Budgeting In The Department Of Defense

Budgeting can be very subjective at all levels of government. Implementing a solid budget that can benefit everyone without disadvantages is a challenge in itself. A key factor that can influence how budgets work is time. Most budget plans are usually projected only one year ahead, and place emphasis on things such as personnel, supplies, and equipment. Budgets like this are mainly input –oriented (Hooper p123). In other words, they focus on the people, supplies and other inputs that must be used together for the programs and activities of the department or agency to be successful. Planning ahead of more than just one year could help decision making for budgets and in the long-run, be more effective. A budget principle that could help this

McNamara during his time as the Secretary of Defense in the 60’s. The plan is highly complex, but can yield positive results.
PPBS was conceived as a way of making budgetary decisions. Traditionally, budgeting in the Department of Defense (DOD) focused on such things as salaries, overhead, and capital expenditures but not on the objectives, or results, to be achieved with those resources. Therefore, PPBS was introduced to the DOD so that resources for national defense could be allocated in a way that related more directly to the mission and role of the Department. PPBS is the DOD’s formal process for making resource allocation decisions, and has been constantly evolving since its introduction in 1961by McNamara. Briefly, PPBS begins with the joint planning activities of the Joint Chief of Staff (JCS) and the Office of The Secretary of Defense (OSD)’s staff. Other important participants are the intelligence agencies, the National Security Council, and other services. The issuance of the Defense Guidance (DG) is the end of the planning phase and the beginning of the

The process forces all who are involved to analyze every factor that goes into a budget, which promotes more rational decision making. The use of program analysis to assist decision-makers is also a key element of PPBS. The form of how the program structure should be is influenced very heavily by the needs of analysis. Direct links established by the program structure between objectives and the means for achieving objectives are meant to raise questions as to whether the agency's goals are the right ones and as to how effectively objectives are being pursued. The program structure also establishes a framework for weighing alternatives, such as alternative strategies, alternative courses of action and alternative agency objectives (DonVito p 11). Analyzing every element of a budget including the alternatives can help achieve the best