ABSTRACT
The US military has used for a long time various business practices in managing its bureaucracy, budget, and in force planning. The business management models have repeatedly proven their high value in running the Pentagon. During World War II, both the United States and United Kingdom extensively used various business statistical methods for the analysis of the effects of their strategic bombing. A major effort to introduce various business models in the US military came during the tenure of Robert S. McNamara as the Secretary of Defense. By adopting various business metrics the US military paid little or no attention to intangible factors in the military situation. In contrast, militaries that traditionally emphasized leadership and warfighting, as the German military did, proved to be much more effective as a fighting force. The Germans focused on leadership as one way of enhancing combat potential and compensating for inferiority in materiel.
