Challenging Transformation's Clichés

Challenging Transformation's Clichés
Author: Antulio Joseph Echevarria
Publisher: Army War College
Total Pages: 30
Release: 2006
Genre: Clichés
ISBN: 9781584872665

Critical thinkers analyze and refine ideas underpinning the foundation of American defense policy and military strategy today so the defense community can apply them in strategy and force development. This is an ongoing process: new ideas emerge, are tested, and adopted, revised, or discarded. The author challenges some of the accepted notions that have become foundational to contemporary theories of military transformation. In his view, any endeavor as resource-intensive as military transformation is too important to rest on uncontested truths.

Contesting Power

Contesting Power
Author: Douglas E. Haynes
Publisher: Univ of California Press
Total Pages: 328
Release: 1992
Genre: History
ISBN: 9780520075856

Riots, rebellions, and revolutions have always captured our attention. But moments of upheaval do not contrast as strongly with "normal" times as many social historians, sociologists, and political scientists have assumed. Offering examples from South Asia, these essays examine subtle forms of the "everyday resistance" and varieties of the everyday use of power that mark the patterns of ordinary life in the region. These essays are part of a larger effort to understand the history of subordination in India. They focus on peasants and urban laborers, courtesans and merchants, sometimes employing unconventional sources and methods. By depicting a rich variety of non-confrontational forms of resistance and contestatory behaviors, the authors challenge our usual assumptions about the overt nature of resistance to dominant powerholders. Taken together, the essays suggest that we must consider a much wider range of socio-cultural practices if we wish to understand how the world of dominated groups is constrained, modified, and conditioned by power relations. Identifying the "everydayness" of resistance in social life thus reveals a social structure formed from a constellation of contradictory and contestatory processes, rather than a seamless, functional whole. At the same time, struggle is portrayed as something that is constantly being conditioned by the structures of social and political power. As the editors note, "neither domination nor resistance is autonomous; the two are entangled together so that it becomes difficult to analyze one without discussing the effects of the other".

National Security Dilemmas

National Security Dilemmas
Author: Colin S. Gray
Publisher: Potomac Books, Inc.
Total Pages: 471
Release: 2011-09
Genre: History
ISBN: 1597976547

A contemporary primer on the leading arguments about U.S. national security, National Security Dilemmas addresses the major challenges and opportunities that are live-issue areas for American policymakers and strategists today. Colin S. Gray provides an in-depth analysis of a policy and strategy for deterrence; the long-term U.S. bid to transform its armed forces' capabilities, with particular reference to strategic surprise, in the face of many great uncertainties; the difficulty of understanding and exploiting the challenge of revolutionary change in warfare; the problems posed by enemies who fight using irregular methods; and the awesome dilemmas for U.S. policy over the options to wage preventive and preemptive warfare. With forty years' experience as a strategist, within and outside of government, Gray uses a problem-solving motif throughout the book, suggesting solutions to the challenges he identifies. The book's master narrative is that the United States must take a more considered strategic approach to its security dilemmas. Too often, the country's leaders decide on a policy and then move to take action, all the while neglecting to devise a plan that would connect its political purposes to military means. While many of Gray's judgments here are critical of current ideas and behavior, he crafted them as helpful guides should planners adopt them when revising policies and approaches. Strategy is a practical matter; truly it is the zone wherein theory meets practice. This text can be used as an expert guide to the major national security challenges of today. It both explains the structure of these challenges and provides useful answers. With a foreword by Lt. Gen. Paul K. Van Riper, USMC (Ret.), Bren Chair, Marine Corps University, Quantico, Virginia.

The Challenge of Progress

The Challenge of Progress
Author: Harry F. Dahms
Publisher: Emerald Group Publishing
Total Pages: 257
Release: 2019-11-26
Genre: Social Science
ISBN: 1787149803

Globalization has accelerated the process of social, political, cultural, and especially economic transformations since the 1990s. Examining the choices of modern society, Dahms and contributors ask: what are the social costs of “progress”?

