Transformation: Effectively Marketing Change in the Army

Abstract

Transformation reform modernization change - whatever one calls it - is not a new phenomenon in the Army. Change is an ongoing dynamic associated with practically all modern institutions regardless of the label. The recent controversy surrounding the U.S. Army and its ability to get onboard with the Secretary of Defense and his vision for Transformation should not be viewed as an indictment of the Army's ability to change or transform. Rather it reveals a failure of marketing strategy. The Army has an effective strategy for Transformation. It is widely accepted that the Army led the way in transformation with its modernization programs well ahead of other organizations within the Department of Defense (DOD). So what happened? This paper analyzes the difficulties the Army experienced in marketing transformation to the broader Defense community and identifies significant factors contributing to this dilemma. The Army's marketing strategy appears to have been flawed from the start it continued to erode eventually culminating in public confrontations between the Department of the Army and the Office of the Secretary of Defense. This Strategy Research Project (SRP) analyzes ways for the Army to recover from this public relations dilemma and regain its standing within the Department of Defense (DOD) as a leader of change and successful transformation.

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Document Details

Document Type
Technical Report
Publication Date
Mar 19, 2004
Accession Number
ADA424175

Entities

People

  • James M. Waring

Organizations

  • United States Army War College

Tags

Communities of Interest

  • Energy and Power Technologies
  • Human Systems
  • Weapons Technologies

DTIC Thesaurus Topics

  • Air Force
  • Army Personnel
  • Department Of Defense
  • Electronic Mail
  • Employment
  • Instructors
  • Iraqi-War
  • Lessons Learned
  • Marketing
  • Military Organizations
  • Military Science
  • National Security
  • Personnel Management
  • Students
  • United States
  • War Colleges
  • Warfare

Readers

  • Economics
  • Military History of the United States in the 20th Century.
  • Military Science and Technology Research and Modernization.