I want to use this opportunity to discuss two things, both near and dear to my heart; The United States Marine Corps and Management. Throughout this paper I want to focus on how I think civilians can learn to be better managers by using what that corps has established over it’s illustrious 223 years as the “Best Management-Training Program in America” Inc. (Freedman).
The United States Marine Corps manages using a principle I learned in this course: Decentralization! Let me break this down. I learned it quite simply as the rule of three. But before I define this, I will briefly explain to you a small portion of the Marine rank structure. A Corporal is the first rank that an enlisted Marine is considered a leader due to his/her rank (though all Marines are trained to lead). The Corporal is the first of the Marine Non-commissioned Officers (NCO’S), then in ascending order is the Sergeant, Staff Sergeant, Gunnery Sergeant, and so on. Now back to the rule of three. Each Marine has three responsibilities. In our organizational structure, a Corporal has a three-person fire team; a Sergeant has a squad of three fire teams; and a Staff Sergeant has a platoon of three squads; and so on, up to the Colonels and Generals.
For the typical business, decentralizing and flattening organizational structure involves “gutting several layers of management, often leaving managers overwhelmed with as many as a dozen direct subordinates” (Freedman). In contrast, the Marine Corps has been able to push out authority but still maintain a “simple hierarchical structure designed to keep everyone’s job manageable” (Freedman).
What at first glance may seem rigid or narrow, the many layers between the Private and Colonel lend opportunity for innovation. At the same time, even the lowest ranking Marine, the Private knows that he or she is expected to do whatever it takes to accomplish the mission.
An organization (civilian) may want to look at this a little further. We must have established managers, but the notion of delegation of authority should be expanded in the civilian world. Well considered delegation of authority not only lifts some pressure off the titled manager, but also gives some well-deserved leadership satisfaction to an employee who may never have had the chance to be a “manager”.
The success of the Marine Corps Management strategy is apparent in the vast numbers of ex-Marines who hold the Chief Executive Officer, President, Vice President, Chairman, and Manager positions at all levels in top.
As Marines, we have a well-known motto “One Team, One Fight” that creates an image of strong unity that everyone regardless of rank or size plays an important role. Everyone is necessary to complete the mission. In this book, one particular Marine, (then) Captain Bill Barber, has a story that since has become a crucial tool used as teaching material today for multi-level Marines everywhere. This book serves as a testimony to Captain Barber’s will in the midst of extreme opposition and sets the example of the for mentioned mindset
The United States Army has been a leader in military prowess on the world stage since its inception in 1775, and with such a record, it is reasonably assumed that there must be solid foundation within the organization working to maintain the high level of performance. The Noncommissioned Officer Corps is one institution within the Army that serves as a large portion of this foundation that makes it the fighting force that it has always been, and the noncommissioned officers have been an integral piece since the very inception of the Army. The Prussian General Friedrich Wilhelm von Steuben, organizer of the Noncommissioned Officer Corps, encapsulated this idea when he coined the noncommissioned officer (NCO) as the backbone of the Army. (Arms, 1991) In an Army that is continuously adjusting to world around it while maintaining its status as the military leader to all other nations, the Noncommissioned Officer Corps has always provided the platform for continuity through a growing rank system based on its original core, an evolving training program to develop effective leaders, and a creed that moves us forward while remembering the rich history of the corps that came before us.
You must be able to reach them in a timely manner, in case the plan of the day has changed. The Marine Corps cannot function without its most important tool, the MARINES. One of the smallest and most important aspects of being Marines, being where you are supposed to be and doing what you are supposed to be doing. If your leadership is unaware that you are doing these things then they are to assume you are not completing the task assigned or never made it to the required event. As Marines we are designed to be a force in readiness, able to deploy and execute missions within a limited time frame. Getting an entire unit up and ready to deploy requires a lot of moving parts which make communication and accountability on all levels important. Formations and gear inspections have become so ingrained in the USMC culture because you need to have the proper personal and equipment to complete the mission. Without the proper personnel in the proper place at the proper time the Marine Corps as a whole cannot
A military officer must manage pieces of one of the largest organizations in the United States government - an organization that accounts for the third largest piece of the American budget and is comprised of 1.3 million active sailors, soldiers, airmen, and marines, many of whom are tasked with being deployable to any location within 48 hours. This is only possible through concise, professional communication on the part of every service member, especially
The Marine Corps Commandant General James L. Jones wants to lead the Marines into the 21st century with a new camouflage utility uniform. You may ask, why do the Marines need to differentiate their uniform from other branches; or why do the Marines need a new utility uniform at all. The answer to these questions can be summed up in two words: Forward Movement. Some Marines are having difficulties with the changes that have occurred as well as the changes that are coming.
The Army requires its members to adhere to prolonged training and learn specialized skills. From the moment a soldier transitions from the civilian sector into the Army, he is indoctrinated with training. Regardless of rank, the Army demands each soldier to be technically proficient and mentally competent in order to be qualified in a respective Military Occupation Specialty. As a soldier progresses in his military career, he is required to continue his education and training. Army leaders are expected and required to continue developing their skills through academic studies, operational experience, and institutional training. An opposing view argues that anyone can learn these skills; however, statistics show less than 0.5% of the population serves in the armed forces, indicating a soldier is a rare mix of intelligence and character.1 These lessons are necessary qualifications to achieve what General Martin Dempsey describes as “effectiveness rather than efficiency.”2 Much like the profession of medicine which must heal, the media which must provide truth, and law which must provide justice, the profession of arms must provide secur...
