Human brains have a remarkable capacity to change and adapt to situations like this. We are constantly reworking our operational norms based on input from our environment. 

Let’s break this down a bit by turning to the metaphor of a brain and cognition. Think of a route that you walk or drive every day, or one for which you did this in the past. Say it is your path from your dorm to your class. Every day, you walk from your dorm to your class building at 9 am. The route is fixed in your head and you can navigate walk it while listening to music or cramming for a test. Walking this route based on memory operating norm.

roadblocks to organizational learning and contemplating ways to make organizational learning processes more like that of a brain. 

I don’t see the norms of the institution changing at a fast enough rate to reflect the values of the student body. 

I urge you to embrace the complicated and messy metaphor provided by the brain. It will produce unimaginable outcomes. Whether negative or positive, you will learn a tremendous amount from the random, chaotic, overlapping, at times stressful operation of the brain.

but don’t categorize yourself

Sounds efficient and fun right?!?

From the bottom up, patterns of innovation and production emerge from the process, rather than imposed and rigid managerial structures.

All of the theories we discuss in this chapter can be applied on a personal level and while many of us are currently in isolation, due to the COVID pandemic, it’s important to try to apply these concepts to the self first and foremost.

This strays from traditional American corporate organizations where everyone has their own job and is completely unaware of what other people are doing, the assembly line for example. As we learned in previous chapters other countries don’t use this approach. Japan produces things on a much smaller scale with fewer materials so that when something goes wrong improvisation is crucial.

Emphasis on the environment that the organization exists in. They now understand that business environments are defined by organizations’ interactions with customers, competitors, suppliers, labor unions, and government agencies, along with the general environment. Organizations in terms of interrelated subsystems. It is important to understand that there are both intra organizations, which means within the organization, and interorganizational relations, which is between two or more companies. This means that there are organisms within organisms, when an individual is a part of one group they also belong to a larger group and so on. These are called subsystems. As Morgan says there are, “Wholes within wholes” Attempts to establish alignments between different systems to get rid of potential problems. Organizations try to make alyships with other groups to promote themself or to avoid stepping on toes of one another. For example Starbucks and Barnes and Nobles aligned and now there are Starbucks coffee shops in almost every Barnes and Nobles store. By organizing with both companies, they are both increasing sales.

Shockingly, however, for a long time organizations were not accounting for the fact that humans are complex individuals that are best motivated when the tasks they are performing are rewarding and fulfill their personal needs.

organization as organism

We now know how important it is for an individual organism to be healthy and what it needs to survive internally, however there is another vital side to healthy organisms that is dependent on its environment.

But we also know that organizations can be a space for healing, transformative thought, and meaningful relationships and work. The metaphor of organization as organism is the first time we are able to see organizations as a place of potential and change

organization as organism

Extras:

This metaphor allows us to begin to deconstruct the common sentiment that you have to accept the workplace structure or culture (particularly the more hierarchical or bureaucratic ones) as being fixed and “just the way things are”.  Building off of this, it is powerful to think of organizations like open system organisms that are more of a collective of relationships and processes, rather than fixed parts.

The previous 2 chapters that look at the metaphors of Domination and Psychic Prison as organizations have brought attention to the unavoidable systems of power and hegemonic ideologies that seem to direct and shape institutions. Unlike the previous 2 organizational metaphors, re-seeing organizations as organisms show the first signs of us seeing organizations in a less rigid, more nebulous, or holistic way. The prior metaphors we have read about lack flexibility, whereas organizations  as organisms allow us to realize our autonomy as individual actors to adapt to our environments and pivot based on our will of survival.

Limitations of Organizations as Organisms:

and how this allows more avenues to adapt.

he earlier metaphors of organization

Reframing the way we think about organizations from something top-down and calculated to something free-flowing and adaptable is the first step in creating more accommodating work environments.

Morgan uses electronic firms as an example of a successful organization that is working to satisfy needs of its employees. These organizations are flexible and adaptive, functioning more similarly to a cell than a machine. They accommodate needs through collaboration and open communication.

Morgan suggests that all individuals are motivated by a specific hierarchy of needs characterized by psychological, physiological, and social needs.

continuous cycle, internal transformation, output, and feedback

that contain

In order to survive and thrive, each organization, and the individuals within it, has a unique set of needs that must be met by their environment. Most systems perform better under stable, protected environments rather than turbulent and competitive ones.

organizations and their environments are engaged in a pattern of co-creation, where each produces the other

elieve.

In conclusion, t

Eric is definitely in a physic prison because he acts that he is a savior.

