Aeronautica Militare, presented the "innovation at 360 °" program

(To air Force)
19/09/18

Yesterday morning, at Palazzo Aeronautica, the organizational innovation program "Aeronautica Militare 4.0: innovation at 360 °" was presented, a project that is part of the process of transformation and revision of the governance under way in the Ministry of Defense and which sees the Force Armed for some time, together with different realities of the academic world, in the research on human relationships within the organization and on the work processes. In particular, on the occasion, a series of new methodologies and tools of project, quality and knowledge management, developed in collaboration with a group of researchers of the University of Florence, have been illustrated, thanks to which a true model of organizational innovation. This is an absolute novelty in the field of Defense, and more generally in the Public Administration, in the context of which this model could be exported and further developed in the future for a more effective management of human resources, professional skills and resources. arrangement.

The meeting opened with a greeting address from the Undersecretary of Defense, Hon. Angelo Tofalo, who expressed appreciation for the initiative and for how "Aeronautics is intersecting with the academic world. I believe that those in positions of command must deepen and study new models of approach, to be able to motivate staff and, at the same time, improve the efficiency of the country system. I am convinced that the Armed Forces, and in particular the Air Force with this initiative - concluded Tofalo - can constitute a reference, a sort of pilot project for the development of new methodologies".

The work of the symposium, organized by the Office for Managerial Innovation of the Air Force General Staff, was opened by an introductory address of the Chief of Staff of the Air Force, general of the air squadron Enzo Vecciarelli, who stressed that "the first real need, today, is to have managers, better to say commanders in our case, who are able to interact effectively with their men, grasping their needs and expectations and at the same time enhancing their skills, who can command and glimpse the alternative solutions that the world is offering us. We need to know the multiple domains in which the armed forces are called to operate in order to correctly direct the action to the various decision-making levels, to understand and be able to react quickly to situations, all to effectively achieve the objectives assigned".

He then took the floor of Deputy Chief of Staff AM, general of air squadron Settimo Caputo, who in delineating the context within which the program was born, recalled how "it is not enough to plan, organize and control the processes, but we need to add the ability to guide, value and support people so that they can develop trust, which is the basis of motivation and participatory leadership."Finally, Prof. Carlo Odoardi of the University of Florence intervened who, in illustrating the methodologies applied following the surveys and specific studies conducted for several months on human relations and work processes, wanted to highlight how"even before carrying out technological innovations, we need to lay the foundations through a cultural innovation, of a cognitive type. Staff must be prepared for innovation so that it can contribute to the chain of responsibility. Unlike change, understood as a process that has a beginning and an end, innovation must be understood as a continuous evolution."

The innovation program includes a series of interrelated projects aimed at introducing new investigation and research tools for the enhancement of human capital, including COPPI (Organizational Climate and Innovative Potential Performance) and 360 ° Feedback, a real revolution based on processes of self and hetero evaluation of personnel including managers. Other key tools of the project were the creation of the Change Guide Group for the development of a structured organizational governance, the creation of a mapping and measurement of work processes for the effective transformation of the organizational-organic structure of the Armed Force, as well as the creation of a widespread IT platform for the management, sharing of organizational knowledge and implementation of the aforementioned Governance (Integrated Knowledge Portal). The goal is to create a strategic Portfolio Model capable of realizing the strategy of the Armed Force through SMART objectives (Specific, Measurable, Achievable, Relevant, Time Bound), from the staff through the High Commands to the fundamental peripheral unit, the Flock.