Organizational Agility – An Overview

• Published in: Assessing Command and Control Effectiveness pp. 71 - 82
• Main Authors: Johansson, B.J.E., Pearce, P.V.
• Format: Book Chapter
• Language: English
• Published: United Kingdom Taylor & Francis 2014; Taylor & Francis Group; CRC Press LLC
• Edition: 1
• Series: Human Factors in Defense
• Subjects: Other warfare & defence issues; Risk assessment; Safety in the home; Desired Target State; Single Loop Learning; Requisite Maturity; NATO; Agency Structure Dualism; Kosovo Force Headquarters; Contextual Control Models; Risk Mitigation Activities; Agility Research; Swedish Armed Forces; Organizational Agility; Resilience Space; Dynamic Factor Analysis; Future Research Activities; Joint Cognitive Systems; Edge Command; Self-organizing Organizations; Agile People; OODA Loop; Double Loop Learning; Manifest Threat; Dynamic Assessment; C2 Agility; RTA; Agility Space
• ISBN: 9781472436948; 1138073121; 1472436946; 9781138073128
• DOI: 10.1201/9781315568119-5

This chapter focuses on relevant research material and pulling this material together to inform about ongoing discussions of what agility is and how this relates to command and control. It provides a developing perspective on some of the discussions; more specifically, on what could constitute agility, and what agility may mean in a military command and control setting. The proactive and reactive nature of agility is analogous to a social psychological theme called the agency–structure dualism, where agency theorizes that individuals, or in this case organizations, are agents of their own destiny free from the constraints of structure. A typical contemporary military mission comprises fuzzy goals such as 'establishing peace' as well as a diverse set of antagonists, non-governmental organizations and coalition partners. In wild systems, the desired target state therefore depends heavily on the organization's ability to understand itself and its surroundings, as well as on the ability to articulate this in terms of appropriate actions.