THE MANAGEMENT OF DEPARTMENT OF DEFENSE LASER RESEARCH CONTRACTS.

The objective of the study described in this article was to investigate the effectiveness of the U.S. Department of Defense (DoD) Research and Exploratory Development, two formal categories of DoD R&D, based on a small sample of contracted effort in a selected technology. The technology chosen was lasers, an area of considerable current activity and well documented as a field of military research. The study focuses on the performance of contractors, but the influence of government contract monitors and contracting agencies is also considered. Since Research, or nonoriented work, was discovered to be the weaker of the two categories of R&D studies, this is the area which merits the greatest management attention. Perhaps the most salient management implication here is the need for some reforms in the monitoring process. Generally, the number and diversity of Research contracts per monitor should be reduced to permit adequate surveillance. Beyond this there is an apparent need for more involvement in the programs by the monitors.