Organizational Change in The U.S. Army - Case Study Example

Organizational Change The U.S. Army which is a key component in the U.S. Armed Forces is composed of the finest soldiers who are trained, are most dedicated and are the most respected army personnel in the world. The U.S. Army is the largest and the oldest established branch in the U.S. military and it is one of the seven uniformed services in U.S. A soldier who enters the U.S. Army is an embodiment of endurance, physical strength, and emotional stability together with strength of purpose. As a soldier, the person is prepared to serve his country at any time and in any place as he might be needed, he is combat-ready in all situations, is trained to fight any threat, anywhere. The power and strength of the Army is not only the number but also lies in the contribution from individual soldier. This is because it is not important for them as to what job they have or which rank they hold. The Army has more than 675,000 soldiers which are divided into 488,000 soldiers on Active Duty who are ready to react and fight immediately in any mission and 189,000 soldiers in Army Reserve, who can be mobilized rapidly when their combat and military skills are required in situations of national emergency or in global conflicts (ABOUT THE ARMY). Army structure As the US Army consists of a large number of soldiers, it has to be organized into separate units, each with a respective leader and a reporting structure. The Army is separated into two major components as the Active Duty and the Army Reserve. Those who operate in any of the component are known as the Enlisted Soldiers, the Non-Commissioned Officers (NCOs), the Warrant Officers or the Commissioned Officers. The following diagram shows how the Army operational unit is organized (ABOUT THE ARMY). Squad – 9 to 10 soldiers Platoon- 16 to 44 Company- 62-90 Battalion- 300 – 1000 Bridge –3000-5000 Division- 10000-15000 Corps- 20000- 45000 Gap between US Military and social life- need for change The US military life is tough regime where the soldiers are trained to live and survive in tough conditions. No form of social contact is allowed for them. The result is that when these soldiers return back to their social lives they face difficulty in accommodating themselves with the social culture. They get repulsed by the poor physical fitness of the civilians, by the uncivilized uncouth behavior according to their standards, and by what these army persons considered as pervasive selfishness and aimless consumerism. Many also found themselves avoiding their old friends, and some even experienced problems in communicating with their own families. These soldiers develop this feeling that the civilians are only interested in being losers and underachievers. They find the general civilian life nothing but nasty (The Widening Gap Between Military and Society). This attitude of the military personnel towards the civilian life needs to be changed. The military lifestyle strips a soldier of his social behavior and body language. The soldier gets converted in his military culture thus alienating himself from his social and family life. This is important as after the end of his career when the personal has to return back to normal life and routine, his stiff and hard attitude would go against him while mixing with the civilian society. The 8-Step Process for Leading Change by Kotter The approach by John P Kotter provides a framework to provide changes in a corporate culture and aligning it with the everyday routine life. Kotter stated that quality leadership is essential to motivate people for changing their old behaviors and inculcating the new ones (Stamm, 36). The organizational changes that can be introduced in the US army can be used by using the 8-Step Process model (The 8-Step Process for Leading Change). It is explained below: Creating sense of urgency – The fundamental problem in many organizations is that it is all about the head and no inclusion of the heart. Here leaders know that they need to include not just the strength and brain but also the heart. In the US military army, the leaders can aim at connecting with the deepest values of the soldiers. They can aim at making business cases come alive by introducing human experiences engaging the senses and creating messages that are pretty simple and imaginative. This can be done by introducing the civilian life in the military regime and addressing the strict don’ts for the soldiers. Creating the Guiding Coalition: The Guiding Coalition needs to be comprised of managers and leaders working in a team. The managers would aim at keeping the processes under control and the leaders would drive the change. No single person, irrespective of his competency, can single handedly develop the right vision. In the US army, there are many soldiers old and new who work under several leaders. The Army in US, unlike other business organizations, needs senior leaders to move rapidly in other assignments. The army needs to have the clear vision about the new assignment. This is a huge task as it involves several stages of development. A proper mix of the group leaders and trainers is necessary to ensure it. They need to alter their traditional way of conducting sessions and incorporate human elements in it. It is the glue that would make each soldier to develop a sense of responsibility and perform well (The 8-Step Process for Leading Change). Developing a Change Vision – A clear vision is necessary to keep the interest of the person and improving his performance. It serves three important causes. First, it simplifies many detailed decisions. Second, it motivates the people to take actions in the correct direction even if the first step proves to be painful. Third, it helps in coordinating the actions of many people in a quick and efficient manner. In the US army, the people are mainly trained for protecting the interests of the country. A clear vision needs to be introduced in the module which would aim at helping the soldiers understand their long term goals too. This vision would provide the guidance to the soldiers in understanding their social responsibilities and personal duties. Communicating the Vision for Buy-in - Understanding and commitment to any new direction is not an easy task, especially in large organizations. Under communication as well as inconsistency persist there. To be effective, the vision needs to be communicated in daily activities. In the US army, the soldiers are trained to preserve its peace and freedom, defend its democracy, and provide