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Session 1:

Organizations--- Metaphors

If we think of organizations as machines then we manage and design them as

machines made up of interlocking parts such that each part plays a clearly

dened role in the functioning of the whole. This is a very dominant metaphor in

‘modern’ organizations, particularly large ones.

• Organizations are machines and employees complement the machine

• ureaucracies standardize! routinize organizational work "ust like

machines re#uire standardized inputs for standardized outputs

• $ontrol systems in organizations %top&down' parallel the logic of controls in

machines

• (ike machines, these organization do not respond too well to unpredicta)le

situations

If we think of organizations as living organisms, then there is a greater focus on

dependence on the environment, interrelation among subsystems, and the

establishment of congruencies between systems and subsystems.  ‘humanistic’ aspects of organizations

•  Emphasis on resource and human relationship within and outside

organization

•  Better at responding to the needs to employeespeople

•  !ay hurt productivitye"ciency orientation

*hen organizations are viewed as )rains, importance is given to information

processing, learning, and intelligence, which are particularly relevant in the era

of the knowledge industry. metaphor in the I# industry $rganizations are seen to reside in the ideas, values, norms, rituals, and beliefs

that sustain organizations as socially constructed realities. #his metaphor can be

of great help during mergers and ac%uisitions.

•  non&tangible aspects of organization behavior 

•  of cross&cultural di'erences

•  establishing ethical organizations

 The political metaphor focuses on the di+erent sets of interests, conicts, and

power plays that shape organizational activities. This metaphor provides useful

insights during periods of change.

$rganizations are arenas in which people become trapped by their own

thoughts, ideas, and beliefs, or by preoccupations originating in the unconscious

mind.

#his metaphor helps us e(plain understand ‘irrational’ behavior )e.g. *elf&

defeating $rganizations, +aranoid organizations.

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-ession

Purpose is about common good: Purpose provides an overarching

framework to substantiate the need for businesses in society , and to

amplify the positive impact they generate in the communities where they

operate.

Purpose of business is to create shared value: usinesses must reconnect

company success with social progress

Session

/ooyi dened 0performance1 as the company’s commitment to investors to

deliver superior, sustaina)le nancial performance and 0purpose1 as a

commitment to human sustaina)ility, referring to the company’s portfolio of 

foods and )everages2 environmental sustaina)ility, or responsi)le management

of natural resources2 and talent sustaina)ility, encompassing employee

empowerment, workplace safety and investment in local communities where the

company operated