A Case Study in Organizational Communications

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A Case Study in Organizational Communications

The United States Army Officeof the Chief of Public AffairsAuthor: Paul R. Hayes

January 15, 2007

1

Office Chief Public Affairs

Resource

ManagementDivision-Pentagon

ContractingFunding

Army Public Affairs Center

FT Meade, MDTraining

Policy and DoctrineOrganization / PersonnelMateriel Development

Advice to the Commander / staffMedia facilitationInformation StrategiesCommunity RelationsPA planning

PA training

Core Functions

Public Affairs fulfills the Armys obligation tokeep the American people and the Armyinformed, and helps to establish the conditionsthat lead to confidence in Americas Army andits readiness to conduct operations in

peacetime, conflict and war.

Mission

Community RelationsDivision -PentagonMarketing TeamCommunity Relations TeamExecutive CommunicationsTeam

Plans & Guidance Division -PentagonOperations, Intelligence &Logistics TeamWeapons, Environment &Technology TeamPersonnel and HumanResources TeamProjects Team

Analysis and AssessmentTeam

Media Relations Division -PentagonOperations, Intelligence &Logistics TeamWeapons, Environment &Technology Team

Personnel and HumanResources TeamArmy Leadership SupportTeam

PersonnelManagement-Alexandria, VaOfficer managementNCO ManagementCivilian ManagementAssignmentsAssigned to US ArmyHuman Resources

Command

10 PersonnelPentagon

OCPA-MW

OCPA -SEOCPA-LA

OCPA-NY

functional and project

project only

distributed communications

(e-mail, telephone, VTC)

Authority and Communications

Unit / InstallationPublic Affairs Offices- WorldwideCommunity relationsMedia relationsCommand information1009 PublicRelations personnelassigned to Army

Units / Installations

One of the most popular sources in articles about the war in Iraq is someone called, US Army

Spokesman. Who is this source and to what organization does he or she belong. Consisting of 349

officers and 660 enlisted personnel, the US Army public affairs community spans the globe. How does

the Army coordinate the efforts of these officers and synchronize the messages they distribute to their

publics? The answer is revealed in the organization of the Office of the Chief of Public Affairs (OCPA).

OCPAs mission is:

Public Affairs fulfills the Armys obligation to keep the American people and the Army informed, and

helps to establish the conditions that lead to confidence in Americas Army and its readiness to conduct

operations in peacetime, conflict and war. (OCPA website)

Due to the organizations size, distributed offices, and reliance on technology, OCPA has special

challenges with regard to leadership and effectiveness.

OCPA - How it is organized

Greenberg, inManaging Behavior In Organizations, states that an organization, is not a haphazard

collection of people, but a meaningful combination of groups and individuals working together

purposefully to meet organizational goals. (Greenberg, 424) In keeping with Greenbergs definition,

OPCA is organized by function to complete its mission. Referencing OPCAs internal documents, the six

basic functions of OPCA are:

Provide advice to the commander /staff

Conduct media facilitation Develop information strategies Execute community relations Conduct public affairs planning Conduct public affairs training

Fi ure 1- Overall OCPA Or anizational Structure


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What the different functions do

Prior to analyzing the structure of OPCA, it is critical to understand the functions of each of its

subordinate organizations. These organizations are designed around OPCAs six primary functions.

Plans and Guidance Division (PAG) - Provide advice to the commander / staff, develop information

strategies

The stated mission of the plans and guidance division is:

The Plans Division of Army Public Affairs conducts planning to support near- and

long-term executions and events, and is responsible for producing in-depth

communications plans, concept plans and public affairs guidance for a wide variety ofinitiatives. The planners typically conduct planning by leading Communication

Planning Groups composed of the subject matter experts relative to any

issue. Communications Plans synchronize several different means of communicating,

to include Army News Service, Soldiers Radio and Television,www.Army.mil,Stand-To,

the Pentagon Channel and normal Army-level media response, as well as

recommended senior leader correspondence when necessary

To accomplish this lengthy

mission, the PAG division retains 31

personnel in its Pentagon offices.

