Slav Defence
THINK TANK VICE CHAIRMAN: ANALYST
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To realise the full potential of technology, we must re-engineer, re-engineering means. ‘The fundamental rethinking and radical redesign of business process to achieve dramatic improvements in critical, contemporary measures of performance.’1 In the light of the current and proposed cuts in funding and personnel, despite heavy inflation, re-engineering with technology becomes the essential element for sustaining the effectiveness of our Army as it undergoes dramatic change. Specially, re-engineering requires that we change the way we think about the problem-solving process and technology. A type of inductive thinking must be reflected in all dealings to encourage Army to maintain a competitive edge in a rapidly changing Global environment. Military professionals do, by and large, know how to think deductively. They are good in identifying broad problems, making situation estimates and developing specific courses of action. However, applying information technology to re-engineering requires inductive thinking skills - ability to first recognise a powerful solution to a specific problem and then seek the broad array of problems it might solve. 2 Re-engineering will not come about on its own. It requires to be driven from top for two reasons. First, re-engineering requires the broad perspective of top management. Second, at some point in completion, processes cross organisational boundaries, and sufficient authority is required to ensure continued transformation of such process. Perhaps the greatest enemies facing the Army re-engineering efforts today are the traditional-bound ideas to which we cling, such as the necessity of hierarchical organisational structure, increasing specialisation further down the pyramid and the idea that ‘somebody’ will grasp the big picture and co-ordinate our fragmented efforts to accomplish the mission. When it comes to re-engineering, many traditional ideas become learning disabilities, which must be overcome. Establishing a commonality of purpose by building shared vision is the key to overcoming our disabilities and results in successful re-engineering.
Information Age
Where does the Army stand in relation to the information age? This is a difficult question to answer because of rapid advancements in new capabilities that emerging information technologies continue to provide. Army leadership’s goal is to bring the force into the information age by 21st century as quickly as possible. This vision will challenge our institutions and industrial base because of accelerating properties of information age. Information technologies - computers, communications and micro-electronics - are critically important to both industries, and advanced weapons systems depend substantially on civilian research and development.3 Another challenge deserving consideration is the need to merge what have historically been separate organisational paths. Telecommunications and information systems have developed along separate technical, managerial and organisational structures. The separate development of these systems contributed to more fragmented management and we are still in the process of organising the entities with a view to collective focus on command, control and force support. Changes as re-engineering with information technology appears to be the major step in structuring the Army. Army is following the artificial intelligence, which is reductionist, starting from the top down with rules; neurocomputing begins from the bottom up, assembling artificial neurons to create intelligence. It is computing architecture that is closely linked to neuroanatomy and mimics the way the brain works. Its philosophy is to build a machine brain and let a mind emerge. Considering the challenges we face today, can we afford not to prepare for next generation of technology?
What Lies Beyond Information Age?
Davis and Davidson explore this question from historical perspective: Planet earth is almost 4 billion years old. Animals appeared around 800 million years ago. Dinosaur lived for about 160 million years; then disappeared about 66 million years ago along with between 60 to 80 percent of other animal species of that time. Humans have been around for scarcely 2 million years, Homo Sapiens for about 250,000 years, and it is doubtful that the species will survive anywhere near another 158 million years. Everything has life cycle: the universe, the planets, civilisations, economics, organisations, systems, products, even the human race itself. Agricultural economy dominated for 10,000 years; the industrial age lasted less than two centuries; and the current information economy is halfway through its 70-80 years; All cycles have caused changes, in the way we conduct business - the completion of information age is wi4hin viewing distance.
Preparing for the Future
As Sullivan has stated, ‘The leader of 2010 must, and will be, masters of information technology. By the year 2010, most of us will have long since retired from service/ this life. That end, however, does not release us from responsibility to prepare a course for Army, a future. In 1637, Balthasar Gracian observed, ‘Everything is at peak of its perfection (including corruption in our country). This is especially true of the art of making one’s way in the world. There is more required nowadays to make a single wise person than formally to make the Seven Sages of ancient Greece, and more is needed nowadays to deal with a single person than was required with a whole people in former times.’ And such will be the case for the Army’s soldiers!
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NOTES
Michael Hammer and James Champy, re-engineering the corporation, 219.
Ibid, 84-85.
B. Edelson ‘Yes there’s good Industrial policy’.’
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ABOUT THE AUTHOR
Commissioned in 1960. Joined 3 Baloch. Fought gallantly. Captured enemy officers during missions across BRB Wagah sector Lahore and was given Commendation Cards. Was Grade 111 Staff Officer in Inf Bde, Later Gso-2 in Inf Div. Served twice as Chief instructor in Army institution. Was DS INT STAFF COURSE AT School of Military Intelligence (SMI). served as Gso-1 in GHQ. Since retirement I am sending out articles in GHQ Army Journals and Military Reviews. He is a very active free lance journalist and his articles appear frequently in all the major English Dailies.
