Author: U. S. Military

Publisher: Independently Published

Published: 2018-08-29

Total Pages: 66

ISBN-13: 9781719954341

How can defense organizations best position themselves to adopt novel ideas and cutting-edge technologies? Many organizations within the Department of Defense (DoD) require the ongoing adoption of new methodologies and approaches as a part of their core operations. Constant shifts in the operational environment, to include ever-changing adversaries, require DoD organizations to remain fast and agile in the course of mission accomplishment and overall readiness. A history of both successes and failures contains several lessons learned and opportunities to improve the crucial process of adopting innovations. This thesis will analyze the behavior of three organizations in order to better understand the DoD's adoption of other transactions authority (OTA). In order to achieve this objective, a literature review is conducted to examine an existing body of literature surrounding the topic of innovation adoption, to include challenges specific to defense organizations attempting to adopt innovations. An analysis is conducted using Everett Roger's Five Stages Adoption Model, and key themes within the literature are analyzed, in order to assess the adoption of OTA within the National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA), the Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency (DARPA), and the Defense Innovation Unit Experimental (DIUx). I. Introduction * A. What Is Innovation Adoption? * 1. Innovation Adoption Within the Department of Defense * 2. Relevance to National Defense * B. Purpose * C. Methodology * D. Approach to Analysis * E. Summary * II. Literature Review * A. Innovation and the Individual * 1. Innovative Leaders * 2. Training Innovators * B. Innovation and the Organization * C. Nuances of DOD Innovation at the Organizational Level * 1. Environments of Innovation: Commercial Markets and Battlefields * 2. Integrating Innovation at Various Levels of Warfare * 3. Prevailing Paradigms and Complexities * D. Communicating Innovation * 1. Strategic Communication * 2. Group and Interpersonal Communication * E. Adopting Innovations * 1. Agenda Setting * 2. Matching * 3. Restructuring and Redefining * 4. Clarifying * 5. Routinizing * F. Innovative At Risk * G. Summary and Contribution to Existing Literature * III. Empirical Case Studies * A. the Origins of OTA at NASA * B. OTA's Entrance Into the DOD * C. Diux Background * D. Diux 2.0: Leadership Shift * E. Diux 2.0: Defense Secretary Endorsement * F. Organized For Success and Innovation Collaborative Workflow * G. Organized For Success and Innovation: Work Environment * H. The Commercial Solutions Opening (CSO) * I. CSO Collaboration * J. Summary * IV. Discussion and Analysis * A. Approach to Analysis * B. Communicating Innovation * 1. Strategic-Level Guidance * 2. Relevant Policy * 3. Group and Interpersonal Communication Within Organizations * C. Adopting Innovation * 1. Agenda-Setting Analysis * 2. Matching Analysis * 3. Redefining/Restructuring Analysis * 4. Clarifying Analysis * 5. Routinizing Analysis * D. Chapter Conclusion and Summary * V. Lessons Learned and Conclusions * A. Findings and Recommendations * B. Summary * C. Lessons Learned * D. Future Areas of Research