While they did provide a mission,

unlike other divisions, they do not

define their core functions. From

analyzing their organization chart,

however, they appear to be

organized by projects and events

rater than functions. For example, if

a communications plan is required for a new weapon, that responsibility would fall upon the Weapons,

Projects Team Assessments andAnalysis Team

Operations, Intel& Logistics

Team

Weapons, Environment

& Technology TeamPersonnel/ArmyResources Team

Plans Division 31 personnelPentagon

Core Functions

The Plans Divisionof Army Public Affairs conducts

planning to support near- and long-term executions andevents, and is responsible for producing in-depth

communications plans, concept plans and public affairs

guidance for a wide variety of initiatives. The

planners typically conduct planning by leading

Communication Planning Groups composed of the

subject matter experts relative to anyissue. Communications Plans synchronize several

different means of communicating, to include Army NewsService, Soldiers Radio and Television, www.Army.mil,

Stand-To, the Pentagon Channel and normal Army-level

media response, as well as recommended senior leader

correspondence when necessary

Mission

None available or published



project only

distributed communications(e-mail, telephone, VTC)

Fi ure 2- OCPA Plans Division
http://www.army.mil/http://www.army.mil/http://www.army.mil/http://www.army.mil/


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Environment, and Technology Team. Since all of the divisions subordinate units are co-located at the

Pentagon, all communications within the office are face-to-face. The different divisions can conduct

routine meetings and execute direct coordination with its superiors by walking down the hall.

Additionally, the PAG Division Chief retains project and functional authority over all the units within the

division.

Media Relations Division - Conduct media facilitation

The mission of the Media Relations Division (Figure 3) is not published on any of their documents or

websites. Similarly, they do not provide definition of their core functions. From analyzing their

documents, however, I would define their mission as:

Conduct media facilitation by responding to queries with accurate and timely information.

Additionally, provide senior army executives with media facilitation assistance.

To perform these duties,

the Media Relations

Division is organized

with 17 personnel and

stationed at the

Pentagon. In a similar

manner to the PAG

Division, Media

Relations is organized

by project rather than

function. From a

review of their contact list, this is a tall order. Currently, the division is under-staffed. They are

missing six of their 17 authorized personnel. The result is that several personnel must perform

Personnel and Human

Resources Team

Casualties

Chaplains

Equal Opportunity

General Officer-related issuesHarassment

Homosexual Issues / DADT

Inspector General

JAG/Legal Issues

Women in the Army

Investigations (IG/CID)(How they

are done, not each)

Whistleblower

Medical / Health Issues

Military Justice

Personnel Related Issues

POW / MIA

Recruiting / USAREC

ROTC / Cadet Command

USMA

Safety / Safety Center

Weapons, Environment &

Technology Team

AAFES

Army Museum

Aviation

Base ClosureBudget

Civil Works

Computer Systems

Electronic Warfare

Environment

Foreign Military Sales

Ground Systems (Weapons

systems and support)

Installations and Housing

Missile Defense Systems

Morale, Recreation and Welfare

Space

Nuclear, Biological and Chemical

Issues

Research, Development and

Acquisition

Operations, Intelligence &

Logistics Team

Contingency Operations

Counter Narcotics Operations

Exercises

FEMA/DOMSForce Structure

Individual Soldier Training

History

INF/START/CPE Treaties

Intelligence

Joint Service Programs

Logistics

Reserve Components

Roles and Missions

Training

Media Relations Division 17 personnelPentagon


Mission

Army Leadership Support Team

Secretary of the Army Public Affairs Officer

Chief of Staff of the Army Public Affairs Officer

Vice Chief of Staff of the Army Public Affairs

Officer

Army Leadership Photography



project only



Core Functions


Fi ure 3- OCPA Media Relations Division


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nearly double the work. For example, the three personnel in the Personnel and Human Resources

Team must respond to media queries in 19 different areas. Their work is additionally

complicated in that personnel in the Community Relations Divisions outreach offices (Figure 1)

forward all their media queries to them. So, if a reporter calls the New York Outreach office with

a question about a personnel-related issue, they are forwarded to the Personnel and Human

Resources Team in the Media Relations Division.

