The Development of the B-52 and Jet Propulsion: A Case Study in Organizational Innovation

The Development of the B-52 and Jet Propulsion: A Case Study in Organizational Innovation
ISBN-10
0894991566
ISBN-13
9780894991561
Category
Technology & Engineering
Pages
212
Language
English
Published
2002-04
Author
Mark D. Mandeles

Description

"The Development of the B-52 and Jet Propulsion: A Case Study in Organizational Innovation" is a coherent and nonpolemical discussion of the revolution in military affairs, a hot topic in the national security arena. Mark Mandeles examines an interesting topic, how can the military better understand, manage, and evaluate technological development programs. We see Murphy?s Law (anything that can go wrong, will go wrong) in operation. No mater how carefully the military designs, plans, and programs the process of technological development, inevitably, equipment, organizations, and people will challenge the desired expectations. Mandeles argues convincingly that recognizing the inevitability of error may be the single most important factor in the design of effective organizations and procedures to foster and enhance innovative technology and concepts.The book focuses on the introduction of jet propulsion into the B-52. This case study illustrates the reality that surprises and failures are endemic to development programs where information and knowledge are indeterminate, ambiguous, and imperfect. Mandeles? choice of the B-52 to illustrate this process is both intriguing and apt. The military had no coherent search process inevitably leading to the choice of a particular technology; nor was decision making concerning the B-52 development program coherent or orderly. Different mixtures of participants, problems, and solutions came together at various times to make decisions about funding or to review the status of performance projections and requirements.This book integrates a detailed historical case study with a fine understanding of the literature on organization and innovation. It is a story of decision making under conditions of uncertainty, ambiguity, and disagreement.

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