Re: Organisational thinking LO3518

Dr. Ivan Blanco (BLANCO@BU4090.BARRY.EDU)
Mon, 30 Oct 1995 17:36:17 -0500 (EST)

Replying to LO3485 --

> Date: Sat, 28 Oct 1995 14:31:38 -0400 (EDT)
> From: JSAVELAND@delphi.com
>
> Fred and Jan state that organizations don't do anything (especially
> thinking); people do.
>
> This seems to reflect a mental model of organizations as inanimate and
> machine-like. Organizations are systems of people and like any system,
> the whole is greater than the sum of the parts. Exploring the mental
> model that organizations are living organisms seems to be more
> fruitful.
>
> Jim Saveland
> /s=j.saveland/ou1=w01c@mhs-fswa.attmail.com

I think that "exploring the mentall model that organizations are
living organisms" may help us understand the feelings created by large
layoffs, for instance. In this case, the organization can learn to cope
with the separation of many of the members. We may even learn to find
alternatives to layoffs!

I have experienced big losses in organizations. For instance,
getting a member killed. Then we realize how an organization "feels," and
how it finds ways to cope with those losses. It ressembles what we do as
individuals, which is not a surprise to me because organizations are
people.

Ivan,

--
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