OMD wrote the bulk of Organisation in June and July 1980. Dindisc requested a new studio album before Christmas, so the backing tracks were recorded at the band's Gramophone Suite in Liverpool. They later moved on to Ridge Farm in Rusper to record vocals and additional instrumentation, working with Mike Howlett (former bassist of Gong). This marked the first time the group had collaborated with a producer; keyboardist Paul Humphreys said, "We learned a lot from Howlett. We were young and didn't understand the recording process and he guided us and pushed us – he was sensitive to our more esoteric, experimental side.
Organisation features a darker, more melancholic tone than OMD's other work. The band had been Factory label-mates, and had played many gigs with Salford band Joy Division, whose frontman Ian Curtis died by suicide during the writing of the album. OMD's compositions were influenced by Joy Division's moody sound, with "Statues" being partially inspired by Curtis himself; the record also drew from krautrock influences. McCluskey handled the majority of the songwriting, as Humphreys devoted more time to his relationship with California-based Maureen Udin. Malcolm Holmes, who had drummed for precursor outfit the Id and provided session musicianship for OMD.
Sole single "Enola Gay" had little in common with the downbeat feel of the rest of the record, despite its bleak subject matter. The song was written at the same time as the band's debut studio album, as was "Motion and Heart", which was considered as a second single. "The Misunderstanding" is a holdover from the Id. "The More I See You" is a cover of a song written by Mack Gordon and Harry Warren in 1945, and popularised by Chris Montez in 1966. The track began as an original composition, but McCluskey found himself singing the words to "The More I See You" over the song, which morphed into a cover version. OMD's arrangement is radically different from that of previous versions.
"Promise" features Humphreys' first lead vocal performance, and represents his first solo composition on an OMD album. "Stanlow" was written about the Stanlow Oil Refinery in Ellesmere Port, Cheshire, where McCluskey's father and sister worked. OMD cherished the view of the refinery lit up at night, often observing it when returning from tours. 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". "VCL XI" was the name of McCluskey and Humphreys' short-lived, pre-OMD group, which itself was named after a valve on the back of Kraftwerk's fifth studio album Radio-Activity (1975; the name of the valve is written "VCL 11" on the Radio-Activity sleeve). The record's title is a homage to the band Organisation, a precursor to Kraftwerk.
As with all of OMD's early album covers, the artwork was designed by Peter Saville Associates. It features a photograph by Richard Nutt of the cloud-covered peak of Marsco in the Red Cuillin mountains, on the Isle of Skye, Scotland.
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