The brain metaphor, deriving directly fromcybernetics, emphasizes active learning rather than the rather passive adaptability that characterizes the organismic view. This leads to attention being focused on decision- making, information processing and control. The organization having decided on its purposes must be designed as a complex system to respond to environmental disturbances relevant to those purposes. In turbulent environments this necessitates decentralized control because not all the information necessary to cope with change can be processed at the top of the organization. The organization must manage single-loop learning, correcting deviations from prescribed goals; it also needs to be capable of double-loop learning, changing the nature of its purposes if these become unattainable as the environment shifts. The brain metaphor is criticized for the lack of consideration it gives to individuals and their motivations, to power and conflict, and to how purposes are actually derived.