Assessment of Department of Defense Reinvention Laboratories

This thesis examines improvements in business practices accomplished by Department of Defense (DOD) Reinvention Laboratories. DOD goals for the National Performance Review and accomplishments are analyzed. DOD incorporation of entrepreneurial government ideas of restructuring, reengineering, reinventing realigning, and rethinking are evaluated. Over $16.4 billion in financial savings achieved through increased efficiency are described. In particular, lessons learned from successful and unsuccessful initiatives presented at the initial DOD Reinvention Laboratories Symposium are analyzed. Key leadership practices instrumental to successfully achieving reinvention goals include creating total commitment and a sense of urgency, communicating a vision, establishing clear goals and plan for action, overcoming obstacles with persistence, measuring performance, recognizing people, and institutionalizing continuous improvement. The following barriers to implementing reinvention are identified: absence of top management support, no single DOD point of contact to guide reinvention, no clearly defined DOD waiver processes, Insufficient financial resources, lack of knowledge and training on reinvention procedures, poor communication on goals and means, and cultural resistance to change. Further research to document continued reinvention progress and to measure performance is recommended. This thesis identifies efficient business practices implemented in laboratories, and barriers that must be overcome to successfully accomplish reinvention objectives