Organizational and Individual Assessment - Essay Example

? Organizational and Individual Assessment Report Part The army is part of the criminal justice organization. The position of a captain is considered a middle management position within the army ranking. The captain applied diverse leadership styles and philosophies to ensure he became a good example to the army and the world at large. The captain I interviewed had a keen style of command and he understood well what being a leader meant. He led his team towards victory most of the time; in addition, he ensured his team was courageous even in dangerous times. His leadership styles and philosophies included to never stop learning. He claimed that the unknown troubles many people; nonetheless, in his leadership position he used the unknown to attain achievement (Schwartz & Gimbel, 2010). For instance, he was one time forced to come up with a shotgun at an instant in order to fight an enemy. He said he used his wit to mix up gunpowder and came up with a shotgun that was used to achieve an unexpected success. He added that people should embrace the unknown and be willing to learn things on a daily basis. Moreover, he also demonstrated that we should be open minded to new ideas and challenges in order to become respected leaders within the society. The second leadership style he applied was to have advisors with diverse worldviews. The captain claimed that he applied advices from a close friend who was a commander and a civilian who was more engrossed into scientific studies. He incorporated advises from both individuals in that they both presented different views when it came to giving advice. Most of the time, their advise spark arguments but the captain normally takes his time to assess them and puts into action the advice he perceives to be the best. By having advisors who are different from each other makes him consider himself the best leader (Schwartz & Gimbel, 2010). He claims that a successful leader is the one that is able to take advice from all, that is from people who are beneath and above him. By taking advice from other people creativity and innovations is likely to be enhanced. Leaders who embrace advices are known to solve problems easily and increase creativity. The captain also applied the philosophy of risk taking in his leadership role. For one to be successful risk taking missions ought to be partaken. The captain was involved in a number of risky missions, and he ensured he was involved in the teamwork. Through teamwork, nothing is impossible and the captain ensured he maximized the power of the team to tackle difficult situations. Therefore, as a leader one ought to be strong to face life risks and challenges (Schwartz & Gimbel, 2010). Through his leadership style and management philosophy style, we learn that for one to be considered an incredible leader we need to keep exploring and learning encouraging others to be creative and innovative by incorporating advice from people with diverse backgrounds. In order, to gain trust and loyalty leaders ought to work with subordinates so that the leader can understand the needs and problems of workers. Risk taking and learning how competitors function is also crucial. By learning how competitors work an organization is able to work in an advanced way. The captain has a civilian law bachelor’s degree from Harvard University. He went through physical test before being recruited for training. After the basic recruits, training the captain joined the candidate school where he became a second lieutenant after graduation. as a second lieutenant he was given instruction which were in association to overall mission and purpose of the officer’s branch. This stage assisted the captain to develop leadership skills through working with troops. After a period of four years, he attended captain’s career course and he also requested to pursue his masters at this stage. The captain phase takes more than ten years for one to be promoted to the next rank. The captain was involved in commanding roles and taking responsibility of troops during missions (Bailey, 2009). He became an important and influential person in the army. As a captain, he has been involved in a number of peacekeeping missions and has led his team to much anticipated success. Part 2 The army is the main branch of the military, which is one of the organizations in the criminal justice system. The main purpose of the army is to protect states and any other interests. Protection is achieved by fighting in conflicts when the need arises, partaking in peacekeeping and security responsibilities and maintaining a state of readiness for war. The army is mainly based on land (Bailey, 2009). The army and the entire defense force are faced with the challenge of increased terrorism worldwide. Global information advancement has made it possible for terrorism activities to be on the rise. Therefore, the army commanders are forced to use violence to tackle suspected terrorist. More army personnel are sent to terrorist stricken places for peace operations. The army thus has the challenge of ensuring terrorist activities are curbed and world leaders taking advantage of their citizens seized from power (Bailey, 2009). Future challenges facing the army are the advancement in technology, which leads to existence of nuclear weapons. The army has the task of ensuring nuclear weaponry is well handled to protect the world at large. Prior to an individual joining the army, he or she has a number of decisions to make. The first option is whether to join the regular army, the reserve or the National Guard. Within the regular army, a person with a potential to become a soldier has the option of whether to become an enlisted soldier, a warrant officer or a commissioned officer. People with criminal backgrounds are not permitted to join the arm. Nonetheless, waivers do exist to those with criminal backgrounds because the army is in need of more soldiers, but the crimes ought to be light in nature. Soldiers are normally recruited through a local