Sec. 941. Organizational strategy for the Department of Defense
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/bill/114/s/2943/pap/section-941·A research copy — for the controlling text, always check the official state or federal source. Not legal advice.
Not later than July 20, 2017, the Secretary of Defense shall formulate and issue to the Department of Defense an organizational strategy for the Department that— identifies the most important missions and other organizational outputs for the Department, including the manner in which capabilities for such missions will be generated and objectives for such outputs will be achieved; reforms the Office of the Secretary of Defense and the manner in which it operates to support the Secretary; improves management of relationships and processes involving the Office of the Secretary of Defense, the Joint Chiefs of Staff, the combatant commands, the military departments, and the Defense Agencies; improves and professionalizes the supervision of the Defense Agencies; and improves support to the President and the National Security Council in interagency processes and deliberations.
The objectives of the strategy shall be as follows: To enable the Department to integrate the expertise and capacities of the components of the Department for effective and efficient achievement of the missions of the Department. To enable the Department to focus on critical missions that span multiple functional issues, to frame competing and alternative courses of action, and to make clear and effective strategic choices in a timely manner to achieve such missions. To clarify responsibility and accountability in the decision-making processes in the Department.
To enable the Department to anticipate, adapt, and innovate rapidly to changes in the threats facing the United States, and to exploit the opportunities to counter such threats offered by technological and organizational advances. To improve the ability of the Department to work effectively in interagency processes in order to better serve the President and the National Security Council and to better contribute to national security missions. To achieve an organizational structure with fewer layers of management and reduced levels of staffing that performs better than the current organizational structure of the Department.
The strategy shall address, and seek to overcome, the following: Sequential, hierarchical planning and decision-making processes oriented around functional bureaucratic structures that are excessively parochial, duplicative, resistant to integration, and result in unclear, consensus-based outcomes that often constrain the ability of the Department to achieve core missions effectively and efficiently. Layering of management structures and processes that result in decisions being made by higher levels of management where the authority for cross-functional integration exists but detailed substantive expertise is often lacking or being reduced to lowest common denominator recommendations to senior leaders that suppress rather than resolve disputes across functional organizations.
Weak leadership skills and culture in the Office of the Secretary of Defense. Misaligned incentives and a culture that rewards bureaucratic parochialism and inertia, risk avoidance, and the deferral or delay of decisions. In connection with the impediments specified in paragraph (3), the strategy shall address, and seek to eliminate, the following: A noncollaborative culture within the Department that lacks shared purpose and values. Risk aversion arising from fear of the consequences of real or perceived failure, or from the absence of positive or negative incentives to reduce such risk aversion.
Lack of viable alternative mechanisms for achieving the integration of the functional components of the Department and for aligning expertise and decision-making authority at the most efficient levels of management. In connection with the impediments specified in paragraph
(3)and the causes of such impediments specified in paragraph (4), the strategy shall specify, and seek to achieve, the following: Cross-functional teams to manage the major missions and other high-priority outputs of the Department that inherently cross functional boundaries (in this section referred to as mission teams ). A collaborative, team-oriented, results-driven, and innovative culture within the Department that fosters an open debate of ideas and alternative courses of action. A simplified organizational structure for the Department with reduced layers of management and increased spans of control. Streamlined processes designed to produce improved performance in less time. During the period between the date of the enactment of this Act and the appointment of the Secretary of Defense first appointed in 2017, the current Secretary of Defense shall take appropriate actions to assist the individual so appointed as Secretary of Defense in the development and issuance of the organizational strategy required by subsection (a). Not later than April 20, 2017, the Secretary of Defense shall identify the missions, other high-priority outputs, and important activities of the Department of Defense for which mission teams and sub-teams shall be established in the Department. The purposes of each mission team established pursuant to this subsection shall be as follows: To produce comprehensive and fully integrated policies, strategies, plans, resourcing, and oversight for the mission or other priority output such team is assigned to support, drawing upon the expertise and capacities of all relevant functional components of the Department. To supervise the implementation of approved strategies with respect to such mission or other output. Not later than May 20, 2017, the Secretary shall issue a directive— on the role, authorities, reporting relationships, resourcing, manning, and operations of mission teams established pursuant to this subsection, which directive shall specify that the mission teams are decision-making organizations rather than advisory bodies; and that provides clear direction that the leaders of functional components of the Department that provide personnel to such mission teams— may not interfere in the activities of the mission team; shall instruct personnel assigned to teams to faithfully represent the views and expertise of their functional components while contributing to the best of their ability to the success of the mission team concerned; and shall be assessed for performance review purposes according to their support to and cooperation with mission teams interacting with their components. The Secretary shall establish mission teams, and any applicable subteams, to be established pursuant to this subsection as follows: The first three teams, by not later than July 20, 2017. The second three teams, by not later than October 20, 2017. Any remaining teams, by not later than January 20, 2018. In establishing a mission team pursuant to this subsection, the Secretary shall consider representatives from the Office of the Secretary of Defense, the Joint Staff, the military departments, and the Defense Agencies in the functional areas of policy, strategy, intelligence, budget, research and engineering, procurement and services, manpower, logistics, cost assessment and program evaluation, test and evaluation, legislative affairs, public affairs, and any other functional area the Secretary considers appropriate. For each team established pursuant to this subsection, the Secretary shall— designate as leader of such team a qualified and experienced individual in a general or flag officer grade, or a member of the Senior Executive Service, who shall report directly to the Secretary regarding the activities of such team; delegate to the team leader designated pursuant to subparagraph
