조직이론과 조직행동론적 관점에서 바라본 기억 전달자

The Giver from the Perspective of Organizational Behaviour and Organization Theory

Mechanical thinking and bureaucratic organizational forms are largely responsible for the dystopian themes of The Giver. In this novel the everyday lives of the community members are deeply rooted in the mechanistic principles of the organization. Principles of community in The Giver consist of unity of command, division of work, centralization of authority, and esprit de corps. All of these are relevant to the principles of classical management theory. This fictional community prefers to maintain the status quo in contrast to growth. Additionally, it ignores the difference between a job and a career, regarding its members as mere cogs in a machine. In such coercive circumstances, an individual who fails to fit the template can be stigmatized or even killed for the purposes of uncertainty reduction and organizational stability. Ruthless pursuit of efficiency, predictability, and tight control over community members produces non-humanitarian organizations including killing humans in the name of being “released” when they are not useful in the community. The community never attempts to establish ethical modes of conduct among its members. Rational systems and mechanical organizations disregard human factors and pay little attention to the human aspect of organizations, including the significance of emotional life and personal development. Failing to recognize the moral issues at stake is a critical negative consequence of organizational culture in The Giver.Bureaucratic forms of organization and strong organizational culture that are widely shared and intensely held work as major barriers to change. In brief, the rigidity of the mechanical organization produces dysfunctional consequences, such as the failure of innovation, lack of risk taking, and unethical behavior of community members in The Giver.