In his book, Images of Organization, Gareth Morgan discusses many of the attributes common to organizations, and delineates many images that apply to organization. While reading and discussing this topic in class, I agreed readily with many of the images Morgan presented in his book, but when called upon by this assignment to conjure up my own metaphor, I ran into difficulties. This partially arose from the wealth of examples evident in the book; he seemed to have exhausted most of the available material. While crossing the quad after class one day, I was remarking to myself on the beauty of the changing leaves on the trees, and then it struck me. Organizations are like trees in many ways.
Similarities.
The first obvious similarity between organizations and trees is that they are both a larger whole made up of many smaller, contributing parts. Each leaf contributes to the overall function of the tree as a whole, just as each worker in an organization does his part. Like organizations, trees both contribute to the environment in which they are situated, yet at the same time, depend on their environment for survival. Trees exchange carbon dioxide for oxygen, providing a vital service to their environment. Organizations also provide a necessary service for their community; otherwise, they would not exist. Yet trees are also dependent on their environment for the nutrients they need to survive. In the same way, organizations need the resources each community provides it, whether it be workers, materials necessary for production, or capital investments. This relationship is detailed in Morgan's book as the "open systems approach" as organisms are open to their given environment and so much realize an adequate relationship with said environment for survival (Morgan 39). .
Trees also adapt to their environment, both on a day to day basis, and over extended periods of time. During a downpour, trees absorb as much water as possible to offset possible dry weather.