Imagine a corporate giant dissected, its inner workings laid bare not through cold, clinical analysis, but through the vibrant lens of metaphor. This book embarks on an intriguing journey into the heart of Deutsche Telekom AG, Europe's telecommunications behemoth, exploring its strategic evolution and organizational dynamics through three powerful metaphorical frameworks. Venture beyond traditional case studies as we reimagine Deutsche Telekom first as a living organism, adapting and evolving within its complex environment, grappling with the challenges of survival and striving for a symbiotic "fit" with its surroundings. Uncover how the company's environmental initiatives and responses to market pressures reflect this organic imperative. Next, delve into the corporation's cognitive processes, viewing it as a sophisticated brain, processing information, learning from experience, and innovating to maintain its competitive edge in the rapidly changing telecommunications landscape. Explore how Deutsche Telekom fosters knowledge sharing, leverages its intellectual capital, and navigates the complexities of the digital age. Finally, immerse yourself in the rich tapestry of Deutsche Telekom's organizational culture, understanding how shared values, beliefs, and norms shape its identity, influence employee behavior, and impact its interactions with the global marketplace. Examine the cultural integration challenges arising from international acquisitions, such as VoiceStream Wireless, and discover how Deutsche Telekom strives to create a cohesive and unified corporate culture across its diverse divisions. This book offers a fresh and insightful perspective on organizational theory and practice, providing valuable lessons for leaders, managers, and anyone seeking to understand the inner workings of a complex multinational corporation. Discover how metaphorical thinking can unlock new levels of understanding and drive strategic decision-making in today's dynamic business world. Keywords: Deutsche Telekom, organizational theory, metaphors, organizational behavior, business strategy, telecommunications, corporate culture, organizational dynamics, change management, international business, business analysis, management, leadership, case study, European business, digital transformation, business environment, knowledge management, organizational learning, strategic management.
TABLE OF CONTENTS
1. INTRODUCTION
1.1 THE USE OF METAPHORS
1.2 DEUTSCHE TELEKOM AG
2. THEORY
2.1 ORGANIZATIONS AS ORGANISMS
2.1.1 Theories about organization as organisms
2.1.2 Our example with Deutsche Telekom AG
2.2 ORGANIZATION AS BRAINS
2.2.1 Theories about organization as brains
2.2.2 Our example with Deutsche Telekom AG
2.3 ORGANIZATION AS CULTURES
2.3.1 Theories about organization as cultures
2.3.2 Our example with Deutsche Telekom AG
3. CONCLUSIONS
4. SOURCES
1. INTRODUCTION
We will start our paper with an introduction of the task at hand and after that we will present the company this paper is built on a German company called Deutsche Telekom AG (DT).
1.1 The use of metaphors
In this paper the task is to choose one company and apply different metaphors on the organization. What is a metaphor then? A metaphor is a way to describe something with the use of more familiar terms. We tend to use metaphors when we attempt to understand one element of experience in terms of another. The metaphors we have used in this paper are derived from Gareth Morgans book Images of Organization. He talks about eight different metaphors: organizations as machines, organisms, brains, cultures, political systems, psychic prisons, flux and transformation and instrument of domination. We are going to apply three metaphors on the chosen Company, Deutsche Telekom AG. These metaphors are organizations as if they were living organisms, brains and cultures.
1.2 Deutsche Telekom AG
The Deutsche Telekom AG is Europe’s largest telecommunication company with more than 200 subsidiaries or minority stakes. It was established one year after the founding of Federal Republic of Germany in 1949 as a state-owned enterprise under the name Deutsche Bundespost.[1] In 1990 the Deutsche Telekom came out during the breakdown and the privatisation of the Deutsche Bundspost[2]. The Deutsche Telekom was founded as a public limited company. In 1996 the Deutsche Telekom AG had it’s stock market flotation. Since the stock market flotation the Telekom was growing up to a multinational company with subsidiaries all over the world.
The structure of the Telekom AG is based on a 4-pillar growth strategy: Consumer Internet Services (T-Online AG)
Mobile Communications (T-Mobile) Data/IP/Systems Solutions (T-Systems) Network Access Services (T-Com)
illustration not visible in this excerpt
Exhibit 1: Divisions
Source: own creation in following to the annual reports 2001 of the Deutsche Telekom AG
Deutsche Telekom has more the 100 million customer relationships in their four core divisions.
illustration not visible in this excerpt
Exhibit 2: employees of single divisions
Source: own creation in following to the annual reports 2001 of the Deutsche Telekom AG
The Deutsche Telekom is focused exclusively on the following segments of the New Economy: Telecommunications, Information Technology, Multimedia, Entertainment and Security (TIMES). The TIMES are the fastest growing segments of the New Economy.[3] After the acquisition of the US-Mobile Company VoiceStream Wireless in April 2001 the Deutsche Telekom has discovered a new big market to grow. But the acquisition of VoiceStream contains culture problems as well as we will discuss later in our paper.