He definitely  thinks his program is amazing without acknowledging the potential flaws it systemically has. Remember how proud Eric was when mentioning Carlos would be attending a private school? This proudness is completely denying how toxic predominantly white and rich private schools are to lower income students. Additionally, he also had a sense of pride when Carlos was describing the shoe incident. Instead of acknowledging the mental implications this could’ve had (embarrassment, self-doubt, and so much more), he addresses the issue with a simple answer: getting Carlos a new pair of shoes. Downplaying this seemingly small moment is a sign of being trapped in a Physic Prison. The way Eric briefly talks about the mother is disrespectful. To recap his words he said, “Meanwhile, the mother is roaming around the planet like Beetlejuice and we have to, you know, keep her  at bay.” This harmful wording was used in front of Carlos. Not only was it disrespectful to the mother, but the way he speaks about her is as if she is yet another roadblock in Carlos path to success, carved by the one and only, Eric.

Carlos is doing is using a certain mode, in his case school, to protect himself from his conscious vulnerability as well as “attempt to preserve and tie down in life in the face of death.” ( Morgan 2006, pg 221)  This is one way a psychic prison appears.

The first question I would pose to you is do you believe Carlos is in his own physic prison?

physic

Take a listen and continue reading once you do.

For me personally

Physic

That being said it also comes with negative consequences because it then does not prevent bad ideas from being implemented. Without a serious discussion or productive conflict it does not allow for consideration to be discussed and instead avoids it.

“Favored ways of thinking and acting become traps that confine individuals within socially constructed worlds and prevent the emergency of other worlds” (Morgan 2006, pg 211). . When these individuals are confined in their psychic prisons, they are unable to see a possibility for change. We become trapped by our traditions and old methods, without ever questioning why we do the things we do, why we are the way we are.

Cartoon By: Connie J. Sun

Psychic prison relies on domination to work.

Self-Awareness:

Manipulation

powerful reminder to maintain individuality and personal perspective.

By applying the idea of a psychic prison to history one can easily observe the dangerous ability organizations have to skew perspective and hinder change. Some of the greatest tragedies of humankind have resulted from massive societal psychic prisons such as Nazi Germany or slavery within America.

or example in the ‘Caste System’ podcast, the status quo of societal inequality is rarely questioned and as result it gains more and more power. Those who are a part of it are unable to see their envelopment because they are too close to it. By thinking about an organization as a prison one is forced to think about what is beyond the prison walls.

images of restraint and entrapment which are very applicable to the many large organizations that are in each of our live

Thinking of organizations as a psychic prison is a powerful way of maintaining a healthy perspective on the reality around us. It is important to question the values and notions we are fed from the various organizations that make up our life.

organizations can become like a brainwash to those within them.

Firstly, the analogy of a psychic prison alludes to powerful flaws within human nature that we are all subject to. The power of this metaphor lies in its ability to predict human nature. Throughout history, organizations have revealed an inability to take on new perspectives and envision dramatically different circumstances.

If they left the cave, their whole sense of reality would be uprooted and they would understand that their existence before that moment in time was based in lies.

Morgan

Image courtesy of: Nonprofit Utopia

desire for conformity, groupthink can take away one’s ability to think on an individual level, and damages decision-making.

you are often unable to experience other worlds. Through solidifying your sense of reality in whatever constructed organization or mindset you are in, you close the door to experiencing the world through another lens, and lock yourself in.

lerts us to pathologies that may accompany our ways of thinking

Organization as Domination

Where in your life have you experienced domination? Was domination used against you, or were you using it?

Have you seen anything that goes against domination? 

How do you think music can be used to call out/rebel against domination?

Domination and oppression go hand in hand, and are unable to exist without the use of the other. Oppression tactics lead to domination, and vice versa. The culture of domination that thrives under “new capitalism” relies on individuals working more and accruing more debt. A capitalist society built consumerism, which relies on more work and more debt, leads to destabilization (Grey 2013).

Exemplified in the pay differences between a Chief Executive Officer and the lower-level employees and in the benefits – or lack thereof – received by both parties, the “managerial elite” persists (Grey 2013).

Domination rests both nationally and internationally.

.

relationships between businesses and communities are broken

have one single responsibility: to make a profit (Friedman 1970). Neoliberalist ideals dominate the economy of the United States, particularly the idea of “financialization:” offshore accounts and offshore factories in nations with more relaxed labor laws and cheaper workers (Grey 2013).

rewriting Grey chapter to apply to wider topics seen in our playlists/movies! will be up after class is over on Wednesday

At its most simple form, domination is the creation and perpetuation of inequality.

group illusions that produce conformity and assumed consensus (Morgan, 211). Thus, the strengths and victories of the organization can actually turn into the organization’s weaknesses that ultimately lead to its downfall (Morgan, 209).

Maybe, your mind is a prison

In this chapter, we will focus on organizations as a psychic prison, explain the main components of a psychic prison, discuss why this metaphor is relevant and applicable, and show how the metaphor is used in pop culture.