Internal and External Factor of the United States Army

The United States Army is a complex organization made up of several commands and managed by different command levels. The U.S. Army is an organization different from that of a business in many unique ways. Specific examples of these differences include: financial reporting, disciplinary review procedures, and tactical operations. Although different in many ways, the Army shares many similar characteristics of a normal profit business. Army personnel are managed by supervisors arranged in a command structure similar to that of a business hierarchy. The Army will also encounter internal and external factors that could impede or enhance operations. As such, planning, organizing, leading, and controlling must be used by managers appropriately to supervise the soldiers and operate the organization in a successful manner. This paper will discuss how internal and external factors could affect the command level's ability to plan, organize, lead, and control. In addition, it will explain how globalization, technology, innovation, diversity, and ethics impact the functions of the command levels.

The Functions of ManagementAccording to the United States Army (n.d.) Operational Unit Diagram, the management structure as it relates to a specific unit is referred to as a command level. This command level accounts for top level, mid level, and front line ranks. For the purposes of this paper, these ranks will be referred to as managers. Regardless of level these managers will be expected to carry out the four functions of management including; planning, organizing, leading, and controlling. Similar to a regular business, the top level managers may focus more on planning. The mid level managers focus on organizing, and the front line managers focus on leading and controlling. In order to carry out these functions the managers must evaluate internal and external factors relating to the overall goal.

Internal factors: The U.S. Army, as all other organizations, will encounter