Are You A TIGR Or A Pussy-Cat?

The Tactical Ground Reporting (TIGR) System was developed by the American military in Iraq as a way to quickly and effectively stay ahead of the enemy. So, what has it got to do with you? Read on to find out.

Politics aside TIGR represents the way in which technology and in this case information systems have changed the way we think about the management structure within an organisation.

In days gone by the structure of choice would have involved several layers pussy888 of management on top of the “troops on the ground”. During its time in Iraq the American military found that the response time of its team was being hampered by the fact that potential deployments were having to be sent up and down the chain of command before being authorised. This was found to be slow and inefficient.

In response to these problems a system was developed that put the decision making power in the hands of the troops on the ground. They were able to share information laterally rather than linearly and so response times increased and a more effective fighting unit was borne.

This was all made possible by the technology available. The way information systems have developed means that we no longer require several layers of management to enact corporate policy. The ability of managers to manage remotely means that the hierarchies have flattened out and there is less need for centralised control.

With all this in mind, how does it affect our business and our policies on staff?

Part of management involves coping with change. And the world is changing on a regular basis. The old ideas of robotic staff that follow orders and are not required to think are dead. Now staff (in all industries) need to be able to think on their feet and the managers need to allow them the freedom to do this.

Reporting can be done by telephone, tablet or walkie-talkie. Staff have aids such as Google Maps, satellite navigation systems and 3G access to all the information on the web, anywhere, anytime. We can all keep in touch virtually instantaneously with the social capabilities of sites like Facebook, Twitter and blogger. Information can be organised, processed and shared discretely from a central location like Microsoft SharePoint.

In every way conceivable we have more information, more readily available and more accurately presented than ever before.

So, how are we all doing? A lot of companies ban the use of mobile phones, block Facebook and Twitter on the servers and ensure that the only way staff can contact each other is by shouting across a crowded shop. Some companies are so rooted in the old ways of doing things that they are already being left behind by other more technologically aware ones.

Companies seem scared to embrace change and to accept that traditional forms of business (such as face to face interaction) have changed drastically. The high streets are struggling and the businesses that rely on the high street with them. We all need to understand that management based on archaic technology no longer serves the fundamental needs of a business and change what we do and how we do it accordingly.