Military and Biological Metaphors

In the olden days, the military metaphor was the only metaphor for business. Success was achieved from the top with orders directed for employees to follow, much like a military unit going into battle.

More recently, the military metaphor has had to make room for the biological metaphor which compares business organization to an organism growing organically with minimum control from the top.

Alistair Mutch, a professor in the Department of Information Management and Systems, Nottingham Trent University, Nottingham, UK, in an article abstracted on the internet, "Organization Theory and Military Metaphor: Time for a Reappraisal?"Organization, Vol. 13, No. 6, 751-769 (2006) asks if this military metaphor should be questionned. He says,

A ‘conventional’ use of military metaphor would use it to convey attributes such as hierarchical organization, vertical communication and limited autonomy. This is often used in contrast to a looser form of organization based on the metaphor of the network. However, this article argues that military practice is more complex, with examples of considerable autonomy within the constraints of central direction. It is suggested that not only might this be a more useful metaphor for many contemporary organizations, but also that simplistic uses of military metaphor divert our attention away from the functions that management hierarchies play. The discussion is embedded within a critical realist account of metaphor, arguing for both its value and the need for its further development.

So if Dr. Mutch is correct, most organizations are a mixture of hierarchy and more horizontal structures. The point for you is to recognize how much close control from the top your enterprise should need. Hierarchy is more efficient, but too much control can hurt your chances of success. L.L. Bean, for example, carefully controlled all decisions throughout his life. It produced a good company but hurt growth down the line because everything had to be decided by him. LL Bean, the company, is of course alive and well today and is very regarded as a source of high quality outdoor close and gear. But it could only grow when management passed on to more modern ideas.

What do you think of this? Are you a command and control guy or a connect and collaborationalist? I'd like to know. Post a comment.

Entrepreneurship informs all my professional activities. For entrepreneurial real estate, go to www.yourstopforrealestate.com/blog. For entrepreneurial writing, to www.kearneymusicschoolmurders.blogspot.com.