ABSTRACT
The paper reports on work funded by the UK Defence Technology Centre Systems Integration and Integrated Systems for Defence: Autonomous and SemiAutonomous Systems. The focus of the project is on the configuration of complex military systems (which will comprise various combinations and configurations of technical and non-technical [ie human] components). There is an increasing recognition of the potentially deleterious effects of incompatible individual and organisational cultures on complex systems and organizations. This applies in both military and civilian environments. In the case of the military, these effects are exacerbated by the increasing involvement of multinational forces and nongovernmental organizations as theworldmoves into an era of ‘asymmetricwarfare’, explained below. A basic premise of the project is that these systems need to exhibit a range
of desired behaviours commensurate with the environment within which they are operating, the tasks they have been set and the degree of autonomy desired. It is anticipated that the research will enable a greater understanding of the impact that different configurations of cultural attributes can have in facilitating or impeding systems in making, communicating and implementing decisions, including the requirements for organisational change.
