• Provide an introduction to and overview of the three main metaphors encountered during the module – *building blocks, iceberg and river (see below for more explanations on these descriptions). In the overview, identify key theoretical perspectives in organisation and people management which link to these metaphors.
• Present case studies of two contemporary organisations. Use the three metaphors and relevant theories to explain how organisation and people management take place in the two organisations, drawing out similarities and contrasts between the two. It is suggested that you choose two cases that you have already encountered in the module.
• Present a conclusion in which the three metaphors and the case studies are used to reflect on your own management and organisational experience, highlighting ways in which they will inform your future managerial practice.
The report should also have an executive summary and a reference list in the Harvard Referencing style. These will not count towards the final word count.
Suggested structure and weighting
The following shows a suggested structure and word-weighting for the report. Whilst you do not have to follow this exactly, it is recommended that your report should broadly follow this pattern:
1. Introduction (100 words)
2. The three metaphors (900 words, split evenly between the three sub-sections below)
2.1 The organisation as a set of building blocks
2.2 The organisation as an iceberg
2.3 The organisation as a river
3. Case studies (600 words, split evenly between the two sections below)
3.1 Case study organisation #1
3.2 Case study organisation #2
4. Conclusions, with personal reflections on managerial practice. (400 words)
We can apply our three metaphors to the different aspects of knowledge and learning we have encountered in this unit:
Basics Metaphors of Block, River and Iceberg
• A building-blocks perspective would see knowledge in terms only of explicit knowledge, basic, surface-level facts which can make up a ‘database’ of encoded knowledge within an organisation. In this sense, knowledge is a ‘thing’ which people and organisations simply accumulate.
• An iceberg perspective recognises that tacit knowledge has much more depth and is a much more personal and individual form of knowledge which comes from experience.
• A river perspective recognises that knowledge is of no use if it remains static and is not being shared and transferred between people. To be useful, knowledge needs to be dynamic and animated, like a river. This, in turn, allows organisations to be more adaptable and innovative.
As suggested at the start of the module, the three metaphors are not there to suggest that any one approach to knowledge is better that the other; instead they show different aspects of knowledge and how they work together. In this respect, we see knowledge as a body of explicit knowledge and theory (building blocks), which becomes useful in practice when individuals use experience to transform this explicit knowledge into tacit knowledge (iceberg), and which becomes useful to organisations when it is shared and transferred between people (river).
Overview of personality
When we think about people that we know, we often describe them in terms of their personality traits and characteristics. As we will see in this unit, employers will also have desired personality characteristics in mind when they advertise for a job vacancy. In this unit, we will examine some of the main theories of personality and examine how these link into recruitment and selection techniques that aim to match desired personality characteristics to candidates.
In this unit, we will examine two main approaches to personality:
• The nomothetic approach suggests that personality is something which can be measured, with personality tests used to put people into specific personality categories and types. This view sees personality as being like a set of building blocks, made up of certain measurable components in the form of personality traits.
• The ideographic approach suggests that our personalities are unique, complex and always changing, and cannot be boiled down to a simplistic measurement. This approach sees personality as more like an iceberg, with rich, complex, hidden depths, and also a bit like a river in that it is always changing and developing.
Whilst we will focus on the links between personality and theories and recruitment and selection, we also see how personality is linked to other aspects of the individual, including leadership development and career development.
King, D. and Lawley, S. (2019). Organizational Behaviour (3rd edition) Oxford University Press, pp. 266-269.