2. THEORY
In this section we will discuss three different metaphors, organizations as organisms, as brains and as cultures, and apply them on our company, Deutsche Telekom AG. We have chosen these three metaphors from eight different ones in Morgan’s literature, because we think that these three fits best into this company.
2.1 Organizations as organisms
The first metaphor we are going to use on our company is as if it was an organism.
2.1.1 Theories about organization as organisms
If we look at the Organization as if it was an organism we will see it as a living and open system. The Organization has to be an open system since it has to be adapted to the environment. The relationship between the company and the environment can be seen as the relationship between species and their ecology. Some animals can be adapted easier to a certain environment and the same goes for corporations, some organizations fits better in some specific environments. The open system suggests that the manager should organize with the business environment in mind to survive, meaning that the organization should interact directly with customers, competitors, suppliers, labour unions as well as the general environment. Since the organizations are open systems the management need to find a balance between internal needs and the adaptation to environmental circumstances. The main task for the Company is to create a good “fit” with its environment.[4]
2.1.2 Our example with Deutsche Telekom AG
We think that Deutsche Telekom AG fit into the description of a living organization because the Company is an open system, which is involved in a number of environmental targets. The Company has built up a comprehensive management system to implement these targets: it matches the overarching strategy to day-to-day activities and ensures that the reduction targets are achieved in the specified period. The management for environmental protection is responsible for the following programs:
[...]
[1] http://Wasd.urz.uni-Magdeburg.de 02-09-07 12:47
[2] www.wdr.de 2002-09-07 12:23
[3] www.dtag.de 2002-09-06 11:14
Häufig gestellte Fragen
Worum geht es in diesem Dokument?
Dieses Dokument ist eine umfassende Sprachvorschau, die Titel, Inhaltsverzeichnis, Ziele und Schwerpunktthemen, Kapitelzusammenfassungen und Schlüsselwörter enthält. Es analysiert ein Unternehmen, Deutsche Telekom AG (DT), mithilfe verschiedener Metaphern.
Was ist der Zweck des Inhaltsverzeichnisses?
Das Inhaltsverzeichnis bietet einen Überblick über die Struktur des Dokuments, einschließlich der Einleitung, der Theorie (Organisationen als Organismen, Gehirne und Kulturen), Schlussfolgerungen und Quellen.
Was ist die Bedeutung der Verwendung von Metaphern?
Metaphern werden verwendet, um Organisationen anhand von vertrauteren Begriffen zu beschreiben und zu verstehen. In diesem Dokument werden die Metaphern "Organisationen als Organismen", "Organisationen als Gehirne" und "Organisationen als Kulturen" angewendet.
Wer ist die Deutsche Telekom AG (DT)?
Die Deutsche Telekom AG ist Europas größtes Telekommunikationsunternehmen mit über 200 Tochtergesellschaften oder Minderheitsbeteiligungen. Sie wurde 1949 gegründet und 1990 privatisiert.
Was sind die vier Säulen der Wachstumsstrategie der Deutschen Telekom AG?
Die vier Säulen sind: Consumer Internet Services (T-Online AG), Mobile Communications (T-Mobile), Data/IP/Systems Solutions (T-Systems) und Network Access Services (T-Com).
Was bedeutet es, eine Organisation als Organismus zu betrachten?
Wenn eine Organisation als Organismus betrachtet wird, wird sie als ein lebendes und offenes System gesehen, das sich an seine Umwelt anpassen muss. Das Unternehmen muss ein gutes "Fit" zu seiner Umwelt schaffen.
Welche Umweltziele verfolgt die Deutsche Telekom AG als lebende Organisation?
Die Deutsche Telekom AG hat ein umfassendes Managementsystem aufgebaut, um Umweltziele zu implementieren und sicherzustellen, dass die Reduktionsziele im vorgegebenen Zeitraum erreicht werden.
Warum wurden die Metaphern "Organismen", "Gehirne" und "Kulturen" ausgewählt?
Diese Metaphern wurden ausgewählt, weil sie am besten zu dem analysierten Unternehmen, der Deutschen Telekom AG, passen.
- Citation du texte
- Thorben Wienholtz (Auteur), 2002, Dt.Telekom body, mind and soul, Munich, GRIN Verlag, https://www.grin.com/document/107168
