Formal Organizations on a miniature scale. Could it work?

Dr. Tracy Vaughn is not only a highly respected professor at Northwestern University in Qatar; she is also an accomplished quilter among many other things. NUQ students had the privilege of attending several quilting sessions to learn the art. Similar to the museum we visited, quilting is an art form that tells a wide range of stories and history. I chose to distinguish the similarities and differences this session had to formal organizations, even though it’s on a much smaller scale.

First of all, it was a voluntary organization. People attended these sessions not only to learn the art of quilting but to also donate their time and talent to achieve the ultimate goal of creating one giant NUQ quilt. The students who attended the session were all students of NUQ however distinguishing whether they were a primary or secondary group was difficult because the relationships weren’t impersonal but they weren’t strong family like ties either, but the fact that everyone gathered for a specific purpose which was to take part in the session and create a huge quilt categorizes as more of a secondary group. Unlike being in a lecture or class, the session was in an informal dimension, people would pass by, chat as they work and workwith their friends. Since these sessions were held in Dr. Vaughn’s quilt exhibition, “ideal types” of what the finished product would preferably look like surrounded us which gave us a better idea of what we were working towards. Professionalization was definitely present during the session since Dr. Vaughn used her skills that she acquired over years, to teach us the basics of making a quilt.

However the differences the quilting session had to formal organizations were much more apparent. As I mentioned previously, people often worked together or sat in groups therefore there was a lack of alienation, although everyone’s product was customized. The notion of “McDonaldization” wasn’t put into practice either. Efficiency was low since everyone who joined the sessions were newcomers and had no prior experience. Although there were a certain number of purple fabrics students could choose from, the likelihood of two quilts having the same pattern was very low, which made every quilt unpredictable. In regards to control, every quilt was encouraged to be individualized, so unlike a production line; no one was assigned a particular job. Finally, the only factor that fits into quantification and calculation was that each quilt was made up of four fabrics, other than that there wasn’t a particular amount of products set nor was there a time limit.

After analyzing the quilting session I realized that formal organizations definitely work better on a larger scale with bigger businesses and establishments rather than smaller ones since they probably have a larger client base that need their demands met as fast as possible unlike industries such as quilting which require an artistic touch.