Recent orders
Good Order and Discipline in the United States Army
Good Order and Discipline in the United States Army
Author
Institution
Introduction
The importance of the United States Army can never be gainsaid as far as the wellbeing of the country is concerned. It is mainly charged with the responsibility of protecting the United States from external aggression. Needless to say, the United States army has gained an incredible amount of respect both from within and without, thanks to its accomplishments in making the world safer and secure. While there was a tremendous amount of investment made to ensure their success in their varied wars, it goes without saying that the accomplishments would have been depreciably reduced were it not for their good order and discipline. Discipline refers to a type of training where individuals become subject to certain rules and regulations that are implemented or put in place in order to mold behavior (Brown, 2001). It may also be defined as a specific type of instruction that develops character, efficiency and self control in an individual. Good order and discipline have been recognized in the civilian world as of utmost importance. Good order and discipline are recognized as fundamental or essential for the enhancement or improvement of performance, as well as the provision of an honest and safe environment that is conducive to attainment of any institution’s goals. This is the same case for the military, where the two virtues among others are fundamental pillars in the proper functioning and smooth operation of the military. Discipline and good order in the United States army is measured through varied criteria including dignified self-respect and pride in the institution, the unit, as well as oneself, willingness to make sacrifices and work for the greater good, and respect for authority and fellow men shown through consideration and courtesy. Army men and women must also have a smart appearance as any slack behavior would reverberate even when they are in action. These measures underline the fact that good order and discipline are aimed at the efficient attainment of the overall army objectives.
One of the key importance of good order and discipline in the United States army is the ensuring the efficient execution of duties and responsibilities. Infantrymen carry out varied tasks, some of which may be mundane while others are adrenaline pumping. Irrespective of the tasks that the infantryman is carrying out, the common denominators are good order and discipline where the soldiers follow orders and directives of their leaders without any questions pertaining to the task, its motives, or even the judgment of the leader in giving the order (Pushies, 2001). The essence of discipline revolves around the maintenance of the innovative thought of an individual while executing duties and tasks that are assigned in line with their accompanying instructions simultaneously (Pushies, 2001). Discipline necessitates the incorporation of standards to which every individual must adhere. This allows for the proper and timely execution of duties and responsibilities, be they clearing landing zones for deployment or jumping off aircraft. It necessitates the incorporation of orderliness, concentration and time management, all of which are fundamental to the enhancement of efficiency in the United States army (Pushies, 2001).
In addition, discipline and good order come as essential in ensuring the safety of the infantrymen and the country at large. In most of the missions to which the United States armies are sent, decisions have to be made at the nick of time. The proper execution of these decisions has a bearing on or affects the safety of the infantrymen and the successful execution of their mission. Any small mishap can have irreparable damage on the institution especially considering that the missions are usually extremely dangerous (Brown, 2001). Army scholars note that most of the so-called accidents are preventable if only the people stay disciplined and focused to the overall goal of executing the orders. This not only applies in instances of combat but also in army barracks and offices. For example, there are standards and regulations laid out on the proper handling and storage of firearms even in the barracks. Any indiscipline or deviation from these standards could have far-reaching effects such as having firearms in the wrong hands or even insufficient and inefficient allocation of the same, which could jeopardize the safety of the infantrypersons.
In addition, discipline and good order come in handy in enhancing stability both in the United States army and the country at large. It goes without saying that the United States army, like any other institution, has ranks starting from the lowest ranks, the Privates, through the sergeant, Sergeant Major through to the Sergeant Major or the Army (Brown, 2001). These ranks not only determine their pay scales but also their authority, roles, responsibilities, as well as the decisions lying on their shoulders. It is worth noting that their decisions are supposed to be sufficiently synchronized in such a way that they all point at the same goal and attain the same objective (Pushies, 2001). It is only discipline and good order that would allow infantrypersons to obey an order even when they are facing death, make strategic attacks and retreats, all of which are aimed at safeguarding success in the missions. The absence of good order and discipline would create an erratic, frequently impulsive and uncertain environment in the army, which would have costly repercussions both for the institution and the country at large (Pushies, 2001). Such an environment would make it considerably difficult for the leaders in all ranks to make synchronized decisions or lead effectively. Such uncertainty and impulsiveness would allow for instability in the institution, which could have unpleasant repercussions. As Brown (2001) notes, lack of discipline may lead to the loss of smooth and determined operating action, as well as combat efficiency. This was seen in the Russian army in World War I, as well as the strikes in the U.S. Army following World War II. These may be blamed on the deterioration of the entire organization, where the local authorities were unable to correct the situation in time to avert the widespread deterioration and deficiency of authority (Brown, 2001).
