Year 2 Assessment of the Unit Focused Stability Manning System

Abstract

This is the second in a planned series of reports on research with U.S. Army Alaska's 172d Stryker Brigade Combat Team (SBCT) to identify (a) the impact of personnel stability (under the Unit Focused Stability [UFS] manning system) on small-unit cohesion (cohesiveness), (b) factors that might enhance or detract from (are predictive of) this impact, and (c) lessons learned for enhancing future UFS implementation efforts. Questionnaire responses revealed that cohesion dropped over the 20-month garrison phase of the unit's 36-month lifecycle, the drop was steeper for vertical (Soldier to leader) and organizational (Soldier to unit/Army) than for horizontal (Soldier to Soldier) cohesion, and leader effectiveness and learning environment consistently contributed to the best predictive models of cohesion at each of four measurement periods. Analysis of unit records revealed that turbulence (e.g., unprogrammed gains/losses and duty position changes) was also positively related to cohesion, as long as the former occurred early in the unit's lifecycle and was not excessive. Interviews and focus group discussions revealed that primary UFS implementation concerns were the perceived negative impact of stability on junior officer and midlevel noncommissioned officer career development, confusing initial UFS guidelines, the untimeliness of their dissemination, and the inconsistency of their application. Results were interpreted to suggest that (a) stability under UFS must be coupled with effective leadership and a supportive learning/training environment in order to foster small-unit cohesion, (b) some personnel turbulence early on in a stabilized unit's lifecycle may actually be beneficial to vertical and organizational cohesion, and (c) future UFS implementation should benefit from Army efforts to address identified lessons learned, especially those impacting career development.

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Document Details

Document Type
Technical Report
Publication Date
Jul 01, 2006
Accession Number
ADA456217

Entities

People

  • Joseph D. Hagman
  • Monte D. Smith

Organizations

  • Human Resources Research Organization

Tags

Communities of Interest

  • Human Systems

DTIC Thesaurus Topics

  • Cohesion
  • Education
  • Employment
  • Families (Human)
  • Lessons Learned
  • Management Personnel
  • Military Personnel
  • Noncommissioned Officers
  • Predictive Modeling
  • Psychological Phenomena And Processes
  • Psychology
  • Social Psychology
  • Social Sciences
  • Statistical Analysis
  • Students
  • Training
  • War Colleges

Readers

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  • Military Leadership and Professional Education.
  • Organizational Process Management (OPM).