Intelligent Organizations: A Systemic Approach

If there is a key to mastering complexity, it is in the design of intelligent organizations. For that purpose, a precise set of conceptual tools is available, which goes beyond pragmatic recipes and anecdotal insights. Systems Science is the basis for the new approach. Intelligent organizations are designed for viability, including sustainability and development. The Viable System Model (VSM), as a cybernetic framework for such design, is pesented. It provides a theory of the systemic architecture of organizational intelligence. The VSM opens up a high potential for progress in business and administration. This potential for improvement has only been realized to a small extent and is ready to be tapped.