Situation Audit of Army Sustainment Command

United States Army Sustainment Command (ASC) is the essential supplier of logistics and coordination support to units of the United States Army. It is a noteworthy subordinate order of United States Army Materiel Command. The ASC Army Reserve Element provides trained and prepared Soldiers in help of Army Sustainment Command’s worldwide mission. Incorporating with AFSB’s, to direct operational staff bolster in the regions of knowledge, availability examination, present and future activities, and integrated logistics and coordination bolster.

The ASC-ARE is made up of Soldier’s with extensive logistics background who augment the ASC Brigades and Battalions during exercises, deployments, and steady state operations. The Army Sustainment Command – Army Reserve Element (ASC-ARE) is the current form of a 2002 concept to provide more effective and coordinated Reserve Component support to the ASC. Prior to 2002, ASC used Individual Mobilization Assets from the Army Reserve when support was needed. The original name for the ASC-ARE was the Multi-Functional Support Command. In December 2002, the MFSC, a conventional TPU/TDA Reserve unit, was set up. This association would later turn into the ASC-ARE. The unit was contained 56 positions that were exchanged from the nineteenth COSCOM. The first mission idea was to expand the Global Logistics Information Center (GLIC), giving Soldiers to a portion of the worldwide logistics works out. Furthermore, the unit sent Soldiers to the Joint Readiness Training Center (JRTC) to assess the quantity of work force, abilities and proposed arrangement for the reasonable Brigade Logistics Support Team (BLST) that would eventually turn into a center mission for ASC, inserting logistics specialists in conveyed Brigade Combat Teams. 

In November 2004, the unit was alarmed to assemble and expanded the ASC staff at Rock Island Arsenal (RIA) and in Southwest Asia. In February 2005, 28 Soldiers were again activated in help of OIF/OEF and sent to Iraq, Kuwait, and Afghanistan to satisfy an expansive scope of key staff positions to incorporate contingent Executive Officers, Sergeants Major, and Command Sergeants Major in the 401st and 402nd Army Field Support Brigades. 

The MFSC was deactivated on 15 September 2009, and the Army Sustainment Command-Army Reserve Element (ASC-ARE) was enacted around the same time in a function hung on RIA. The ASC-ARE falls under the Army Reserve Sustainment Command (ARSC), headquartered in Birmingham, AL. Despite the fact that the association has changed names and structure throughout the years, the mission has dependably been to give prepared and prepared Soldiers in help of Army Sustainment Command’s worldwide mission through an integrated and persevering dynamic segment/hold bolster relationship.

Today, the ASC-ARE is an Army Reserve Brigade with down trace detachments co-located with the 404th AFSB, the 406th AFSB, and the 407th AFSB. The Brigade continues to mobilize and deploy Soldiers in support of the ASC, deliver staff expertise by fulfilling CONUS based missions, and augment the AFSB staff using Battle Assembly’s and Annual Training.

Command Vision

Our mission is to provide a professional internal audit capability and deliver pertinent, timely and reliable information and advice to JMC and ASC leaders that: evaluates risk; assesses management controls; improves quality, economy and efficiency; and fosters stewardship.

Purpose of this Business Plan

The purpose of this business plan is to frame how the Army Sustainment Command (ASC) intends to execute its mission over the upcoming year. This plan covers Management of the business related to the command’s mission. This plan also discusses ways the Command will focus on the future and work to align plans and resources to ensure ASC moves forward in terms of meeting its mission. Studies within the command have revealed that serious shortfalls will occur in many career fields in the near future. The motivation behind ASC is to fill in as direction that gives the most recent training and development information for different career fields inside the Command It is expected to aid both cross-useful improvement and the arranging of new career progression. It is critical to start constructing a profoundly prepared, adaptable and multi-useful workforce that can keep on providing world-class support to our clients.

Introduction

Organizational leaders need a clear sense of expectations and needs from all stakeholders so that a sound vision can be spread throughout the chain of command. Only then can the top leaders determine the organization’s mission, goals, and objectives. It is this trifecta that serves as a blueprint for every policy, directive, procedure, requirements, resources, and so on. Because decisions and strategic planning should be made with the most accurate and current information available, it is necessary to conduct a situation audit so that all future activity can address the organization’s mission, vision, goals and objectives. 

