On Organisation the group worked with a producer for the first time, enlisting former Gong bass player Mike Howlett, while session musician Malcolm Holmes became the band's full-time drummer.

[4] The band had been Factory label-mates, and had played many gigs with Manchester group Joy Division, whose frontman Ian Curtis died by suicide during the writing of the album.

[1] Malcolm Holmes, who had drummed for precursor outfit the Id and provided session musicianship for OMD (notably on "Julia's Song", from the group's debut studio album), was recruited as a full-time band member, replacing the TEAC tape recorder named "Winston".

McCluskey's father granted the band access to the site to sample sounds from the machinery; a diesel pump forms the rhythmic opening of "Stanlow".

[21][22] Dave McCullough of Sounds awarded the album a full five stars, asserting, "[OMD] are a youth-mirror more valuable than any Street-Chic punk outfit I can imagine... warmer than your so-called 'warm' bands, your [Bruce] Springsteens and your [Graham] Parkers could ever be.

"[23] Lynden Barber of Melody Maker observed, "OMD have produced not so much a collection of songs as a pervading mood, a feeling of restlessness spiked by an unsettling edge that never allows the music to descend into complacency... a very healthy step forward.

"[1] On the other hand, Organisation received lukewarm reviews from Smash Hits' Mark Ellen and NME's Adrian Thrills, both of whom found the album to be lacking the pop sensibilities of OMD's previous work.

[24][25] In a retrospective article, Ryan Leas of Stereogum dubbed Organisation "one of the great albums from the early synth-pop era", on which OMD were "forging new sonic territory but also capturing the feeling of the times".

[4] Trouser Press wrote, "[Organisation] pays attention to ensure variation in the tunes... With nods to John Foxx and David Bowie, OMD overlays melodies to dramatic effect; the performances are excellent.

"[26] Critic Dave Thompson praised the record's "smart lyrics, sharp songs... and genuinely innovative use of electronics",[12] while AllMusic's Ned Raggett said it is "packed with a number of gems, showing [OMD]'s reach and ability continuing to increase".

[11] Despite featuring one of OMD's most well-known hits in "Enola Gay", Organisation has been recognised as a "lost" classic, overshadowed by the band's subsequent albums and other music of the period.

"[35] Nivek Ogre of Skinny Puppy listed Organisation among the five albums he "can't live without", noting that it "changed [his] perceptions" musically.

"[36] Organisation has received further endorsements from DJ/producer Paul van Dyk,[37] composer Yann Tiersen,[38] No Doubt bassist Tony Kanal,[39] and the electronic artists Mike Paradinas and Public Service Broadcasting.

"[43] In an interview with BBC Radio 6 Music in April 2020, Britain's Poet Laureate, Simon Armitage, was asked to select a song from history for airplay: he chose Organisation's closing track, the near seven-minute "Stanlow".