OR,organisational design and adaptivity

The purpose of this paper is to discuss the need for fundamental research of an OR/systems nature into organisational design. This is illustrated through the work of a research team from the International Institute for Applied Systems Analysis which recently visited the Tennessee Valley Authority as the first part of a comparative study of the organisational problems of regional development. Emphasis is laid on the need for organisational adaptivity, defined as the ability of an organisation to adapt in the face of unpredictable external change. Attention is also given to the need for ‘consistency’, so that elements within the organisation are constrained to operate to the advantage of the whole.