Another characteristic of the Media Relations Division structure is that members of the Army

Leadership Support Team fall under the Division Chief for coordination and support only. These

team members are responsible for handling all media relations for the Secretary of the Army,

Chief of Staff of the Army, and the Vice Chief of Staff of the Army. These officers work for the

specific leader and are rated by them. For example, if the Vice Chief has to appear on Meet the

Press, his media support officer handles all aspects of the appearance. Additionally, when high-

profile events such as this happen, the Leadership Support Team can ask the Media Relations

Division Chief for augmentation or help. In this way, the Media Relations Chief retains some

aspect for project authority.

Community Relations Division - Execute community relations

The mission and core functions of the Community Relations Division (CRD) are not officially stated on

any of their websites or communications. From reviewing their contact list and lessons gained in

interviewing one of their subordinate divisions, a proposed mission that covers their activities is:

Community Relations Division plans and conducts marketing for the Army,

community relations and outreach activities with key audiences, and specialized

executive communications programs.

To accomplish these activities, CRD is organized into seven teams consisting of 22 personnel stationed

all across the United States. As opposed to the project oriented organizations of Media Relations and

Plans, CRD is functionally organized. The Marketing Team handles appearances by high-profile Army


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Executive Communications Team- Media training for GOs and SES- Holiday and special event speech

writing

- Worldwide Public Affairs Symposium

- GO speakers bureau

Community Relations Team- Joint Civilian Orientation

Conference

- Joint Service Open House

- Public Service Recognition Week

- Interservice ComRel Liaison

- Aerial Requests- Non-aerial Requests

Marketing Team

- Outreach Council

- Golden Knights Liaison

- The U.S. Army Field Band- Commemorations

- The U.S. Army All-American BowlOCPA Liaison

- USO Liaison

- CFSC and Army Entertainment

Liaison- Sports Outreach

- Outreach Web site/ Calendar

- Soldier of the Year/NCO of the

Year

- Accessions Command Liaison

Community Relations Division 22 personnelPentagon

OCPA-NY- Outreach in NYC metro area

- Outreach in Northeast

- Book and publications lead

OCPA-LA

- Outreach in Los Angeles

- Movie industry lead

OCPA-SE- Outreach in FL, GA and PR

- Based in Tampa

OCPA-MW

- Outreach in ND,SD, NE, KS, MN, IA,

MO, IL, WI, MI, IN,

OH- Based in Chicago


Mission



project only



Core Functions


units (Golden Knights, Old Guard Drill Team) at sporting events and coordinates annual all-Army

outreach events such as Army

Birthday and Soldier of the Year

CRD has challenges with its

organization. The first challenge is

that it is scattered across the country.

(Figure 4) CRD has offices in the

Pentagon (marketing, community

relations, and executive comms),

New York (OCPANY), Chicago

(OCPAMW), Los Angeles

(OCPALA), and Tampa (OCPA

SE). These satellite offices are manned with two to three personnel and rely on electronic mail, phone,

and annual meetings for communications with the chief of the CRD. Specific missions of these satellite

offices vary, but generally their mission is to identify high-profile targets of opportunity and engage

organizers and planners in events that showcase todays Army and its Soldiers. (Buczkowski, Misurelli)

Army Public Affairs Center - Conduct public affairs training

The mission and core functions of the Army Public Affair Center (APAC) are clearly stated on both

their website and official communications. Consisting of 17 personnel at Ft Meade, Maryland, the

mission of APAC is:

As the proponency executive agent for the Chief of Public Affairs, develop,

provide guidance for, and prepare Army PA doctrine, organizations, training,

materiel, leader development, personnel, facilities, and policy

Fi ure 4OPCA Communit Relations Division


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Essentially, APAC serves as the trainers for all Army PAOs. Additionally, they perform the

role of subject matter experts for doctrine and material advice within the force. As a

proponent for

Public Affairs within

the Army, no other

branch or agency can

make a

recommendation

mentioning the use of

Public Affairs without

first clearing it

through APAC. For

example, if General

Cucolo needs advice

on how many PAOs

would be ideal for a new organization, he would call the director of APAC for advice. If the

head of Infantry Branch wants to include Public Affairs training in a new course for

lieutenants, he would call APAC for a recommendation.

