Attached is a paper that needs positive, constructive, and supportive feedback regarding the subject.-from 300 to 500 words -it must be related to the subject - must have one reference
AR Proposal - Draft
Problem Statement
Historically, there has been little to no interest in motivated and well-respected members of my community to join my organization – Special Reconnaissance Team ONE (SRT-1). This lack of interest stems from myriad issues, beliefs, and environmental factors, but it has created a self-generating effect which serves to uphold a negative image and inhibit meaningful change of said image in the eyes of the Naval Special Warfare (NSW) Community writ large. October 2015 through April 2016 was a recent outlier as a short period of time with an substantial increase in positive perception, and thus, interest which largely stemmed from singular respected Teammates that took interest in diversifying their leadership challenges and expanding their knowledge of a niche community. This six-month period resulted in a 50% increase in quality SEAL and SWCC leadership when compared to the previous 6 six-month time periods. The interest in my organization has slightly changed for the better in approximately the last four years; however, within the past year, interest has again waned at the enlisted leadership level. This decline in interest has the potential to create manning hardships as vacancies get filled by personnel with operational and leadership experience whom have recently returned from a deployment, not allowing for the requisite dwell time between deployments.
The problem to be addressed is: How can I positively effect recruitment of quality SEAL and SWCC leadership into my organization?
Purpose Statement
I intend to conduct research to identify how best I can alter my methods and approach the problem of garnering interest in employment within my organization from key demographics of Teammates external to my organization. This positive change in my behavior or methods will serve dual purposes in filling manning deficits with motivated and proven leaders, while simultaneously reducing the historically negative stigma surrounding my organization. In making changes within myself, I aim to ultimately produce a self-generating and sustainable recruitment tool.
The goal of this research is: To identify how I can positively effect recruitment of quality SEAL and SWCC leadership into my organization.
Research Significance
The results of this study will identify areas to change the methodology by which I address recruiting concerns of a key demographic for my organization. This positive affect ultimately aims to improve recruiting methodology and thus increase manning deficiencies across the organization before they become critical.
Research Scope
The scope of this research is limited to what I, the researcher, can affect. As action research is about affecting change within oneself, that is the focus of this project. Secondary effects reach outside of the organization to my community writ large with the intent of altering negative perceptions, thus positively affecting future recruitment efforts.
This research will be conducted over a period of two weeks and will include critical reflection on my part. Additionally, this research will include key members of the focus organization whom have four plus years of tenure and are knowledgeable of the issue, key leaders of the organization from previous years, and a sample group of no less than 20 personnel from the target demographic. Data will be solicited through oral interviews.
Positionality
As the researcher, I will approach this action research project as a declared member of the focus organization under the auspice of conducting research on recruiting effectiveness and perceptions of the focus organization. Though I will be known to some, I will aim to conduct these interviews in plain/civilian clothes in an effort to not introduce rank into the scenario, thereby reducing any potential effect on answers of the interviewees (co-researchers).
Definitions
Leadership: Those SEAL and SWCC Operators in the rank of E6 through E8 whom are eligible to fill the roles of Leading Petty Officer (E6), Leading Chief Petty Officer (E7), or Senior Enlisted Advisor (E8).
Positively Effect: To generate an increase in interest in employment with the focus organization, evidenced through increased applicant numbers for the screening process.
Quality: Those individuals whom desire to become part of the organization, but whom also have a proven record of successful operational leadership tours at the E6 through E8 levels.
Recruitment: Interest in the researcher’s organization resulting in application for the screening process.
Literature Review
“Setting the bar high in our approach to hiring has been, and will continue to be, the single most important element of [our] success” (Bezos, 1998, as cited in Fernández-Aráoz, 2014, p. 51). It is critical for the well-being of any organization to employ the most competent and capable leaders that they can find. Fernández-Aráoz, whom was a very successful talent scout for three decades, argues that there are five significant indicators in identifying prospective talent: Motivation, curiosity, insight, engagement, and determination, all of which point to an individual’s potential for growth and excellence (2014). It has been said that a person can excel at anything if they have any two of attitude, aptitude, and ability. Attitude being a major indicator in which Fernández-Aráoz has skillfully broken into specific traits.
In the Navy, members typically rotate out of a position every two to three years. This rotation sometimes allows reasonable time for training a replacement, but sometimes it does not. During this process of turning over roles and responsibilities, oftentimes nuanced parts of a job are lost as higher priority topics take precedence. Very often, the “first time” someone in the military does something, it is not actually the first time that thing has been done. In generations of predecessors, someone has likely tried most courses of action and found true best practices, but these practices are not always passed on or carried on. Garnering interest in my organization tends to be a secondary or tertiary collateral job for most current members, but there are professionals whom dedicate their lives to the roles of spotting talent, generating interest, and ultimately recruiting. In theory, practices good and bad are captured in After-Action Reports, exercise “hot-washes,” and turnover documents, but theory and practice are not always congruent.
Through the practice formally known as Knowledge Management (KM), the conceptual framework for best-practices of sharing information exist. This framework is suitable not only for this action research project, but for a way-ahead within my organization. Develop easily accessible information repositories for those tools which will promote effective support, utilize technology to one’s advantage, collaborate with others to capture knowledge generally shared via other means, and expand professional development training with regard to KM (Lastres, 2020). Collings et al. argue that “… more knowledge is not always better. Some research highlights that too much knowledge results in rigidities that tend to be counter-productive” (2019, p. 171), but this is a prime example of how critical reflection and action research can provide respite from those rigidities. Those who understand action research and the value which it holds need to influence others and promote critical thinking to fully realize the knowledge gained from thinking for oneself (McNiff, 2013) – not allowing rigidities resultant of excess information to be counter-productive.
