This is the essence of Morgan’s
Imaginization “If we see things in old ways, it’s very
difficult to act in new ways.” (p. 6).
The power of basic idea is vividly
illustrated in a story related by Karl Weick about a group of
people who got lost in a severe snowstorm in the Swiss Alps.
They were stranded and on the verge of giving up hope. When one
of the party found a map in one of his pockets. Mobilized by the
new possibilities, they mustered their energy and eventually
found their way back to civilization. Imagine their surprise,
when, after their return home, it was pointed out that it was a
map of the Pyrenees, not the Alps! (Morgan, 1993, p. 16).
Citing aforementioned story in his
book Imaginization Morgan is going to reaffirm the
importance of having a basic idea. In fact, basic ideas and
images we shape in our mind, invite us to imaginize ourselves in
new ways. He believes that we can’t hope to create new
organizational forms in old ways. We have to imaginize and
explore creative possibilities that can add new chapters to the
history of how we organize and manage. Our understanding of what
we are seeing changes according to the frame or image that
shapes our viewpoint.
In Morgan’s point of view, the
process of imaginization invites creativity. It also invites us
to write our organizations in new ways. We may sum up the
functions of imaginization in this manner: a) improving the
ability of understanding situations, b) finding new images for
new organizing, c) creating shared understandings, d) personal
empowerment, and e) self-organizing.
Reference:
Morgan, G. (1993). Imaginization: New mindsets for seeing,
organizing and managing. San Francisco Thousand Oaks, CA:
Berrett-Koehler, Sage Publications.
