Metaphors Of Organisations: Understanding Gareth Morgan’s Eight Metaphors

What are Gareth Morgan’s eight metaphors of organisations?

1.Which of these images or metaphors applies to Factory system before the development of Scientific Management? Did it change after Taylor's ideas were adopted?

2.Do some organizations have a more difficult time with this than others, What kinds of goals or problems do they deal with?

3.Do you think the term used by Barnard -- "common moral purpose" is a good way to describe what happens in work organizations, Why or why not?

4.What do each of these separate demands mean for organizing and managing, Why they all are desired?

Morgan says that there is a tendency of human beings to get trapped in their own created webs.   He argues that it happens as because organisations are held together by the conscious & unconscious ideas of the people about the organisation.  The human being becomes prisoners of ideas of their own.  This is the metaphor we use.

Gareth Morgan’s eight metaphors of the organisations are one of the models of the management theory. Morgan has eight metaphors and he considers it as the lens that helps to view the organisation.  The eight metaphors of Morgan were:

1. Machine
2. Organism
3. Brain
4. Culture
5. System of political
6. Prison of psychic
7. Transformation & change
8. Domination instrument

Morgan says that the metaphors influence the way one perceives the problems of the organisation. Further, it discusses the process of the solutions. The theory of the Morgan provides some scope to the people to understand the organisation’s behaviour. The metaphor of Morgan creates insight in the areas of the practices of the organisation.  By understanding the eight metaphors of the organisation, the manager understands the operations of the organisation. The manager can get the chance to excel in the field of problem-solving of the organisation (Isaacson, 2012).

There are numerous management theories that discuss the behaviour of the organisation.  The theories focus solving the problems that are encountered by the organisations (Chan, 2013).  Frederick Winslow Taylor has developed scientific management theory advocates that the right people should hire for the job and they should be trained and monitored. The responsibility will be shifted to the managers from the workers.  The scientific theory has a greater impact that the theory of Morgan.  The theory of Taylor uses the scientific observation in order to analyse the movement of the human and to make a restructure of the workplace (Fiegerman, 2012). This will help to use minimum efforts and to get maximum production. Contemporary management theory offers many insights into the organisational nature. Taylor’s scientific management is an approach to make a study of the organisation.

In the process of the administration, bureaucracy is called as the division of the labour.  It is considered as the form of the organisation that works for preparation & dispatch of the documents. The theory bureaucratic organisation advocates that the principles of efficiency focus on the maximum output from the minimum inputs (Taylor, 2007). The theory focuses on the rationality, efficiency & impersonality. The theory states that all the rules and regulations will be recorded in the writing form.  The continuous hierarchy is the structure of the organisation and the upper level controls the lower level. The individual who holds the position has no rights on it (Crozier, 2009).  Each level has their own form of responsibility. The technical competent individuals are appointed in an office.

Comparison of Morgan’s theories to other management theories

Efficiency & stability are the two important factors that make the bureaucratic structure strong in the society.  The theory advocates the need of a new class of workers.

The most important thing is that each and every outcome is a matter of keeping advance.  The relations of the organisations are based on the strategic games.  This does not allow people to gain their personal advantage. There are some inward looking power struggles that do not allow the individual to learn from its errors (Mintzberg, 2007).

For being rational, the bureaucratic structure sets some impersonal rules in order to cover each and every event. Due to the predetermined decisions, the relationships of the hierarchical are less important. The senior people of the structure do not get power to govern. The people who will be affected by the decisions should not be given the task of making decisions.  The individuals those who control the zones of the uncertainty create the parallel structure of power. This causes the difficulty as there are unrelated decisions are made. The makers of the decision should be trained and must report their decisions appropriately to the seniors.

Barnard views that organisations are like cooperative systems.  The organisation is a complex of components like physical, biological, personal & social that brings systematic relationships in the form of cooperation of two or more individuals for the specific end.  The common moral purpose is defined as the cooperative arrangements in order to accomplish the things that we cannot do all alone.

Barnard says that organisation is like a living organism. The organisation requires sustaining itself even in the hostile situations.  The organisation is not self-sufficient. It requires to depend upon the resources from the environment that is from outside and this will allow it to function & the actions of the organisation are limited. The need of the capital, labour and equipment is very important for the organisation.  Barnard says that in order to achieve the equilibrium system involving both the external and internal environments.  The contribution of the members of the organisation brings satisfaction to both to the organisation and the members of it as well.

