MANAGEMENT

Chapter 8

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ices, and the Chief of Finance, in the organization. Still other prob- lems invoh·ed the role of the Corps Areas (later renamed Service Commands) and adjustments to be made among the Supply Services (later known as Technical Services).

The organizational pattern which was developed recognized three t.ypes of agencies: Staff Divisions, Technical Services, and Service Commands. The Staff, organized along functional lines, also included the former Administrative Services. In order to reduce the number of individuals reporting directly to the Commanding General, ASF, Staff Directorates were established whenever several Staff Divisions in a related field could be more efficiently controlled by this means.

The Transportation Corps was created, thereby combining certain work previously done by the Quartermaster General and the Supply Division, 'Var Department General Staff. All automotive procure- ment was concentrated under the direction of the Chief of Ordnance.

Statutory authority was secured for one important adjustment in the responsibilities of the Technical Services: construction, repairs and utilities, and real estate functions were transferred from the Quarter- master Corps to the Corps of Engineers. Otherwise, the Technical Services functioned largely as they had before the reorganization.

The Commanding General, ASF, was able through his staff to exer- cise close supervision over Technical service activities, to plan and promulgate uniform policies and procedures, and to act as a single responsible commander charged with all supply and service functions.

By the time the Corps Areas were placed under the command of the Al1ny Service Forces, they had lost virtually all the tactical functions assigned to them by the amended National Defense Act of 1920. They were soon reorganized and renamed Service Commands, becoming the major field agencies for the performance of logistic responsibilities other than procurement, storage, construction, and transportation.

The basic aim was to place as many field activities as possible in the Service Commands. The Teclmical Services were regarded in part as staff agencies. This policy was never carried to its logical conclu- sion. The Commanding General, ASF, in the fall of 1943 presented

to the Secretary of War a plan that would have implemented the policy. It is believed that implementation of this plan would have greatly simplified organization and operations. The plan was dis- approyed by the Secretary of War. Consequently, a group of installa- tions and field activities remained under the direct command of the Technical Services throughout the war. The most important were ports and their auxiliary facilities, procurement offices, depots, and construction divisions and districts. The Service Commands, how- en:!l', wel'e made responsible for common types of service activities

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at all Army Service Forces installations within their geographic arens, regardless of the lines of command. The supervision of military training was assigned to the Spl'vice Commands, whereas the control of training doctrine and schedules remained with the Technical Services.

Organizational adjustments within the major elements of the Com- mand were made by the Staff Division, the Chief of Technical Service, ur the Service Commander concerned. In orelel' to assist key exectt- tiycs and supervisors throughout the Army Service Forces in the saIn- I ion of their own internal organizational problems, a manual was pub- lished that carefully described the basic principles of good organiza- t ion. Standard organizational patterns were prepared for the common types of subordinate elements, such as Technical Services, Service Commands, posts, hospitals, and Personnel Centers. The principles of staff and line organization were set forth in graphic and narrative forlll. A detailed manual on Army Service Forces organization was also published, kept up-to-date, and distributed to 35,000 supervisors, providing them with n clear statement of the divisions of responsi- hility and authority.

The respective roles of the Technical Services and the Service Com- mands in such matters as the maintenance of equipment, military training, and the supply of labor were nm·er clearly delineated. This was impossible without making substantial changes in the responsi- hilities of the Technical Services. The Staff Divisions required to coordinate the common actions of the Technical Services, and the Technical Services themselves, constituted a l-lendquul'ters that was Jarge and frequently ponderous. In order to avoid waste and dupli- cation in sllch common actions as the mn,intenance of real property,

~ome instal1ation commanders were under the cOlllmand of both a Technical Service and a Service Command. Such anomalies could only have been eliminated by the complete adoption of the staff-line principle, under which all field activities would have been conducted by the Service Commands.

