Study of the Effect of Organizational Culture On Leadership Practices Within Defense Agencies

摘要

The Department of Defense is currently undergoing rapid and significant changes. Many of these changes are a direct result of the current Administration's goal to create a government that works better and costs less, commonly referred to as reinvention. Over the years, DoD has often been used as an example of organizational inefficiency. One way to combat this image is to closely examine the relationship between organizational culture, military leadership style, and bureaucratic form in an effort to develop recommendations for organizational improvement. Within Department of Defense Agencies, there are two general styles of management: military leadership and bureaucratic (non- military). Each brings an array of approaches, with both positive and negative aspects, to managing people, projects, and organizations, and each style has distinct advantages and disadvantages. An overall stable defense culture is difficult to sustain due to the often incongruent goals pursued by the military and civilian components. In particular, military leaders assigned to bureaucratic organizations are confronted with the need to adapt their style in order to succeed. The clash between the bureaucratic approach to solving a business problem and a military officer's leadership frame of reference often contributes to organizational inefficiencies. Cultural awareness of military and civilian differences can play a central role in a leader's ability to understand and cooperate with others in an effort to improve organizational efficiency and effectiveness. Organizations are full of examples of misunderstandings, primarily caused by the parties involved filtering interactions through their own narrow perspectives. This research paper examines the close relationship between organizational culture, military leadership, and bureaucracy.