Staff Sergeant (SSGT) Louis Moeller shaped me into the Recon Marine I wanted to be and the Non-Commissioned Officer (NCO) that I am now. By embodying the Recon Creed and always setting the example, he made me want to be an NCO that my troops would look up to and want to follow. Even when not in charge he was constantly the one peers and junior Marines alike, turned to for guidance and inspiration. To this day, I still find myself asking “What would Louis do?” when confronted with a leadership dilemma.
This career is important to society because every great nation needs warrior’s battle ready to defend it from oncoming threats and onslaughts. These brave young men and women defend and fight for those who can’t do it for themselves. Fighting a war test a soldier’s skill but defending his home tests a soldier’s heart. The Few, the Proud, the Marines………………..
We can identify three major cultural dimensions that help us to understand what leaders must focus on as they guide the transition of the Army. First, professional Identity, which is guided by Soldiers at all levels who are striving for excellence in their functional specialty, i.e., HR Sergeants. Soldiers who have goals and ideals of the Army to ethically put service and duty first. HR Sergeants are trained and well educated in their field. They are taught to put Soldiers first and have great customer support skills. Second, community, the sense in which Soldiers stop thinking about “I” and start thinking “we”. The bond among units who not only believe in cohesion with Soldiers, but their families too. The HR Sergeants are there to take care of Soldiers when financial issues arise with them or their families and don’t back down until the situation is solved. Last, hierarchy, which leads to order and control and provides Soldiers with moral reference and a sense of direction. The HR Sergeant has the mentality of mission first, knowing who to contact at the next level for assistance helps get the mission
In the United States Army, there are two categories of rank structure, the enlisted corps and the commissioned corps. The enlisted corps within itself contains leaders, who are referred to as Noncommissioned Officers, or NCOs. These individuals, whose ranks range from Sergeant to Sergeant Major, are responsible implementing the guidance and command policies provided by the Commissioned Officers and commanders in their units. NCOs are also responsible for the welfare and training of junior personnel. The US Army provides regulations and manuals with step by step guidance for the most trivial of tasks, but it fails to spell out specific and concrete information on how to be an NCO. There are publications, such as “The Creed of the Noncommissioned Officer” and regulations on leadership, but they lack specificity and objective instruction for how to accomplish the aforementioned responsibilities of an NCO. The knowledge and skills of an NCO are instead acquired through training and experience, the products of which are NCOs of varying quality. A good NCO is one who knows and fulfills the written laws and regulations of Army doctrine, has the character of a good soldier and leader, and is able to strike a balance between written law and doing what is right even if the two seem to contradict one another.
The history of Lieutenant General Lewis B. “Chesty” Puller is not well known outside of the U.S. Marine Corps, but as the most decorated marine in history his legend will live on and continue to inspire the marines of tomorrow. The enlisted corps has idolized him, frequently encouraging one another to do that last push up when motivated by fellow marines saying “Do one for Chesty!” The purpose of this essay is to demonstrate that Chesty, using current day leadership theories, was a visionary and ethical leader who exemplified the characteristics that our nation’s military needed during World War II and still needs today. I will explain how he embodied some principles of Full Range Leadership Development that are taught today. Then I will describe how he demonstrated his ethical leadership through combat actions when faced with general military ethics situations. Finally, I will examine how my own leadership abilities, though noncombat focused, compare to how Chesty led his marines. Let’s begin by exploring the visionary leadership that Lt Gen Puller exhibited.
Terriff, Terry. 2006. "Warriors and Innovators: Military Change and Organizational Culture in the US Marine Corps." Defence Studies 6, no. 2: 215. Advanced Placement Source, EBSCOhost (accessed November 28, 2017).
Knowledge can be seen as the main focus of nursing qualities as it is a lifelong skill that is learned throughout a nurse’s career. In nursing, knowledge can be classified as theoretical or practice-based. Practice-based knowledge is attained through the nurse-patient encounter. According to Mantzoukas and Jasper (2008), a nurse’s nonverbal and verbal communication exhibits the nurse’s practice- based knowledge. When nurses demonstrate appropriate communication patients feel understood and comfortable within the relationship. It is difficult for a nurse to obtain this knowledge without taking an autonomous and individual approach for each patient (Mantzoukas & Jasper, 2008). Taking an autonomous approach allows for the nurse’s critical thinking to improve as well. Good critical thinking skills increases the chances of achieving desired patient outcomes as the nurse is able to analyze the situation effectively. Theoretical knowledge is acquired through education. This type of knowledge is expressed through what nurses know and the logical information the nurse possess in relation to their practice. Theoretical knowledge is also important as it makes the nurse competent and capable of carrying out simple tasks. From the coat of arms, it is evident that knowledge is a unifying quality that is the foundation for acquiring other qualities necessary for
Nursing is one of the most amazing professions there is because it offers so much opportunity in one’s life. When I say opportunity I mean it offers the opportunity for growth through more education, the
Wright, P., Geroy, G. and Baker, D. (1996), Management Training Challenges in Vietnam, Corporate University Review, July/August, pp. 40-1.