MANAGEMENT TOPICS, cont.
LEADERSHIP
Perhaps the most immediately apparent subject of relevance to military, government and commercial organisations is that of leadership. Illustrations of leadership at strategic, operational and task levels are readily found on the battlefield and provide sound lessons for managers from all levels and all walks of life.
PLANNING AND DECISION-MAKING
Whether it be planning for as grand a scenario as Operation OVERLORD or as limited as moving a handful of soldiers or supplies a few yards, a study of activities on the battlefield offers templates for planning and decision-making that are a basic managerial skill.
CORE MANAGERIAL COMPETENCIES
The central competencies common to all effective managers, including those of armies, include:
- A drive for results
- Analytical thinking and problem solving
- Managing people
- Teambuilding
- Influencing and acting assertively
- Self-management
- Managing and driving change
- Developing others
- Managing diversity
Examples and lessons on good and bad practice are thrown into sharp relief by the study of success and failure on the battlefield, which in many cases may be due to mastery – or lack of it – of these competencies.
CONFLICT MANAGEMENT
What is fighting a battle if not conflict management at its most extreme?
RESTRUCTURING
The re-organisation of units and armies to deal with fresh circumstances is an ongoing facet of military life, and is often carried out at short notice. The imperative to survive drives change at a faster rate than in business life, and the lessons emerge sooner, particularly when combat has proved or disproved the worth of the restructuring process.
RESIZING THE ORGANISATION
Battles create smaller armies because of casualties, which are generally more indiscriminate in cutting out areas of expertise and value to the organisation than any downsizing exercise. At the other extreme, in times of war armies expand rapidly, often outgrowing the infrastructure and resources available to manage them effectively. Adapting to a resized organisation, under the pressure of fast-moving and critical events, is a major management problem for all concerned.
BUSINESS PROCESS RE-ENGINEERING
The incentive to find new ways of working, under pressure of time and stress, is central to military operations. Military managers have often employed business process re-engineering principles to achieve success on the battlefield.
TRAINING AND DEVELOPMENT
The military do not generally expect a second chance – training and development for the short-term execution of a particular battle, and long-term preparation of individuals and organisations for a series of eventualities, is taken extremely seriously.
TEAMBUILDING
Without strong teams, united in a common purpose, armies – like businesses – could not achieve the aim for which they were formed.
MANAGEMENT OF EMERGING TECHNOLOGY
The interplay between emerging technology and success on the battlefield (the introduction of the tank, of improved communications systems, of air power, and so on) is reflected in today’s fast-moving commercial world. Effectiveness in dealing with technological innovation is often the key to success or failure, both in peace and war.
KNOWLEDGE MANAGEMENT
The protection, acquisition and interpretation of information, both as a scarce and an over-prolific resource, is central to the effectiveness and efficiency of any organisation engaged in competition.