Intelligence community structure and operations

Intel Organization

Pfeffer & Salanick (1978) proposed many important ideas in their examination of management theory's incorporation of external elements and controls. While the information contained in this reading are useful in some manner, their perspective remains incomplete and one sided in many ways. While it is true that the external controls and exchanges between organizations have a direct and almost obvious impact on the cumulative results, the author's ignore the requirement for balance and reason within the total concept of control.

While federal intelligence agencies such as the CIA certain would benefit from taking the authors' recommendations when they wrote " the key to organizational survival is the ability to acquire and maintain resources, " (p.2), it still feels that something even more important is left out. The CIA can and does acquire incredibly large amounts of data and information, or resources, however a point of diminishing returns awaits if the concept of quality is not taken into consideration.

These types of organizations dealing with intelligence need to ensure a balance is struck between quality and quantity. Context is obviously important, but the ability to organize and synthesize data with reasonable, high-quality analysis is the only way to approach the practice without distorting the nature of human behavior and interaction. Dealing with human behavior is and always will be unpredictable, and numerous approaches which practice balanced and reasonable methods have any real chance at successfully managing and ordering large masses of humanity. A change towards balance and synthesis between both external and internal events stands to improve these type of organizations that aim to manifest such objectives.

Question 2

Leaders within the intelligence community stand to benefit from the authors' writings as they discussed the role of the executive within the organization. The concept of power and how it relates to organizational effectiveness is one fine example of how this chapter explained the role of leadership and its influence within the executive branches of organizations. The importance of power is noted when they wrote " while in power, a dominant coalition has the ability to formulate constitutions, rules, procedures and information systems that limit the potential power of others and ensure their own, continuing control, " (p.235).

Leaders must come to grips with the sheer force that power truly is and how this tool can be used to maximize effective outcomes. Using the author's interpretation of power, it appears that nothing is more important for the executive to hold and wield in order to maintain and evolve the organization. The simplicity of the idea is perhaps too subtle for many leaders in today's world to understand. Politics and method are secondary to power itself. Intelligence leaders need to be fluid and far reaching in discovering new methods to attaining this most important resource.

Power is abstract in its materialization, but that does not mean that leaders cannot still find, process and eventually distribute this resource throughout the organization. A healthy respect must also accompany any leader's use of power. Anything of great importance must be treated with humility and candor in order to fully maximize its ability to promote useful and practical change within hierarchical systems.

Question 3

"Sir, I was struck with an idea as how to best maximize the gathering of intelligence in such a manner that would result in the needs of all our consumers becoming satisfied, if you care to listen? & #8230;.. First, I believe the system is bloated and overly managed. It is necessary to reexamine just exactly who exactly we are serving and who exactly is the benefactor from our actions. The political community within the federal government is very tense and untrusting right now and a new openness is called for at some level.