ORGANIZATIONAL CULTURE IN THE SERBIAN ARMED FORCES

Vangel Milkovski

Abstract

Organizational culture has a great influence on the efficiency of the organization and its values ​​initiate or prevent innovation. Innovations in military activity are key to the development and maintenance of military, and military power is crucial for preserving national security. Innovations in military activity are necessary because states exist in a dynamic, uncertain and competitive strategic environment in which stagnation and insufficient military capabilities can result in reduced opportunities to preserve, achieve and defend national interests. This paper is an attempt to initiate a broader discussion on the importance of researching organizational culture and the application of knowledge in the functioning of the Serbian Armed Forces (SAF) in order to increase its efficiency and effectiveness.The basic question of this paper is what changes in organizational culture should be implemented in order to break the negative trends of poorly implemented reform and increase efficiency in the development of operational capabilities and the use of forces in operations. In order to answer the basic question of the paper, it is necessary to consider the following three statements:

– There is no clear picture of the state and values ​​of organizational culture in the Armed Forces. Organizational culture is one of many concepts in the field of strategic studies that are not sufficiently theoretically processed and adopted by the academic and professional community in the Armed Forces.

– Innovative, dynamic and adaptive organizational culture is desirable because it can support the development of operational capabilities and the use of SAF in a dynamic, uncertain and rapidly changing strategic and operational environment. History is replete with examples of military forces not acting logically in their own interest, either by making bad decisions or by failing to anticipate and adapt to the demands of the environment.

– Strategic leadership should define a model for changing the organizational culture in the SAF in order to create the necessary conditions for the development of operational capabilities and efficient use of forces. The system of values ​​and beliefs that constitutes the organizational culture can greatly facilitate, but also completely block the process of change depending on the orientation of cultural values, as well as the ability of leaders to manage these values.

The paper presents a description of organizational culture with a focus on the analysis of organizational culture in the military, and then an assessment of organizational culture in the SAF in order to identify a suitable model of change that can facilitate the development of the necessary organizational culture of the SAF.

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