Images of Organization

A Summary of Eight Metaphors

Welcome back to the Engine Room. Today’s brief summarizes Gareth Morgan’s magisterial book Images of Organizations.

Last week’s post kinda blew up. That means there’s a lot of new people around. So a quick note: on Tuesdays I send out an optional, AI-assisted brief. Inspired by how chess players (like me!) use engines to improve their game, I use these briefs in my research. They turn out to be pretty good background reading with a light round of edits. Thursdays are more of a classic blog / newsletter.

Writing Methodology: GPT-5 [Thinking, Deep Research] "Please prepare a brief summarizing Gareth Morgan's book Images of Organizations. Include one paragraph per metaphor. End with a paragraph on Conway's Law and what we might stand to learn from organizations whose products are protocols. Aim for 1,000 words; roughly 100 words per paragraph." -> Hand Edits

In Images of Organization, Gareth Morgan reveals that how we visualize an organization shapes how we understand and lead it. He introduces eight compelling metaphors, each offering a different lens on what an organization is and how it functions. Morgan’s metaphors—from machines to cultures to brains—highlight different aspects of organizational life. By exploring each one, business leaders can gain valuable insights into their own companies, recognizing strengths, blind spots, and new possibilities.

⚙️ Organization as Machine

The machine metaphor sees an organization as a well-oiled machine. In this view, the business runs on efficiency, standardization, and clear-cut roles. Every part (or person) has a defined function, and managers operate like engineers, fine-tuning processes for maximum output. This approach works best for straightforward, repetitive tasks in stable environments—think of assembly lines or fast-food franchises running with clockwork precision. The downside is rigidity: when conditions change or creativity is needed, a machine-like organization can struggle to adapt. People are not cogs, and treating them as interchangeable parts can dampen morale and innovation.

🦠 Organization as Organism

Viewing an organization as an organism emphasizes adaptation and survival in a changing environment. Here the company is a living system that must sense and respond to external conditions to thrive. Just as animals evolve to fit their habitat, businesses adjust their structures, strategies, and practices to meet market demands, competition, or regulatory changes. This metaphor highlights flexibility, growth, and the importance of nurturing the organization’s “health” (such as employee well-being and a fit with its environment). It shines in dynamic industries where companies must pivot and adapt quickly. However, if change is constant and chaotic, simple adaptation may not be enough—survival might require continuous evolution, which leads to the next metaphor.

🧠 Organization as Brain

The brain metaphor portrays the organization as an intelligent, learning network. In this perspective, the company isn’t just reacting to change—it’s processing information, solving problems, and improving itself continuously. Knowledge and feedback flow through the organization like signals in a brain, enabling it to learn from experience. Employees act as sensors and thinkers, while leadership focuses on fostering learning, creativity, and adaptability (much like building a “learning organization”). When done well, this approach leads to innovative solutions and an agile mindset: the organization can rewire itself by learning new ways to operate. The challenge is avoiding analysis paralysis or information overload. A brain-like organization must balance decentralized intelligence with coordinated action to function effectively.

🏺 Organization as Culture

Seeing an organization as a culture means viewing it as a mini-society with its own values, norms, and rituals. The focus is on shared meaning—“how we do things around here.” Stories, traditions, and company ethos glue the group together and guide employee behavior. A strong culture can motivate people, build loyalty, and even become a competitive advantage. However, culture can also become a cage: ingrained habits or an insular “our way” mindset may resist change or stifle diversity. Leaders with this lens aim to nurture a positive, cohesive culture while avoiding the trap of groupthink.

🏛️ Organization as Political System

The political metaphor sees the organization as a realm of competing interests, power plays, and alliances. It’s a corporate arena where stakeholders—executives, departments, teams—jockey for influence and resources, and decisions emerge from negotiation rather than just rational analysis. Many recognize this scenario: budget battles, lobbying for projects, and informal networks often sway outcomes. On one hand, acknowledging politics can help get things done through savvy stakeholder management. On the other, if everything becomes a power play, the company can fragment, with short-term wins undermining long-term goals. Leaders in a political environment must build coalitions and channel competition toward the company’s common good, preventing internal rivalries from derailing progress.

🔒 Organization as Psychic Prison

In the psychic prison metaphor, the organization is trapped by its own beliefs, routines, and unconscious patterns. Companies can become prisoners of their mindset: success breeds complacency, and ingrained assumptions (“that’s how we’ve always done it”) blind people to new realities. Cultures create comforting myths about “the way things are” that limit innovation and change. For example, a firm might cling to an old business model even as the market evolves, locking itself in an outdated paradigm. This metaphor urges leaders to expose hidden biases, challenge sacred cows, and free their teams from these mental walls—otherwise the collective mindset becomes a jail that stifles growth.

🔄 Organization as Flux and Transformation

The flux and transformation metaphor views an organization as part of an ever-shifting system, like a swirl in a river where patterns form and dissolve. Change is constant, and instead of seeking stability, the organization and its environment evolve together continuously. This perspective embraces chaos and complexity: small actions can trigger big effects, and new order emerges spontaneously from rich interactions. Managing under this metaphor is about navigation, not control—leaders use experiments, feedback, and agile adjustments rather than rigid plans. Innovation and reinvention become natural habits. This approach is energizing in fast-moving sectors but unnerving for those who crave predictability. It teaches that organizations must ride the waves of change, learning and adapting in real time.

⚔️ Organization as Instrument of Domination

In this metaphor, an organization becomes an instrument of domination—a vehicle for leaders or owners to impose their will on others. It highlights exploitation and control: workers become means to an end, and success may come at the expense of human dignity or the environment. History offers many examples, from sweatshop labor to ruthless monopolies. This lens is a stark ethical reminder: unchecked pursuit of profit and power can easily slide into abuse. Recognizing that potential is the first step. The next is to embed checks and values in how we do business, ensuring success comes with respect for people and planet rather than through coercion.

Outro: Conway’s Law and Protocol Design

Conway’s Law says that the systems organizations design mirror their own communication structures. How you organize will be reflected in what you create. Morgan’s metaphors illustrate this, especially when an organization’s output is a protocol or technical standard. A bureaucratic, machine-like committee tends to yield a rigid, overly complex standard, while a collaborative, organic team might craft a flexible, evolving protocol. Even internal politics can leave their mark on the design through the compromises made. Ultimately, the way we perceive and structure our organizations influences our output. By consciously adopting metaphors that promote openness, learning, and adaptability, organizations developing digital communication frameworks can create systems that better serve everyone.