Military Mindset Characteristics as a Competitive Advantage

Topic: Military
Words: 564 Pages: 2

The purpose of this qualitative case study research was to examine whether the specific post-9/11 military mindset characteristics are a competitive advantage to an organization’s success and culture. The study was conducted among the employees, managers, and company executives of the YSG organization to obtain their perspectives, beliefs, and insight concerning the problem investigated. This study was important to conduct because it can provide information about the transition of military competencies into a civilian business setting, valuable to the potential stakeholders, including post-9/11 military veterans, business organizations, and the academic community. By gathering data from YSG employees in non-supervisory and supervisory positions, as well as program managers or senior executives, there was a strong possibility that the recurring themes and patterns would be identified, providing insight into the transferability of post-9/11 veteran mindset characteristics into a business setting.

Much of the current literature has indicated the importance of inclusion in organizational culture. According to Hughes (2020), it is essential to facilitate the transition of veterans from the military to the civilian setting. The present research was performed to better understand the potential benefits of post-9/11 military veterans’ competencies in a business context. The data collection methods contribute to the reliability and validity of the study, while a wide range of questions developed for the questionnaires and semi-structured interviews ensure a more comprehensive overview of the subject. Chapter IV introduces the results of the data collection and analysis, starting with a synopsis of the descriptive data and continuing with a presentation of the results following the research questions. Furthermore, this chapter provides a brief evaluation of the findings and concludes with a summary.

Questionnaires and semi-structured interviews were chosen as the two primary qualitative data collection techniques for this research. The identified methods emphasize the in-depth study and are widely utilized in the business setting, which implies the efficiency of these approaches in answering the research questions (Ary et al., 2018). The general population, or potential stakeholders, is predominantly made up of post-9/11 military veterans, business organizations, the academic community, and the researcher. The target population, or the study’s participants, includes the employees of the YSG organization.

Based on the criterion sampling, a total of twenty informants were chosen for the research. In particular, ten non-supervisory employees and five supervisory employees of the YSG organization participated in a total of fifteen questionnaires conducted online in the form of open-ended questions. The participants qualified for the questionnaire if they met the following criteria: were employed at YSG serving a non-supervisory position and had served in the U.S. military after September 10, 2001. Furthermore, five participants serving in a supervisory position at YSG were chosen.

In addition, five program managers or senior executives participated in the semi-structured interviews administered via web-based applications with consideration of safety concerns due to the coronavirus pandemic. To qualify for the interview, the participants had to be YSG employees holding a program manager or senior executive position in the organization. The length of each interview was, on average, 35-40 minutes. As a result, three sets of data were collected via questionnaires targeting ten non-supervisory employees of the YSG organization, questionnaires completed by five supervisory employees, and semi-structured interviews with five program managers or senior executives. The data provided the researcher with an opportunity to examine YSG employees’ perspectives, beliefs, and perceived competitive advantages in the business setting concerning post-9/11 military mindset characteristics.

References

Ary, D., Jacobs, L. C., Irvine, C. K. S., & Walker, D. (2018). Introduction to research in education (10th ed.). Cengage Learning.

Hughes, C. (Ed.). (2020). Implementation strategies for improving diversity in organizations: Advances in human resources management and organizational development. IGI Global.