The analogy as a management tool

Abstract: This thesis consists of two volumes. Part One is entitled: The analogy as a decision model: a study of management team members in two consulting firms (1995:31L, ISSN: 0280-8242, ISRN: HLU-TH-L-1995/31-L--SE). Part Two deals additionally with the question addressed in Part One and provides the overall analysis and conclusions. In Part One, the problem is outlined as a tendency to approach unstructured situations using analytical models. It is proposed that unstructured, simple, situations often are handled using analogy. The purpose concerns the analogy as a decision model. Two case studies are made of small organizations. Data are collected using interviews, the MBTI and a questonnaire. The results indicate that analogy is used as a decision model in unstructured, simple, situations. In Part Two, two case studies of small firms are made. The methods include interviews and participant observation. The results support the findings from Part One. There is a communicative use of analogy, to develop consensus and commitment. Analogy is used to exercise influence and to experiment with problems. Analogy is a device for loose coupling. An organizational stakeholder may assume the role of "carrier of analogy". Related factors in the firms include the organizational cohesion and identity.