Fighting shadows and ignoring the elephant: Lessons for PsyOps strategy from organisational responses to risk and crisis

M. Hills

Research output: Contribution to Book/ReportConference Contributionpeer-review

Abstract

yOps activities seek to shape - or force - specific, desired decision outcomes. The concept of unrestricted (total) warfare makes all areas of modern life a target-rich environment for business or other adversaries. Business continuity (including crisis management, risk assessment and resilience) are just some of the areas that provide insight into how planning and operations of organisational structures and processes are disrupted by uncertainty, incomplete and inconsistent information, situational delusion and self-inflicted wounds. The cultural and psychological context of an organisation and its constituent teams (at operational or strategic level) offer all manner of exploit opportunities to adversaries. Direct and indirect government dependence on the private sector makes no one immune from inclusion in conflict. Beyond the remit of technical countermeasures and the control of pre-emptive and formal plans and training, the argument is that the deliberate targeting of the human factor by determined and creative adversaries could produce effects of strategic significance to all sectors of the economy and administration.
Original languageEnglish
Title of host publication6th European Conference on Information Warfare and Security 2007, ECIW 2007
EditorsDan Remenyi
PublisherCurran Associates, Inc.
Pages67-76
Number of pages10
ISBN (Print)9781622765324
Publication statusPublished - 3 Jul 2007

Keywords

  • Business continuity
  • crisis management
  • resilience
  • decision-making
  • uncertainty
  • PsyOp

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