5 Making connections
In activity 4, you read about different metaphors for organisations. Metaphors are useful ways of describing and illustrating organisational structure and culture.
Describing organisations using pictorial metaphors is somewhat different to using rich pictures. In fact, although both can be seen as symbolic representations of organisations, they derive from different aspects of organisational theory. For Activity 3.4, you might have used several pictorial metaphors or symbols in your rich picture to illustrate a problem or opportunity in your work.
Activity 13 Metaphors through sounds
Another way you can think about metaphors is through sounds or music. For example, listen to the following two sounds – what kinds of organisations do they conjure up for you?
Feedback
One colleague listened to Sound 1 and said that it reminded him of his last job in a telecommunications corporation.
Now, think of a single metaphor for your organisation as a way of describing its culture. What is it like to work there?
Activity 14 Identifying a cultural metaphor
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Identify a digital image or sound that serves as a metaphor for the culture of your organisation.
You can take a digital photo, or use the internet to find existing images using the following search engines and sites:
- Google Images [Tip: hold Ctrl and click a link to open it in a new tab. (Hide tip)]
- Wikimedia Commons
- Flickr
Alternatively, you can draw your own metaphor and take a digital snapshot of it or use an electronic drawing program.
Or you can record a sound (e.g., a car sounding its horn) or music piece, or you can find short audio files from the following sound libraries on the internet:
- FilmSound.org (listing of free sites)
- ALC (free site)
- The Freesound Project (free site)
- Sound Effects Library (pay site, with neat sounds)
- Write a brief description (about 50–75 words) of the metaphor and why you chose it to represent your organisation’s culture.