The More Things Change, Acquisition Reform Remains the Same

Abstract

For over 60 years, the Department of Defense has been attempting to fix its weapons procurement system without success. Popularly known as Acquisition Reform, these efforts have not yielded a process or system that delivers its products cheaper, faster, or better. In 2009, President Obama combined his efforts with strong bipartisan support in the Senate and like-minded leadership in the Office of the Secretary of Defense to give reform another try. But, will it all work? Through an analysis that applies John P. Kotter s model of organizational change and Edgar H. Schein s approach to organizational culture and leadership, the conclusion suggests not. Behavioral change is needed to effect any transformation. Acquisition reforms can be coerced, but will not endure as true transformation unless cultural change occurs.

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Document Details

Document Type
Technical Report
Publication Date
Mar 18, 2011
Accession Number
ADA560205

Entities

People

  • Peter K. Eide

Organizations

  • United States Army War College

Tags

Communities of Interest

  • Human Systems
  • Materials and Manufacturing Processes
  • Weapons Technologies

DTIC Thesaurus Topics

  • Acquisition
  • Air Force
  • Congress
  • Contracts
  • Department Of Defense
  • Government Procurement
  • Governments
  • Law
  • Military Acquisition
  • National Governments
  • National Security
  • Procurement
  • Security
  • Security Personnel
  • Systems Engineering
  • Training
  • War Colleges

Readers

  • Defense Acquisition Program Management
  • Organizational Process Management (OPM).
  • Strategic Security Studies