Dynamic Organizations

My colleague Daryn was discussing his training, and the way he had to work to become the type of trainer that his organization wanted him to be. He was worreid that he wasn't doing enough. 

Based on what he said, it seemed to me that he is doing exactly what Morgan (2006) suggests when he quotes Kenneth Boulding that evolution is more than just survival of the fittest but "survival of the fitting" (p. 63). 

You wrote yourself that you wish to fit in and I think like you, organizations do the same. In my organization, a non-profit contractor, safety training community, we bend and mold and change as an organization based on the needs of the contractor learners we service. If refinery owners want to include more engaging safety training we provide it or they do somewhere else. If they want virtual reality (VR), extended reality (XR), or even augmented reality (AR) training then we will find a way to provide it. Since we don't want to lose them, we change and mold based on the needs they are expressing. 

Morgan (2006) writes on page 63 "it suggests that organisms do not evolve by adapting to environmental changes or as a result of these changes selecting the organisms that are to survive. Rather, it suggests that evolution is always evolution of a pattern of relations embracing organisms and their environment." That quote about the environment made me think of the environment that I describe regarding contractor safety training. I think part of the power within organizations, especially those that find a way to function as an organism, is the ability to adapt, adjust, and overcome. Those that don't fade away or close down. Those that do find a way to continue on.

Reference

Morgan, G. (2006). Images of Organization (Updated Edition). Thousand Oaks, CA: Sage Publications.