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Performance metrics are the standard by which individuals and organizations are judged. Such measures are important to organizations because they motivate individuals and in influence their choices. In the context of Army recruiting, choices made by recruiters can have a major impact on the ability of the Army to meet its goals. Designing and implementing performance metrics that support Army goals requires analysis of how different metrics would affect recruiter behavior and, in turn, recruiters' contributions toward achieving the Army's goals. In addition, performance measures should not be heavily influenced by random factors affecting enlistment outcomes that may be reasonably attributable to luck or fortune. The present study focuses on performance measurement for Army recruiting to provide incentives that induce behaviors that support achievement of Army goals and are acceptably insensitive to random events., ISBN 978-0-8330-4310-8

The U.S. Army Recruiting Command (USAREC) is charged with providing the Army with an ongoing flow of qualified volunteers adequate to meet future active-duty accession requirements. Success is highly dependent on several factors that USAREC can control and several others that it cannot control. Among the latter are manpower requirements (demand for accessions) as well as supply factors such as market demographics, alternative labor market and educational opportunities for youth, and attitudes about military service.

This report documents research findings from a RAND project titled "The Relative Cost Effectiveness of Military Advertising," the goal of which was to develop and apply a methodology for assessing the cost effectiveness of the services' advertising programs and to provide guidance for a more efficient allocation of resources in the future. The project was sponsored by the Director for Accession Policy (Force Management Policy). This report examines issues related to the effectiveness of recruiting advertising during the 1980s and 1990s. It describes the policy context, summarizes the current state of knowledge, and identifies several conceptual and methodological issues. In addition, it describes a framework developed for estimating advertising effects and how that framework was applied in an analysis of 198Os Army advertising programs. It also discusses how this methodology was used to analyze 1993-1997 DoD-wide information. The empirical results from the study strongly support the view that advertising has been a cost effective recruiting tool and provide some guidance for future improvements. Data deficiencies and analytic challenges associated with recruiting environment complexity, however, made it impossible to determine the most effective mix of advertising. Nonetheless, the concepts and methods developed can help guide future advertising research, and the general policy conclusions regarding past advertising programs remain valid. Additional research is necessary if future allocations of recruiting resources, including advertising dollars, are to be made optimally.

New medical technologies pharmaceuticals, medical devices, and procedures often allow great improvements in the outcomes of medical care, but they are also widely believed to be a major cause of increasing costs. Selective adoption of new technologies, the taking on of only those technologies for which the medical benefits exceed the costs to society of developing and using them, is a crucial element in the quest to control health care costs while preserving or enhancing the quality of care. This report focuses on adoption of innovative medical technologies by managed care organizations (MCOs). The project had two primary objectives: (1) to understand current processes MCOs use for making coverage, medical-necessity, and payment decisions involving emerging medical technologies, and how device developers and manufacturers prepare for and participate in these processes; and (2) to identify ways that private, voluntary action by the managed-care and medical-device industries individually or jointly might improve for the benefit of society the processes by which new medical technologies are developed, evaluated, and adopted or rejected for coverage.

New medical technologies-pharmaceuticals, medical devices, and procedures-often allow major improvements in the outcomes of medical care, but they are also widely believed to be a leading cause of increasing costs. Selective adoption of new technologies, the taking on of only those technologies for which the medical benefits exceed the costs to society of developing and using them, is a crucial element in the quest to control health care costs while preserving or enhancing the quality of care. This report focuses on adoption of innovative medical technologies by managed care organizations (MCOs). The project had two primary objectives: (1) to understand current processes of MCOs for making coverage, medical-necessity, and payment decisions involving emerging medical technologies, and how device developers and manufacturers prepare for and participate in these processes; and (2) to identify ways that private, voluntary action by the managed-care and device industries individually or jointly might improve-for the benefit of society-the processes by which new medical technologies are developed, evaluated, and adopted or rejected for coverage.