One key purpose of a situation audit is to identify and research trends and events that may have potential impact on the organization’s success. In laymen terms, emphasizing on the competitive advantage is the primary focus. By analyzing a collection of internal and external environments, strategists can pinpoint capabilities and competencies that serve as a basis to evaluate areas the organization might need to improve.

If a situation audit is executed well, it can be used as a weapon to the competition. The competitive advantage is an organization’s lifeline and without this advantage, future demise is in the horizon. An organization has to be continuously improving; status quo in not an option.

This audit will review ASC’s mission and what this organization does. The vision and purpose will be stated along with the goals and key objectives. Every entity thereafter should directly and indirectly address how it meets the organization’s mission, value, goals, and objectives. ASC cannot manage what it cannot measure and there needs to be reliable data to compare and contrast. Finally, conclusions and recommendations are made based on research and organization findings; all in an effort to beat the competition.

MISSIONOur mission is to provide a professional internal audit capability and deliver pertinent, timely and reliable information and advice to JMC and ASC leaders that: evaluates risk; assesses management controls; improves quality, economy and efficiency; and fosters stewardship.VISIONTo become the Department of Defense’s premier training and development logistics support activity.VALUESCommitment – attuned to customers’ needs with compassion.Integrity – models good governance, accountability, and transparency.Teamwork – dedicated to the highest professional performance with open communication and knowledge sharing.

History22 September 2006  Legal Form: GovernmentIndustries: Logistics SupportStructure and leadershipHierarchyCommander General: Major General Duane A. GambleCommand Sergeant Major: Joe M. UllothDeputy Commanding General: VacantDeputy to the Commander: Mr. Michael R. HutchisonChief of Staff: COL Steven L. AllenSenior Warrant Officer Advisor: CW5 Kevin D. KuhnpurposeThe motivation behind ASC is to fill in as direction that gives the most recent training and development information for different career fields inside the Command It is expected to aid both cross-useful improvement and the arranging of new career progression. Helpful Linkshttp://www.aschq.army.mil/home/InternalReview.aspxhttp://www.aschq.army.mil/home/CommandStructure.aspxhttp://www.aschq.army.mil/home/ASCArmyReserveElementAbout.aspx

Mission, vision, and values

The organization’s mission has changed over time. This change has been driven by technological advances. The internet, networks, and data systems have largely enabled logistics operations to do more with fewer resources, time, and money. Today, it’s difficult to imagine operations of a century ago supply orders were submitted by mail and state-of-the-art technology was carbon paper. 

With a mission that appears colossal in size, the challenge is creating a mission statement that is well understood. Analytically, the statement maybe over simplified considering what ASC actually does. Delving further, the mission statement does not mention subordinate commands. In fact, these commands have separate missions, visions, and values. This would be completely acceptable if each of the subordinate command’s statements reflected and complimented ASC’s mission statement. For the most part, there is some fluidity and consistencies; however, this will need modifications to ensure organizational decisions are made in compliance with ASC.

The organizations core values, vision, and goals support the mission. For example, quality care and customer satisfaction are primary concerns. Likewise, the need to fine technological that are financially responsible is as well. With that being said, quality care exceeds all. If a new product using a low-cost operating system was pitched to the Commander decrease the operating budget, but did not meet safety requirements, the product would be removed from consideration. The Command holds itself accountable with transparency in all operations. The objective is to attain the customer’s needs and respond with innovative, practical solutions that provide the most efficient results. 

Organizational Strategy

ASC is a conglomerate, multi-industry organization that is engaged in various competencies that fall under one command. This means the organizational strategies employed integrate more than one approach. All four levels of strategies (global, corporate, business, and functional) are apparent and support the associated measurable objectives. With that being said, the dominant strategy is the corporate-level because the organization aspires to continuously develop, improve and add value (Sadtler, 2011). Evidence for this justification is shown in the organization’s goals and vision. For example, common threads found in the keys goals are: 1) Identify and obtain cost-effective and technologically sound opportunities, 2) fully support the continuum of care to maximize readiness, and 3) continuously strive to improve processes and implement a self-sustaining quality system. 

