Human resources challenges of military to civilian employment transitions

2020 ◽  
Vol 25 (5) ◽  
pp. 481-500
Author(s):  
John C. Dexter

PurposeUpon discharge, US service members experience an instantaneous immersion back into civilian life. One of the most challenging aspects of that reimmersion is the reentry/entry into the civilian workforce. As such, it is necessary to study the returning veteran's employment experience when considering the veteran's civilian reintegration. The purpose of this study was to analyze and evaluate the returning veteran's civilian employment experience and to identify challenges faced by the veteran in the civilian onboarding experience.Design/methodology/approachThis study is a qualitative analysis in which 27 military veterans were interviewed about their experience with civilian reemployment. The results of the interviews were compiled, analyzed and grouped by common theme. This study explains some of the major issues confronted by the newly separated veteran and discusses how those challenges may influence job satisfaction and job performance.FindingsThe analysis identified the following three main themes that posed challenges to the veteran to civilian employment transition: civilian employer’s military job knowledge deficit, veteran anxiety with civilian employer’s lack of clearly defined new-hire processes and civilian employer misunderstanding of veteran compensation, benefits and family involvement expectations.Research limitations/implicationsThis study is beneficial to scholars in as much as it will help to more clearly identify literature gaps, provide direction on emerging research concepts, add to the existing literature on the veteran to civilian transitions and connect research areas that have not yet been adequately studied. Future research would be well served to follow a similar program of research but by employing different research methods in order to address the limitations outlined above and further support the findings of this research. Specifically, future research should sample across a wider set of individuals as study participants (time since discharge, age, military rank at time of separation, reserve status, etc.). By doing this, future researchers may be able to determine how perceptions change over time and with regard to military experience. A second area of future research may be to conduct related research based on civilian employment opportunities and qualifications. Specific areas of study to be considered should be focused primarily on the macro issues such as military leadership and translating military experiences and skill sets to civilian contexts. Unlike other findings in this research, these two areas cannot be affected at the organizational level, and as such require concept exploration and clarity.Practical implicationsThis study provides guidance and direction for veterans and employers alike by outlining areas that may be challenging for new-hire military veterans and bringing to light areas where the civilian onboarding experience can improve to better accommodate veterans. Further, this study identifies areas that directly or indirectly contribute to high veteran turnover rates and ultimately high veteran unemployment rates.Originality/valueThis original quantitative study conducted by the author specifically identifies several areas in the veteran to civilian employment transition that pose challenges for the returning veteran. All data for this study were gathered and analyzed using first-hand face-to-face interviews and established data analysis methods by the researcher.

2021 ◽  
Vol ahead-of-print (ahead-of-print) ◽  

Purpose This paper aims to review the latest management developments across the globe and pinpoint practical implications from cutting-edge research and case studies. Design/methodology/approach This briefing is prepared by an independent writer who adds their own impartial comments and places the articles in context. Findings This research paper concentrates on the transition experiences of recent military veterans into civilian employment. The interview-based results revealed that, firstly, veterans were struck by civilian employers' lack of knowledge about military jobs and skills. Secondly, the comparatively loose hiring and training processes experienced in civilian firms were a source of anxiety and frustration for military veterans. Thirdly, civilian employers clearly didn't understand the significantly different military compensation and benefits structure, nor the high level of family involvement in military life. Consequently, these civilian employers were deemed to possess little context around the environments these veterans were joining from. Originality/value The briefing saves busy executives and researchers hours of reading time by selecting only the very best, most pertinent information and presenting it in a condensed and easy-to-digest format.