(A)authority to select members of such team from among civilian employees of the Department and members of the Armed Forces in any grade recommended for membership on such team by the head of a functional component of the Department within the Office of the Secretary of Defense, the Joint Staff, and the military departments, by the commander of a combatant command, or the director of a Defense Agency; provide that the team leader has the authority to obtain full-time support from team members, and to co-locate all members of such team, as the team leader considers appropriate; ensure that team members are properly trained in teamwork, collaboration, conflict resolution, and appropriately represent the views of their functional components without inappropriately pursuing the interests of their functional components; and make the team leader available to the congressional defense committees to provide periodic updates on the progress of such mission team. Each mission team established pursuant to this subsection shall issue a charter and strategy for such team to achieve objectives of such team specified by the Secretary, for team training, to specify metrics for evaluation of the achievement of such objectives by such team, and to specify incentives for the team and its members for the achievement of such objectives by such team. The charter and strategy shall not go into effect until approved by the Secretary. In approving the charter and strategy of a mission team, the Secretary shall delegate to the team such decision-making authority as the Secretary considers appropriate in order to permit the team to execute the strategy. The delegation shall also specify the decision-making authority with respect to the team and the strategy that shall be retained by the Secretary. Within the delegation provided for pursuant to subparagraph (B), the leader of a mission team shall have authority to draw upon the resources of the functional components of the Department and make decisions affecting such functional components. The head of a functional component of the Department may seek the review and modification by the Secretary of any determination pursuant to subparagraph
(C)considered by the head of the functional component to have, or have the potential to have, an adverse impact on missions or capabilities of the functional component. Not later than 120 days after the date of the appointment of the Secretary of Defense first appointed in 2017, the Secretary of Defense shall complete an analysis, with support from external experts in organizational and management sciences, of successes and failures of mission teams and determine how to apply the lessons learned from that analysis. Not later than April 20, 2017, the Secretary of Defense shall issue a directive on shared purposes, values, and principles for the operation of the Office of the Secretary of Defense that sets forth a team-oriented, results-driven culture within the Office to support missions and objectives of the Department of Defense and cross-boundary collaboration within the Department. Not later than May 20, 2017, the Secretary shall issue a directive specifying the collaborative behavior required of personnel of the Office of the Secretary of Defense, including the prevailing behaviors that the Secretary expects to be sustained and the behaviors that the Secretary seeks to eliminate. Not later than July 20, 2017, the Secretary shall— issue a directive describing the methods and means to achieve a high degree of collaboration within and between the Office of the Secretary of Defense and the Joint Staff; require that cross-boundary collaboration constitute 50 percent of the performance review criteria for each official in such leadership positions as the Secretary shall specify, including leaders of mission teams and heads of functional components of the Department within the Office of the Secretary of Defense that provide personnel or other support to the mission teams; for purposes of this subsection, provide for a course of instruction in leadership, modern organizational practice, collaboration, and the functioning of mission teams described in subsection
(c)for personnel in the Office of the Secretary of Defense who serve in positions in the Office pursuant to an appointment by and with the advice and consent of the Senate; and issue policy requiring successful service as leader or a member of a mission team as a condition for promotion in the Senior Executive Service above such level as the Secretary shall specify in the directive. Not later than one year after the date of the appointment of the Secretary of Defense first appointed in 2017, the Secretary of Defense shall take such actions as the Secretary considers appropriate to streamline the organizational structure and processes of the Office of the Secretary of Defense in order to increase spans of control, achieve a reduction in layers of management, eliminate unnecessary duplication between the Office and the Joint Staff, and reduce the time required to complete standard processes and activities. In carrying out this subsection, the Secretary shall consult with the Defense Business Board, and shall enter into contracts with individuals and entities outside Government with expertise in cross-functional teams, organizational science, and private-sector best practices to obtain advice regarding collaboration across functional boundaries to achieve critical organizational objectives. Not later than the date on which the Secretary commences actions under this subsection, the Secretary shall submit to the Committee on Armed Services of the Senate and the House of Representatives a report setting forth a description of the actions the Secretary proposes to take under this subsection. If legislative action is required in connection with the taking of any such action, the report shall include recommendations for such legislative action. An individual may not be nominated to a position in the Office of the Secretary of Defense appointable by and with the advice and consent of the Senate unless the individual has successfully completed a course of instruction in leadership, modern organizational practice, collaboration, and the operation of mission teams described in subsection (c). The President may waive the limitation in paragraph
(1)with respect to an individual if the Secretary of Defense determines in writing that the individual possesses, through training and experience, the skill and knowledge otherwise to be provided through a course of instruction as described in that paragraph. Not later than six months after the date of the enactment of this Act, and every six months thereafter through December 31, 2019, the Comptroller General of the United States shall submit to the Committees on Armed Services of the Senate and the House of Representatives a report setting forth a comprehensive assessment of the actions taken under this section during the six-month period ending on the date of such report and cumulatively since the date of the enactment of this Act. The Comptroller General may establish within the Government Accountability Office a team of analysts to assist the Comptroller General in the performance assessments required by this subsection.