The ASC Commander does the organization’s process for creating, reviewing, and revising the organizational strategy. The Commander must think critically at the highest level, and master supply chains and distribution routes that not only meet but exceed customer’s demands. 

ASC’s key measurable objectives deal with career development and training, safety, loss prevention, and differentiation. This government organization has a unique framework because their business-level approach combines a low-cost production philosophy with the need to offer a wide range of quality training and development programs (Business-level strategies, 2013). The saving grace in this organization’s framework is it caters to a focused market. Although the organization has several market segments, it services one market group (military personnel). 

The success in meeting these objectives is monitored through a formative evaluation system. In essence, feedback from each entity reports quantifiable data throughout the process. This method requires continuous information gathering and systematic analyzing to identify performance gaps. Understandably, the Commander has access to many state-of-the-art organizational tools and methods that can effectively measure the above objectives. An organization’s measurement system strongly affects performance and is a serious responsibility. 

Therefore, the Commander and his senior-level advisors employ a balanced scorecard management system. The strategic system provides a framework for measuring performance which in turn influences planning. These measurements additionally provide guidance to meet the budget constraints and allow the Command to learn what works to increase efficiency and productivity (2017). The balanced scorecard is not the only measurement system; key performance indicators (KPI) are also necessary. The advantages of KPIs are that the focus is redirected to the organizational performance, and feedback is generated where it is needed. This type of process mapping allows senior management to control the direction for learning and performance-improvement initiatives while preventing misalignments (Gupta, Sleezer, & Russ-Eft, 2007).  

Competitive Advantage

As mentioned earlier, this government organization is unique and unlike the corporate sector, which makes identifying the competitive advantage a challenge. ASC is difficult to copy – the competitive advantage by definition. However, the head organization (Department of Defense) controls the longevity and profits are not earned. Nevertheless, key core competencies can be identified and prioritized to ensure government agencies such as ASC operate like a hungry startup (Hindle, 2008). 

ASC’s core competencies tie in with the organization’s ability to remain unique and inimitable. Because of the organization’s size and brand, many contractors and civilian companies compete for the Army to use their services. These products and services have to be of high quality and at the lowest price, which creates substantial buying power. This command also has protected technology systems that result in better products yielding higher customer satisfaction. According to Michael Porter’s building blocks of competitive advantage (value, rareness, inimitability, and heterogeneity), this organization captures all very well. (Hindle, 2008).  

Organizational Size and Structure

The organization’s size and structure may be its primary downfall. The logistics industry is growing rapidly and the organization’s workforce may not reflect the influx in demand. Less than 300 employees (active duty service members) handle operations in Acquisition and Logistics Systems, Operational Forces Support, Training and Development and Logistics Solutions, Acquisition Management, and Deployable Platforms. 

Furthermore, the hierarchal structure may not be adequate to adapt to the changes in the high-tech environment. All decisions route to the very top which may delay or impede decisions that could be made by lower management. A more interactive web-like structure that decentralizes the command could essentially increase productivity and innovation. The point is the overall scope and bureaucratic structure may affect the organization’s ability to accomplish its mission, vision, goals, and measurable objectives (Bowes, 2007). 

Critical Resources

Human Resources

People are very complex and often a challenge to manage; therefore, an organization needs a researched-based systems approach to gain the competitive advantage. Because people and their talents impact everything from production to client relationships, Human Resources play a pivotal role in the organization’s success.  HR has to put the right number of people in the right place and at the right time (Sireesha & Ganapavarapu, 2014). This is a particularly critical task when considering how many people are involved in a single patent’s visit. For example, before a patient receives a flu shot, the vaccine has traveled through several hands and departments before reaching a hospital’s inventory. These transitions must run smoothly and with teamwork for the organization to meet its key goals and mission. 

