Inefficient by Design: A Model for Leader Assessment of Organizational Efficiency
Abstract
As the ability of organizations to process information accelerates, and technological advances facilitate ever more rapid decision-making, organizational leaders sacrifice the time once available for careful reflection on the nature of problems and potential resolutions. The phenomenon of globalization is reinforcing the notion that such a sacrifice of time is both necessary and unavoidable. But the very notion that the critical emphasis should be placed on the time available to reflect on an issue assumes that the clock starts running at the point the issue is identified, and that time itself is the critical factor. These assumptions limit a leader's ability to focus his organization to accomplish its purpose. Leaders universally prize innovation because they view it as essential to achieving the best possible result most quickly. The quest for organizational efficiency invariably follows the predictable path of shortening the time required to produce creative solutions, and is heavily oriented on process. This monograph seeks to provide the organizational leader with an alternative method of considering the efficiency of his organization. While theories related to leadership and organizational management abound, and some are quite useful, their focus tends to be narrow and often limited to a specific organizational type or circumstance. The model developed avoids dependence on theory. Inspiration instead stemmed from the author's 25 years of experience in, interaction with, and empirical observation of military and nonmilitary organizations, to include a decade on the Army Staff in the National Guard Bureau. The model uses historical examples and the author's experiences to explain concepts, and sets forth a method of viewing efficiency that is broadly applicable to all types and levels of organizations derived from an American cultural context.
Document Details
- Document Type
- Technical Report
- Publication Date
- May 22, 2008
- Accession Number
- ADA485699
Entities
People
- Christopher L. Larrabee
Organizations
- United States Army Command and General Staff College