On the same note, good order and discipline safeguard an element of fairness in the United States army. While discipline is mostly examined as a one-way aspect flowing from subordinates to the seniors, it also must be exhibited by the seniors through fair treatment of the subordinates especially with regard to promotions and allocation of duties. Scholars note that most unfortunate incidences involving the army result from indiscipline and insubordination, preceded by general slackness in command (Pushies, 2001). This is especially where the subordinates are dissatisfied with the allocation of duties and responsibilities. This can cause instability, which may be detrimental in the attainment of the overall army objective especially in combat .
In conclusion, the army is one of the most fundamental pillars of the United States charged with safeguarding the security of the country from external aggression. While its success is a function of numerous variables, the most fundamental are discipline and good order. They ensure efficient execution of duties, enhance safety in the army, safeguard stability, and ensure fairness in the institution. All these have a bearing on the overall attainment of its goals.
References
Pushies, F. J. (2001). U.S. Army Special Forces. St. Paul, MN: MBI Pub. Co.
Brown, J. E. (2001). Historical dictionary of the US Army. Westport, Conn. [u.a.: Greenwood Press.
Good Life Fitness Club
Good Life Fitness Club
Table of Contents
TOC o “1-3” h z u HYPERLINK l “_Toc372626170” Introduction PAGEREF _Toc372626170 h 3
HYPERLINK l “_Toc372626171” Statement problem PAGEREF _Toc372626171 h 3
HYPERLINK l “_Toc372626172” Environmental Scan PAGEREF _Toc372626172 h 3
HYPERLINK l “_Toc372626173” Financial Analysis and Decision Criteria PAGEREF _Toc372626173 h 4
HYPERLINK l “_Toc372626174” Why people join and leave Fitness clubs: PAGEREF _Toc372626174 h 4
HYPERLINK l “_Toc372626175” Challenges Facing Fitness Clubs in General PAGEREF _Toc372626175 h 5
HYPERLINK l “_Toc372626176” Main challenges facing GoodLife Fitness Club PAGEREF _Toc372626176 h 6
HYPERLINK l “_Toc372626177” Why GoodLife has been Successful PAGEREF _Toc372626177 h 6
HYPERLINK l “_Toc372626178” Strengths of GoodLife PAGEREF _Toc372626178 h 7
HYPERLINK l “_Toc372626179” Weaknesses of GoodLife PAGEREF _Toc372626179 h 8
HYPERLINK l “_Toc372626180” Net profits at GoodLife at retention of 65% and 70% PAGEREF _Toc372626180 h 8
HYPERLINK l “_Toc372626181” The average long -term value of total revenues at 60%, 70% and 80 retention rate. PAGEREF _Toc372626181 h 8
HYPERLINK l “_Toc372626182” Alternatives PAGEREF _Toc372626182 h 8
HYPERLINK l “_Toc372626183” Implementation measures PAGEREF _Toc372626183 h 9
HYPERLINK l “_Toc372626184” Recommendation PAGEREF _Toc372626184 h 9
HYPERLINK l “_Toc372626185” References PAGEREF _Toc372626185 h 10
IntroductionCompanies face many challenges particularly on how best to increase sales by maintaining the current customers and attracting new ones. This issues is common also affect Goodlife Fitness Club, a Club operating in Kitchner, Ontario with over 40 branches in Ontario and Quebec. Indeed, the fitness business is very competitive and highly demanding because of the nature of the business, since most customers want to get quick results. Whereas more are realizing the importance of staying physically fit and therefore joining fitness clubs, they as well leave in large number. This case analysis seeks to examine this issue in regard to Goodlife Fitness Club
Statement problemThe indicated in the case by Mcdougall (n.d) the problem facing Goodlife Fitness Club is facing a problem of high number of customers leaving the club, which is having a negative impact on the profitability of the company. The club’s manager Krista Swain is faced with the challenge of preparing a plan of how to retain customers in the club. The strategy that she will formulate will be used across more than 40 operated by Goodlife Fitness.
