Milspec Reform Results Of The First Two Years

The Department of Defense is engaged in radical reform of the way it conducts its acquisition business. Declining requirements and budgets are resulting in fewer purchases of defense-unique products. Between 1985 and 1996, defense procurement accounts fell from over $100 billion to $43 billion. In addition, the defense industry has undergone profound changes with companies restructuring, consolidating, diversifying, or leaving the industry entirely. To meet defense needs, the Department can no longer afford to rely solely or primarily on defense-unique capabilities. Our acquisition reform efforts are not just a noble endeavor. These efforts must succeed to ensure that we have the industrial and technological capabilities to meet current and projected national security requirements.

Transforming Organizations provides in-depth case studies of outstanding government executives who dramatically changed both the performance and management of their organizations. The book includes case studies of Dan Goldin of the National Aeronautics and Space Administration, Ken Kizer of the Veterans Health Administration, James Lee Witt of the Federal Emergency Management Agency, and four high-ranking government officials who changed procurement in the Department of Defense. In addition, the book includes interviews with NASA Administrator Goldin and FEMA's Director Witt. The volume also includes an essay by Ken Kizer on his experience transforming the Veterans Health Administration. From these case studies, Mark A. Abramson and Paul R. Lawrence develop eight lessons that all executives can learn from in transforming their organization: select the right person, involve key players, engage employees, and persevere.

The collapse of the Soviet Union and the end of the Cold War was the catalyst for profound changes in the global security and defence management environment, including: alterations in the size, structure and configuration of the Armed Forces; emergence of asymmetrical warfare; recognition of the strategic significance of military infosphere, embracing all dimensions of the 'virtual' and 'vertical' battlespace; emphasis on coalition warfare and defence-industrial cooperation; and reform of the financial, procurement and logistical systems. The contributors to this book evaluate these environmental changes within a defence management context.

Following the conference theme "affordable manufacturing solutions for the 21st century," contents include: laser positioning system for advanced composites lay-up, delta III payload fairing; characterization of flow front in resin transfer molding; optical layup template; modeling and assessment of machine tool dynamics and accuracy; the role of castings in part consolidation; automated assembly of large products; automation of the space shuttle solid rocket motor assembly process; evolution to lean manufacturing: a case study of Boeing of Spokane; and advances in real-time monitoring of acoustic emissions.

This text on the subject of computational intelligence includes coverage of: dialog design for interactive systems; aerospace systems; dynamics of cognitive demands; coordination and control in virtual workspaces; performance and simulation of complex dynamic system; and joint cognitive systems.

Annotation Quality management for electronic systems has grown far beyond the basic inspection techniques of the past. New, performance-based quality management approaches are now used at every electronics company, from huge corporations to small start-ups. This book goes beyond generic quality approaches to present an electronics-specific program for quality management.