ASC is exclusive in their people acquisitions, skill placements, and training environments.  Although U.S. military HR specialists share many of the same duties as the civilian counterparts, performance management procedures are standardized. This standardization is justified as a way to ensure the most fully qualified individuals are selected and placed in an environment where both the organization and the individual cultivate (Olalla, 1999). For this analysis, ASC’s workforce consists of three main groups: military officers (active and reserve), military enlisted members (active and reserve), and general schedule (GS) federal civil service employees.  

Military members (officer and enlisted) undergo extensive screening before reporting to ASC. The officers typically hold at least a bachelor’s degree in logistics and supply chain management or equivalent with an average of ten years’ experience as supply officers. The enlisted member’s occupation specialty is in supply and receives training from subject matter experts on expeditionary logistics at the Army Supply Corps School in Newport, Rhode Island. These enlisted members range in experience by design. The GS employees are hired based on the needs of the command. To qualify, GS employees must have relevant knowledge skills and experience (applicants may substitute education for the required experience). Finally, all members under the ASC umbrella must have a secret clearance.

Recruitment and placement of the military members are dictated by the Department of Defense. The ASC commander will make recommendations on the number of new positions needed based on attrition rates, retirements, and rotations. Also taken into consideration are long-term plans for growth; for example, a new naval hospital fleet may be activated to support an overseas mission, thus requiring the need for more personnel. Recruiting is done nation-wide and pulls in diversified, highly-skilled talent. This is also true for GS employees; the only expectation is the right to refuse placement orders. If a civilian employee chooses not to relocate, then he or she can simply decline the position. 

The key is uniformity; people in similar positions generally have the same training and evaluation. The performance appraisal system has been around since 1996. The Army’s performance appraisal system is quite formal and is currently experiencing a few modern alterations. The intent is to make the new PA system generate meaningful and useful feedback, increase objectivity, and remove artificialities (i.e., the tendency of reporting seniors to rate individuals by seniority rather than talent). The new platform will meet the following objectives:  1) measure performance through standards-based objectives, 2) tailor reports to the individual, 3) remove biased competitive categories, 4) provide accountability, 5) enhance talent matching, and 6) simplify reporting through cloud-based devices. Again, the purpose of the PA is to select the best candidates for positions of increased trust and responsibility (2017). 

Financial Resources

How an organization manages financial resources is equally important in an organization’s ability to meet its mission, vision, and goals. Therefore, financial statements or comprehensive synopses of ASC’s financial position are continuously monitored, updated, and macro loaded with data. ASC’s accounting department uses a series of comparative and interim financial statements to ensure operations are within budget. These systematic reports also aid in auditing purposes, help identify trends, increase reliability, and prevent fraud. Transparency is prevalent throughout the accounting department; thus, standardized accounting practices and principles are adhered to at all times. 

ASC is substantially controlled by the Operating Target (OPTAR) budget, which has similar components of a master budget. More specifically, the OPTAR mandates all purchasing throughout the organization’s domain. Overhead cost, machine depreciation, utility usages, production needs, expected inventory levels, replacement needs, and technological advances are all factors that have been strategically calculated in the OPTAR. 

Leadership, Governance, and Management

The backbone of an organization is the leadership styles, management approaches, governance structures and management control systems. Each one of these entities play a major role in efficiency and has a direct correlation to the organization’s achievement of its mission, vision, goals, objectives, resources, and most importantly, the competitive advantage.

Leadership Styles

For this analysis and the sensitive nature of leadership research, a simple leadership profile will be examined. The focus is on the Commanding Officer (CO) and the senior leadership team. The representative profile summary is shown below derived from US Army’s published bibliographies:

Professional and Education BackgroundExecutive Officer of previous command20+ years of service in US ArmyMaster’s in related field	Roles and ResponsibilitiesEnsures all forces afloat and Military Treatment around the globe have on-hand high-caliber training skills necessary to equip then nation’s warfighter.
Recognized CompetenciesProcured and managed large equipment sets, so US Army members are always prepared.Reputable, fiduciary stewardship and stellar track record	Positive Behaviors, Decisions, and ActionsFocuses on maintaining a knowledgeable crew via education and training.Restructured the vetting process for contractorsResearches field trends and seeks counsel from experienced advisors

Traditionally, the US Army executes a very authoritative leadership style; a style that has been adopted for centuries. This bureaucratic mentality is extremely difficult to change because of the cemented military culture (Al Harbi, 1995). With that being said, modern leadership styles have influenced ASC’s senior leadership and has created a somewhat hybrid style. 

