Synopsis
"Imaginization is typical of Gareth Morgan′s work--stimulating, thought-provoking, original, and well-written."
--Anne Golden, President, United Way of Greater Toronto
"The book is exciting. It opens up ways of developing both organization and management. It inspires ideas of excellence and achievement and gives hope for this age. You can probably open this book anywhere and find something of value."
--BUSINESS AGE
"Morgan has written an amazing book on imaginative ways of organizing and managing organizations. . . . a book about a new management theory that can self-organize, evolve, twist, turn, and perhaps change at the speed of light. The work provides a way of helping managers understand and develop their creative potential. It offers a means of finding innovative solutions to difficult problems. Anyone interested in modern-day organizations and personal empowerment should read this book....Belongs on the bookshelf of every manager seeking creative ways to transform one′s organization and oneself."
--JOURNAL OF ACADEMIC LIBRARIANSHIP
"The stories provide powerful examples of how the use of metaphors can help people in an organization understand their complex feelings and how discussion of the concepts contained in metaphors can help develop a shared sense of vision for the future. . . . Imaginization is definitely worth reading. The author strikes a responsive cord in calling for new organizational approaches to deal with a dynamic future, and he establishes credibility through numerous examples that document the use of his consulting techniques. . . . One might argue that the book lacks structure and focus. This is true if one is committed to the traditional, hierarchical way of presenting ideas. Visionaries are freed from such constraints as they allow their creativity to flow--and Gareth Morgan is indeed a visionary."
--SRA JOURNAL
"Imaginization is filled with thought-provoking metaphors (e.g., holograms for organizational design, termites for strategic planning, spider plants for flexibility and decentralization), primitive, but compelling illustrations and stimulating case studies--many of which are products of Morgan′s action-learning research on imaginization. This highly readable book rests on a solid underpinning of scholarly research, creative introspection, and originality. This is anything but pop-biz, but it sure could fool you at first glance."
--STERN′S HR MANAGEMENT REVIEW
"A valuable, interesting, and practical addition to the book collection. . . .If you are looking for an amusing and lighthearted trip through Morgan′s Metaphoric Management Manual then this is certainly worth a look. Moreover, and I think this is the real value of Morgan′s book, he doesn′t advocate a simple prescriptive solution to complex organizational problems--other than to plead for the use of more imagination on the part of those involved. To this message I can only add ′hear hear!"
--WORK, EMPLOYMENT, AND SOCIETY
"Will be particularly appreciated by those who learn by, and take heart from, worked examples. . . . All the chapter titles are highly evocative and a quick scan of the excellently abstracted contents pages will help you decide whether to invest the time or not. . . . In the sense that it offers managers a ′show-how guide′ to becoming their own theorist, Imaginization is potentially radical and empowering. What it emphasizes consistently is the fact that we all have theories about the situations we face, and that it is those same inner constructs which can provide the seeds of creative transformation. . . . Following his examples could go a long way to convincing managers that the answers they seek lie within their own hearts rather than outside them in the head of some ′expert.′ It also provides a useful model of truly facilitative expert behaviour both in providing generic metaphors and models to help simplify and focus complex situations and in creating a supportive environment in which powerful inner wisdom can be evoked, shared, and creatively synthesized."
--MANAGEMENT LEARNING
"The chapters in this book are themselves imaginative, with varied presentations and opportunities for reader participation; most demonstrate imaginization in action via case studies drawn from Morgan′s experience as a consultant and leader of management workshops. Sacha Warunkiw′s clever drawings, sprinkled liberally throughout the text, support the importance of metaphor in Imaginization."
--JOURNAL OF ACADEMIC LIBRARIONSHIP
"As always, Gareth Morgan manages to put into words wonderful pictures and a good way of making concrete things that aren′t always easy to see. I have always enjoyed his writing. Provides a guideline for making the theoretical practical"
--Mary Giles, Department of Education, Manitobe Telephone System
"Imaginization shows that management is as much art form as science, providing many useful ways to tap the most important resource for competitiveness: brainpower."
--Rosabeth Moss Kanter, Professor, Harvard Business School, author of The Change Masters
"Gareth Morgan′s Imaginization is exciting stuff. It opens up new worlds for the development of organization and management. . . . This is of far-reaching importance, developing the path-breaking implications of his Images of Organization."
--Eric Trist, Professor Emeritus, late of the Wharton School, University of Pennsylvania
"Just one of the insights offered in this book could change the way you think about organization and management--forever! Imaginization provides a powerful and enjoyable way of making the new management a reality."
--Linda Grant, Professional Development Executive, Toronto
"Imaginization is playful and gently subversive. It takes the full use of metaphors for organizational analysis to its most practical level. It is a useful resource for instructors as well as organization participants."
--Peter Frost, University of British Columbia
"Another landmark book by Gareth Morgan! If a practitioner were going to buy only one book this year, this has to be it."
--John Burdett, Vice President, Management Development, Lawson Mardon Group
"If your company or your group has yet to achieve its highest levels of performance, read this book! Gareth Morgan brings out the images of achievement, excellence, and hope for this age."
--Ron Carter, Director, Resource Development Services, Merck Human Health Division, Merck and Co., Inc.
Gareth Morgan brings out the images of achievement, excellence, and hope the leaders for this age may have kept hidden because the ′culture′ of their company doesn′t seem to value this aspect of their skills. Morgan′s insight leads to specific suggestions and actions which enable you to act on your vision. His plea is that imagination, which should be the engine of competitiveness and a constant component of our work, should not end during childhood. If your company is still a bureaucracy or you believe your group has yet to achieve its highest levels of performance, read this book! Most importantly, if you want to make the pressures and rewards of work more fun for those who work.
About the Author
Gareth Morgan is well known for his creative contributions to management. He is the author of seven books, including Images of Organization, Creative Organization Theory, Imaginization and Riding the Waves of Change. He acts as consultant and seminar leader to numerous organizations throughout Europe and North America, and is Distinguished Research Professor at York University in Toronto. He has sat on the editorial boards of the Academy of Management, and Organization Studies; and is a Life Fellow of the International Academy of Management. Born in Wales, he now lives in Toronto with his wife, Karen and their children Evan and Heather.
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