The Deepwater Program : a case study in organizational transformation inspired by the parallel interaction of internal and external core groups
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56191584-MIT.pdf
Description
Full printable version
Size
1.59 MB
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Adobe PDF
Checksum (MD5)
911ac4e9babd847cf3cf72c88a30b0d4
Author(s)
Mansharamani, Vikram, 1974-
Advisor(s)
Harvey M. Sapolsky.
Date Issued
2004
Publisher
Massachusetts Institute of Technology
Abstract
This paper attempts to explain why the United States Coast Guard decided to undertake its most recent major capital asset replacement effort-the Deepwater Program-through the use of a systems approach. Several explanations are considered, but a series of interviews and a review of events during the 1996-2003 timeframe yield an explanation that points to bureaucratic politics and status dynamics as the most likely cause. In particular, the paper finds that the Coast Guard's low status (vis-à-vis other organizations within the Department of Transportation) combined with the Deepwater community's high status (vis-à-vis other communities within the Coast Guard) to produce a political environment that made the use of a systems approach almost inevitable. The paper closes by considering the policy ramifications of systems approaches used by relative weak organizations.
Description
Thesis (S.M.)--Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Dept. of Political Science, 2004.
Includes bibliographical references (leaves 67-71).
This electronic version was submitted by the student author. The certified thesis is available in the Institute Archives and Special Collections.
Subjects
Political Science.
MIT Department
Massachusetts Institute of Technology. Department of Political Science
Terms of Use
M.I.T. theses are protected by copyright. They may be viewed from this source for any purpose, but reproduction or distribution in any format is prohibited without written permission. See provided URL for inquiries about permission.
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