The Commanding General is a formal leader and utilizes this assigned power appropriately. This perhaps can be contributed to the CO’s intelligence, emotional stability, conscientiousness, willingness to experiment, self-esteem, and integrity. Autocratic decision-making is the customary method. However, the CO is progressively employing a more democratic decision-making style. Because the logistics field is rapidly changing, the CO prefers to involve his staff in making decisions because new, mega data affects daily decisions. The CO values employees input when it is available. Nevertheless, characteristics of a Path-Goal theory of leadership are present but it is still dominated by traditional leadership styles (Polston-Murdoch, 2013).

Governance

ASC is a highly structured organization, understandably so with it being part of the government and constitutional authority. The governance structure is formally documented with adequate checks and balances. In fact, many employees feel processes require too much red tape and the environment is excessively restrictive. Although paper trails and routing procedures have always been present, many of the additional governance measures were ratified to prevent fraud, unethical behaviors, and capricious events.

Public transparency serves as the main governing tool of the organization. Most of what ASC does is public knowledge and is subjected to constant surveillance. 

Management

Much like the leadership styles, management practices have also evolved.  The military previously operated on a need-to-know basis because it was considered the most effective way to make command decisions, especially in times of war (Al Harbi, 1995). Military conflicts progressed from attrition warfare to gorilla fighting to drone and cyber-attacks. Fortunately, twenty-first-century military tactics and operations have changed and management styles are following suit. ASC is taking steps towards providing professional development courses to develop skills and knowledge to manage more effectively; for example, senior leaders can attend management courses held at the Army Logistics Institute. 

Slowly, management styles are becoming more participative. In reference to ASC, perhaps this change can be explained by contractor influence. This organization contracts billions of dollars with civilian companies. These companies have to exercise the best practices for their competitive advantage to earn their position in the command. ASC has created a military monopoly, meaning that it employs and dominates the market. With that being said, these civilian companies use more information-sharing systems that favor teamwork and empowerment. Technical experts are facilitators and the company’s culture is built around positive relationships. Naturally, this recent managerial style has penetrated ASC’s Theory X’s philosophy and is transforming into a Theory Y mindset (Abdulai & Shafiwu, 2014). 

Evidence of this change is shown in ASC’s management control system. In fact, information gathering is prolific and is used to not only evaluate how well the command is allocating resources, but also how they are achieving the mission, values, goals, and objectives.  ASC uses a combination of management controls that define performance goals, assigns employee expectations and actions, and enhances workforce cultures. Again, many regulative and financial controls are standard, but there is a slight influx of team norms and organizational culture norms. 

Strengths and Weaknesses

An important task when analyzing an organization’s longevity and ability to meet the mission, vision, and goals is to determine its substantial strengths and weaknesses. ASC’s strengths are its size, logistical dominance, and human and financial resources. As mentioned earlier, ASC is much like a military monopoly. Not only does this organization have civilian contractors out-bidding the competition, but it also has logistical partners such as the Army, Air Force, and Defense Logistics Agency. In addition, the command also has great strength in human and financial resources. Recruiting, selection and placement of employees are strictly unique to the military. Education and training for military personnel is under constant scrutiny by the Department of Defense, thus ensuring employees are well-trained and valuable. Furthermore, financial resources are allotted by the government with an established guaranteed budget. Government shut-downs are the exception that proves the rule, of course. 

