Principals of Design for High Performing Organizations: A Suggested Research Program. Appendixes

Abstract

Pumse rsoortsng butran tor this cOletion Of Information s etematto avff , hour rmeonw. If icludNo the time for iuwo g mnsttumtcnt earctlng e,•utng oat. sourca. Approved for public release; distribution is unlimited. ABSTRACT (Maximum 200 words)This is the second report in a series of three to identify useful directions for future research on military organization design. The first established a baseline of what is known from the published literature.This report focuses on the areas that are "cutting edge," as identified by established and emerging scholars in this field.It provides in an extensive appendix the outline of research projects that, if conducted, would probably lead to a new technology of design for high performance organizations.It is based on a model that integrates consideration of the environment, the systems context, the structure, and emergent systems (leadership, learning, culture, and innovation, among others).Causal mechanisms include rationality, power/control dynamics, institutional processes, and individual enhancement needs.Six broad research areas are (1) design of high performing organizations in turbulent settings, (2) designs to implement strategy, (3) design robustness under changing systems contexts, (4) accommodation of apparently conflicting desired outcomes, (5) emergent systems, and (6) the effect of interpretations of design.The report makes a good case for the importance of accelerating research on (Continued) Dii ' rii l. n! •l ..... FOREWORDThe rapid advance of information technology during the past 2 decades has produced a trend of unprecedented proportions toward private sector globalization. The combination of information technology advance and globalization has, in turn, strongly stimulated both the perception of need and the opportunity to experiment with new ways of organizing to do work. Lessons learned from experience with these new structures and processes would seem no less meaningful for military organizations than for organizations in the private sector.This report is the second of a series designed to lay out both for military planners and for future research the state of the art on organization theory and design. The first dealt broadly with organizational research in academia and the private sector. It established a broad foundation for understanding both what is now known and where the field of organizational research is progressing. This report identifies unknowns and "cutting-edge" research that might be done to reduce the unknowns. The third report will identify, collate, and summarize the historical files on military divisional structure test and development. These reports should provide a useful starting point and logic for work on new organizational forms anticipated in the 1995-96 time frame.This work was performed as a part of the work program of the Strategic Leadership Technical Area. IntroductionThe U.S. Army faces a series of potentially fundamental reorientations in the 1990s. Instead of focusing on a known enemy and being prepared to defend U....