Placing Things into Perspective

The discussion thus far has underscored many important workplace attributes that must be attended to if organizational life is to be understood. Many of these are commonly accepted aspects of the workplace that are seldom questioned or indeed open to being questioned. Such things as the organization, arrangement of work, tools and equipment used, facility, goals, production schedules, raw materials, products, sales and desired profit levels do not really seem to be open to being questioned most of the time by organization members. In this regard it may be noted that Taylor’s admonitions have been heeded. These attributes of worklife may only be questioned at great personal risk. In particular, leadership styles, planning and decision making, while often the subject of much organizational conversation, are, at the same time, not available for open discussion. Authority may not be questioned. Nonetheless, in order for organizations to become and remain successful, there must exist opportunities for change fostered by somehow finding safe ways to question what is going on and why. Therefore, the ability to locate the most important organizational elements and place them into a larger context where they may be examined and discussed with objectivity is essential if change is to be achieved.