Supervisory Personnel

The Army Service Forces constantly sought to place the most able individuals obtainable in key jobs. Shortly after its formation, it initiated surveys of job requirements and analyzed the applicant's or incumbent's qualifications for all important supervisory positions.

The surveys revealed a need for higher personnel standards, more careful assignment, and the recruiting of personnel with specialized technical and industrial experience. For example, one survey showed that 25 percent of the personnel were misassigned and that 31 percent

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of the jobs werc overrated. Immediate corrective action was under- taken, and the surveys were extended to covel' all officers and key civilians in the command. Progress reports on the status of individual nssignments were instituted. Assignments were reviewed on the job by trained review teams. A personnel clearing house was established in Headquarters, ASF, where requisitions were fi!1ed by carefully matching job requirements with the background nnd experience of the person considered to fill a position. Ninety-five percent of the mis- assignments made during the war were corrected. Personnel place- ment experts from the business world directed the prcgram. Out- standing civilians in their field were commissioned and assigned.

Only two percent of all the officers in the Army Service Forces were Regular Army officers. The work of appraisal, recruitment, and the selective replacement of key personnel continued throughout the war.

Policies

One of the first concerns of the Army Sen-ice Forces was whether the necessary policies had been established, and, next, whether the policies had been implemented by clear-cut instructions that were fully understood. Correspondence was continuously checked for in- dications of failure to provide policy guidance. The coverage of policies was tested in important fields by systematic surveys. A typi- cal example was the review of the administrative machinery for the disposition of excess and surplus property. Many policy gaps were plugged as a result of the survey. Most of these gaps were traceable to a failure by higher authority to make determinations respecting Lend Lease, reciprocal aid, excess fixed installations, surplus property, and captured and surrendered enemy equipment.

The Army Service Forces reviewed policies not only for coverage, but also for soundness and consistency. A survey of the administra- tion of nonappropriated funds provides an example in this field. It was discovered in 1943 that numerous abuses and weaknesses existed.

There was no central supervisory agency in the War Department, no uniformity in accounting, no clear designation of activities pl'operly financed with nonappropriated, as opposed to appropriated, funds.

New policies and a new system providing control over the accumula- tion, use, and final disposition of both nonappropriated funds and property acquired with these funds were established.

The Army Service Forces was criticized in the early days of the war for the quantity and quality of its written instructions. Beginning in 1942, directives and instructions were screened carefully, standard- ized, and consolidated into a daily circular. This provided better control, as well as greater convenience for those who had to carry out

the orders. Thereafter, a noticeable decrease in the volume of instruc- tions emanating from Headquarters, ASF, was evident. Sixty Army Service Forces publications affecting the assignment of enlisted men were consolidated into a single circular having lcss than 10 percent of the original volume. Sixty-six War Department and Army Service Forces instructions dealing with property disposition were replaced by the publication of a single Army Service Forces Manual and one 1Yar Department Technical Manual.

Planning

Planning in the Army Service Forces was one of the most important aspects of management. Proper planning divided .over-all objectives into their constituent parts, and s~eduled these in detailed, quantita- tive terms. Such schedules were furnished to all elements of the command concerned with the accomplishment of a mission. Classic examples of failures in this direction were the several construction projects that, prior to Pearl Harbor, were so secret that months passed before officers responsible for planning the work were informed of requirements. One of the first tasks of the Army Service Forces was to spell out objectives. A Director of Phtns was appointed in order to insure that the necessary detailed plans were prepared and coordi- nated. The watchword here was "how much and when I" The Army Supply Program was developed, which established detailed supply requirements, whjch in turn governed procurement activities. Cur- rent and long-range troop lists were prepared from War Department General Staff data on troop activation, training, and supply. An Operational Project System was instituted for securing and providing for the exceptional supply needs of the Theaters of Operations. Ship- ping and movement schedules were prepared, and evacuation and hos- pitalization were planned in detail. Advance operational data pro- vided by the Combined and Joint Chiefs of Staff were promptly disseminated to those engaged in preparing detailed logistic plans.