Conceptual Framework
This research project will result in a compelling compilation of both qualitative and quantitative data from key personnel on feelings and perceptions toward the focus organization, context, historic methods for presenting information, and best practices. Capturing and analyzing this data will serve to provide a repository of information regarding command recruiting efforts and focus areas, but it will also serve to provide me and others with those areas in recruitment briefs which have historically made connections with the target audience and those areas that need improvement. Conducting this action research will effectively enable me to see where changes need to be made in my own methods, also benefitting the focus organization post-dissemination.
Research Method
This research will be conducted utilizing the action research method. As action research is comprised of “action” and “research,” my action will be two-fold in 1) creating a more positive perception of the focus organization through ultimately changing personal methods of recruitment efforts, and 2) affecting the increase of quality leaders within the focus organization. The research will come in the form of reading historic documentation and conducting oral interviews to provide me with qualitative and quantitative data with which to analyze and formulate an appropriate response regarding the current sentiment, current interest levels in joining, potential attractive aspects, and potential aversions toward the focus organization. Additionally, the interview questions will attempt to identify methods by which the co-participants have historically received information about the organization, and of those methods, which aspects captured interest and which did not.
Research Setting
The research will take place within the confines of the office spaces of the focus organization and at the office locations of those members of the target demographic. The researcher will conduct critical self-reflection on historic and current practices and will conduct interviews for data collection over a period of two weeks. Interviews will be conducted with current and former key leadership from the focus organization whom are knowledgeable on the topic, and will also be conducted with a sample group of no less than 20 members from the target demographic. The target demographic for this interview is quality SEAL and SWCC Operators at the Leading Petty Officer (LPO) milestone-eligible level and above, meaning they have successfully completed operational tours with a deployed SEAL Squadron or SWCC Detachment and are eligible to fill the role of an LPO, have successfully completed their LPO tour, or have successfully completed their Leading Chief Petty Officer (LCPO) tour – entry-level to senior-enlisted leadership. Specifically targeting enlisted ranks of milestone-eligible E6 through E8 whom have a proven leadership history and desire to join the organization.
Data Collection
The following interview will serve as my initial data collection technique.
Questions 3 and 5 utilize a 1 to 10 scale; 1 = most negative, 5 = indifferent, and 10 = most positive.
1. Which Team are you currently a member of?
2. What is your position within the Team? (rank relative to milestones)
3. What is your general attitude toward Special Reconnaissance Team ONE?
4. What, specifically, explains your attitude toward the organization?
5. What is your general interest level in screening for the organization?
6. What, if any, do you consider attractive aspects of joining the organization?
7. What, if any, do you consider negative aspects of joining the organization?
8. How have you received information about the organization in the past?
9. What were positive aspects of the way the information was presented?
10. How could the presentation have been improved in order to better capture your interest?
This interview represents the data collection means for the first action research cycle which will focus on the research question: If I change the focus of recruiting agendas, how will it affect interest in quality SEAL and SWCC enlisted leadership? Ultimately, this will serve to suggest corrective measures to me regarding more effective ways in which to gain interest in SRT-1 employment from a key demographic within Naval Special Warfare.
Data Analysis
Referencing the qualitative and quantitative data collected from the interviews, I will look for patterns and themes in order to identify areas in which to maintain or to change. The data will be captured in a list-type format identifying the top three most repeated answers from each of the qualitative questions. The quantitative questions will serve as a baseline to provide environmental atmospherics and to identify if different groups require different information, stimulus, or approaches to ensure more successful recruiting efforts.
Research Procedures
I will identify historic levels of interest from the target demographic through work records, databases, and personal interviews. This will provide a baseline from which to show periodic increases and declines in interest and successful recruiting, and it will also serve as a baseline by which to measure success after an action research cycle.
I will then identify key personnel from within the focus organization and no fewer than 20 members of the target demographic external to the focus organization, explain the research project, explain my position relative to the research project, and obtain written permission to utilize the prospective interviewees’ (co-researchers’) data within the research project.
Over the subsequent two weeks, I will conduct oral interviews with those co-researchers whom give permission to utilize data collected from their interviews. The resultant data will be compiled and analyzed for patterns and themes from which I can extrapolate areas on which to focus change to current recruitment practices.
The findings of this action research project will be captured in a Word Document and disseminated within my organization with those personnel whom also conduct recruitment briefs within the community, and thus, are best positioned to affect generating an increase in interest in employment with the focus organization.
References
Collings, D. G., Wood, G. T., Szamosi, L. T., Gubbins, C. (2019). Knowledge and organizational learning and its management through HR practices: A critical perspective. Human resource management: A critical approach (2nd ed.). 171-185. Routledge.
Fernández-Aráoz, C. (2014). 21st Century talent spotting. Harvard Business Review, 92(6), 46-56. https://hbr.org/2014/06/21st-century-talent-spotting.
Lastres, S. A. (2020). Sharing best practices: helps ensure quality and excellence. AALL Spectrum, 1. https://www.aallnet.org/wp-content/uploads/2020/06/SPECTRUM_Editors-Note_Sharing-Best-Practices.pdf.
McNiff, J. (2013). Action research: principles and practice (3rd ed.). 93. Routledge.
