FUNCTIONAL-INTEGRATION AND THE MIDDLE-EAST

Functional integration, a combination of political economy and managem ent theory, stresses that effectiveness, doing the right thing, often is more crucial than efficiency, doing conventional things right. Func tional integration is the ability to achieve effectiveness and control rivals indirectly by defining the playing field and the rules of the game. As they pursue effectiveness, often ignoring conventional ''effi ciency,'' dominant powers impart perverse incentives to rivals and ind uce them to adopt their tactics and strategies. In a sense, when the d ominant powers redirect their competitors' focus on how to do things r ight instead of what is the right thing to do, they convert these comp etitors indirectly into functional subsidiaries and steer them into ef ficiency without effectiveness. In today's emerging global interdepend ence, the strategy has worldwide implications and Desert Storm is only one example of the potential effects of functional integration. The p aradigm could contribute to the debate on appropriate development and regional security and identify factors that affect economic and politi cal blocks.