2021 ◽  
Vol ahead-of-print (ahead-of-print) ◽  
Author(s):  
Benjamin P. Dean

PurposeThis inquiry aims to determine the features and mechanisms that specially enable a multiteam system (MTS) to develop ambidexterity that can deal effectively with rapid changes in dynamic environments. The MTS is an emerging organizational unit comprised of tightly integrated networks of teams that may originate from one or more firms. The inquiry also considered how an MTS can engage those features and mechanisms to maximize ambidexterity as dynamic capabilities for increased innovation and long-term adaptation under complex, volatile conditions.Design/methodology/approachThis conceptual inquiry integrates the emerging research on MTSs with theory and studies relating to ambidexterity and dynamic capabilities. This inquiry focuses on the attributes and linkages that specially characterize an MTS. It analyzes these to determine the key mechanisms and interactions enabling and engaging ambidexterity at MTS unit level.FindingsMTSs can engage powerful mechanisms for ambidexterity functioning as dynamic capabilities at meso-organizational level. The attributes and linkages that distinguish an MTS from other units enable it to deal effectively and efficiently with near-term task demands by simultaneously balancing the essential tasks of exploration and exploitation, and by being able to rapidly adapt by reconfiguring taskwork and reallocating resources as required for sustainable innovation and long-term success within a dynamic environment.Practical implicationsThis inquiry provides valuable insights for designing MTSs that are equipped with selected teams, flexible memberships, specialized skills and permeable interfaces. Autonomy for an MTS allows the unit to span internal and external organizational boundaries to gain access to new discoveries and to exchange information and material resources for increased innovation. Ambidexterity as dynamic capabilities facilitates exploitation of current resources by efficiently reconfiguring taskwork and reallocating materials for adaptation and competitive advantage.Originality/valueThis inquiry appears to represent the most integrative effort to examine the underexplored potential of MTSs for developing and engaging ambidexterity functioning as dynamic capabilities. The inquiry appears to be a first effort at articulating a concept of MTS ambidexterity distinct from organizational ambidexterity. The analysis synthesizes a systems model that guides organizational leaders and opens new opportunities for future research.


2017 ◽  
Vol 13 (2) ◽  
pp. 106-132 ◽  
Author(s):  
Satish Kumar ◽  
Sisira Colombage ◽  
Purnima Rao

Purpose The purpose of this paper is to study the status of studies on capital structure determinants in the past 40 years. This paper highlights the major gaps in the literature on determinants of capital structure and also aims to raise specific questions for future research. Design/methodology/approach The prominence of research is assessed by studying the year of publication and region, level of economic development, firm size, data collection methods, data analysis techniques and theoretical models of capital structure from the selected papers. The review is based on 167 papers published from 1972 to 2013 in various peer-reviewed journals. The relationship of determinants of capital structure is analyzed with the help of meta-analysis. Findings Major findings show an increase of interest in research on determinants of capital structure of the firms located in emerging markets. However, it is observed that these regions are still under-examined which provides more scope for research both empirical and survey-based studies. Majority of research studies are conducted on large-sized firms by using secondary data and regression-based models for the analysis, whereas studies on small-sized firms are very meager. As majority of the research papers are written only at the organizational level, the impact of leverage on various industries is yet to be examined. The review highlights the major determinants of capital structure and their relationship with leverage. It also reveals the dominance of pecking order theory in explaining capital structure of firms theoretically as well as statistically. Originality/value The paper covers a considerable period of time (1972-2013). Among very few review papers on capital structure research, to the best of authors’ knowledge; this is the first review to identify what is missing in the literature on the determinants of capital structure while offering recommendations for future studies. It also synthesize the findings of empirical studies on determinants of capital structure statistically.


2015 ◽  
Vol 34 (7) ◽  
pp. 787-802 ◽  
Author(s):  
Melissa Mitchell ◽  
Christopher D. Zatzick

