Matrix, process, or something else? The structure of an organization is of little significance for its success, as long as there is systems intelligence, according to a new study.
Systems Intelligence is a concept created by Saarinen and Hamalainen connecting human sensitivity and engineering thinking, which takes comprehensive interaction between individuals and their environments into account. It examines people and organisations through systemic perception, attitude, reflection, positive engagement, attunement, spirited discovery, wise action, and effective responsiveness.
The researchers ascertained how well these different dimensions of Systems Intelligence explained an organisation’s success.
‘A systems intelligent organisation is successful. By its nature, a systems intelligent organisation is also one that is capable of learning and development. The employees of a systems intelligent organisation have models of behaviour and action, which enable learning’, Tormanen says.
About 60 percent of the respondents were employees and about 40 percent were in a managerial or leadership position. The respondents evaluated issues pertaining to their organisations on if people there are warm and accepting of one another, and if they bring out the best in others. The metrics of Systems Intelligence were compared with the Dimensions of the Learning Organization Questionnaire (DLOQ), which is the most common scale used for evaluating learning organizations. Questions from both metrics were placed randomly in the questionnaire. In addition, respondents were asked to choose from among ten options on how successful the organisations that they represent are in their fields.
The study revealed that Systems Intelligence and the DLOQ are approximately equally good at explaining an organisation’s success. A respondent who evaluates the organisation as being successful, giving it the highest evaluation, typically gave the organisation higher marks in both the dimensions of Systems Intelligence and the different areas of the DLOQ.
Story Source: Materials provided by Aalto University. Note: Content may be edited for style and length.