THE YIN AND YANG OF ORGANIZATIONS

by Nancy Foy ‧ RELEASE DATE: Dec. 5, 1980

A fancy-pants way of saying the organization has to become a little softer if it expects to continue--and may already be headed in that direction. In ancient China, ""yin"" was the female element, ""yang"" the male; and harmony depended on the two being in balance. Foy chooses to see the traditional male-dominated organization as being too analytical and rational, to the exclusion of the feminine, intuitive, nurturing side. Needless to say, this dichotomy will not endear Foy to the feminists; she is pointedly against equality (women's ""difference"" is ""really their greatest asset in organizations""). But she is also informative about the contributions women have made from the sidelines. There has always been, for example, an organizational ""spider"" or ""butterfly"" who used both formal and informal information in a way that--rather than enhancing personal power--made for personal involvement; such people, usually women, sat at the center of a web of interconnecting networks. Many of the chapters here, however, are simply padded enlargements on one point: organizations are no fun anymore; they stifle creativity; leadership is more important than any one style of management, etc. All this is worth saying, and Foy (The Sun Never Sets on IBM) certainly appears to know whereof she speaks. Still, the material seems to be stretched beyond its reasonable limits; in a magazine article, it would probably have more punch.

Pub Date: Dec. 5, 1980

ISBN: N/A

Page Count: -

Publisher: Morrow

Review Posted Online: N/A

Kirkus Reviews Issue: Dec. 1, 1980

Categories: NONFICTION