ings of two phenomena, one of which you already understand fairly
well. In this section, we are going to look at organizations (a phe
nomenon with which we'll assume you are technically unfamiliar)
as if they were living organisms like plants, animals, or human
beings (phenomena with which we'll assume you are reasonably
familiar). We call this comparison the biological metaphor.
One caveat before we proceed. Some scholars have questioned .
whether the biological metaphor is appropriate for application to
organizations. 2 For example, while few would argue that organi
zations are born, grow, and require continual nourishment for sur
vival, organizations are not prede~tined to die as all living organ
isms are. Death may be a part of biological life, but it is not inevitable
for organizations. So the metaphor is not perfect. Nevertheless, it
has become an increasingly popular conceptual framework for un
derstanding organizations. As you'll see, like living organisms, or
CHAPTER 1 / AN OVERVIEW
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CHAPTER 1 / AN OVERVIEW
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CHAPTER 1 / AN OVERVIEW
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CHAPTER 1 / AN OVERVIEW
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ganizations grow, pass through predictable stages of development,
undergo a series of predictable transitions, and deteriorate if the
energy they put out isn't replaced by new inputs. Describing or
ganizations as systems and as proceeding through a life cycle should
give you new insights into their makeup.
The Systems Perspective
There is wide agreement among organizational theorists that a
systems perspective offers important insights into the workings of
an organization.4 The following pages introduce the idea of sys
tems, differentiate open from closed systems, and demonstrate how
an open-systems approach can help you to conceptualize better
just what it is that organizations do.