Valve And The Machine Metaphor

• The Symbolic Framework draws on social and cultural anthropology. The organization is thought to be akin to tribes or theater; they are cultures that operate based on ceremonies, rituals, rules, myths, policies, stories, heroes and managerial authority (Bolman and Deal 1991, p. 16). Everyone in the organization is an actor who is basically playing a prescribed role (Bolman and Deal 1991, p. 16).

This paper discussed both Bolman and Deal’s four frames of organizations and Morgan’s metaphors to make sense of Apple Inc by applying interrelationships of frames with metaphors. Under the lens of both theories, Apple's structural framework in relation to the political system metaphor while the human resource frame used with the machine metaphor to indicate the practical shortcoming being encountered in the company on a day-to-day basis. In addition to perceiving problems in the company, possible solutions and recommendations also presented.

For Andrei Octavian PARASCHIVESCU and Florin Mihai CAPRIOARA, organizations that desire to implement a strategic quality management approach should consider both the strategic dimension of quality and the management strategy (2014, p 19). In fact, both writers stipulate ”Quality Management” aims to advance quality to meet patron’s requirements by controlling processes (Paraschivescu & Caprioara, 2014, p 21). Likewise, their ideas confirm that the production approach demands a strict input from workers. In doing so, quality improvement teams can measure and spot

The company ensured that they monitored each new process that were implemented by putting performance measures in place to reflect gaugeable improvements. Group leaders were assigned to each division to monitor and review them regularly, and again, more importantly, to take ownership and be accountable. The company continues to monitor and implement changes in an attempt for continuous improvement and embrace team

“The employees were complaining for months and somehow the situation escalated to become hostile” Said the assistant Joe Haley. An organization as an entity, a whole, resembles a precise piece of machinery, because there are so many components need to function at the same time in order to make the machine work. As long as one part begins to malfunction, it will eventually influence other parts and create a vicious Domino effect, which damages the entire system quickly if not repaired

In early 1990’s, Teradyne experienced a major change in leadership with the new CEO Alex D’Arbeloff. Alex grew interested in the risk of losing Teradyne’s competitive edge due to quality and reliability concerns. Although D’Arbeloff believed the team was exceedingly competent, he believed there were major operating problems regarding reporting and performance measurements. To minimize these problems, D’Arbeloff embraced total quality management (TQM). After 5 years of intensive effort, TQM principles were embedded into most aspects of work at the company and resulted in noticeable improvement in manufacturing quality and customer service. However, the engineering organization was resisting TQM because of the resulting late and over budget projects.

Northrop Grumman Corporation is an American global aerospace and defense technology company. Since this company’s end products affects security and lives of people in our entire nation and other nations around the globe, Northrop must insure the highest level of its goods produced. Their success is mainly a direct result of experienced management structure. With Maslow’s Hierarchy of Needs guidelines, this company attracts and keeps the best workforces by offering high compensation, benefits and perks to meet and exceed employee’s basic needs. With the security of thriving life, the staff is allowed self-direction and self-control in order to promote critical thinking and creativity. This Humanistic Perspective of emphasizing and understanding

In today's society some corporations have achieved success by replacing the hierarchical boss-subordinate relationship with that of an empowered work team. Many corporations know the value of a high-performance team. A high-performance team has a great deal to offer to the organization. In a team environment, people are not managed, controlled or supervised. They are led by their mutual vision of the organization's purpose and goals. Teams surpass individuals working alone, especially when performance requires several abilities, verdict, and active involvement...

The President Ralph Larsen has realized that Wengart has some major problems with the quality however he is focusing on the profitability instead of the longevity of the company. He needs to have the team focus on improving the quality problem or the company’s profits will continue to decrease. Larsen in the effort to improve the quality has decided to seek out help from an OD practitioner who suggests to Ralph to implement Top Quality Management (TQM). Larsen feels that this should be easy to implement and hands it off to Kent Kelly the Vice President. He feels that the TQM program was a matter of common sense (Brown, 2011, p. 365).

The idea of viewing organizations from a myopic point of view, i.e. from one metaphor is frowned upon by Morgan since he is of the notion the idea hinders a broader perspective of ideas and understanding of organization, and that the deployment of more metaphors opens more doors for a broader scope of decisions and actions (Prince, L,2007)

Many companies emphasize a culture of continuous improvement. While never being satisfied with the status quo can drive

The view and metaphorical analogy of an organization as a machine was the result of the only frame of reference available at

The Machine Organization is defined by its standardization. Work is very formalized, there are many routines and procedures, decision-making is centralized, and tasks are grouped by functional departments. Jobs will be clearly defined; there will be a formal planning process with budgets and audits; and procedures will regularly be analyzed for efficiency. The machine organization has a tight vertical structure. Functional lines go all the way to the top, allowing top managers to maintain centralized control. These organizations can be very efficient, and they rely heavily on economies of scale for their success. However, the formalization leads to specialization and, pretty soon, functional units can have conflicting goals that can be inconsistent with overall corporate objectives.

The fact that globalization has expanded the market for organizations means that TQM is more important than ever before. Customer demands are higher and if a company does not create products and services that meet their expectations they can easily access the same or similar products and services from another company. If managers do not implement TQM into their company procedure then they will fail to meet the high standards of customers all over the world and eventually lose their business. When it comes to implementing TQM, it’s the mangers responsibility to create an environment where people can work together to improve their work processes. If the ownership or senior management does not buy into this concept you will never succeed. Many people in leadership roles are either too set in their ways or closed minded to the necessary change needed to really improve the way things get done. You have to buy into the concept that there is always a better way to do something. By tapping into all the knowledge and experience your employees possess, you develop solutions that not only improve your execution, you provide everyone with a sense of accomplishment.. These "process improvement teams" give employees a chance to help steer the future direction

Valve software is a successful entertainment and software company with over 300 employees. Valve software wanted to create a working environment that empowered their employees and gave them the freedom to be creative. What they have achieved is a very successful company that operates on a ‘flat’ structure where there are no managers or supervisors to report to and all employees are equals. “The company tries to keep its structure flat to remove or reduce barriers between the employees and the customers” (Valve steams ahead n.d).