ABSTRACT
Gareth Morgan is best known as the creator of the concept of ‘organisational metaphors’ as a management tool. His greatest insight has been to determine that, while there is no one model of organisation that can entirely capture the essence of organisation, it is possible by means of metaphors to look at organisations from different angles and see different facets. Similarly, as no one single metaphor is adequate to explain the nature and behaviour of organisations, it is necessary to use multiple metaphors in combination to get closer to the reality. Morgan’s eight metaphors of organisations, first set out in his 1986 book Images of Organization, are one of the most powerful concepts in organisation theory today. He has gone on to argue that managers should be less bound by methodology and rules of procedure, and became more reflective, creative and intuitive in their thinking.