Purpose – The purpose of this paper is to examine skill underutilization and collective turnover in a large professional service firm (PSF). The authors hypothesize that skill underutilization is positively related to collective turnover, that skill underutilization is greater among professionals than nonprofessionals, and that the positive relationship between skill underutilization and collective turnover is stronger for professionals than for nonprofessionals. Design/methodology/approach – Using survey data from a large PSF, the authors test these predictions across 191 groups (professional and nonprofessional) in 80 offices. Collective turnover rates were taken from company records one year after the survey was administered. Findings – The authors find support for the prediction that skill underutilization is positively related to collective turnover. In addition, skill underutilization is greater among professionals than nonprofessionals within a PSF. However, the relationship between skill underutilization and collective turnover did not differ between professionals and nonprofessionals. Research limitations/implications – While the authors find that skill underutilization is positively related to collective turnover, future research is needed to measure the group processes that occur among group members and lead to collective turnover. Limitations of this study include the inability to validate the aggregation of data from the individual level to the group level, and the generalizability of findings to other PSFs or to involuntary turnover situations. Practical implications – Understanding the antecedents of collective turnover is of particular concern to PSFs, as they are composed of highly skilled, intrinsically motivated professionals, who generate value for the firm. These findings are particularly timely, given the significant levels of underemployment in countries throughout the world. Originality/value – In addition to extending skill underutilization and collective turnover research to the occupational group level, the findings highlight the importance of providing development opportunities for employees during difficult economic conditions in order to minimize collective turnover.


2019 ◽  
Vol 27 (7) ◽  
pp. 2005-2027 ◽  
Author(s):  
Jing Yi Yong ◽  
M.-Y. Yusliza ◽  
Olawole Olanre Fawehinmi

Purpose Green or environmental human resource management (HRM) has in recent years attracted much attention from academia and practitioners all over the world. However, a thorough analysis of green or environmental HRM has not been made so far. To address this gap, the present study provides a systematic and comprehensive literature review. The purpose of this paper is threefold: to review Green HRM literature of various scopes, approaches and contexts; to identify different focus areas in the Green HRM literature; and to propose areas for future research. Design/methodology/approach The paper follows a systematic literature review approach. The selected journal articles are categorized on the basis of five focus areas in the Green HRM derived from the extant literature. Findings Research has grown significantly over the past 12 years that has focused on Green HRM. A total of 70 articles were reviewed and most of these articles employed quantitative method and were carried out in developing countries. Based on the five focus areas identified in this literature review, the performance outcome of Green HRM at both the organizational level and individual level received the greatest attention from the researchers. Research limitations/implications This paper is limited to a review of academic articles obtainable from online databases, containing the words “Green human resource management”, “Green HRM”, “Green human resource”, “Environmental HRM”, “Green training” and “Environmental training” in the title. Additionally, only papers from high quality, peer-reviewed journals were evaluated. Other academic sources such as books and conference papers were not included in this study. Originality/value The paper presents a structural overview of 70 peer-reviewed articles published in leading academic journals from 2007 until early 2019. This review provides an increased understanding of the existing state of current research, trends and future research directions in the Green HRM discipline.


2020 ◽  
Vol ahead-of-print (ahead-of-print) ◽  
Author(s):  
Erny Rachmawati ◽  
Suliyanto ◽  
Agus Suroso

