Description of the Organization Essay

The headquarters of the United States Air Force is located at Robins Air Force Base in Warner, Robins, Georgia. It has more than 300 flying and support units charged with monitoring and overseeing activities of the said organization. There are about thirty-six wings that comprise the Air Force. Each has a special mission or assigned activity with the cooperation of other flying units. Reserve units assist the Wings assigned to them and is categorized into 5 classifications namely: 1) Individual Mobilization Augmentee (IMA), 2) Ready, 3) Standby, 4) Inactive Ready Reserve, and 5) the Retired Reserve. The members of the specified reserve and wing units have specific qualifications, duly approved by law or decree of the President of the United States. The Recruitment Process The US Air Force employs a so-called recruiter. Its duty is to contact as much as possible eligible civilians to join the Air Force. Before one can become a recruiter, he/she must undergo specified air force training and some educational lectures on the organization. Recruitment is also tackled in the air force class, with senior military officers as the roster of faculty. The recruiter can also be a non-commissioned officer trained in the following: 1) US Military History, 2) Fundamentals of Management, 3) Principles of War, and 4) Basic Health Care (. http://www. afreserve. com/contact. asp). This is done so that the recruiter can answer the broadest and numerous questions of the potential recruited. Understanding the organization is a requisite for a person to become a recruiter. Nonetheless, being a recruiter necessitates the capability of speaking to a wide array of individuals from different economic and cultural/ethnic background. The US Air Force Civilian Employment provides recruitment and staffing services to almost all air bases in the country. Most recruiters are assigned to this agency. Websites are also posted in order for civilians, who have no contacts to certified recruiters, to have an opportunity to view the programs of the US Air Force. The pattern of recruitment however differs for US Air Force civilian employees and its military personnel (http://www. airforce. com/training/enlisted/index. php). In order to become a civilian employee of the said organization, one must undergo these steps: 1) a required reading of the job kit of the organization, 2) a submission of a resume, indicating educational attainment and other facts about the applicant, 3) the US Air Force Civilian Employment Center will search jobs applicable to the person, and 4) a formal approval of the base head. The recruitment of civilian employees is always connected to the proximity of the air force base to the residential areas of the would-be employees. The recruiters usually go to these residences (close to the field) and ask people if they are willing to join the US Air Force as civilian employees. Of course qualifications must be stated and the priority goes to the unemployed. A questionnaire is presented to the civilians willing to join the US Air Force as civilian employees. The questionnaire contains socio-demographic questions addressed to the civilian. A question and answer forum is the next step in the recruitment process. The applicant is required to ask questions from the recruiter about fundamental facts about the organization, its history, the jobs that can be taken, and other vital information. The recruiter is restricted from answering questions that requires enumerating problems in the organization. This is done to encourage the civilian to join the US Air Force. For civilians who want to become military personnel of the US Air Force, the same procedure is applied although this time the recruitment pattern becomes more complex. A special form of questionnaire is presented to the applicant; socio-demographic questions and a background check on the US Air Force are the main items in this type of questionnaire. The applicant is then asked by the recruiter on a scale of 1-10 how willing will he/she join the US Air Force. The recruiter here is not a civilian employee but rather a non-commissioned officer of the Air Force. After the applicant answered, the recruiter will ask the reasons behind the answer. The recruiter would then present to him/her the list of jobs available (in a particular base) for a military personnel. The reply of the applicant will be received after a couple of days. The applicant then will wait for the recommendation. The applicant must undergo several health tests before the final training begins. Key Issues in the Recruitment Process There are two major issues facing the recruitment process. First is the fact that many civilian employees of the organization are recruited based on the proximity of their residences to an air force field. Socially speaking, this trend may create an ethnic or social division in the Air Force itself. If most of the Air Force civilian personnel in Washington are of American Indian origin, this may affect the reputation of the air force base concerned. In order to avoid this instance, the US Air Force Employment Services posted websites that are accessible to many people. A number of recruiters are presented, and the center hires people regardless of ethnicity and religion. This consideration is also posted to a number of websites created by the US Air Force. Second, the fluctuating number of recruited personnel is due in part to the nature of the salary and benefits of the organization. Recommendations There should be two sets of questionnaires given to civilians who want to become military personnel of the organization. The first questionnaire is identical to the questionnaire given to the would-be civilian employee. This is done so as to identify the commonality of reactions of the two types of personnel; whether distinction in class affects the efficiency of the organization {it is possible that the civilian employees may feel inferior from that of the military personnel}. With regard to salaries, it must be increased to the level that will match the country’s inflation and exchange rates.