Management theorists have long argued the merits of different kinds of organizational structure, with the latest fashion being for flat structures that advocates argue allow organizations to make faster decisions and respond to the rapid pace of change seen in the world today.

Research from Aalto University suggests that, in fact, systems and structures may not be quite as important as we like to think.  Instead, the researchers argue that as long as there is systems intelligence, the overall structure is of little significance.

Systems intelligence

Systems intelligence describes the connection of human sensitivity and engineering thinking.  It takes full account of the interaction between individuals and their environment while examining people and organizations through things such as attitude, attunement, systemic perception, and effective responsiveness.  The researchers explored how these various aspects of systems intelligence determine the success of the organization.

“A systems intelligent organization is successful. By its nature, a systems intelligent organization is also one that is capable of learning and development,” they say. “The employees of a systems intelligent organization have models of behavior and action, which enable learning.”

The systems intelligence of an organization was compared with the Dimensions of the Learning Organization Questionnaire (DLOQ), which is the most common scale used for evaluating learning organizations.  The results suggest that systems intelligence is as effective at explaining the success of an organization as the DLOQ.

“Systems Intelligence does not depict any structural features of the organization — only human activity. People are the key to the success of an organization,” the researchers explain.

Adapting to Covid

Interestingly, the researchers believe that their approach can also play a crucial role in assessing the impact the Covid pandemic has had on the nature and performance of the organization.

“With the help of different dimensions, it is possible to consider if something that was previously available has gone missing in the coronavirus period,” they explain. “In this way, the core features of the organization can be maintained despite the exceptional conditions.”

Suffice to say, it’s still an area that is in its relative infancy, but these results suggest that it perhaps warrants a more significant role in management and managerial education.