Rand Corporation is the most important comprehensive strategic research institution in the United States, which focuses on military affairs. It is famous for its research on cutting-edge military science and technology and major military strategies, and then expanded to all aspects of domestic and foreign policies, and gradually developed into a comprehensive think tank for studying politics, military affairs, economic science and technology, society and other aspects. Known as the "brain concentration camp" and "super military academy" of modern think tanks, they are also the pioneers and spokespersons of world think tanks. It can be said that it is the most prestigious decision-making consulting organization in the United States and even the world today.
[Edit this paragraph] The origin of Rand
Rand Company was formally established in June 1948+0 1. Headquartered in Santa Monica, California, USA, it has an office in Washington, D.C., which is responsible for contacting the government. During World War II, a group of American scientists and engineers took part in military work and applied operational research to combat, which achieved great success and was highly valued by the ruling and opposition parties. After the war, in order to continue this work, 1944 1 1 month, when the army aviation commander Henry? General Arnold put forward a memorandum of American R&D plan after World War II and the next World War II, demanding that these personnel be used to set up an "independent research institution to conduct objective analysis between the government and the people" in order to "avoid future national disasters and win the next world war". According to this proposal, at the end of 1945, the US Army Air Force signed a "R&D" plan with a value of100000 US dollars, which is also known as the "Rand Plan". The name "Rand" is the abbreviation of the English word "research and development". Soon, the United States Army Air Force became an independent air force. 1948 In May, under the sponsorship of 1 10,000 dollars donated by Ford Foundation, the "Rand Project" broke away from Douglas Aircraft Company and formally established an independent Rand Company.
[Edit this paragraph] The glory of Rand
Rand's strength is strategic research. It has done a lot of predictive and long-term research, and put forward many ideas and predictions that the parties did not think of at all, and it will take a long time to be confirmed. It is through these accurate predictions that Rand has established its credibility in the consulting industry all over the world. At the beginning of its establishment, RAND Company was not well-known at that time, and its research results were not taken seriously. But one thing made Rand famous. On the eve of the Korean War, Rand organized a large number of experts to evaluate the Korean War and predict whether China would send troops to Korea. The conclusion is only one sentence: "China will send troops to North Korea". At that time, Rand wanted to transfer the research report to the Pentagon for $2 million. However, the top US military officials are not interested in Rand's report. In their view, the new China at that time did not have the possibility of sending troops regardless of human and financial resources. However, the development and ending of the war were accurately stated by Rand. This incident made American political circles, military circles and even the whole world look at Rand with new eyes. After World War II, the United States and the Soviet Union dominated the world. The United States has always wanted to know about the development of satellites in the Soviet Union. 1957, RAND Company predicted in detail the time when the Soviet Union launched the first artificial satellite. As a result, it was only two weeks away from the actual launch time, which shocked the Pentagon. Since then, Rand has truly established its position in the United States. Since then, RAND has successfully predicted the establishment of diplomatic relations between China and the United States, the Cuban missile crisis, the Great Depression of the United States and the reunification of Germany. These predictions made RAND famous and became the chief think tank of American political and military circles.
Rand's research achievements have attracted worldwide attention. He has published more than 8000 research reports/kloc-0, 3 papers100 in journals and nearly 200 books. Among hundreds of research reports every year, 70% are confidential and 30% are public. These reports include China's air force in the 2nd/Kloc-0th century, China's automobile industry, Japan's defense plan, Japan's high technology, Russia's nuclear forces, South Korea and North Korea, and the rapid reaction forces of the United States in the digital battlefield. Rand Corporation is known as the "think tank" and "brain concentration camp" of the United States, which affects and influences the decision-making of a series of major affairs in the United States, such as politics, economy, military affairs and diplomacy.
While providing decision-making services for the U.S. government and military, RAND Corporation uses a large number of world-class think tanks to provide a wide range of decision-making consulting services for the business community, and enjoys a worldwide reputation for the accuracy and authority of "enterprise diagnosis". Rand analysts believe that 85% of every 100 large enterprises in the world go bankrupt because of careless decision-making by enterprise managers. With the intensification of global business competition, the decision-making ability of enterprise managers largely determines the future and destiny of enterprises.
