United States Armed Forces - Essay Example

? Introduction It is no doubt that there exist a considerable number of people throughout the world with asymmetrical access to life chances. This is because of the immense disparities in both proceeds and living standards. This is why there exist such definitions as developed and developing countries. However, within those countries, there still exist social stratifications. This is a clear indication of the extent of differences in the class of people. Meanwhile, social stratification exists in America because of the riches and control that belongs to a small percentage of the population (Weir, 2007). Therefore, income not only determines the power but also the class of the individual, his financial and opinionated position in society. These classes permeate an individual’s social behaviour where the upper class has a superior way of doing things as compared to the inferior ways of other classes. The status of an employee within an organisation can only be achieved through personal effort in a system of open class (Weir, 2007). This is in comparison to the social class to which any given employee belongs. The armed forces of the US are composed of several branches such as the army, navy, air force and others. It has a tradition of national control of the military with the president being the overall head. It consists of men and women who have decided to bring a difference and at the same time dedicated to serving and defending what they believe in (Majpeter et al, 1986). Therefore, this paper seeks to identify and define classes within this organisation in relation to geographic mobility by focusing on the regional variations and changing family definitions. Classes The correlation between income and education, in many ways, determine the job security and contentment, size of family and cultural values. This creates a scenario that associate poverty with reduced life expectancy and best education with wealth (Weir, 2007). Even though there could be many characteristics that could be employed to describe a person’s class, the mostly used are one’s occupation, education, and wealth. In the US, some of these factors define a person’s class. According to Tucker (2011) class is the categorization of people depending on the riches, earnings, and education. It s though the definition that the particular classes are constructed. There exist the upper, middle, and lower classes that are frames of reference in most of the communities. It is factual that birds of a feather flock together, however, in today’s multicultural society things have changed. Today, more than ever, people’s classes tend to differentiate internally. In the US military, class is associated with an individual’s rank. The bottom of the class is composed of individuals with no ranks. These groups of people are mainly young and single. In addition, they are usually less of college education because most of them are those just from high school (Roth-Douquet and Schaefer, 2007). As the class level goes up, it stops at non commissioned officers. This is the largest class in the US military. Their role is to manage a small group of employees, and the group forms the lower middle as well as the middle class according to the ranking scale of classes. This position is able by progression through the junior ranks. This promotion is, however, very competitive and it is attained after having served in the military for at least between three to six years. From this class, there is the warrant officer. These officers are highly skilled, and are specialists in certain areas. They do order detachments, but can also coach and train. However, their main job is to serve as technical experts by providing valuable skills and leadership to commanders and organisations in their field of expertise (Weir, 2007). This group forms the upper middle class. At the top of the class is the commissioned officer who forms the much-coveted upper class. These officers are responsible for larger groups of employees, and are in authority to command. This authority bestowed to them is their commission and is further reflected in their salary scale. Work values The work values displayed by these classes go back in time to the creation of the military in1787 when US constitution came into being (Roth-Douquet and Schaefer, 2007). These values were laid out in the constitution and they were aimed at building a powerful US. However, the uniform military code and the standards of conduct that are present now came into existence in 1950. Different branches have different values that they have to embrace following an oath. The navy and marine operate under respect, courage, and pledge. Nevertheless, the army has the highest number of the values that guide that they embrace. These include faithfulness, admiration, duty, personal courage, and honour just to name a few (Weir, 2007). The coastguard that is under homeland security upholds honour, high opinion, and commitment to duty. Therefore, employees in these branches are required to uphold these values, in addition, to their responsibilities depending on their ranks (Tucker, 2011). Meanwhile, service members are obliged to honour these values regardless of branch upon taking the oath of service. This is normally affected when they are recruited into the military. There are normally two distinct oaths that are reserved for enlisted and commissioned officers. Enlisted officers are those employees with ages ranging from 18 to 28 who