Environmental Scan In a national study carried out by Canadian fitness and research institute, it established that majority of Canadian believed that taking part in physical activities was beneficial and helped in preventing certain diseases like heart disease and lowering stress. Nonetheless, the number of Canadian taking part in physical activity was lower. According to the study, 63% of adults aged 18 years and above considered physical activities to be insufficient for maximum health benefits. In addition, the study found out several reasons why despite many Canadian new the benefits of physical activities, they did not engage in them, accordingly, the most common physical activities walking, gardening, swimming, bicycling and home exercising.
Though the Canadians were engaged in comparatively low physical activities, the fitness market grew at around 6% each year. This growth was attributed to demographic changes taking place (as baby boomers became more and more interest in physical fitness). Other reasons for this growth were marketing and social trends and preference of customers. The study as well noted that nearly 10% of the Canadian population had joined health clubs, but left when their membership expired and did not come back. The main reason why they left was a decline of interest in the fitness, the clubs took to much time, and some customers did not like their clubs. In addition, the members left because some clubs operated like factories with little professionalism, some fitness clubs had few instructors, inadequate equipments and poor facilities.
Financial Analysis and Decision CriteriaWhy people join and leave Fitness clubs:Generally, people join fitness clubs due to a number of reasons; most of which relate to health benefits or perceived health benefits and social gains of joining such clubs where they are able to identify with friends and family or particular figures. With respect to the perceived or actual health benefits, most people have come to associate physical activity with health benefits of disease prevention especially heart disease and cardiovascular related illnesses. While those highlighted benefits relate to diseases, other people join fitness as a way assuage their stress and gain some level of peace of mind. Moreover, the belief that exercising enables people to carry on with their day-to-day tasks acts as a pull factor to the fitness club.
Apart from the dissatisfaction or lack of satisfaction with the services offered that leaves members disgruntled forcing them to quit, members also join clubs and are forced to leave when clubs fail to take a professional approach to their training as they manage the clubs as factories. For instance, the clubs that offer low prices just for purposes of attracting customers and later increase the membership fee are likely to see many members quit. An important and significant factor is the gradual loss of interest in continuing with the exercise. Moreover, when the results are taking too long to materialize then some members quit. Other members quit when they find the exercise too hard to cope with while others find that they do not like the fitness club they joined and are forced to quit.
Challenges Facing Fitness Clubs in GeneralThe biggest challenge relating to this is the high turnover rates of customers in the fitness industry. Customers join fitness clubs but then most of them leave at the end of the membership without opting to continue (Rigsby 2012). Management of fitness clubs is another challenge that has a significant effect.
. Lack of sufficient professional approach is also a challenge that cannot be overlooked. Sports personalities that acquire fitness clubs and turn them into some type of special factory make it more challenging to achieve the objective of a fitness club. Availability of trained and qualified instructors to offer proper and professional instructions to the club members seems to be a challenge the industry must grapple with for a longer period of time Spielvogel 2003). Lastly, fitness clubs depend on equipment and special facilities and these are the assets that should attract members. Frequent equipment breakdowns and poor maintenance of facilities challenge the ability of the fitness clubs to operate continually. These challenges make clubs to fail leaving their members with membership yet without facility (Rigsby 2012).
Main challenges facing GoodLife Fitness Club As noted in the problem statement, the main challenge facing Goodlife fitness club is how to retain customers in the club. Though the club enroll a high number of customers at the start of their season, a significant percentage do not come back after their membership has expired.
Another challenge is the high employee turnover is one big challenge facing the club. Employees who were previously content at GoodLife are quitting searching for job opportunities elsewhere. As a record example, the club has lost over 600 employees out of 1400 to this type of employee turnover in a span of 2 years.
Lastly, the club is faced with the high advertising costs incurred in trying to get new members . Moreover keeping with the normal challenges that face fitness industry especially knowing that failure is more likely than success.
Why GoodLife has been SuccessfulGoodLife focuses on member retention and on scientific fitness where professionalism is sort after to ensure that members are not just treated like goods in a factory but given professional instructions by well trained.
The company’s success was established from the beginning by setting its goal straight and objective. The goal, from start, was to ensure best equipment is put in place and facilities that are of good quality are installed. The club’s objective of providing high quality services with well trained personnel bolstered its success in the industry riddled with many challenges and where many fitness clubs have failed and still continue to fail. To strengthen these goals, the club also focused on providing a clean training environment and giving members customized training programs so that each member had training program customized to their own needs. These are recapitulated in Good Life Fitness Club’s motto of “Measurable Constant Improvement.”