PurposeThis study aims to determine the direct effect of entrepreneurial orientation on family business performance. This study also discusses the role of family involvement as a mediating variable and the role of gender as a moderating variable in the relationship between entrepreneurial orientation and family business performance.Design/methodology/approachA total of 328 hotels in Yogyakarta, Indonesia, were selected as samples by the convenience sampling method. Primary data is collected through structured questionnaires that are delivered by themselves to key people in the hotel such as owners, directors and key staff (HRD, financial, relationship). Hypotheses are tested by structural equation modeling procedures using AMOS 22.0. Sobel test is used to determine the indirect effect of the mediation variable.FindingsThe results showed that entrepreneurial orientation had no significant effect on family business performance. Family involvement acts as a full mediation in the relationship between entrepreneurial orientation and family business performance. Gender acts as a moderating variable that can strengthen the relationship between entrepreneurial orientation and family business performance. The results showed support for previous research.Research limitations/implicationsThe results of the study cannot conclude the national family business because it adopts convenience sampling and the sampling area is limited in Yogyakarta. Future research can use a larger sample. This study only researches hotels managed by family businesses, so it is not feasible to conclude for family businesses in general. Future research may choose to use several types of family businesses so that more varied results can be obtained. Future research could also compare hotels managed by family businesses with non-family businesses. The results also found that in addition to gender roles, respondent heterogeneity was an important component in the study of social identity. Therefore, research examining the influence of different cultures on the relationship between entrepreneurial orientation and family business performance should be an extraordinary topic for future study. Other results from this study also indicate that there is a role for religion in improving hotel performance. Future research is needed to further explore Islamic business modeling for family businesses.Practical implicationsThis finding has significant implications that can help family businesses in developing strategies that are suitable for business management. Entrepreneurial orientation occupies a strategic position in developing sustainable competitive advantage in the family business of the tourism sector especially the hotel business in Yogyakarta for the better. Besides, the results of the study also showed that entrepreneurial orientation had no significant effect on performance. This relationship becomes significant when combined with active family involvement. This finding also shows that entrepreneurial orientation has the potential to have a more beneficial effect because of the active involvement of the family in helping with business management, alleviating business-related problems, and having a significant influence when the family also acts as management.Social implicationsResearch findings indicate the role of gender in strengthening the relationship between entrepreneurial orientation and family business performance. This provides a good position for women in the social environment to show achievement. To place women on the side of gender equality and justice in the family business in Indonesia. By opening wider access for Indonesian women in the realm of business management, expanding women's participation in a family business, increasing the role of control for women, and increasing women's knowledge and skills to increase the benefits in managing family businesses so that they have sustainable resilience in the face of global competition.Originality/valueThe results of this study provide a new model in providing an overview of the direct and indirect roles (mediating and moderating) in the assessment of family business performance. This study uses three variables which are important in performance appraisal, namely entrepreneurial orientation (independent variable), family involvement (mediating variable) and gender (moderating variable). Where research that combines these four variables, directly and indirectly, has never been done before.


Author(s):  
Megan Alderden ◽  
Wesley G. Skogan

Purpose – The purpose of this paper is to examine the correlates of job satisfaction among civilian employees of law enforcement agencies, to assess how features of the policing workplace influence employee morale. Design/methodology/approach – The data for this study were drawn from surveys conducted as part of the National Police Research Platform. In total, 472 civilians from 19 police agencies completed the survey. Findings – The findings indicate that contentment with pay and benefits, lower levels of work-related stress, equality in the workplace, and feelings of acceptance were associated with civilian employee satisfaction. Research limitations/implications – The analyses presented here focusses on factors more unique to policing and did not include all of factors correlated with job satisfaction in past literature. Future research should address this as well as control for the effect of organizational-level factors. Practical implications – The research identifies key factors in each of those categories that inhibit the effective incorporation of civilians into the workforce. It indicates that reaping the full advantages of civilianization is complex and requires attention to fundamental aspects of police organizations. How administrators deal with this reality will impact the efficiency and effectiveness of their organizations in important ways. Originality/value – To date, much of what has been written about the place of civilians in policing consists of descriptions of their numeric representation and discussions of the presumed advantages of hiring them in larger numbers. Less is known about how well civilians have been integrated into the policing workforce.


2014 ◽  
Vol 9 (3) ◽  
pp. 232-244 ◽  
Author(s):  
Cassandra Thompson ◽  
Samuel Lane

Purpose – This study aims to evaluate both intelligence and job satisfaction of workers in the USA and China. Each topic will be studied individually, first, to determine the relationship between intelligence and job satisfaction. The statistics between China and the USA will then be compared and contrasted to assess how different cultures will affect emotional intelligence and job satisfaction of those in the workforce. Design/methodology/approach – A review of the empirical studies on intelligence and job satisfaction was performed and used to develop a model to guide future research. Findings – There is a negative relationship between intelligence and job satisfaction in the USA, but no studies have been done to compare both constructs cross-culturally. Research limitations/implications – The proposed study can be used to gain an understanding of the relationship between intelligence and job satisfaction across different cultures. Practical implications – The link between job satisfaction and intelligence can be used by employers to determine information about other aspects of their business, such as turnover rates of productive employees. Originality/value – Although there has been some research on the relation between intelligence and job satisfaction, notably by Ganzach (1998), very little has been done across cultures.