Procedures

An intensive program for the standardization and simplification of general procedures was an important part of the effort to improve man·

agement techniques. Simple, uniform, well-understood procedures, systems, and methods of doing business were essential in the large and complex undertakings of the Army Service Forces. Detailed, stand- ardized techniques, described in a procedural manual, were utilized for the analysis of existing procedures and the presentation of new ones.

The principal technique was the development of the flow chart.

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PURCHASE ORDER DRAFT (Impro ... i~d)

PURCHASE ORDER QM No. 308

VENDOR'S PACKING

LIST

INCOMING TALLY

RECEIVING REPORT

VENDOR'S INVOICE

PUBLIC VOUCHER

No. 1034

CHART 26.

-Registered and numbered (If from Organization in- cludes fiscal dOlO.)

Organization; for posting of ils fiscal records.

-If Requisilion Sec·

tion; for informa- tion only.

-for nolotion in reo qui$ition regider, or, nolice to Or- ganization of re- ceipt of material.

QUARTERMASTER LOCAL PURCHASE PROCEDURE, BEFORE STANDARDIZATION

-Quotations obtained in writing.

-Copy No. 1 filed in Re- quest file.

-Copy No.2 filed in Pur- chose OKler file.

M1RCHASE OIOEIOIAFT -Completed for typing of

contract.

-Posted 10 conlrocl register.

I

^{=~:~:::: No.No. 1 I & 2 &} 3 held in ^signed suspense until moteriol re- ceived.

I-Co,>;" No. I, 2 & 3 on Form No. 308, bolonce on plain tissue.)

-For signolure by OCC(XInt.

able officer.

-For completion of file.

in suspense. If purchose is for Slack.

posts 10 "Cues In" sec- lion of slack cord.

-Compo res with contract.

-Prepares receiving re- port.

-If Slack.

-For posting fis- col informotion on obligolion records.

-for checking mo- leriol recei ... ed.

Iroct.

corrects "Dues In" col-I~ ________ ^~" ______

-+ ________

^-i

umn of stock cord and posts to stock cord.

golion$ and e.- penditures.

- Includes with ship.

ment.

Form No. 446 (Or improvised

form of Purcho;e Request)

PUBliC ORDER AND VOUCHER FOR PURCHASES AND SERVICES

OTHER THAN PERSONAL (WO form No. 383, 383 ... , 3838, 383C)

VENDOR'S PACKING

LIST

CHART 27.

- Registers and assigns requi~i­

lion number which is also used os debit voucher num- ber.

-files wilh un- filled requisi- lions.

LOCAL PURCHASE PROCEDURE. AFTER STANDARDIZATION

- Negotiates purchase.

- Files.

- Prepares purchase or- der draft.

- Enters requisition num- ber. which is some as debit voucher number, - Enters aliolment num-

be._

- Files.

- Prepares 1 white and 6 yellow copies. Copies Nos. 1,2 and 3 signed.

-Distributes copies.

-Files Copy No.7.

- Enters accounting classification data except appropria- tion amount.

-Enters estimated amount of obliga.

tion on fiscal rec·

ords.

-Entered in "Due In" cot·

umn on stock cord, if item is normally siocked by Supply Bronch.

-Copy No . .4 forwarded 10 warehouse.

-Copy No.3 held in sus- pense unlil receipt of Copy No.4 and Vendor's Pock·

ing lisl.

-Forwards 10 Purchosing and Contracting Section oher entry of receiving re- port dolo and completion of properly certificate.

-Posts to slack cord ani:!

-ReturnstoPurchos- corrects "Dues In" record

ing and Contract- if item is normolly carried

SectiOf'ls. by Supply 8ronch.

to-...

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-Completes receiving reo port ond property voucher report and property voucher portions on Copy No.3.

- Receives.

-Complete! Copies Nos.

- Files by debit voucher numbe,.

FINANCE