The Missing Link - Organizational Culture: What Military Intelligence Can Learn from High Reliability Organizations (HROs)

Large-scale investments in intelligence platforms and information networks form an important part of current attempts to cope with the uncertainty and complexity posed by the global security situation. These strive for better situational awareness and the integration of military capabilities during operations. Improvements in hardware, however, depend on critical human ‘soft skills’ and need to be supported by an appropriate organizational culture, if their benefits are to be fully realized. This dimension of the challenge is not yet fully appreciated by defense planners. Research into High Reliability Organizations (HROs) provides insight into what such a culture looks like, and how it might be implemented within a military intelligence context.