The Command or Control Dilemma

<p>In an information-age military the proper organizational orientation may no longer be one of command and control but command or control. Historically the military's response to new information technology has always been greater centralized control. Unfortunately greater centralized control is the exact opposite of what is desired to maximize the full benefits of information technology. As the tempo of operations increases so does the demand for faster decision making. Information technology however is creating a faster information gathering cycle but not a correspondingly faster decision making cycle. This creates an imbalance which can only be corrected by the proper organizational orientation that takes full advantage of information. The information-age military needs the shared information gathering advantages of a networked organization with the decentralized decision making advantages of a flattened hierarchical organization. Failure to adapt to a new organizational orientation of decentralized control may result in a U.S. military unable to operate at the increased tempo of future warfare.</p><p>This work has been selected by scholars as being culturally important and is part of the knowledge base of civilization as we know it. This work was reproduced from the original artifact and remains as true to the original work as possible. Therefore you will see the original copyright references library stamps (as most of these works have been housed in our most important libraries around the world) and other notations in the work.</p><p>This work is in the public domain in the United States of America and possibly other nations. Within the United States you may freely copy and distribute this work as no entity (individual or corporate) has a copyright on the body of the work.</p><p>As a reproduction of a historical artifact this work may contain missing or blurred pages poor pictures errant marks etc. Scholars believe and we concur that this work is important enough to be preserved reproduced and made generally available to the public. We appreciate your support of the preservation process and thank you for being an important part of keeping this knowledge alive and relevant.</p><br>