APACs own organization is designed around their core functions. (Figure 5) These

functions include:

Provide clear, mutually supporting doctrine & policy Develop, update & assess public affairs training Reinforce Army leaders ability to aggressively tell the Army story Design appropriately structured & equipped organizations Exploit emerging technologies to enhance field force capabilities Sustain the viability of the warfighting Public Affairs function

Organization and Personnel

Force development

Public affairs organizational

design

Policy and Doctrine

Manuals

Public affairs policies

Training Division

Training development and

standardization for:

Advance Schools

DVIDS

IO

Media Training

Mission Training Plans

MTSS Program

MTT

NCO Academy

Public Affairs Tool Box

Reserve Component

STPs

DINFOS

Army Communication Guide

Blogging


Material

Development

Equipment research

and design

Of the Shelf

purchases

17 Personnel

FT Meade, MD

Provide clear, mutually supporting doctrine & policy

Develop, update & assess public affairs training

Reinforce Army leaders ability to aggressively tell the

Army story

Design appropriately structured & equipped

organizations

Exploit emerging technologies to enhance field force

capabilities

Sustain the viability of the warfighting Public Affairs

function

Core Functions

As the proponencyexecutive

agent for the Chief of Public

Affairs, develop, provide

guidance for, and prepare

Army PA doctrine,

organizations, training,

materiel, leader development,

personnel, facilities, and

policy.

Mission Authority and Communications


project only



Figure 6 - APAC


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The functional organization of APAC is probably the proper design. Training division handles all

training for the PAO force to include course design for all PAO courses, managing slots for attendance,

and selecting personnel for advance schooling. Material division handles the integration of new

equipment into the PAO force as well as investigating and authorizing the new purchase of off the shelf

equipment. Policy and doctrine division writes all PAO manuals as well as handling inquires from other

branches and services. Finally, Organization and personnel division reviews PAO force structure and

tracks PAO authorizations for units in the field.

While APAC is positioned at Ft Meade, it is still close enough to OCPA for in-person meetings when

needed. The problems experienced by the Community Relations branch offices do not apply here even

though they operate at a distance from APAC headquarters. The one main problem with APAC is that

they only have 17 personnel on staff. Last year, the director was retiring and the deputy director was in

the hospital. As a result, communications were at a standstill and decisions on projects and schooling

were delayed. For example, it took close to two months of phone calls and e-mails before I could get a

response back from the deputy about graduate schooling. He admitted his hospitalization and COL

Rhyndances retirement had severely hampered communications.

OutliersPublic Affairs Offices and Personnel Management

The final two organizations that make up OPCA are public affairs units in the force, and the PAO

Personnel Management Office. General Cucolo has no functional authority over these two groups. He

only retains a manner of project authority. In both cases, the organizations work for their commanders.

Unit PAOs report to their unit commanders for functional and project control. The PAO Branch Manager

works for the head of Army Human Resources Command. Communications between OPCA and these

organizations is mainly electronic. Unit PAOs rely on the Army Knowledge Network for specific PAG


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for projects, and general doctrinal and plans advice. The Public Affairs branch manager receives

guidance from OCPA on manning priorities and individual fill requests.

Vertical or FlatDivision of Labor and Span of Control in OCPA

In general, OPCAs division of laboris organized around functions rather than haphazardly or around

projects. When looking at the overall organization chart for OCPA it resembles a flat organization.

The Chief of OPA, Brigadier General Cucolo, has span of control over five functional areas. These few

layers between the chief and the functions, in theory, should reduce waste and enable people to make

better decisions. (Greenberg, 426) In some cases, however, OCPA is a tall organization. Working

directly for BG Cucolo are three senior public affairs executives. (Figure 7) These executives must

review Cucolo can make a decision.

Additionally, each functional area

division is organized in a similar

manner. As a result, OPCA is really

an example of a tall organization.

