I0 THE VITAL PROCESSES 



feet, brain, heart, etc. The hand does not and cannot 

 work independently of the other organs. It is one of the 

 partners in a very close combination where, by doing a par- 

 ticular work, it shares in the profits of all. What is true of 

 the hand is true of every other organ of the body. 



An Organization. The relations which the different 

 organs sustain to each other and to the body as a whole 

 suggest the possibility of classifying the body as an organ- 

 ization. This term is broadly applied to a variety of com- 

 binations. An organization is properly defined as any 

 group of individuals which, in working together for a 

 common purpose, practices the division of labor. This 

 definition will be better understood by considering a few 

 familiar examples. 



A baseball team is an organization. The team is made 

 up of individual players. These work together for the 

 common purpose of winning games. They practice the 

 division of labor in that the different players do different 

 things one catching, another pitching, and so on. A 

 manufacturing establishment which employs several work- 

 men may also be an organization. The article manufac- 

 tured provides the common purpose toward which all strive; 

 and, in the assignment of different kinds of work to the 

 individual workmen, the principle of division of labor is 

 carried out. For the same reason a school, a railway 

 system, an army, and a political party are organizations. 



An organization of a lower order of individuals than 

 these human organizations is to be found in a hive of bees. 

 This is made up of the individual bees, and these, in carry- 

 ing on the general work of the hive, are known to practice 

 the division of labor. 



Is the Body an Organization ? If the body is an organ- 

 ization, it must fulfill the conditions of the definition. It 