[Edit this paragraph] Rand's operation
How exactly does RAND operate? As a "think tank", RAND Corporation usually establishes a contractual relationship with customers. Many of Rand's contracts are signed with the US federal government, such as the Ministry of National Defense, the Ministry of Health, the Ministry of Human Resources, the Ministry of Education, the National Science Foundation, the National Institute of Medicine, and the Bureau of Statistics. Rand has 3-5 years or annual renewal service contracts with many of the above customers, and the contract amount is about tens of millions of dollars. Within the scope stipulated in the contract, sometimes RAND researchers put forward specific project suggestions, and sometimes customers put forward their own requirements, and then the two sides exchanged and discussed through talks, emails and other forms of communication, and modified the specific content in one way or another, and finally formed a project description document, including problems, methods, background, data, progress, budget, timetable and so on. Next, the project began to be implemented and the budget was in place. Rand Company provided reports and research results, and completed the project as planned. Rand company has 700 ~ 800 projects at the same time every year. In addition to most government projects arranged according to long-term contracts and government budgets, there are still some projects that Rand chooses independently because they think these projects are meaningful or will have a significant impact. For the latter type of project, Rand will recommend and sell it to potential users after the project is started, or tell potential users in a bold way after the research to mobilize them to buy research results. Under normal circumstances, RAND will provide up to five decision-making consultation schemes to the project client, and advise the users of the possible consequences, advantages and disadvantages of each scheme in politics, economy and public relations. Provide scientific, objective, fair and comprehensive decision-making suggestions for decision makers. Different people and decision makers with different personalities will make different decisions from these choices and get different results. Rand has 1600 employees, including about 800 professional researchers. In addition to its high-quality structure, RAND Group employs about 600 nationally renowned professors and various senior experts as its special consultants and researchers. Their main task is to participate in the top management of RAND Corporation, and conduct research, analysis and demonstration on major issues to ensure the research quality and authority of research results.
[Edit this paragraph] Rand's independence
For a long time, RAND insists that it is only a non-profit private research institution, working independently and having only one customer contract relationship with the US government. Rand tries to maintain its independence by having different customers. Although most of RAND's customers are the U.S. federal government, even a customer, such as the Pentagon, has agencies such as the Office of the Secretary of Land, Sea, Air, Intelligence and Defense, and there are many different departments. Rand achieved some independence by dealing with different departments. At the same time, Rand also has many customers from non-governmental and private sectors. At present, 65% of Rand's income comes from the US federal government, which means that 65% of Rand's business comes from the United States.
China federal government, the remaining 35% of its business is distributed among many different customers, such as American state governments, foreign governments, private companies, funding foundations and so on. Rand has always maintained an independent cultural tradition. Rand company has the freedom to publish research results and make them public. As a policy research institution, RAND can tell the truth whether it is good or bad for its customers. Customers who pay Rand should be prepared to accept the possibility that Rand's research results are inconsistent with their policies or even conflict with each other. Therefore, Rand's customers should pay more attention to the objectivity and impartiality of Rand's research, rather than asking Rand to tell them what they want to hear. Only some people are afraid of Rand's independence and dare not hire Rand. This independence of RAND Corporation is guaranteed by a supervisor composed of more than 20 people. Members of the board of supervisors have the power to manage and dominate the RAND Company, that is, they are the real owners of the RAND Company, but they do not own any property of the RAND Company.
[Edit this paragraph] Research review mechanism of RAND Corporation
Rand has a mechanism to review a research department of the company every 4 ~ 5 years, with the purpose of examining whether its research is valuable. Rand has all kinds of comments, including independent comments. First of all, the management of the department in charge of the project or research should conduct a quality review of its own research. Then, give it to the project reviewer for review. One reviewer did not belong to RAND, but was invited from outside. The other three or four reviewers are from Ylander Company, but they did not participate in the reviewed project or research. Rand has a set of internal quality standards, and the company requires reviewers to review the research results of researchers according to this quality standard. Rand has about 800 professional researchers. Any professional researcher will participate in the evaluation, and he will participate in the evaluation more than once in his Rand career.
[Edit this paragraph] The cradle of senior talents
The researchers of RAND Corporation are unique in academic research and are called "RAND School" in society. Rand is not only famous for his high-level research results and unique insights, but also trained a handful of talents for the American government and academic circles. Such as mathematical logician and economist, Professor Albert of the University of Chicago? Walter Steart, whose concept of "second strike" has a great influence on the US military strategy, is another example: James, former director of the Central Intelligence Agency, secretary of defense and secretary of energy? Schlesinger, former director of the arms control and disarmament agency and deputy secretary of defense of Reagan administration, Fred? Donald, former director of the President's Bureau of Economic Employment and former Secretary of Defense? Rumsfeld, an expert on strategic issues, and Herman, founder of Hudson Institute? Kahn, a professor at the City University of new york and an expert on Soviet issues? Zagoria, Professor of Miami University, USSR.