Barnard theory is called the theory of Inducement-Contribution. It is ordinarily called the theory of motivation. The theory states that the members of the organisation will contribute to the organisation for the purpose of inducements (ignasi.cat, 2011).  The employees work for the organisation only when he or she is worthy to the organisation. The person will continue to contribute to the organisation when he or she gets payment, benefits and satisfaction for the job. If these are not found then the member of the organisation does not work.  Barnard focuses on the incentive method that focuses on the incentives that are offered to the members to satisfy them (abraham-maslow, 2017). Persuasive method is a method to alter the motives of an employee. In the persuasive theory, coercion occurs when the member is motivated to cooperate during a threat. Propaganda refers to the persuasions of a person   through the importance of mission and products of the organisation. Inoculation refers to the importance of educating people of the organisation on certain values so that they can carry those values with them (Journalpsyche.org, 2017).  These values are like the religious values, the values of the patriotism and the professional values.  Bernard advocates that to legitimate the organisation there should be rules, regulations, directives and orders. 

The theory of Bureaucratic Organisation

For the corporate organisation, economies of scale are the main drivers. These scales are very important to discuss in the present context of the transformation of the forms of the organisation. The economies of scale & scope are the two important valuable concepts in the economies for the organisations that can help in improving the bottom line of the company.

There are 2 types of the scale of economies. They are internal and the external.

Internal:  This refers to the cost savings. These accumulate to a firm irrespective of industry, market or even in any kind of the environment in which it makes an operation.

External:  Due the proper organisation of the industry external economies are beneficial to the firm.

Internal economies of scale are found in the large firm to execute the overhead of the research and development (beginnerbusiness.com, 2016). The cost to discover the new product is always demanding. The modern companies are willing to spend more on the research and development. There are some demerits of the internal economies.  There is no way to count the feelings and quality of experience (www.economist.com, 2008).  It is not appropriate for the big business. In the corporate bureaucratic more people they have than the amount of work they do.

This shows that it is difficult to produce one product. It is easy and cheaper to produce the range of product together. This kind of economies is applicable in the finance & marketing. This is also applicable where the business process is interrelationships. It refers to the input and output (keydifferences.com, 2016). The organisation uses the output of the business in order to find out the input of other.

The economies of scope are very much applicable for behaviour of the corporate. This is related to the production of the mass to the acquisitions & mergers.

abraham-maslow, 2017. simplilearn.com. [Online]  Available at: https://www.simplilearn.com/abraham-maslow-theory-of-motivation-article
[Accessed 03 04 2017].

beginnerbusiness.com, 2016. Economies of Scale vs Scope - Beginner Business. [Online]  Available at: www.beginnerbusiness.com/economies-scale-scope
[Accessed 04 04 2017].

Chan, J. P. N. S. M., 2013. The politics of global production: Apple, Foxconn and China’s new working class. New Technology, Work and Employment,, 28(2), p. 100–115..

Crozier, M., 2009. The Bureaucratic Phenomenon. London: Transaction Publishers.

Fiegerman, S., 2012. Actually, Sometimes It Sucks To Work At Apple – Here’s Why.. [Online]  Available at: https://www.businessinsider.com/the-biggest-complaints-employees-have-about-working-at-apple-2012-6?op=1  [Accessed 03 04 2017].

ignasi.cat, 2011. 73 – The Functions of the Executive (Barnard, 1938) | Ignasi Capdevila. [Online]  Available at: ignasi.cat/2011/10/05/73-the-functions-of-the executive-barnard-1938 [Accessed 03 04 2017].

Isaacson, W., 2012. The Real Leadership Lessons of Steve Jobs.. Harvard Business Review.

Journalpsyche.org, 2017. Alfred Adler's Personality Theory and Personality Types | Journal Psyche. [Online]  Available at: journalpsyche.org/alfred-adler-personality-theory [Accessed 03 04 2017].

Journalpsyche.org, 2017. Alfred Adler's Personality Theory and Personality Types | Journal Psyche. [Online] Available at: journalpsyche.org/alfred-adler-personality-theory [Accessed 13 03 2017].

keydifferences.com, 2016. Difference Between Economies of Scale and Economies of Scope ... [Online] Available at: keydifferences.com/difference-between economies-of-scale-and-economies-of-scope [Accessed 03 04 2017].

Mintzberg, H., 2007. Mintzberg on Management. s.l.:The Free Press.

Taylor, F. W., 2007. The Principles of Scientific Managemenet. s.l.:Nu Vision Publications.

www.economist.com, 2008. Economies of scale and scope | The Economist. [Online]  Available at: www.economist.com/node/12446567 [Accessed 03 04 2017].