Research Problem
Introducing individual leadership approaches and styles across different spheres is a practice that can be implemented successfully due to similar control and monitoring principles applied to achieve the ultimate goals. As the objective of this study, the issue of applying military leadership skills to the business environment is considered. By being involved in civilian entrepreneurship after military service, veterans can utilize specific methods of controlling operational procedures due to the acquired skills of interaction with personnel. The success of such practices can be achieved through the effective and timely implementation of specific approaches to particular business conditions.
Not all leadership styles used by the military are suitable for the business environment, and some challenges in implementing individual approaches may arise. Strict rules and unconditional subordination are the characteristic features of leadership promoted by some veterans, while in modern business, more adaptive and flexible strategies are applied. However, by leveraging valuable theoretical and practical insights to enable business processes and effective decision-making, former military personnel can succeed in an entrepreneurial environment. Utilizing a mixed type of research, including qualitative and quantitative methods of data collection, can prove the success of individual leadership practices promoted by ex-military personnel in the civilian business environment.
Literature Review
Despite some controversial questions regarding the recruitment of former military personnel as business leaders, with the correct integration of management approaches, no major difficulties will arise. According to Davenport (1993), a standard control regime involves assessing managerial and operational decisions. Dickson (2003), in turn, grades business routines and notes that operational and control procedures are at the core of management while learning and resource routines are less important and easier to implement. As Hussain and Hassan (2015) note, business leaders have relative leeway. This is the rationale for the potentially successful adaptation of the military to acting as control representatives in the business environment.
Organizing leadership work carried out by ex-military personnel can be as productive as that of professionally trained managers. According to Wijnberg et al. (2002), systematic management requires assessing all organizational levels comprehensively for the efficient allocation of resources and workforce. Kirchner and Akdere (2017) remark that military veterans have traits that can allow for a sustainable workflow, in particular, consistency and high accountability. By addressing the special dimensions presented by Van de Ven and Delbecq (1974), leaders with a military background can stimulate colleagues to assess both task difficulty and task variability. Distinctive business structures that Harris and Raviv (2002) analyze, for instance, functional or divisional hierarchies, are consistent with the norms of military leadership and are similar. Therefore, from the standpoint of the admissibility of engaging the former military in leadership positions in business, there are no significant obstacles since strategic, tactical, and operational goals may be addressed effectively.
Based on the review of relevant literature, the rational use of business processes is one of the key requirements for leaders. As Mackenzie (2000) argues, in the existing variety of group and individual processes, there are crucial skills, including decision-making and problem-solving attainments. Since the military industry is resilient and subject to strict order, applying certain business management practices, such as the IDEF0 scheme, can be hassle-free because, according to Kim and Jang (2002), this framework is universal. As Davenport and Short (1990) note, inter-organizational, inter-functional, and interpersonal entities may be addressed by implementing suitable control mechanisms and additional tools, for instance, IT, which is promoted in the military industry today. Thus, due to the structuredness and rigor of army training, former military personnel can manage organizational activities productively if they adhere to corresponding approaches and practices.
Current Trends
In today’s business leadership, flexibility and adaptability are the essential aspects of successful activities. At the same time, vocational training plays an important role as an aspect that allows realizing a leader’s professional potential effectively. According to Hamad (2015), former military employees have such significant traits as organizational power, proper training, and self-sacrifice. In other words, representatives of this field are ready to perform assigned duties productively and apply individual abilities as efficiently as possible. These attainments are prerequisites for pursuing organizational goals, and in an environment of diverse business processes, discipline and structuredness are crucial approaches.
Another modern trend that largely determines the productivity of leadership practice is the ability to establish an operational process based on the characteristics of the available workforce. Large and small teams require distinctive managerial approaches and may act differently in different environments. As Benmelech and Frydman (2015) state, command attainments acquired by military veterans over their years in the army are valuable skills that can be applied to successful management. In addition, Hamad (2015) notes that in a challenging decision-making environment, employees with a military background tend to seek out-of-the-box solutions more often than those without appropriate training. As a result, while taking into account rich experiences, recruiting veterans as business leaders is an acceptable practice. Despite some challenges, for instance, a longer adaptation period, the outcomes of their intervention can be no less productive than those demonstrated by ordinary managers.
References
Benmelech, E., & Frydman, C. (2015). Military CEOs. Journal of Financial Economics, 117(1), 43-59.
Davenport, T. H. (1993). Process innovation: Reengineering work through information technology. Harvard Business School Press.
Davenport, T. H., & Short, J. E. (1990). The new industrial engineering: Information technology and business process redesign. Sloan Management Review, 31(4), 1-31.
Dickson, P. R. (2003). The pigeon breeders’ cup: A selection on selection theory of economic evolution. Journal of Evolutionary Economics, 13(3), 259-280.
Hamad, H. B. (2015). Transformational leadership theory: Why military leaders are more charismatic and transformational? International Journal on Leadership, 3(1), 1-8.
Harris, M., & Raviv, A. (2002). Organization design. Management Science, 48(7), 852-865.
Hussain, M., & Hassan, H. (2015). Military leadership and implications for business leaders in the light of alternative theories. Pakistan Journal of Science, 67(1), 94-101.
Kirchner, M., & Akdere, M. (2017). Military leadership development strategies: Implications for training in non-military organizations. Industrial and Commercial Training, 49(7/8), 357-364.
Kim, S. H., & Jang, K. J. (2002). Designing performance analysis and IDEF0 for enterprise modelling in BPR. International Journal of Production Economics, 76(2), 121-133.
Mackenzie, K. D. (2000). Processes and their frameworks. Management Science, 46(1), 110-125.
Van de Ven, A. H., & Delbecq, A. L. (1974). A task contingent model of work-unit structure. Administrative Science Quarterly, 183-197.
Wijnberg, N. M., van den Ende, J., & de Wit, O. (2002). Decision making at different levels of the organization and the impact of new information technology: Two cases from the financial sector. Group & Organization Management, 27(3), 408-429.