2017 ◽  
Vol 3 (4) ◽  
pp. 274-286
Author(s):  
Rose Ricciardelli ◽  
Krystle Martin

Purpose The growing prison population and challenges related to recruiting and retaining suitable correctional officers (COs) in Canada provided the impetus for the current study. Recruitment efforts in provinces and territories often rely on a variety of diverse testing, ranging from physical fitness to in-person interviews. However, despite such efforts, turn-over rates remain high and insight into what motivates people to seek a career in correctional work continues to require elucidation. By investigating the career development of COs, the purpose of this paper is to understand why certain men seek employment in this field. Design/methodology/approach Data are derived from in-depth semi-structured interviews with male officers (n=41) who have employment experience in provincial correctional facilities. Findings Respondents discussed their initial motivations for entering the field and their career ambitions. Some entered corrections because they lacked alternative options for employment, others as a stepping stone for a different justice-oriented occupation such as policing or parole. Many were motivated by the income and benefits or had a specific vocational self-identity toward correctional work. However, nearly all respondents indicated that, over time, they no longer felt their rate of pay justly reflected the demands of the occupation, thus factors motivating field entry fail to materialize in ways that sustain long-term employee retention. Practical implications CO recruitment should target individuals with interest in the field of justice more broadly. Occupational demands of the CO occupation need to be addressed to reduce turnover. Recruitment should focus not only on new graduates but also be directed toward more mature individuals. The impact of resource intensive interview processes for candidates on turnover rates needs to be evaluated. Originality/value The authors’ focus on COs with employment experience in provincial and territorial correctional facilities, rather than federal, is justified by the lack of research on and the high rate of CO turnover in such facilities. After exploring the qualitative responses of officers, clear themes emerged that align well with natural socio-ecological systems: the self, family and community, and wider society.


2019 ◽  
Vol 34 (5) ◽  
pp. 948-964 ◽  
Author(s):  
Linlin Chai ◽  
Jin Li ◽  
Thomas Clauss ◽  
Chanchai Tangpong

Purpose The purpose of this study is to investigate the antecedents and the conditions of coopetition at the inter-organizational level. Design/methodology/approach This study is based on survey research methodology and analyzes the data from 138 companies regarding the antecedents and the conditions of their coopetition. Findings The results indicate that the interdependence between partners (i.e. the antecedent) positively affects interfirm coopetition, and that this relationship is contingent on the joint occurrence of opportunism (a behavioral condition) and technology uncertainty (a contextual condition). Specifically, highly interdependent firms are more likely to be involved in a coopetitive relationship when both opportunism and technology uncertainty are high. Interestingly, the authors’ data also show that opportunism or technology uncertainty alone may not be adequate in moderating the interdependence–coopetition relationship. Research limitations/implications This study contributes to the current literature in two meaningful ways. First, it empirically examines interdependence as a potential antecedent of interfirm coopetition. Second, it improves our understanding of the behavioral and contextual conditions that facilitate the formation of coopetitive relationships by examining the moderating roles of opportunisms and technology uncertainty in the relationship between interdependence and interfirm coopetition. The limitations of this study lie in its confined method of cross-sectional survey from the focal firm’s perspective. Future research may advance beyond this study through experimental and/or longitudinal research designs. Practical implications This study provides managers with two important practical insights in coopetition management. First, the findings suggest a two-step approach to help a firm assess and manage the level of coopetition in its relationship with a business partner. In addition, the findings provide a counterintuitive suggestion to managers that the joint conditions of high opportunism and high technology uncertainty indeed prime the relationship for the rise of coopetition, provided that managerial efforts are made to somewhat increase the level of interdependence in the relationship. Originality/value Despite the growing number of studies on coopetition, research still lacks knowledge about the antecedents and the conditions of inter-organizational coopetition, and this study aims to fill this gap.


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