Decision-Making in the Military - Essay Example

? Running head: DECISION MAKING IN THE MILITARY Decision Making in the Military Introduction Decision making pertains to knowing that something has to be decided and thereafter to knowing when and what to decide. It also requires knowing of the consequences of the taken decisions because through decisions the military commander transforms his vision relative to the objective into meaningful action. In fact, decision making in the military can be considered as a science as well as art because several aspects of its functioning can be quantified, such as impact of weapons, fuel consumption and movement rate. Therefore, decision making in the military is recognized as an important element of the science of war. There are other aspects of decision making in the military that can be solely considered as the art of war; such as effective leadership, intricacies of given operations and the ambiguity relative to enemy actions. The decision making process in the military has been chosen to be discussed in this paper because it is considered as an entirely analytical approach towards solving problems. Main Body Strategic decisions in the army are considered to be non routine because routine decisions in regard to effectively managing resources as per established processes and clearly defined plans relate to the technical functions of management. Routine decisions are mostly made by middle level managers or supervisors having the required authority for initiating such actions. But non routine decisions relate to adaptive work whereby senior leadership has to look into the broader implication of the given situation, take active roles in describing the issue, effectively examine the possible solutions and eventually decide about the course of action. In this context, the United States Army War College (USAWC) has defined strategic leadership as the process that impacts the “achievement of a desirable and clearly understood vision by influencing the organizational culture, allocating resources, directing through policy and directive, and building consensus” (Allen and Coates, 2009, p.4). The commander is always responsible for the decision making process in his unit and takes decisions about that will be done in every situation. The plan depends upon clearly articulating the visualization of the battlefield. The commander plans, prepares for and executes the operations. From the beginning to the end his personal involvement is crucial because his focused participation proves to be a guiding factor for staff. With the help of his staff, the commander explores all possibilities and the probable enemy course of action while analyzing and comparing his unit’s ability with that of the enemy. The staff has to integrate information on a collective basis by adopting high levels of technical competence for assisting the commander in his decision making process with the objective of achieving efficient outcomes (Snowden and Boone, 2007). In both the military and business organizations, decision making is a crucial element of management and wrong choices can immensely harm the planned objectives. Military commanders and business leaders need to make decisions by avoiding common biases in arriving at and implementing ethical and sound decisions. In defense establishments, a major challenge has been to manage the impact of the current organizational culture on the practices and standards of decision making. According to the Harvard Business School’s guidance on decision making processes, “A command and control culture tends to make decisions in line with the preferences of powerful individuals. No matter how well informed they may be … every decision is ad hoc and there is no consistent approach to dealing with important choices” (Harvard Business Essentials, 2006, p.6). It cannot be said that all defense establishments are characterized with a culture of command and control, but there is a need to be in the know of risks associated with the creation of such an environment. Military commanders have to also remain cautious in ensuring that such risks are met with strong decision making and intellectual firmness. Military leaders have to be aware that the decision making process in the military is almost the same as an organizational environment. As per Harvard Business Essentials (2006), business leaders make decisions on a daily basis but very few organizations are found to be implementing a quality decision making process that comes out with exceptional outcomes. Wrong decisions can prove to be costly for the military and eventually, in the long term, the unit’s success is a reflection of the leader’s competence to make the right decisions on a consistent basis. The best model of decision making in the military is of rational decision making, which maximises efficiency by opting for the best available options on the given criteria. Under the model, goals have to be defined, alternatives have to be identified, consequences have to be calculated and decisions have to be made about the most favourable ratio of benefits to cost. In addition, evaluation has to be done of the extent of implementation in any given situation. This approach provides a structured method of addressing the problem in order to arrive at the best possible solution (Hickman, 2008). Essentially, the decision making process in the military is most effectively taken through specific steps whereby every step commences with specific inputs that add on to the previous actions. In addition, every stage is associated with its own outcomes that drive future actions. The process of decision making begins upon receiving news about a new mission, which comes either from higher authorities or is derived from ongoing operations. The operations section of the unit cautions staff that a planning process is in progress. Analyzing the mission is a crucial part of the decision making process because it allows the commander to commence his visualization process relative to the anticipated battle. He defines the tactical issues and starts with the process of finding the best possible solutions. After analyzing the higher authority’s orders, he conducts the initial preparation for the battle field in order to decide the specific, implicit and essential tasks. Thereafter, he makes a review of the available resources, determines the possible constraints, identifies critical facts and assumptions and conducts a complete risk assessment. The commander has to ascertain the critical information requirements because he needs the required information to visualize the battlefield and to make critical decisions in order to decide the future course of action. With the assistance of his staff he identifies the missing links in the available intelligence and decides upon a preliminary surveillance and reconnaissance strategy for acquiring the required information. He will restate his mission, plan the available time and carry out a briefing on mission analysis. After approving the restated mission, the commander develops his initial intent and guides his staff on how they should focus in planning the operations. The commander reviews the facts and assumptions and then issues a mission statement. A good commander takes actions in this regard by providing flexibility in meeting unexpected happenings during the execution process. After developing the appropriate course of action the commander mentally creates the outcome of the war game and conveys his decision to staff. The commander has to be careful in avoiding making alterations to his instructions unless important changes require revisions to be made in the plans. In this process, the commander is required to discuss with his junior commanders before making decisions because they are the people who are mostly on the battle front and are in a position to precisely judge the enemy’s circumstances in comparison with their unit. In addition, consultations with junior commanders provide them with information about the impending operations so that they can strategize their own plans. In some situations the commander has to make quick decisions for which he consults his higher authorities and informs them of his planned course of action because higher offices need to know of all developments to facilitate broader planning (Brassard, 2010). Conclusion The three most important concepts learnt from the process of decision making in military as applicable in my professional and personal life are mission analysis, action development and action analysis. These concepts are very crucial in the military because they prove to become a matter of life and death in addition to creating far reaching consequences for the nation as a whole. Just as the military leader has to carry out a mission analysis business leaders have to also analyze their business situation under similar circumstances. They have to also involve in action development in keeping with the constant changes that keep changing the business situation at any given time. Action analysis is important because in real life it allows one to analyze the success achieved from actions taken relative to any business strategy. List of References Allen, Charles D., and Coates, Breena E. (2009). STRATEGIC DECISION MAKING PARADIGMS: A PRIMER FOR SENIOR LEADERS, USAWS. Brassard, M., Ritter, D. (2010) The Memory Jogger 2: Tools for Continuous Improvement and Effective Planning. GOAL/QPC  Harvard Business Essentials. (2006). Decision Making. 5 Steps to Better Results, Harvard Business School Press. Boston, Massachusetts Hickman, Alison. (2008). Assisting Strategic Analysis in an Uncertain World, Security Challenges, Volume 4, Number 1. Snowden, David J., and Boone, Mary J. (2007). A Leader’s Framework for Decision Making, Harvard Business Review Read More