Civil defense expert Leon? Gurry, a professor at the University of Michigan, Allen, a famous expert on China and former acting consul general of the United States in Hong Kong? Whiting and George? Harold, a professor at Washington University and an expert on China and Asian issues? Hinton, famous futurists Kang En and Brown, etc. In order to spread Rand's wisdom widely, Rand established the Rand Research Institute on 1970, which is the highest institution of decision analysis in the world today, aiming at cultivating senior decision makers and awarded the world's first doctorate in decision analysis. At present, its students have spread all over the American political and business circles.
[Edit this paragraph] The successful experience of RAND Corporation
First, do a major operation to promote the rapid development of the company [1]?
1948, 1 The RAND project team, which was just established many years ago, recruited more than 200 people for the first time, covering mathematics, physics, chemistry, economics, psychology and other fields. After receiving the first investment from the Ford Foundation, Rand began to plan to build his own building. Two years later, the fledgling and unknown Rand dared to sell his research results on the Korean War to the Pentagon at a high price of $2 million. These practices are really hard for ordinary entrepreneurs to imagine. Indeed, from the beginning, Rand's leaders had great ambitions, hoping that their company would become the top consulting company in the world.
Higher positioning determines a series of big moves of Rand. Although high investment also has certain risks, as the old saying in China says: "Take the law from it and get it from it;" Without lofty aspirations, it is difficult for individuals and organizations to achieve anything. If RAND Company follows their first research project "Preliminary Design of Experimental Global Spacecraft" step by step, and locks its research direction in the satellite field without paying attention to non-professional issues such as the Korean War, it is likely to lose the opportunity of rapid development. Although it may become a prominent research institution in a certain professional and technical field in the future, its influence can never be compared with today's Rand. It can be said that it was the "audacity" and "expansionary" investment of Rand's founders in the early stage of development that made the later Rand miracle. It must also be noted that although Rand's managers are "high-spirited", their hands are not low, and a series of policies they adopted at the beginning of their establishment are highly targeted:
◆ Make use of the ties established by wartime cooperation with the military to ensure the funds from the air force;
◆ Choosing Tam Gaither Jr., who has a deep capital background, as the person in charge of the company's preparation is conducive to attracting investment from banks and foundations (Tam Gaither Jr. himself is the person in charge of the Ford Foundation);
◆ Candidates for the board of directors include outstanding people in the fields of academia, industry and commerce to facilitate future business development;
Recruit research talents of various professions and promote full communication among them to ensure the high quality of research results;
◆ At the beginning of its establishment, it aimed at hot issues to carry out research, expand its influence and attract high-level attention;
◆ In order to make up for their own shortcomings in the professional field and give full play to the power of experts, experts have been organized to discuss some new topics for many times. These policies show that RAND managers are very aware of the purpose of investing funds and are familiar with the operation mechanism of the whole process from funds to final results. They not only formulated a "grand" development strategy for themselves, but also equipped a series of feasible implementation plans accordingly.
Second, the topic is flattering and the popularity is expanding.
In the 50-year history of RAND Corporation, numerous research projects have been completed, many of which have great influence in the consulting field. But if the same Korean talks about RAND, his first thought is that RAND has successfully predicted that China will send troops to North China. This "small" project, which Rand spontaneously studied at the beginning of its establishment, has brought it such a huge and long-term reputation that many people may not have thought of it.
It should be said that many of Rand's research topics are ingenious.
Paying attention to international hot issues, coincidentally, from the Korean War in 1950 to the Vietnam War in the 1960s, information technology in the 1970s, to the disintegration of the Soviet Union in the 1980s and 1990s, the merger of Germany and Germany, the post-cold war strategy, and even the recent Middle East issue, Taiwan Province Province issue and North Korea issue are all "star issues" that have attracted worldwide attention. The research on these problems can easily attract public attention, thus invisibly expanding its popularity and attracting more business investment. Shortly after its establishment, RAND Corporation received financial support from major banks and foundations and was highly valued by the US military and government departments. Apart from the personal background of its founder, its achievements in the prediction of the Korean War should be said to be indispensable.
Er Qiao and Joe made a lot of predictive topics in it. The biggest feature of the prediction project is that its results can be quantified, whether it is accurate or not, and how big the gap is, as long as it is compared with the actual situation that finally happens. Although the prediction topic is risky, from the actual effect, the prestige brought by accurate prediction is far greater than the loss brought by failure.
The research angle of many of its topics is often more inclined to macro management and planning, rather than in-depth research on some professional and technical issues. The advantages of doing so are obvious: first, it is high-level and new in angle, which is more likely to attract the attention of senior managers; Second, the research methods are universal. Although the subject may come from many fields, researchers do not have to be proficient in every field, and the theoretical methods of management can be applied to all aspects. Third, the radiation range is wide, which is more easily accepted by outsiders and even ordinary people, thus forming a broader social impact.
