Organizational Philosophy

At the most simple and no doubt most reductive level, one might speak of the “philosophy” that is in operation within an organization. This would be something that characterizes the specific, and probably unique, way of thinking about problems that typifies a particular organization. We might say, then, that General Motors is characterized by a particular organizational philosophy or that the Body Shop has a distinctive organizational philosophy. In this first sense, organizational philosophy refers to a particular organizational form with a set of unique cultural or structural characteristics and also to a particular vision of the purpose or goals of the organization. Here organizational philosophy is not just the surface of organizational practices but something deeper and more profound.

We find a related sense of organizational philosophy when we move from particular organizations to look at more general principles of organization. Here we are not referring to the philosophy of a particular organization but to the philosophy that lies behind a general procedure or set of practices of organizing. We can see this in the idea that there is a unique organizational philosophy that stands behind, for example, total quality management or human resource management. The idea here seems to be that such approaches to organization do not merely involve rules to be applied mechanically but that a deeper change of mind-set is required to bring these to fruition. We should recall that Frederick Taylor insisted that scientific management was not simply a set of techniques to be applied but involved a complete change in thinking about organizing. In such statements is a recognition that organization is more than techniques and rules and involves an organizational philosophy as well.

If we can speak of the organizational philosophy of a particular organization and the organizational philosophy that accompanies various organizational theories, then there is a third and related meaning of organizational philosophy. This is the idea that dominant players in an organization—usually managers—in some way have to participate in understanding various organizational philosophies. If they can do this, then they can understand and can try to cultivate a particular organizational philosophy in the organization in which they work. Here managers are not simply technical functionaries but, in a way, organizational philosophers. They have to understand organizational philosophies and hence should attend business school and read the popular and scientific press to understand them. If they do this, then they will be in a position to be, in a very real sense, organizational philosophers. This will also, presumably, bring them economic success.