are regularly recruited. Conversely, commissioned officers are those who receive commission from the president assigning them to the officer corps. Effects of geographic mobility However, the organisation is affected by geographic mobility in a number of ways. This is because of the regional variations that do exist in this organisation. According to Tucker (2011), an open class system does favour the mobility of employees across all identity groups. However, geographic mobility affects quite a lot of factors that are related to service and income. This is because of the direct proportionality that exists between levels of geographic mobility and employment as well as earnings. When levels of geographic mobility increase, there are increased difficulties in getting employment. This is, in addition to, discontent with employment opportunities, low rates of employment and lower yearly earnings (Finkel et al, 2003). This affects a lot the employees of the US armed forces who are always required to move from region to region. This mainly affects the spouses who move often than not are referred to aside migrants. It has been determined that, on average, a US military member gets a transfer after every four to seven years. This results into consequences that impact negatively on the spouse’s service and income (Majpeter, 1986). However, weir (2007) argues that it is a win-win situation because to the military spouses. This is because, employers get to find good employees, and the military spouses get to find good jobs through movement to new regions that they did not have without the transfer of the military employee. Therefore, this works for the benefit of the larger community. It is imperative to note that the organisation is not, in any way, affected by geographic mobility because it serves as a requirement of the organisations functioning (Finkel et al, 2003). In addition, it is the responsibility of the company to ensure that the employees in different locations are catered for in the management plan. Regional variations The military is worldwide, hence, many regional variations. This is because some of the employees of this organisation are stationed in the US and in diversified countries. However, due to the existing stringent policies and dealings of the armed forces, it has no considerable effect on planning (Finkel et al, 2003). This because these policies and procedures are followed to the later regardless of the region the employees are allocated. The “Don’t ask, don’t tell policy” of the US military is one of the evidences of the quest of the military management to maintain discipline and order. Family definitions In today’s world, there are various types of families in relation to the nuclear family. It is wrong for companies to presume that families are made up of father, mother, and children. Most American families are often single mothers with some involving step families, foster parents, two mothers or two fathers as well as adopted or step children (Finkel et al, 2003). It is important that organisations help employees balance responsibilities involving work and family. This search for balance began in the 1980s when more women entered the workplace (Department of Defence, 1993). Therefore, it is the wish of every employee to have a flexible work life balance in order to manage the competing demands. However, the only family unit that has an effect on the management of an organisation is the family that involves same sex collaborates. This also includes the US military as an organisation. This is because in such a scenario, the employee of the armed forces is unable to secure benefits for such partners (Department of Defence, 1993). This is emphasized by the fact that, the same sex marriages have not been embraced uniformly by all states. Therefore, the management is tied in some of the states that do not recognise this family unit. The US military is undoubtedly one of the organisations that are affected by socio-geographic factors. This is because the military has people of all races, sexual characteristics, and age who are employed in many geographical areas. The existence of strict policies has, to an extra length, helped in dealing with this. However, the military does consist of many classes built on the ranks present. These classes have their own set values therefore affecting its organisation even though most of the values are alike. Nevertheless, geographic mobility affects this organisation in both an affirmative and negative manner. However, regional variations do not affect the planning of the organisation as it affects other organisations. References Finkel, L., Kelley, M. And Ashby, J. (2003).Geographic mobility, family and maternal variables as related to the psychosocial adjustment of military children.168, (12): 1019-1024. Majpeter, S., Colronell, L., Xenakis, S.N (1986).The military in review: context, risk and prevention.25, (2): 225-234. National defence Research Institute, United States. Department of Defence. (1993). Sexual orientation and U.S. military personnel policy: options and assessment. Santa Monica. Rand Corporation. Roth-Douquet, K and Schaefer, F. (2007). Awol: The Unexcused Absence of America's Upper Classes from Military- and How It Hurts Our Country. New York HarperCollins Publishers. Tucker, S.C. (2011). The Encyclopaedia of the Vietnam War: A Political, Social, and Military History. Santa Barbara. ABC-CLIO. Weir, R. (2007). Class in America: H-P.Westport Greenwood Publishing Group. Read More