Systems Thinking Applied to Organizational Structure

In the last section of Systems Thinking Made Simple, the authors highlighted how systems thinking and particularly their systems framework might be incorporated into organizational structure. I find their (VMCL Cycle) methods idealistic in their “simple solutions” which they claim will enhance all organizations:

1. The selection of agents (aka systems thinkers”)
2. The explication of simple rules (mission statement)
3. The explication of the goal (corporate vision)
4. Building a culture that supports learning, mission, and vision

These are pretty straightforward goals, and every company that I have ever worked with, essentially tries to do these four things, with varying success. These “simple” rules sound great on the pages of a theoretical book, but in real life, are again, anything but simple. While I continue to struggle with the Cabrera’s esoteric system’s thinking framework, I did find myself agreeing (somewhat) regarding their theory of “Control & Command” and that an adaptive responsive organization needs to place the power in the hands of the employees. This reminded me of Katrina, and the lack of responsiveness from several federal agencies, particularly the National Guard, FEMA, and Homeland Security. All of these agencies were somewhat frozen during the crisis, waiting for orders from their “bosses” to come down the chain of command. But a failure in communication undermined the quality of information that the “bosses” were receiving, resulting in the crisis being downplayed and leading to thousands of deaths, that could have been prevented. One of the bright spots during Katrina, was the performance of the US Coast Guard, which has been deeply praised and lauded for their timely effective response during the disaster. The Coast Guard has widely credited their efficiency and effectiveness with individual Coast Guard members being granted the power and trust to make decisions hard and fast while on the ground. They were able to respond and adapt quickly, and had the ability to make drastic decisions in a high-pressure environment of which time was of the essence, without waiting on the hierarchal chain of command to approve their rescue efforts. In doing so, they saved countless lives and aided significantly in response and recovery efforts.

Are there times and places in which the traditional chain of command is helpful or even necessary?