The impact of this structure is seen

in several examples. The first

example is the process of creating

and issuing Public Affairs Guidance

(PAG). Designing and formulating

PAG is the function of the Plans and

Guidance Division. The function of PAG is to create standard messages, talking points, and clarify

official positions of the Army on a given issue. Once staffer in the division has created the PAG for the

issue, it must be approved by his division chief, passed through the OPCA deputy chiefs and usually

returned for changes. Once changes are complete, it is forwarded again to the OCPA where it is

Chief Public Affairs

Resource

ManagementDivision-PentagonContractingFunding


FT Meade, MDTrainingPolicy and DoctrineOrganization / PersonnelMateriel Development

Community RelationsDivision - Pentagon

Marketing TeamCommunity Relations TeamExecutive CommunicationsTeam

Plans & Guidance Division -Pentagon

Operations, Intelligence &Logistics TeamWeapons, Environment &Technology Team

Personnel and HumanResources TeamProjects TeamAnalysis and AssessmentTeam

Media Relations Division -Pentagon

Operations, Intelligence &Logistics TeamWeapons, Environment &Technology TeamPersonnel and HumanResources TeamArmy Leadership SupportTeam

PersonnelManagement-Alexandria, VaOfficer managementNCO ManagementCivilian Management

AssignmentsAssigned to US ArmyHuman ResourcesCommand

10 PersonnelPentagon

OCPA-MW

OCPA -SEOCPA-LA

OCPA-NY

Unit / InstallationPublic Affairs Offices- WorldwideCommunity relationsMedia relationsCommand information

1009 PublicRelations personnelassigned to ArmyUnits / Installations

Sergeant Major PublicAffairs

Principal Deputy ChiefPublic Affairs

Deputy Chief PublicAffairs

Fi ure 7Additional La ers


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Communications Within OCPA

Push vs Pull

PushPush PullPull

Daily Stand-to

Annual World Wide Public Affairs

Seminar

Messages to the force via e-mail

Weekly balcony brief

Daily Stand-to

Annual World Wide Public Affairs

Seminar

Messages to the force via e-mail

Weekly balcony brief

Earlybird

AKO resources:

Data depot

Notes from the Blogosphere

PA homepage

PAG

Division AKO pages

Editorial Roundup

File sharing directories

Individual unit PAO pages

Requests for information to each

division

Earlybird

AKO resources:

Data depot

Notes from the Blogosphere

PA homepage

PAG

Division AKO pages

Editorial Roundup

File sharing directories

Individual unit PAO pages

Requests for information to eachdivision

eventually approved and signed by BG Cucolo. Only then can it be distributed to the force via electronic

means. This process is timely and can result in delays in providing official Army positions on critical

issues. An example of this delay was seen in the announcement of the extension of the 172d Airborne

Brigade from Alaska. The Army announced August 4, 2006 the unit would be extended for an additional

4 months in Iraq. Soldiers who had already returned home were returned to Iraq. While the incident was

significant and generated many stories in the press, it took until September 5thfor OCPA to issue official

PAG.

Communications within the organizationvariety of methods

Communications within OCPA is accomplished by multiple methods. The easiest way to describe these

methods is by using the terms push and pull.

Pushing information to the force occurs when

guidance is sent unprompted to members of the

Public Affairs Community. One example of OCPA

communication that is pushed to the force would be

the daily Stand-to. Stand-to subscribers receive a

one page update on communication themes and

messages focus for the day. Additionally, the update

includes key articles and links to communications relating to the Army. Another method of pushing

information to the force is the use of e-mails from General Cucolo. This only occurs when the issue is of

such great importance that it warrants mass distribution. This method was used prior to the launch of the

Army Strong campaign. The Annual Public Affairs Conference is also used to push information to the

force, but is usually sparsely attended by those outside the Washington D.C. area. The final method of

pushing information to the force is the weekly balcony brief. The balcony brief is chaired by General

Cucolo and attended by all the division chiefs within OCPA. This meeting is used to synchronize

Figure 7Push vs Pull


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messaging, coordinate projects across divisions, and publish weekly guidance. Members of the Public

Affairs Community such as OCPANY receive the minutes from these meetings electronically.

A more popular method of distributing information to the force is through pull methods. These

methods work much like a grocery store. The divisions of OCPA Public Affairs officers operate under

A Case Study in Organizational Communications

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