ORGANIZATIONAL TRANSFORMATION

Organizational Transformation

Introduction

Academic and business literature often cite military examples to illustrate key concepts. These range from simple quotations to general translations of military philosophy. Management literature draws heavily on the concept of the military leader and organisational studies utilise the military to study organisational forms as reviewed in Talbot's 2003 paper 'Management organisational - a history military lesson' but many of these citations lack relevance due to inappropriate contextual translation. However, the leadership, agility and adaptability the British military has demonstrated throughout recent events such as the foot and mouth cattle crisis, firemen's strike, floods, Iraq and Afghanistan are testament to the organisation's ability to deliver deliberate effects in volatile environments.(Yardley,2009)

Discussion

The communications process developed by the military to convey meaning and desired effect is only one part of the grounded approach which has been developed to achieve competitive advantage in a highly volatile environment. The methodology is enshrined in a concept known as manoeuvre warfare which is underpinned by a communications and empowerment process known as Mission Command. The author identified Mission Command as one of the key concepts utilised within the military and designed a research programme to identify whether this had been adapted and used within a non-military environment. In order to understand how this is achieved three key areas of literature were reviewed as summarised in Figure 1

 

FIGURE 1. EFFECTIVENESS THROUGH MISSION COMMAND, THE THREE DEPENDENT PRINCIPLES

Literature Review The literature review was broken down into three key areas, first the review of context established the requirement for adaptive planning and empowerment to be paramount within an organisation's method of working.

Second, implementation or management methodology required to be appropriate for context with an increasing emphasis on limited risk-taking behaviours in order to take advantage of the emerging situation.

Third, come the requirements of the leader. A vast array of literature exists regarding leadership which has been distilled down to focus on 'servant leadership' and the recognition that leadership characteristics and traits need to be enhanced or adapted dependent on requirements, but for sustainable leadership to be fully realised the leaders must be able to build trust with the communities they lead. This is achieved through transparent values which resonate with the cultural paradigm of the organisation. The three sections are further explored through manipulation of culture which can be managed in order to develop the organisation to meet the needs of the environment.(Wheatley,1999)

Focus of the Research - Mission Command The key focus of the research programme was a management methodology known as Mission Command. Hooker, Lind, Pech and Duren, Santamaria, 'Spartacus' and Bungay have all described the origins and the method of Mission Command within the specific framework of the manoeuvrist approach. The methodology recognises the transient nature of context and how linear plans quickly decay. Through careful communications, context is shared and direction is given in terms of 'effects' which are required and why they are relevant within the overall programme.

The interlinking of effects allows the actor within the evolving context to analyse the situation and ...