opportunities for the soldiers to serve their country and personally enhance their skills. The army can scan the current geo-political environment; analyze his skills of dealing with it also considering the potential future situations. Empowering the people and removing barriers – Empowering others includes training, listening, and aligning organizational systems to support the changes. Empowering subordinates to take actions will ensure commitment, buy-in, and a trust in the change. Empowering others includes decentralized control, training, listening, resourcing, aligning organizational systems to support the change, implementing solutions to problems, and trusting others to accomplish their tasks and objectives. Empowering subordinates at all levels to take action will ensure commitment, buy-in, and trust in the change process. Removing obstacles can include removing crucial leaders who are either complacent or adamant to changed efforts. In the US army there can be many leaders who are opposed to changes in the traditional methods. This can be done by including soldiers with improved institutional education and training and introducing new doctrine manuals which would reflect the new way of operation (The 8-Step Process for Leading Change). Generating Short-term Wins - For leaders in the midst of a longer change program, short-term wins are necessary. Running a new effort without prior attention to the short-term performances is risky. The Guiding Coalition becomes an important force in identifying the significant improvements than can occur between 6 to 18 months. In the US army changes can be included by implementing many new courses which would be taken up by all the unit s rather than a few selected groups. Changes can also be introduced in other areas like the head gear of the soldiers which is difficult to carry to a black beret, as was noted in one such instance. These can be seen as short-term wins that could provide a very visible indicator that the US Army was changing. Consolidating gains and producing more change – As major changes or transformation usually take a long time such as many years in large organizations, the incorporation of short-term wins need to be used to built credibility and reinvigorate the procedure for more changes by the other members in an organization. The US army has adopted its strict regime since a very long time. It would thus not be possible for any change to get accepted by the people and the higher management very easily. The best solution would be to keep on introducing short term wins that would help to build the trust and necessity for a change. Make It Stick - New practices need to grow deep roots so as to remain firmly rooted in the culture. Changes –consistent or inconsistent with the traditional culture are usually difficult to ingrain. In the US army as stated above, the culture is dedicated at protecting the interests of the nation without maintaining any attachment with social life. To bring changes in this form of army culture would require long perseverance and patience. It has to be visible and well communicated within the group. The army has to be careful that it can lose some of its people in the process (The 8-Step Process for Leading Change). Acceptability of the change The US army has been regulated by strict rules and procedure. The soldiers are trained to serve the interest of their nation. They are trained in several strict modules which nurture them from a simple civilian to a strong army personal. It will not be easy to introduce new changes in the army and expecting fast results. Introducing personal elements in the strict modules would not be easily acceptable. There can be situations where the soldiers may prefer for the change but it will not be approved by their senior officers. Also, changes in the army can be appreciated by the general civilians who would make the soldiers easier with the civilian life styles after they separate from the army camp. The best option for the army in such situations can be to introduce short term winning situations which would gradually initiate the changing process. Timeline for implementing the change It would take a really long time to introduce changes and making its effects come true in the present army conditions in US. A time frame of almost 5-8 years would be required to make these changes come true and be readily accepted by the US army. Conclusion The US army is one of the best army contingents in the world. The soldiers protect the peace and freedoms in America and outside, securing their homeland and democracy worldwide. The United States Army is the chief branch in the United States Armed Forces and is primarily responsible for the land-based military combats and operations. Every soldier is nurtured with the mission to serve his mother land. This is done at the cost of separating from his family and near and dear ones. This can affect the personal life of the soldiers who will face difficulty in socializing with the outer world outside their army battalions. After serving the motherland, a soldier retires home but they also tend to bring with themselves their army practices which are not easily accepted by the civilian people. It is necessary to bring changes in the US army patterns so as to include modules that would help them to serve their nation as well as maintain their family values. References ABOUT THE ARMY, 2005, August 7, 2012, from: http://www.goarmy.com/about/personnel.html Stamm, Philipp. Change Management: The Analysis of J.P. Kotter’s eight steps and its, Grin Verlag, 2010 The 8-Step Process for Leading Change, 2011, August 7, 2012, from: http://www.kotterinternational.com/kotterprinciples/ChangeSteps/ The Widening Gap Between Military and Society, 2012, August 7, 2012, from: http://www.theatlantic.com/magazine/archive/1997/07/the-widening-gap-between-military-and-society/6158/# fast enough with sustainable results o survive in an increasingly fast moving and volatile world, organizations must create smart new strategies and strategic initiatives, and implement them in ways that drive changes fast enough with sustainable results survive in an increasingly fast moving and volatile world, organizations must create smart new strategies and strategic initiatives, and implement them in ways that drive changes fast enough with sustainable results o survive in an increasingly fast moving and volatile world, organizations must create smart new strategies and strategic initiatives, and implement them in ways that drive changes fast enough with sustainable results Read More