Rand company has successfully occupied the high-end field of consulting industry through ingenious research on topic selection. High-end consulting not only has greater social influence, but also ensures the source of funds and projects more easily because most of them are senior managers of the government and enterprises.
Third, the good and the false are based on others and expand their business areas.
Although RAND Company recruited a large number of technical talents from all walks of life at the beginning of its establishment, it still can't be proficient in all fields. At this time, what should I do if I want to quickly enter unfamiliar areas and carry out new research? Face this problem. Rand adopts the method of "relying on people", that is, making full use of the talents of experts in various fields.
1950 When the situation on the Korean Peninsula was stormy, Rand had just been established, and it was impossible to know a lot about all aspects of the new China. But it organized a large number of experts to discuss and analyze the possibility of China's participation in the war. Finally, the conclusion that "China will send troops to North Korea" shocked the world.
Hiring experts to advise on their own research is the usual means of most consulting institutions. Rand company is not only bold, but also dare to rely entirely on experts to study a problem that they are not familiar with. It is also because we are not just inviting experts, but we have been studying how to exert the power of experts and really make their knowledge useful to ourselves. It is precisely because of his continuous thinking and improvement of expert consultation methods that he finally formed a series of famous methods such as Delphi method and brainstorming method, and these theoretical methods also helped Rand gain more and deeper intellectual support from experts.
Fourth, be far-sighted and choose the right research direction.
In addition to international hot issues, Rand's research fields also include some highly technical issues, such as aerospace and computers. Compared with management decision-making topics, this kind of problems require higher depth of professional knowledge, so it is difficult to rely on external forces. Usually, researchers can only rely on their own efforts to make breakthroughs. Rand itself is only a consulting company, and its research resources are limited, so it is impossible to cover everything. Therefore, some key areas must be selected for development.
So, what kind of fields should we choose? Perhaps influenced by his futuristic theory, Rand focused on some new technologies and products, such as satellites, spacecraft, artificial intelligence, numerical calculation, network, system science and new drugs. In the view of Rand's decision makers, these new things will have a great impact on the future world. Facts have proved that their choice is correct, and Rand has become an authoritative organization in this field because of the research carried out in advance in these professional directions.
1946 the rand project team has just been established, and the first project is the preliminary design of artificial satellites. In the early 1950s, RAND submitted many research reports on satellites to the U.S. Department of Defense, detailing the unparalleled role of artificial satellites in future operations, but at that time, Pentagon officials were not sure what satellites were and did not pay attention to them. It was not until 1957 that the Soviet Union launched the first artificial satellite. At this time, senior officials of the US government recalled a series of studies and predictions made by their RAND company in this field, and since then, they have regarded RAND company as a guest.
We might as well regard Rand's strategic choice as a long-term investment or venture capital in economics. When it is predicted that something may greatly change the future world, we will invest some researchers in advance to carry out relevant research and publicize all kinds of information related to this new thing in order to attract the attention of the whole society. Even if we don't accept this kind of propaganda for the time being, as long as the initial judgment is correct, people will realize the powerful power of this new thing sooner or later, and then they will inevitably turn to Ylander, the pioneer in this field, and the previous scientific research investment will get ten times and one hundred times the return of venture capital.
Five, scientific research autonomy, promote innovation
The "autonomy" mentioned here is highlighted in the form of RAND consulting products, and many of its research projects are carried out by researchers themselves. Rand encourages researchers, especially young people, to give full play to their imagination, put forward unique opinions, and then carry out relevant research. There is a special regulation in the company called "protection paradox", that is, those seemingly whimsical or extreme "paradoxes" are not banned, but are guided and protected as the source of innovation. In order to provide sufficient material guarantee for these spontaneous projects, RAND Corporation reached an aid agreement with Ford Foundation shortly after its establishment, and established internal funds for research projects oriented to new fields. It is this open thinking that makes the research field of RAND company expand rapidly, and the service objects spread from the original army and even the air force to many government departments and private enterprises.
Rand's autonomy is also reflected in the strong independence of research content and the courage to say "no". At the beginning of its establishment, RAND emphasized that it was an independent, objective and non-profit consulting organization, which did not represent any faction, and carried out this concept from beginning to end in its own research work. This maverick work style has helped RAND achieve many novel achievements that other consulting companies can't reach, and established a good reputation for the company, which has won the respect of customers. Governments at all levels in the United States often invite experts from RAND Corporation to participate in seminars on policy formulation. In addition to their rich knowledge in professional fields, they pay more attention to their independent research spirit.
