All organizations exist within a larger context that I shall limit consideration of to a society as compared with the world or universe, although both apply. Our organizations are influenced by larger social trends and conversely they influence society. Within the United States there are many often conflicting social values and mores that enter directly into the workplace. For example, during the later portion of the twentieth century the rise in nontraditional families where divorce has created many working mothers has introduced into the workplace many demands to support this social trend. Issues such as health care insurance, childcare and working hours that flex with childcare needs have all influenced how employers design jobs and company benefit plans. A closely related social trend has been feminism, where the women who do enter the workforce are expected to be treated equally in terms of both compensation and career advancement. Certainly areas such as sexual harassment have dramatically affected male/female working relationships. Other areas where the social and political nature of our nation influences the workplace are legislation and administrative policies whereby many aspects of the workplace come under federal and state regulation. Areas such as equal opportunity, employment law, immigration, occupational safety and conserving the environment have all heavily impacted the workplace. Not to be overlooked are the many other contributions our society makes to the workplace such as monetary policy that limits inflation, constantly improving transportation systems and infrastructure and the fostering of international trade.

The influences are bidirectional, as evidenced by the many aspects of the workplace and business community that positively and negatively affect our society. On the positive side are jobs and economic prosperity, new products and services that improve our lives and contributions to our communities in the form of donations to charities. On the negative side are such things as plant closings, downsizings and layoffs, destruction of the environment and interest in making a profit sometimes at the expense of customers such as is often said to be the case with health maintenance organizations (HMOs). All of this complexity resident within the workplace is hard to comprehend without some type of cognitive map or theory of the workplace. This appreciation leads to considering exactly why these orienting and sense-making tools are necessary.