Defense Management Challenges Facing DOD in Implementing Defense Reform Initiatives.

Abstract

I am pleased to be here today to present our observations, based on past and ongoing work, on the Department of Defense's (DOD) latest reform initiatives. These initiatives are described in the Defense Reform Initiative (DRI) Report, which was issued by DOD in November 1997. DOD is attempting to bring about a revolution in its business and support operations by identifying and adopting the best business practices from the private sector. Specifically, it is proposing to: reengineer many of its business processes; consolidate and reorganize DOD'S headquarters elements and defense agencies, including the Office of the Secretary of Defense; increase the use of the Office of Management and Budget (0MB) A-76 process to compete DOD'S commercial activities; and conduct two additional rounds of base realignment and closures (BRAC). These actions are intended to reduce the cost of DOD'S business and support activities so that operations and maintenance funds can be freed up to support weapons modernization and readiness needs. In announcing this hearing, you expressed concern about DOD'S record of executing programs designed to achieve infrastructure savings and the potential impact on readiness accounts if current reform initiatives falter in execution. In that context, my comments today will focus on the (1) risks associated with reducing budgets before savings are achieved, (2) challenges associated with implementing DOD'S various business process reengineering initiatives, (3) opportunities to capitalize on consolidation and regionalization opportunities, and (4) underlying management problems that need to be addressed in implementing the reform initiatives. Before discussing my specific observations, I would like to briefly summarize my key points.

Open PDF

Document Details

Document Type
Technical Report
Publication Date
Mar 13, 1998
Accession Number
ADA339722

Entities

People

  • David R. Warren

Organizations

  • United States Government Accountability Office

Tags

Communities of Interest

  • Biomedical
  • Ground and Sea Platforms
  • Human Systems
  • Weapons Technologies

DTIC Thesaurus Topics

  • Accounting
  • Aircrafts
  • Base Closures
  • Business Administration
  • Business Process Reengineering
  • Commerce
  • Electronic Commerce
  • Electronic Mail
  • Financial Management
  • Information Processing
  • Information Systems
  • Logistics
  • Management Personnel
  • National Security
  • Organizational Structure
  • Procurement
  • Test And Evaluation

Readers

  • Defense Acquisition Program Management
  • Economics