recruiting office. United States citizens between the ages of 17 and 34 years old with high school diploma and who are physically fit are suitable for enlistment. In addition, the individual need to pass the “armed services vocational aptitude battery (ASVAB) test” (Bailey, 2009). For warrant officer a certain degree of technical skills need to be demonstrated. The individual must be a citizen of a state between the ages of 18 and 33 with a high school diploma. Physical screening for warrant officers is more rigorous compared to that of regular enlistment. Potential warrant officers ought to attend warrant officer candidate school after finishing basic training. Commissioned officers are top ranked in the army. There are a number of courses taken prior to one becoming a commissioned officer. One can join reserve officers training corps, which is a set of leadership courses taken in conjunction with regular college courses. Graduating from the program earns the soldier the rank of second lieutenant. Students can also enroll in West point, which is an elite military academy with strict entry requirements, and very tough training and learning program. Graduating from the college is a prestigious honor. Potential soldiers with college degrees between the ages of 18 and 28 can join the officer candidate school, where they undergo an intense 14-week training program. The officer candidate school qualifies one to become an officer for a three-year minimum in the regular army or six years in the reserves. Civilians with professionals’ degrees may be qualified for a commissioned rank dependable on their levels of skill and experience. All army recruits with the exception of West point cadets (who experience a much longer intense training program) undergo a basic training. The basic training is a nine-week program that sharpens a soldier’s mental and physical skills and teaches them how to function within the army (Bailey, 2009). Recruits are taught to respect and obey higher-ranking soldiers, enhance their endurance through obstacle courses and intense running in heavy gear, they also learn to maintain and fire military weapons. They also get to know army basics for instance map reading and first aid. Drill sergeants who are specially trained to motivate and teach recruits normally conduct basic training. The basic training is known to be tough and difficult but most soldiers are proud to have undergone through the training. Basic training is also known to establish a special bond amongst soldiers. Advanced individual training takes place after basic training. At this stage, soldiers select their career paths in the army. Diverse options exist, for instance “infantry school, engineer school, field artillery centre and military police school” (Bailey, 2009). Development of employees occurs throughout a soldier’s life. The training of soldiers never ceases. The soldiers are given chances to train further to develop their skills and assist them become leaders within the army. The objective of the army is to keep the soldiers focused on enhancing their skills and abilities. This is done so that the soldiers can do their jobs effectively when people’s lives are in danger. To ensure soldiers are comfortable while at work the army takes care of soldiers’ families. Special programs are inexistence for married couples both working in the army. A soldier is made to know that they can be sent anywhere the army commands them and they are made to know that while at work they are exposed to injury or death. Military police are responsible for discipline within the army. The military police are accountable for law enforcement on military property and concerning military personnel, installation security, close personal protection of senior military officers, management of prisoners of war, maintaining of military prisons, traffic control, route signing and resupply route management (Bailey, 2009). Therefore, through the military police law and order is enhanced. Discipline is an important virtue and the military police are responsible for ensuring it is well practiced and not violated. Armed forces federation is the union that protects the rights of military forces. The union ensures soldiers are respected irrespective of gender or rank of the individual. The federation has a network worldwide. The federation maintains communication though the internet. Through the union soldiers are able to present their grievances without affecting public peace. The federation works hand in hand with the management. Nevertheless, the top management are also members of the federation. Therefore, working with the management becomes easier and this avoids unnecessary disagreements that can lead to strikes (Bailey, 2009). The budget cycle of the army is dependent on the economy. The army is known to use the highest budget because the intense training and the weapons needed require a huge budget. The budget cycle is constant unless the economy changes forces the cycle to be altered to accommodate new changes. The organizational structure of the army from the lowest rank to the highest include;- “private, private 2, private first class, specialist, corporal, sergeant, staff sergeant, sergeant first class, master sergeant, sergeant major, command sergeant major, sergeant major of the army, warrant officer, chief warrant officer 2, chief warrant officer 3, chief warrant officer 4, chief warrant officer 5, second lieutenant, first lieutenant, captain, major, lieutenant colonel, colonel, brigadier general, major general , lieutenant general , general and general of the army is the most senior position in the army organizational structure” (Bailey, 2009). References Bailey, B. L. (2009). America's Army: Making the all-volunteer force. Cambridge, Mass. [u.a.: Belknap Press of Harvard Univ. Press. Schwartz, M. K., & Gimbel, K. G. (2000). Leadership resources: A guide to training and development tools. Greensboro, NC: Center for Creative Leadership. The Army officer's guide. (2009). 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