Why Study Organizations

When talking about organizations most people thinks they are fully aware of the subject matter, but lack the in depth knowledge of the topic. As future business leaders it’s important to fully understand things like, what is an organization? Why must I understand the purposes of organizations? Or why is it important for a business student to learn about organizations? These questions are more complex than they appear, and being ignorant of the subject matter not only affects you but those under you, their families and eventually your community.
“An organization is a tool used by people to coordinate their actions to obtain something they desire or value.” Just like any other tool, we tend to think about organizations only when we need them and fail to grasp the importance of their existence. Nova Scotia Power provides electricity for everyone in the province, however people only think of that organization when their electricity is off or when payment is due. Organizations are value creation systems that take a variety of things and apply knowledge and skill to make something that a customer needs/want.
As business students were molded into thinking about organizations in terms of profits and costs but fail to look at it closely enough to realize that the subject is not black or white but has shades of gray. Organizations true purpose is to satisfy the needs of the people, but when greed becomes a factor the priority then shifts from satisfying customer needs to maximizing profits.
Everyone, not only business students will come across some sort of organization directly or indirectly. It’s important to learn in depth about organizations because there is no avoiding them. As business students we have to understand that organizations are very complex and not as simple as profit and cost that business students are lead to believe. This complexity comes in different forms such as deciding if you should downsize or deciding if you should relocate.