Management helps guarantee the long-term viability of an organization. Within the military, the concept of management helps govern the day-to-day operations and is the foundation of successful military strategies. The concept of management in this sense involves troop and operational management, (Strunz, 2009). Troop management coincides with adherence to military procedure as soldiers engage in various military exercises to accomplish the set out objectives. One of the objectives of military management is successful management of crisis when it occurs. Operational management focuses on the processes outside the troops that influence the military as an entity. For example, logistical procedures involving the acquisition of machinery and weapons for use. From a strategic standpoint, military management creates objectives and ensures operations comply with the law and the required military guidelines in place. Military leadership centers on a system of order and obedience with compliance taking center stage. Personnel management relies on a system of hierarchy. Management encompasses administration of various tasks. The functions involve planning, leading, organizing, staffing, and controlling to ensure development of organizations. Similar to management in other entities that require managers, military management relies on ranks and protocols in operational functions. As such, the various processes of management help the military maintain its order and effective management of its operations.
Planning
Managers use planning to identify the appropriate organizational goals and the outcomes associated with them. It begins through the examination of a company’s operations. The examination takes on an assessment of the internal environment with a focus on the strengths and weaknesses that govern its operations. According to the U.S. Army War College (2011), planning involves the reliance on various models such as the force management model. It describes the relationship among the various army processes and their interaction with the department of defense. Within the army, an administrative system relies on various principles that follow the criteria of co-operation, sustainability, reasonable performance objectives and human resource management. This means that in planning, the set out objectives should comply with the above recommendations.
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Planning is a systematic process that involves decision-making and stipulation of goals that organizations need to pursue. The army has in place an organizational life cycle model to manage change. With military personnel, involved in operations that affect team dynamics, change management is an essential element of the process. This owes to it being a large complex organization requiring management of various processes. Planning centers on the development of a control system. Without a laid out control cycle, organizations are likely to involve themselves in firefighting. In this case, managers react to crisis and emergencies without a plan in place which is detrimental to the organization, (Strunz, 2009). The downside with such a system is that it wastes time, managerial energy, and company resources. Within the military system, a life cycle provides direction on the various activities involved. One of the elements is force management that encompasses the management of the troops. Acquisition is the next process where upon authorization of Congress, the Department of Defense provides resources in terms of budget. The army has the responsibility of finding the resources needed to accomplish the set out objectives. In the acquisition process, there has to be collaboration with human resources. This is to receive assistance in people acquisition as a resource, (U.S. Army War College, 2012). The next phase involves training and distribution. Training involves helping individuals transition from the civilian status to military life with distribution involving the scattering of resources to the different agencies within the military. The next process involves deployment that is a component common in the military with the focus being on the trained soldiers having the ability to support worldwide operations. With the deployment of resources, sustainability and development is possible. This encompasses the ability of the army to improve and develop strategies that encourage their operations. The final stage of the cycle involves separation that signifies the disconnection of the soldier from the military system.
Leading
Leadership within the business context involves influencing behavior within the organization. The distinction between effective and ineffective leaders is that the former aim at contributing towards positive change while the latter do not achieve the desired results. Within organizations, leaders are in place to ensure achievement of the set out goals. Research supports the role of leader behavior in employee retention with civilian and military studies supporting this, (Randall, 2006). Within the army, leadership is characteristic of influencing people by providing them with purpose while working towards accomplishing the set out mission and strengthening development. The mantra in the style of leadership is ‘ Be, Know, Do’ that involves leadership values centering on internalization of values. This means that each soldier has an understanding of what leadership is and accords their respect to the existing authority figures. Studies support good leadership within the military as having ties to high morale and retention of soldiers. Despite the hierarchical systems that are present, the leadership structure in the military has attracted support from non-military agencies following that the leadership inspires change and accomplishment of set out goals, (Randall, 2006).
Organizing
As a process, it involves effectively mobilizing people and resources to create products and services. As part of organizing, managers create structures within business organizations to encourage operations of the institution. Organizational structures emanate from the organizing principles in place. The structures help create the organizational culture that influence the conduct of employees within the organization. Central to the military structure is departmentalization. It is an organizational tool useful in specialization of various functions. The different types of uniforms and protocols each unit within the military has go to show the system of organization in place ( Longenecker, 2001) . There are systems in place such as civilian and military personnel management strategies, Army Health Service Systems and processes that involve budgeting, programming, planning and execution. Each of the units has employees within them that govern the operations and ensure delivery of quality services. As an entity, the army relies on interworking within departments. According to the U.S. Army War College (2011), the army functions as an organization that performs various functions within well-structured systems. The systems should have the ability to support change.
Staffing
The special significance of human resource management in the military explains the allocation of financial resources towards effective recruitment strategies. Staffing as a process encompasses the effective and efficient deployment of people. The United States Army as explained by Dertouzos and Garber (2011) has different human resource policies at its disposal to improve the recruiting practice. Recruiter selection, having enlistment goals and rewarding of successful recruiters strengthens the staffing process. Enlistment into the army is on voluntary basis with recruitment efforts geared towards inspiring young people to serve their country. Today, as Randall (2006) explains, recruiting and retaining service members in the Army is becoming a difficult process. This follows the negative consequences associated with war and the separation personnel experience from their families.
Controlling
Controlling involves evaluating performance against the laid out objectives. Control systems in organizations help determine if the organizational structure in place helps in achievement of the set out goals. Within the military, there is strict adherence to rules and procedures with soldiers required to adhere to a certain routine and follow the established rules. One of the control measures in place is martial law that governs the conduct of military personnel. When they deviate from the established rules, they have to answer to the laws in place. With the military involving team effort, there is a need for individuals to respect each other, which explains control as an important tool. With part of its operations under regulation by the government, the department of defense plays a regulatory role, in supervising the activities of the military. As an entity, the military is responsible for upholding peace with its operations being central in a country’s development.
Conclusion
For management to be effective there has to be an interworking with the various elements of planning, staffing, leading, organizing, and controlling. There are growing trends in business and military management. With the advancement in technology, there is a reliance of management systems and improvement of machinery by the military to be more effective. Various military agencies are building on knowledge management to improve training and operations in place. Without planning of staffing procedures, then mangers find themselves in firefighting situations that are ineffective in building management strategies. A favorable component from the military is the leadership system with personnel displaying respect for the authoritative entities in place. The military system indeed provides an overview towards understanding management processes and provides a unique perspective on the importance of structure.
References
Dertouzos, James and Garber, S. (2011). Performance Evaluation and Army Recruiting: RAND Corporation.
Longenecker, C. O., & Fink, L. S. (2001). Improving management performance in rapidly changing organizations: Journal of Management Development , 20 (1), 7-18
Randall, E. W. (2006). Military leadership: The effect of leader behavior on soldier retention in the army national guard (Doctoral dissertation, Capella University).
Strunz, Herbert. (2009). Management in the Armed Forces: Print.
U.S. Army War College. (2011). How the Army Runs: A Senior Leader Reference Handbook, 2001-2012. Print.
