Human Resource Management USMC Essay

Every organization and company under the United States’ jurisdiction is required to implement a Human Resource Management section to his or her association. Without management, each organization would inevitably fall apart, and it is the human resource management department to make sure employees understand their duties, as well as ensure that all tasks are completed successfully. The majority of the population does not realize that these standards also pertain to militant organizations, such as the United States Marine Corps. Many think military organizations run themselves, or that they are run directly by the government. The USMC is a branch if the United States Navy, organized within the Department of the Navy. Their Human Resource Management branches are merged. The major services offered by the Marine Corps are security, providing combatant forces in other countries, as well as the United States. The Marine Corps employs just over 200,000 active duty employees, and around 42,000 reserve marines.
The United States Marine Corps have a lengthy history, dating back to the conception of the country. They began with the Continental Marines during the American Revolutionary War. Samuel Nicholas, a Captain, formed the original group on November 10, 1775. The aim was to create two battalions to help with the war effort. Today, November 10 is known as the Marine Corps Birthday and is often marked as a celebration with a ball in which every marine, presently employed and formerly employed, is invited to attend. In 1783, at the end of the war, the Navy and the Marines both disbanded out of necessity. They were reassembled in July of 1798, when the official United States Marine Corps was born as a formal branch of the United States military. Through the oncoming waves of American history, Marines fought alongside soldiers, sailors, and later, airmen. WWI, WWII, the Korean War, Vietnam, and the Iraq War all saw Marine boots on soil before any others. Today they are a respected branch of the American military.
The Corps could not have achieved such grand success without recruiting members, however. They have optimal strategies for recruiting the best and the brightest, as well as the most desperate, in an effort to support American freedom and the ongoing war on terror. The business strategy recruiters often engage in is reaching potential Marine Corps participants when they are young; younger generations still have many options. They are also stronger, and easier to teach. Another business strategy used by recruiters to reach participants is to broadcast opportunities the Marines can offer. Participation in the military can help pay for school partially, or entirely. It also affords the individual an opportunity to learn job skills that will make them employable after their military service is over. Marine Corp participation also grants life skills that otherwise would not have been learned, such as survival in extreme conditions, and teamwork. The Marine Corps also gives the added bonus of guaranteed employment in difficult economic times, a business strategy that is worked often when reaching participants.
The Marine Corps has a leader, just like any other organization. In this case, it is the Secretary of the Navy. Currently the incumbent it Ray Mabus, who has been Secretary of the Navy since 2009. Previously, he was the state auditor for Mississippi, before serving as the 59th Governor to the state from 1998 to 1992. Later, in 1994, Mabus would go on to act as United States’ Ambassador to Saudi Arabia until 1996. He maintained a relatively low profile until, as a Democrat, he was elected as the Secretary of the Navy. Mabus’ decision-making style is bound by his position. He is authoritative, but also consultative. His orders come through a chain of command. The president and Secretary of Defense give their orders to the heads of the military. At this time, the heads of military services, Mabus included, delegate duties to carry out these orders. This chain of command can sometimes be an organizational issue for management. If the heads of the department disagree with the Secretary of Defense or the President’s orders there is nothing to be done about it.
The concept behind this problem, in regards to Human Resource Management, would be the beginning of the planning process. Though the Secretary of the Navy is in charge of the Marine Corps, they still answer to the president and the Secretary of Defense. The beginning of the Planning Process would dictate that the supervisor and the employer meet to discuss overall expectations. This concept includes the discussion of future projects, overall development of the organization, and performance objectives. The concept can rarely be fulfilled because the authoritarian policy the military is dictated by does not allow for these discussions. The concept could be implemented within the Marine Corps if the Secretary of Defense and Secretary of the Navy were able to collaborate more on future objectives; however, times of war and strategic planning leave little time for these discussions and often orders have to be handed down quickly.
There are other concepts of human resource management that are also not used within the United States Marine Corps. Training, unfortunately, is a human resources concept that is sometimes not implemented within the Corps. HR management ensures that each employee will receive the proper amount of training in order to do his or her job. Technically, this concept is applied with enthusiasm in the USMC. Each marine is trained for their specific, chosen job before they are assigned to a base or given their first designated deployment. However, many marines are asked to do jobs outside of their elected occupational assignment. Often they are not trained in these jobs and in many cases, these requests result in injury and even death. While sometimes the added work is essential on behalf of the working Marines, as well as the Marine Corps, it is relatively irresponsible on the part of the Corps to ask its employees to do jobs that may harm them without allocating extra training for events such as these. Though it may be costly and not appear to be time efficient during boot camp or other training exercises, the concept could be added in order to save money in insurance fees, as well as unfortunate and untimely funeral costs. Members of the Corps could receive minimal training in other jobs that would allow them to have a basic understanding of efforts; the result could be more efficient operations, fewer injuries, and saved lives. The Marine Corps’ management would also appear more competent than what the public initially conceives them to be.
In sum, the United States Marine Corps is managed to the best of the Secretary of the Navy’s ability. The authoritarian style dictated to the secretary leaves little in their control. They are given some freedom when delegating tasks to those under them in the Marine Corps itself, but still little freedom remains. Given the sheer size of the Corps, and the fact that chain of command is prone to falling apart, meeting with each marine in person would be impossible. Concerning the certain lack of training in some circumstances, it is understandable that employees are asked to share more than their share of the work in times of war or combat. What the military lacks in proper training during times of extreme duress, they make up for in recognition, at least allowing their employees to understand their efforts were noticed. Essentially, the Marine Corps’ management does the best they can considering the resources and size of the military branch.