DEFENSE STRATEGY
Year:2010 | Volume:8 | Issue:29|Papers Count:9

Consumption pattern reforms in all I.R I’s defense and non-defense sectors are necessary to move toward progress and justice. For strategic reasons, this necessity is more remarkable and more necessary in defense sector. Nevertheless, it might be thought that taking such corrective measures is more difficult in defense sector than non-military sectors. Thus, simplifying the problem is a good step to solve it. While defining the consumption pattern, this article examines general areas of consumption pattern reform in the Islamic Republic of Iran’s defense sector with regard to efficiency and effectiveness, and in this respect For this important issue, the article proposes three macro-level approaches. Finally, some evidences of consumption pattern reform in the USA DoD are presented which are based on one of the proposed suggested approaches.

Considering the irregular growth in consumption and significant waste in national resources, in his New Year Message, the Supreme Leader of the Islamic Revolution called the (Persian) year 1388, “the year of consumption pattern reform”. According to this naming, it is expected that extensive efforts be made to optimize the use and consumption of resources, facilities, weapons and equipment in the armed forces. In this paper, first we review the consumption pattern reform from the view of culture and religious teachings and then examine the principles of consumption pattern reform. After that, the areas of consumption pattern reforms and the role of commanders and managers and employees in the armed forces to implement that will be discussed. Then, some examples of squandering and wasting resources are mentioned and general and case solutions for reforming consumption pattern are provided. It is worth saying that this article is taken from the collection of articles presented at the conference “Consumption Pattern Reform and the Armed Force” that was held on 10/12/1389 by Imam Hussein University with the cooperation of the Center for Research on Systems Engineering. The author, who was the secretary of the conference, has developed and presented this article by making amendments in those articles and modifying and reformatting them.

This Research discusses the role of mathematical modeling in consumption pattern and aims to show the capability of mathematical modeling to achieve a better consumption pattern. For this purpose, attempts have been made to show how to use mathematical modeling in managerial decisions that lead to optimal use, through common models in microeconomics and industrial engineering and by relying only on related diagrams. The result of the report shows that, to achieve better a consumption pattern, first of all targets should be clearly determined and a list of various options which can help achieve those targets should be prepared and then, the costs and resources required for each option should to be specified.Afterwards, proper pattern for choosing options should be written and finally, with the help of determined criteria and indicators, the best option should be selected among the available options. In this selection, consumption pattern plays an important role and offers the proper criteria for analyzing and selecting better options.

Consumption pattern reform can be interpreted as adopting “appropriate and effective strategies to achieve optimum use of available resources and facilities”. Shortage of resources and facilities in line with programs and goals may be seen in every organization. Factors such as the increase of pressures, difficulties of dealing with certain affairs, technological complexities, specialization of tasks, acceleration of changes, uncertainty about the future, enlargement of organizations and so on, have caused organizations to revise their way of managing procurement chain and to adopt new strategies for better use of existing resources and improvement of consumption patterns. One of these strategies is “outsourcing”. Outsourcing strategy has been employed by many organizations, especially military and defense organizations, inside the country and abroad, one of which is logistics section. In this article, the effect of applying outsourcing strategy in reforming and improving consumption patterns in military organizations logistics is examined.

Paying attention to the wise use of resources, with regard to our culture and religious values and the Supreme Leader’s statements and also the importance of promoting quality and reducing economic dependence as a national duty, guides the entire nation toward the correct usage of resources and consumption pattern reform.Reforming consumption pattern increases productivity (efficiency and effectiveness) of systems (resources, processes and results). In this article, first the cultural and value foundations of consumption pattern, its goals and axes are examined, and then its relationship with productivity and the major axes of accomplishing consumption pattern reform is discussed. After considering consumption pattern reform in the armed forces and the distinction between defense and other industries, the goals and policies of defense industries are discussed. Subsequently, the conceptual model of consumption pattern reform in defense industries is explained in terms of three axes of innovation management, knowledge management and resource management and finally, the solutions for consumption pattern reform in short-term and long term are proposed.

Making ammunitions, weapons and military equipment smart is among those strategies which governments use to increase the combat power with greatest effectiveness and lowest vulnerability. After theoretical discussions and examining “technology life-cycle” graph and “product life-cycle costs”, the article explains the position and the role of smart weapons in improving combat power and emphasizes the approach of making weapons and equipment smart as one of the optimal strategies for “promoting combat power” and achieving “consumption pattern reform”. Finally, it comes to the conclusion that current weapons at the disposal of the armed forces as well as low-effect arms in combat power can be converted, in a short time and with little costs, to efficient systems through various methods of making weapons smart.

Under the excuse of Iran’s failure to declare some of its peaceful nuclear activities and the IAEA Board of Governors’ concerns about these activities, in 2006 and under1737 resolution, the UN Security Council appealed to Article 41of the UN Charter to impose economic sanctions against Iran, and thus succumbed to the demands of Western (powers). In this resolution and subsequent resolutions, the Council extended the sanctions even to the country’s military and defense sectors, that is, the country’s deterrent capabilities. The aim of these political resolutions is to undermine Iran's influence in the region and the world and to weaken its deterrent capabilities. The article tries to review these sanctions which are based on incorrect and illegitimate decisions and understandings of certain Western governments - decisions which are taken in the name of, and implemented by, an international organization, namely the Security Council - and analyzes the motives and influential factors of these arms embargos under five resolutions (2006-2010).