Understanding Organizations...Finally!

Structuring in Sevens

By: Henry Mintzberg

Narrated by: Wayne Shepherd

Length: 6 hrs and 19 mins

Publisher's summary

The iconic Henry Mintzberg provides a crystal-clear map to the seven forces that shape all human organizations, synthesizing 60 years of research on organizational design and theory.

Human beings have been organizing to accomplish work for as long as we’ve existed. So why is organizational behavior still so elusive and mysterious?

In this book, one of the greatest scholars in his field reframes his career’s work around the seven forces that drive all organizations. Mintzberg identifies them as efficiency, proficiency, consolidation, collaboration, culture, division, and conflict. Each of these forces aligns with one of the seven basic organizational forms: the Personal Enterprise, the Programmed Machine, the Professional Assembly, the Project Pioneer, the Divisional Form, the Community Ship, and the Political Arena. Mintzberg explores how these forms combine and hybridize and offers a life-cycle model to explain how organizations transition between the forms and hybrids.

Mintzberg says that organizations are formed by a set of relationships, yet their purpose is achieved only through individual work—making the act of organizing a unique science. This brilliant book not only explains why organizations are the way they are, but it also shows how we can make our individual organizations function at the highest possible level.

©2023 Henry Mintzberg (P)2023 Henry Mintzberg

There is more to this world than fixed hierarchy

Not as brutally honest as NON-MBAs or as thorough as THE RISE AND FALL...At the same time the book is as good as STRATEGY SAFARI & SIMPLY MANAGING.

If you, as a non-expert, need to know how today's organizations are ACTUALLY shaped/formed or how they function/how they are shaped, you should immerse yourself in this book.

Those who want to know more I recommend not only STRUCTURES IN SEVENS FIVE but also STRUCTURE IN FIVES & an organizational design bible titled THE STRUCTURING OF ORGANIZATIONS.

Good performance: sounds like mintzberg-esque.

Best framework for understanding organizations. FINALLY

In this book Dr. Mintzberg provides a topography and nomenclature which allows a durable and simple way to characterize and name the primary structure, objectives, and culture of any organization under review. More importantly however he provides a framework to identify incongruities or potential areas of conflict between what an organization may aspire to be and what an organization is designed to do. Such clarity provides insights into the differences between high performance and low performance teams and organizations. This is a must read for every manager and leader.