From companies, public administrations, universities, and schools to hospitals, prisons, political parties, and the military, organizations influence us from the moment we are born to the moment we die. However, we receive no training in how to deal with them, whether as their members, customers, patients, or voters.

Organizations-what are these entities that have such a strong influence on modern society? What makes them tick? What are our options for changing them? This book explains how organizations function by examining three of their central characteristics: membership, goals, and hierarchies.

Describing organizations metaphorically as "façades," "machines," and "games," the author sheds lights on three important sides-their image, formal side, and informal side-and provides a broad set of tools for better understanding them.