan in 1986 “One of the major strengths of the culture metaphor rests in the fact that it directs attention to the symbolic significance of even the most rational parts of organizational life”. Furthermore, I will criticize the effects of organization culture on the design of organization structure based on Gareth Morgan’s theory and the effects of national culture on organization culture based on Hofstede’s idea. Lastly, I will explain how power can exist in different organization cultures by using theoretical approaches from Gareth Morgan and Mullins Book. In essence, organizational culture is a difficult context. It is hard to be conceptualized exactly so there are many different definitions of organizational culture. However, the definition given by Gareth Jones is broadly accepted. He considered organizational culture as “a set of shared values and norms that controls organization members’ interaction with each other, and with suppliers, customers and others outside the organization” [1]. Culture goes beyond an entity’s
References: [1] L. Mullins, Management and Organizational Behavior, 7th ed. Prentice Hall [2] G. Morgan (1986), Images of Organization, Sage Publications, Inc.