Capstone

How Diverse Culture and Multi-Generational Groups in the Pennsylvania Army National Guard Effect Military Leadership Communication and Training

How Diverse Culture and Multi-Generational Groups in the Pennsylvania Army National Guard Effect Military Leadership Communication and Training

Results and Findings

After the conducting of the research survey on the impact of generational gaps and culture on the Pennsylvania Army National Guard, the following results were collected.

Demographic Information

Gender

The number of male respondents in the study was somewhat higher than that of the women. The gender of the respondents had no significant impact on the study but it was important to understand the balance to ensure that there was no gender bias in the responses. The pie chart below represents the balance between the men and the women .

Age

Since the study was investigating the impact of generational gaps, it was important to study the ages of people that make up the Pennsylvania Army National Guard. The following were the results of the ages grouped into the different generations.

Race and Ethnicity

Another factor that was important to the study was the cultural backgrounds of the members of the military. Therefore, the survey investigated the racial and ethnic background of the respondents and the following results were recorded.

Workplace Information

Length of Time in Service

The study investigated the length of time that the soldiers had been serving in the military to determine their level of adaptation with the culture of the military organization. The following is the results of the length of time within which the respondents have been serving in the military.

Rank

The survey studied the rank of the military members to determine their interaction in terms of tasks of leadership within the organization. The following is the rank distribution among the respondents.

Leadership Communication and Training within the Pennsylvania Army National Guard

When asked about their views on fair treatment within the military , bigger percentage of the respondents believed that the military leaders are likely to treat them fairly. 30% of the respondents strongly agreed while 42% merely agreed with this argument. However, a significant number of respondents still believe that they would not be treated fairly by the military leaders. 16% of the respondents strongly disagreed while 7% disagreed.

The respondents were also asked their opinion on team work within the military. A bigger percentage of respondents agree that leaders in the military work well in teams with 64% while the remaining people disagree. The respondents were also asked whether they believe that leaders encourage the soldiers to perform well regardless of their background. Only 17% of the respondents believe that the leaders do not encourage people from the same background in the same way.

There was almost a balance in the responses in relation to the kind of communication that is used in the military organization. 54% of the respondents believe that the leaders communicate effectively while 46% believe that the leaders do not communicate well within the organization. 69% of the respondents believe that the military leaders have their best interests at heart while 31% disagree with the argument that the leaders have their best interests at heart. Only 11 people included in the study has a poor approval rating for the leaders. 26% believe that the leaders are excellent while 35% believe that the leaders deserve a ‘good’ approval rating. 28% of the respondents believed that the leaders had just a fair rating. In the analysis of the impact of age and culture on training goals, most of the respondents stated that these factors do not affect their training. Some of the respondents believed that these factors affected their training all the time while others stated that it affected their training only a specific number of times.

The results of the interviews also showed that there may be some challenges in leadership, communication, and training within the military as a result of age and culture differences. Some of the respondents stated that culture and age affect how people understand various aspects of communication such as jokes and how they respond to leadership styles. The interviews also demonstrated that people from different cultures view each other differently, For instance, older generations believe that the generation Y members have a lot to learn from them while African Americans believe that they are not accorded the same benefits as the other races. In addition, one of the respondents believed that people from other cultures are treated lightly compared to the African American soldiers.

Analysis

From the results of the study as represented above, it is right to conclude that there are differences in the generations and cultures in the Pennsylvania Army National Guard and they have an impact on the leadership communication and training within the Pennsylvania Army National Guard. As seen in the results, the Pennsylvania Army National Guard is made up of people from different generations most of them being Millennials. The Pennsylvania Army National Guard is also made up of people from various racial and ethnic backgrounds hence the differences in the cultures.

The study has demonstrated that there is mixed views among the military members with regard to the impact of culture and age on the leadership. The Pennsylvania Army National Guard is highly divided in terms of their beliefs on the impact of age and culture on the leadership and training in the organization. This difference is likely to be as a result of the differences in the kinds of positions held by the respondents. According to McCall (2013) the knowledge of an occurrence of a phenomenon can affect the belief on the same issue. In this case, the leaders may believe that culture and age does not affect their leadership modes but the junior army members may believe the opposite because they experience the challenges.

The results have also demonstrated that there is a difference between the different ages and cultures that could affect the manner in which the Pennsylvania Army National Guard members interact with one another. For instance, the communication issues as a result of a different in generational and cultural differences can lead to conflicts. For instance, one of the respondents stated that one person may tell a joke and another may take it as an offensive thing. This can cause conflicts affecting the effectiveness of the military. In addition, the differences in the way people from various generations look at one another may influence the leadership, communication, and training in the organization. For instance, the idea that the younger generation should be learning from the older shows that they do not view them as equals hence this might cause conflicts.

Conclusions and Recommendations

In conclusion, this study has demonstrated that generational gaps and multicultural dimensions within the Pennsylvania Army National Guard impact the leadership within the organization. In particular, these factors influence the organization by leading to conflicts that affect the interaction between the members of the organization. In order to improve leadership communication and training within the military, the organization’s leaders will have to implement strategies that improve the interaction between the members. The following are examples of the recommendations that can be implemented.

The military leaders should promote diversity within the organization by helping from various groups to understand the cultures and belief systems of the other groups (Moore, 2012). The Millennials should understand the older generations and all people should try to understand each other’s racial and ethnic culture. This will improve understanding hence promoting positive interactions. In addition, the organization should make sure that all people are treated in the same manner regardless of their age or cultural background (Reyes, 2012). No person should receive favors or treated unfairly because of their background. These strategies will help to increase the level of team work hence improving communication and the effectiveness of leadership and training .

References

McCall, L., & Chin, F. (2013). Does knowledge of inequality affect beliefs about inequality. Midwest Political Science Association, Chicago, IL, 1114.

Moore, B. L. (2012). Army women assigned to combat units: Perceptions of the military equal opportunity climate. Managing Diversity in the Military: Research Perspectives from the Defense Equal Opportunity Management Institute, 351.

Reyes, A. D. (2006). Strategic Options for Managing Diversity in the US Army. Joint Center for Political and Economic Studies Inc Washington DC.