Strengths of GoodLifeThe club enjoys a long history of success since 1979. This long history of successful operation has made the club to be associated with success hence it has attracted many members and this is a strong and reasonable factor to use to retain members.
Using customized training programs for maximum member retention is a very strong aspect of the club since most clubs that fail do so for failing to meet customer expectations. Involving customers makes them feel more part of the club hence strategy is a good one for member retention. Therefore, GoodLife club has a strong membership base of over 700,000
It has heavily invested in high quality equipment and facilities; which provide a shield against failure resulting from equipment breakdowns or lack of facilities. This is also an area that most fitness clubs seem to have failed on. By learning from the failures of the other competitors in the industry, Good Life is making good use of business intelligence and taking a member-based approach.
It has well trained instructors as compared to its competitors who emphasize establishment of factory-type clubs. Therefore Good Life has used very strong aspects to target member retention.
With specific dependence on services of well trained professionals in all areas of the business operations and service delivery GoodLife is intent on ensuring that member expectations are fulfilled.
Weaknesses of GoodLifeOne of the weaknesses of GoodLife is high employee turnover. In addition, customization of programs may not be a sustainable strategy over along period since as members increase satisfying each member based on their individual needs would require more resources to be used hence the club will be left with limited options that include increasing the number of professional instructors, increasing the price of training or compromising on its strategy of high quality and turning to the factory-type approach used by other competitors.
Net profits at GoodLife at retention of 65% and 70%Presently, the retention rate of GoodLife is at 60% and the business wants members to remain at the club for a long term. If this is achieved and the retention rate moves from 60 to 65%, basing on the previous year figures, the gross revenue of GoodLife would go up by $35,000, if the retention ate moved to 70% then the gross income would increase to $70,000.
The average long -term value of total revenues at 60%, 70% and 80 retention rate.
As noted before, in the statement the current retention rate of members is 60% and this translates to a total revenue of $120,000, therefore at 70% retention, this figure will move to $171,000 and at 80% the total revenue will be $213,000.
Alternatives
The Goodlife to overcome its current challenges, it is important that the manager Krista remains focused on the core business of the club of providing high quality fitness services and maintain the professionalism that put the club above the rest. Similarly, there is need to increase the number of top management. GoodLife is a big club but is only managed by one person and this can be overwhelming and therefore result in poor services. Therefore, there need to increase the number of senior employees in the operations and management. The retention rate has dropped to 60% probably because of the high pressure suffered by Krista.
Implementation measures Short term: Krista ought to assign more duties and responsibilities to all her employees and allow them to be responsible for those tasks. This way, the employees will be motivated, while Krista would have more time to address customer demands and come up with ways to deal with their needs.
Medium term: in the medium term, Krista has to identify unnecessary expenses and reduce these expenses, this way, additional revenues of the company will be available and can be used for other activities such as offering more bonuses and incentives to employees, and acquiring ultra modern fitness machines.
Long term: Krista needs to do performance evaluation and promote some employees. Indeed, when employees are well treated well in their careers, they will be happy and translate this to customers’ service. The long term objective ought to increase the retention rate of customers from 60%to 65%, and this means diverse strategies have to be applied.
RecommendationFor the success a successful strategy to retain employees, Krista has to implement all the three measure, short term, medium term and long term strategies. This will involve, continuing with good customer services and focusing on customer retention, motivating employees by giving them more responsibilities.
References Mcdougall, G (nd)GoodLife Fitness Cubs. Case 17.
Rigsby, P. (November, 2012) No matter what industry you’re in- problems create opportunities. Even in the fitness industry. Retrieved on 17, November 2013 from http://fitbusinessinsider.com/fitness-industry-problems-an-opportunity-for-you/
Spielvogel, L ( 2003). Working out in Japan: Shaping the female body in Tokyo fitness clubs. New York: NY, Sage Publications,
Good leadership
Good leadership
Student name:
Instructor:
Institution
Introduction
There are many books, such as the age of unreason, Built to last: success habits of visionary companies and the innovators dilemma among more which discuss management mantras and success stories. Every successful business leader has a great story to tell. But at the end of the day, it all falls back on how leaders manage both good and bad situation on their own. A successful manager will always credit his mentor and those who have guided him towards making the right choices and approaches for his admiring growth. Leaders exhibit certain qualities to achieve success. These qualities include:
“honesty, being a good spokesmen, capable of communicating effectively, have a sense of humour, be confident, be committed and target oriented, have a positive attitude towards work and employees, offer creative ideas, be intuitive, and have an aspiring attitude” (Wilson et.al 2006).
