THE ROLE OF MANAGEMENT TOOLS IN MAKING MILITARY DECISIONS.
Abstract
Three broad classes of military decisions were singled out: (1) Research and development decisions: what equipment to develop so that at a future date (5-10 years hence) there will be a reasonably good menu of weapon system choices from which procurement decisions can be made. (2) Procurement decisions: what equipment, men, etc., to buy. (3) Operations decisions: how to deploy and use forces in being. A wide range of types of management tools were then related to these important classes of decisions, with a view to finding out which tools are most appropriate as aids to decision-making in each of the three areas. In this matching process special consideration was given to the role of financial management (budgeting and accounting). Broadly speaking, the conclusion is that financial management can probably make only minor contributions in the R + D and procurement areas of decision. In the realm of operations decisions, however, financial management has a potentially major role if it is used judiciously in conjunction with other types of management tools--particularly, operations research, statistical analysis, and industrial engineering techniques. As an aid to decision making in the R + D and procurement areas, systems analysis appears to be one of the most promising of the currently available management tools. (Author)
Document Details
- Document Type
- Technical Report
- Publication Date
- Jun 16, 1955
- Accession Number
- AD0422835
Entities
People
- David Novick
- G. H. Fisher
Organizations
- RAND Corporation