Weaknesses of ASC are the employee turn-over rates, lack of outside consulting, regulative controls, slow leadership modernization, and lack of experienced subject matter experts. The employee turn-over rates can be explained by the following rationale; duty billets are a mandatory three-year commitment. Currently, the command does not take advantage of job shadowing with its civilian counterparts. Senior leadership mostly seeks advice internally. With such a presence and logistical dominancy, complacency is a risk. Technology exponentially calls for a quick response to change, and with the current regulative controls, this responsiveness is severely limited. Transformational leadership tactics are gradually implemented, but in comparison to the competition, not sufficient enough. This may indirectly tie into the high turn-over rates.

Learning and Change

Learning is the catalysts for innovation and change. ASC is considered a learning organization because of their individual, unit, and command performance evaluation systems. ASC is committed to continuous assessment and process improvement using sound research-based criteria. Much support is given to those who want to advance in their careers. For example, one course offered to all employees is the Lean Six Sigma certification, and tuition assistance is available. Improving an employee’s efficiency does align with the organization’s mission, goals, values, and objectives. 

Education and training help ease the nuances of change. When an employee is prepared for change, acceptance and obedience are more likely. In fact, research on managing change suggests that employees need to be informed and aware of future changes and why change must occur (Pieterse, Caniels, & Homan, 2012).  One concern at ASC is that many of these trainings are mandatory, which changes employee’s attitudes about learning. The caveat is that if these trainings were voluntary participation, attendance may plummet. Furthermore, training and communication are not offered in various formats with limited flexibility. This creates a very delicate line that affects the command’s response to change. This is where workplace culture dictated by the senior leadership makes a large impact. The CO has initiated an award system that acknowledges those employees who have successfully attended trainings. Also, more self-paced online trainings have been created to increase voluntary attendance and completions. 

Conclusions and Recommendations

The perfect mission statement, management system, leadership style, or organizational strategy does not exist. Even with record profits and substantial competitive advantage gains, there is always room for improvement within an organization. Likewise, an organization’s external environment is steadily evolving, which also stimulates a need for constant change and development. Today, successful organizations are receptive to change and empower innovation, thus contributing not only to the mission, values, and goals but also the competitive advantage (McCallum, 2001) 

Apropos of change, ASC does well at implementing modifications and amending policies, the issue is speed. Ideas from lower management often do not get heard by the top echelon. Morale may be deflated because not all members have a voice. In addition, operating procedures are restricting communication paths, which hinders action, prevents decision-making, and slows down progress. Mandatory documenting, redundant formalities and excessive bureaucracy need to be streamlined so innovation can flourish. The CO should continue to encourage input from all ranks and create more open and direct communication lines.

Workplace culture has an enormous effect on organizational behavior, which can be negative or positive. How well employees perform is a result of a supportive environment that essentially leads to a heightened competitive advantage. Individuals will do more with less if he or she feels valued and appreciated. Therefore, the CO and his senior leadership team should fully adopt a more modernized leadership style. Remnants of this leadership style are visible, but the authoritative style is overpowering.  In a Leader-Member Exchange philosophy, members are more satisfied and committed to their jobs and perform at a higher level. Likewise, a servant leadership style develops employees and helps his or her reach goals (Liden, Sparrowe & Wayne, 1997). Modern leadership may be the answer to reversing turnover rates.

A more feminists and servant leadership style also compliments a participative management approach. This type of management involves additional knowledge sharing and allows more involvement in decision-making. After all, participative management is recommended for a quick cure for decreased productivity and low morale. Employees in a learning organization become highly skilled and can readily react to change (Abdulai & Shafiwu, 2014). The command already excels in formalizing training and development plans and should continue. Delving future, the CO should also give recognition to learning, provide relevant feedback, increase meritorious promotions based on a sound measurement system, and encourage reasonable experimentation and risk-taking.  External trainings and consulting with civilian counterparts (i.e., Amazon, Google, GE) may also benefit. The command practices outside trainings for logistics, perhaps a return visit to observe leadership practices may convince or justify the need for altering leadership styles. 

Restructuring the organization may not be an option, but there is a need for decentralization. The scope and latitude of ASC is massive and efficiency may be gained by allotting more power and authorization at the unit commands. Of course, these unit command leaders would need careful screening and selection and made clear of the mission, values, goals, and how to contribute to the competitive advantage.

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