Information Technology in
Organizations: Theory as Metaphor
Sundeep Sahay
The use of a Metaphor: ”This
man is like a lion”
Man
Lion
Why do we use Metaphors?
• Metaphor implies a way of thinking and a
way of seeing
• To help understand one element of
experience in terms of another
• They tend to provide one sided insights
• By deemphasizing other elements, they tend
to create distortions
Metaphors (or Images) of
organizations we live with (Morgan)
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Organization as machines
Organization as organisms
Organization as brains
Organization as cultures
Organization as political systems
Organizations as psychic prisons
Organization as flux (networks)
Organization as Machines: What is
Emphasized?
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Set of mechanical relations (bureaucracy)
Routinization of activities
Division of labour
Standardization of tasks
Creation of command language
Focus on optimizing performance
Centralization of authority
Assumptions of Rationality
• The “Economic Man”: “the manager makes
portfolio decisions consistent with account
objectives for individual securities, the beta or
volatility of the security returns, & expected
returns. The main information task is located in
the analyst function, responsible both for the
estimates of the relevant individual individual
security data, and estimates of overall market
performance.”
”Rational Navigation”
• The European Navigator:
– The European Navigator begins with a plan - a
course which he has charted according to a
certain universal principles, and he carries out
his voyage by relating his every move to that
action. His effort throughout his voyage is
directed to remaining “on-course.” If
unexpected events occur, he must first alter his
plan, then respond accordingly.
Assumptions Made
• Characterize situation in terms of identifiable objects with
well defined properties
• Find general rules that apply to situation in terms of
objects and properties
• Apply rules logically to the situation
• Draw inferences on what should be done
• Organization fundamentally about rules for gathering,
storing, communicating and using information
• Humans as ”Information engineers” – ”design of optimal
systems”
What does this metaphor distort?
• How to deal with changing circumstances?
• Encourages unquestioning attitudes
• Spcialization inhibits inter-departmental
communication
• Limits potential of human development
• Limits cooperation as the emphasis is on
control...etc
Organization as Cultures
• Derives from the idea of ”cultivation”
• Refers to patterns of knowledge, ideology,
values, laws, everyday rituals etc
• How are decisions made, what are the
relationship of people with information
• Japan: organizations seen to combine the
spirit of the samurai with solidarity of ”rice
growing”
“Situated Navigation”
• The Trukese Navigator:
– The Trukese navigator begins with an objective rather
than a plan. He sets off towards an objective and
responds to conditions as they respond in ad-hoc
fashion. He utilizes information provided by the wind,
the waves, the tide, the current, the fauna, the stars, the
clouds, the sound of the water, and he steers
accordingly. His effort is directed to doing whatever is
necessary to reach the objective. If asked, he can point
to his objective at any point, but he cannot describe his
course.
Assumptions Made
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Cultures favor different ways of acting
Europeans - abstract, analytical thinking
Trukese - wisdom, memory & experience
Plans are always situated in particular,
concrete circumstances
• Emphasis is on understanding encounters of
humans and organizations with information
in particular situations
What is Emphasized?
• Directs attention to the symbolic aspect of
organizational life: ”information as symbol and
signal” (Feldman)
• Organizations exist as shared systems of meanings
• People can take more responsibility of their role in
creating shared meanings
• Emphasizes relation between organizations &
environment as socially constructed
• Emphasizes problems of organizational change
What is distorted?
• Used instrumentally by managers (and
consultants) as ”values engineering”
• Ideological manipulation and control
• Culture should allow rather than suppress
expression
• Culural values are dynamic
• Cannot be reduced to a set of ”measureable
variables”
• Material properties of technology often
deemhasized
Organizations as “Garbage Cans”
• Organizations as organized anarchies
• Problems looking for solutions
• Processes poorly (or not) understood by
organizational members
• How and by whom is garbage removed?
• Problems and solutions to be seen as social
products
Organizations as models of “power
and politics”
• Power ability to produce desired outcomes
• Power arises from a diversity of interests
• Organizations as coalition of loose interests, both
formal and informal
• Role of gatekeepers
• Information control as a power resource
• New technologies, information, reconfigures
power relations
• Emphasizes the role of conflict in organizations
Organizations as models of “social
influence”
• Organizations deal with resource allocation
situations
• Rational approaches emphasize
universalistic criteria
• Under uncertainty, particularistic
approaches are adopted
• Role of social influence
• Embedded in existing social relationships
References
• Martha S Feldman and James G. March
“Information in organizations as signal and
symbol” Administrative Science Quarterly,
1981, 26, 171-185.
• Gareth Morgan (1997). Images of
Organizations, London: Sage.