Organizational Structures and Air Force Recruiting Service Essay

The rimary advantage of this type of organization is the ability to focus on customer needs and provide faster, better service (Bateman & Snell, 2009). If there was not a divisional separation, the flatness of the hierarchy of management would lead to an overwhelming number of subordinates supervised by each level of management. Under its current organization Headquarters Recruiting Service is responsible for the direct management of three mid-level organizations known as recruiting groups. Each of these groups has the responsibility of managing eight front-line recruiting squadrons. Headquarters Recruiting Service has complete responsibility for the establishment of strategic goals for the recruiting service. It establishes the annual requirements that each group must meet in to satisfy the minimum need the Air Force has for new recruits. Headquarters Recruiting Service will also determine the operating budget for each group based upon its assigned objectives. Development of all marketing strategies is also the responsibility of Headquarters Recruiting Service. Once the strategic plans are approved and passed down tactical planning will take place at the group level. Based upon the propensity for success each squadron is given the number of new recruits they need to assess to be successful. The group will also allocate budgets to each of the recruiting squadrons and pass down the allotted marketing plans as determined by HRS. Squadron commanders will follow a similar to it. A recruiting flight is the lowest level of management in Recruiting Service and typically consists of between four and twelve recruiters who will operate semi- autonomously in the field. Each flight will determine the individual recruiter’s goals nd provide continuing training, mentoring, and management of the recruiters. Managers at the flight level are known as Flight Chiefs. Each flight chief will also be responsible for establishing control procedures to insure the recruiters achieve their established goals. Whereas many people view the armed forces as organizations that pass orders from on high down to the lowest ranking individuals who will follow them blindly tha t is anything but the case. The Air Force places incredible value upon the men and women who complete the many missions ecessary to maintain this nation’s freedoms. To ensure airmen are properly equipped to deal with their day-to-day responsibilities there are many organizational resources put into place for support. Recruiting Service implements a form of human resources that provides for all the necessary elements of any corporate human resources program. The primary mission of Recruiting Service notwithstanding, there are training programs, regular evaluations, mentoring programs and a plethora of other resources put in place to give recruiters the support they need to be successful. Air Force recruiters will not only complete an initial training program that lasts more than seven weeks but also attend annual and quarterly training sessions as well. Each of these training sessions are three to five days long and cover a variety of training topics from marketing and sales skills to counselling and leadership techniques. This training provides recruiters the capability to handle all manner of situations that may arise. Every level of Recruiting Service conducts evaluations on a regular bases. Flight chiefs conduct telephonic debriefings with ndividual recruiters on a weekly basis. They also conduct a monthly office visit and perform a standards inspection to verify the recruiter is following established procedures. Monthly flight meetings are held to allow recruiters to come together and discuss issues and challenges as well as successes