Understanding organisational culture and their benefits
As mentioned above leadership quality includes observing and managing people working under the leadership. This makes it important to develop effective organisational cultures. Organisation work values, targets, rules, communication language, religious and cultural belief and habits must all be taken in to consideration to achieve success in developing a good organizational culture (Halowarth N.D). Organization culture is a key ingredient towards driving a company’s employees towards working together to achieve goals and targets.
A perfect example of a company which has implemented high standards of organisational culture is Microsoft Inc. which began implementing organization culture standards back in the 80s’ when the company was still a fledgling. Organization standards that saw employees get together in the morning and perform group exercises and moral boosting sessions. These sessions were intended to boost employees moral before starting their day. The sessions also helped reducing work strain on the employees work time. Today the company is reaping major benefits from this organizational approach with its workforce (Microsoft 2013).
Links between good leadership, organizational culture and successful organisations
Most successful companies today have good leaders that exhibit great leadership qualities behind their reigns. The leader must also carefully understand organisational culture and be able to strike a perfect balance of equality among the employees. Every employee’s feeling, culture and religion must be taken in to consideration and treated equally to achieve goals which help to increase productivity and maximize production (Mapadimeng 2006). Equality among the employees helps boost productivity. Religion and cultural issues in an organization impacts the interactions between the employees, which makes it an important obstacle for the organization. Employees working as a team are more productive for a company. Thus it is profitable to invest to promote team work at the work place (Manzoor 2011).
A successful leader must be able to observe cultural and religious values linked to the organisational culture. So as to provide every employee with a task which they are able to handle and which results in increased productivity. Maintaining a balance in the organization also helps to promote equality and independence among the working staff. Each individual must be made responsible for a particular task. This helps better management and imparts sense of responsibility among the employees (Summers 2006).
Today many companies like Accenture are investing heavily on their human resource policies to establish good organisational culture (Accenture 2010). But a good leader will still need to participate regularly in the daily functioning of the organization to understand their concerns problems. It is important because a leader is considered supreme or ultimate decision making authority in the organisation and leadership has many responsibilities to be taken care of. By the manager’s active participation in the human resource functions of the organization, the manager should be able to convince the employees through his leadership qualities to trust and consult the human resource department for their concerns (Aamir et.al 2013).
Managing success through leadership
The 21st century has seen a drastic change between the relationship of leaders, managers and the workforce. Today employees are not afraid of making an approach to their leaders and in turn expect much more attention. A successful leader exhibits leadership qualities that understands all aspects of its workforce or employees, whether it is professional or personal believes in their important role towards the company productivity (Gudlaugsson 2009). Today skilled employees are more demanding and are constantly on the lookout for companies offering better opportunities and human relations. Talented employees will not hesitate to shift over companies with better work standards. Better work environs deliver less strain and more productivity from the employees (Ajala 2012). Every organisation intending to make progress and succeed must therefore consider hiring a proficient leader. The leader should be capable of managing the organisational functions by observing and offering viable work environs for the lower ranked employees.
Reference
Aamir A. et.al. (2013) Transfer of HR Practices across Different Cultures, Journal of Basic and Applied Scientific Research.
Ajala E.M. (2012) The Influence Of Workplace Environment On Workers’ Welfare, Performance And Productivity, The African Symposium.
Gudlaugsson T. & Schalk A.P. (2009) Effects of Market Orientation on Business Performance: Empirical Evidence from Iceland, The European Institute of Retailing and Services Studies.
Haworth. (N.D) What is Organizational Culture — and Why Does it Matter?
Mapadimeng S.M. (2006) organisational culture, productivity and performance in the South African (S.A.)Workplace: Increasing polarisations or Cohesion? A Case Study of Cronco Metals Ltd.
Microsoft Inc. (2013) A Vision and Strategy for the Future, retrieved from HYPERLINK “http://www.microsoft.com/en-us/diversity/vision.aspx” http://www.microsoft.com/en-us/diversity/vision.aspx on 19-Dec-2013.