Smoother sailing ahead : integrating information technology into the surface Navy

Abstract

Organizations incorporate changes in technological capabilities and patterns of work slowly and with great difficulty. Similar to the introduction of electricity in the early 1990s, information technology's benefits were not realized until competition forced private companies to adapt their organizational structure and operating practices to take advantage of new capabilities. They sought to change the very nature of work, not just do work faster. A decreasing defense budget forces the Navy to face many of the common problems overcome earlier in the world of private industry. This initial exploration identifies potential opportunities to be gained by taking a business perspective in the integration of information technology in the evolution to smaller, more capable, less manpower-intensive surface ships