Staffing and Recruitment of the United States Military Term Paper

Staffing and Recruitment of the United States Military - Term Paper Example Determining staffing needs and recruiting the best employees to fill these needs is the first step in effective HRM. If the first step is appropriately performed i.e. getting the best employees, the remaining functions are facilitated because of it. Every field has different staffing requirements as per the nature of the job. Recruitment in the military is not just a ‘jobs program.’ It’s a very serious business which includes the security and national interests of any nation. In this report, we discuss the staffing and recruitment requirements in military with particular emphasis on the US Military’s recruiting in light of human resource management. ______________________________________________ Introduction Human resource management has gained a lot of importance in the past few years. The concept of managing your company’s most valuable assets i.e. the people to get maximum results has gained a great deal of momentum and has become one of the integ ral functions of any organization (Schuler & MacMillan, 1984). An effective human resource system has various functions. Staffing and recruiting is first and very important function of effective HRM. This includes understanding the appropriate hiring needs of a particular organization and sector and appointing the best personnel according to these needs. Research shows that organizations which use sophisticated recruitment and selection strategies have positive effect on labor productivity (Koch & McGrath, 1996). Along with the respective education, various other criteria are present for each different job. The more difficult the nature of the job, the more complicated its recruiting requirements; Military is one these fields, and therefore it is not a simple business with simple job descriptions. It involves the defense of a country and a lot of care is required in military recruitment. Taking the U.S. Military as an example, let us discuss in detail about military staffing and rec ruitment. Overview of United States Military The military organizational structure of the United States Military, first known as the ‘War Department’, and later restructured as the ‘Department of Defense’, is headed by a civilian, The Secretary of Defense. Under this, there are three military departments, namely: The Department of the Army The Department of the Air Force The Department of the Navy These three departments are also headed by civilians. The secretary of defense and the three department heads, all are appointed by the President of the United States. The military has five branches, The Army, Air Force, Navy, Marine Corps, and Coast Guard. The first three are commanded by four star generals who report to their secretaries’ respectively. The Marine Corps also commanded by a four star general report to the Secretary of Navy as well. Now for the Coast Guard; these did not fall under the Department of Defense until recently, but now it is cons idered as a military service. This is because during periods of conflict, the President can transfer any or all assets of the Coast Guard to the Department of Navy. This is also commanded b