In recent years, with the continuous improvement of the status of expert consultation in Chinese government decision-making, more and more domestic consulting institutions have begun to set foot in the field of government consultation and vigorously carry out strategic consulting and national defense consulting services. As a pioneer and successful person in this field, the development of RAND Corporation is undoubtedly worthy of our serious study.
[Edit this paragraph] The organization and research fields of RAND Corporation
Rand Committee
Manage the fund, appoint the head of RAND Corporation, and decide the major policies of the company's development.
Chairman: Paul O 'Neill
Vice-President of the Council: Alco G. Michelson
Board members:
Head of Private Investment Department: Peter Robbins
Consultant of International Studies Department: Harold Brown.
Chairman of Carlisle Group: Frank Callus James Gacy
Motorola CEO: Christopher Calvin
Chairman and Chief Executive Officer of Air Communication System: Sam King
Doctor of Medicine, Dean of Miami Medical College: Pietro Yue Se Gray, Jr.
Chairman of the Executive Committee of Hunter United Limited: Walter Humen
Chairman and CEO of Hume Company: Bruce Kareber
(2) Rand National Security Investigation Department and National Defense Investigation Institute.
Vice-Chairman and Head of Department: David Gopert
Acting Director: Ogoni Griton
Assistant Director in charge of work operation and planning: Jeff Isachsen.
(3) Research Center for Book Purchasing and Information Technology Development Policy: Richard Hendry.
(4) Military Power and Resource Policy Center: Susan Hosek.
5. Center for International Security and Defense Studies: Greg Trevor.
(6) Asia-Pacific Policy Research Center: Raquel Swing (agent)
(7) Center for Middle East Policy Studies: jerrold Green.
Russian and European Studies Center: Jeremy azra
(9) Rand Human Health Project Center
Director of the center; Robert Brooke
Assistant Director: Bao Gaojie
Administrator: Jasmin Fasher.
Workers' Health and Welfare Research Center: Pamming
Drew/Rand Research Center for Health and Population Aging;
Walter Allen, Leonard Gingert
Rand/UCLA/Harvard University Center for Health Care and Financial Policy Research
UCLA/RAND Center for Health Care Management and Mental Illness: Elizabeth McGurian.
(10) Rand Labor and Population Research Project Office
Directed by Lynn Caroli.
Family Research Center for Economic Development: Lee Rinard.
Population research center: Amway R. Pabray
Post-doctoral research project on population and population aging in RAND Corporation: Lynn A. Caroli.
(1 1) Rand Institute of Domestic Justice
Director of the Institute: Deborah Gensler
Director in charge of research: Lloyd Dixon
Assistant Director for Development Studies: Carol abrams.
Assistant Director in charge of studying new legislative proposals: Sesia Lebo.
Assistant Director in charge of information dissemination and communication: Mary Ianna.
Assistant director in charge of work operation and financial research: Glenn T. Weiss
(12) Rand Education and Training College
Director in charge of administrative affairs; Keslian Sizulu
(13) Reconstruction of Public Education Research Center: Paul T. Hill
Assessment, Standards and Student Testing Center.
Immigration Policy Research Center: Gith & #183, Guiol; Vernet.
Federal Holiday Education Research Center: Catherine Stabe
(14) Rand Air Force Planning Department
Natalie Roosevelt, Vice Chairman and Director of Air Force Planning Department.
Assistant Director: Richard Nau
Director of the Air Force Staff Office: Donald Palmer.
Manager of operation department: J.B., boss.
Military modernization and operational plan: Charles T. Klee
Research plan of military resource management and data acquisition system
Research project on strategies and principles of international relations: Zall: regret. Ahmed Khalil Zadeh
(15) RAND Europe Branch
Department Head: Richard Fallon
Assistant Director of Development and Operations: C. Brian Gabbert
Research plan for new problems: Anna Sloan Movik
(16) Board of Directors of RAND Corporation
Robert H. Brooke, senior staff of RAND Corporation engaged in health and health care research.
James P. Smith, a senior employee of RAND Corporation engaged in labor market and population data research.
Senior consultant engaged in international economic research: Charles Woolf
Rand's senior staff engaged in data statistics research: Lai Hua and Duane.
(17) Rand Institute
Dean of the Institute: Robert Cray Tigard
College Administrator: Marcy Agmon.
Rand Institute, founded in 1970, is the cradle of senior decision makers.
Dege, the father of public policy, once worked for Eland Company.
RAND Corporation Network Address: www.rand.org