Get Strong

Get Strong
Author: Al Kavadlo
Publisher:
Total Pages: 0
Release: 2018-06
Genre: HEALTH & FITNESS
ISBN: 9781942812104

How to Build a Better Body Fast Where do you belong on the strength continuum? And where do you want to be? Too often, we know what we should be doing to gain strength, but we lack direction, a plan, motivation and intelligent guidance to make appreciable gains over the long haul. We have no real goal, no proper focus and therefore underachieve--going nowhere with our strength... Get Strong is a guidebook for those who are dissatisfied with their current rate of progress--and who want to effect lasting changes, fast... While the Kavadlo brothers have achieved supreme feats of calisthenics strength--like the one-arm pull up, the human flag and the back lever--they have also spent decades helping thousands of clients meet and often exceed their training goals. So, you can consider the Kavadlos curators of not only the most effective bodyweight exercises, but also the programming needed to extract the full juice from those chosen drills. As experienced architects and constructors of strength, the Kavadlos know what it takes to advance from absolute newbie to elite practitioner. You'll discover what key exercises in what exact progressions will give you the best results in the fastest, safest time.

Transformations

Transformations
Author: Grant David McCracken
Publisher: Indiana University Press
Total Pages: 930
Release: 2008-05-12
Genre: Psychology
ISBN: 0253219574

The reinvention of identity in today's world.

Transforming US Army Supply Chains

Transforming US Army Supply Chains
Author: Greg Parlier
Publisher: Business Expert Press
Total Pages: 328
Release: 2011-03-15
Genre: Business & Economics
ISBN: 1606492365

This text offers a practical approach for understanding the US Army's extremely complex global logistics system, widely acknowledged as one of the largest in the world. The focus is on inventory management policy where prescriptions are illuminated through the prism of an enterprise supply chain analysis. Although Army aviation logistics examples are emphasized throughout, the fundamental issues and potential solutions are broadly applicable to other large-scale military and industrial supply chains as well. Following a summary of recent trends for background and context, a multi-stage conceptual model of the logistics structure is presented to segment and guide the effort. This multi-stage model is used to systematically analyze major organizational components of the supply chain, diagnose structural disorders and prescribe solutions. Integration challenges are addressed using cost-benefit perspectives which incorporate supply chain objectives of efficiency, resilience, and effectiveness. The design and evaluation section proposes an "analytical architecture" consisting of four complementary modeling approaches, collectively referred to as "dynamic strategic logistics planning", to enable a coordinated, enterprise approach for Army Logistics Transformation. An organizational construct is presented for an "engine for innovation" to accelerate and sustain continual improvement for Army logistics and supply chain management - a "Center for Innovation in Logistics Systems". Finally, strategic management challenges associated with enterprise integration and transformational change are addressed: organizational design; management information and decision support systems; strategic alignment for a learning organization; and workforce considerations including human capital investment needs. The text concludes with a relevant historical vignette and closes with a summary of expected benefits.

Information Systems Transformation

Information Systems Transformation
Author: William M. Ulrich
Publisher: Morgan Kaufmann
Total Pages: 449
Release: 2010-02-04
Genre: Computers
ISBN: 0080957102

Every major enterprise has a significant installed base of existing software systems that reflect the tangled IT architectures that result from decades of patches and failed replacements. Most of these systems were designed to support business architectures that have changed dramatically. At best, these systems hinder agility and competitiveness and, at worst, can bring critical business functions to a halt. Architecture-Driven Modernization (ADM) restores the value of entrenched systems by capturing and retooling various aspects of existing application environments, allowing old infrastructures to deliver renewed value and align effectively with enterprise strategies and business architectures. Information Systems Transformation provides a practical guide to organizations seeking ways to understand and leverage existing systems as part of their information management strategies. It includes an introduction to ADM disciplines, tools, and standards as well as a series of scenarios outlining how ADM is applied to various initiatives. Drawing upon lessons learned from real modernization projects, it distills the theory and explains principles, processes, and best practices for every industry. Acts as a one-stop shopping reference and complete guide for implementing various modernization models in myriad industries and departments Every concept is illustrated with real-life examples from various modernization projects, allowing you to immediately apply tested solutions and see results Authored by the Co-chair of the Object Management Group (OMG) Architecture-Driven Modernization (ADM) Task Force, which sets definitive systems modernization standards for the entire IT industry A web site supports the book with up to date coverage of evolving ADM Specifications, Tutorials, and Whitepapers, allowing you to remain up to date on modernization topics as they develop