Accession Number:

ADA188215

Title:

Socioeconomic Factors and Personal Characteristics Affecting the Retention of Officers in the United States Army and United States Marine Corps.

Descriptive Note:

Master's thesis,

Corporate Author:

NAVAL POSTGRADUATE SCHOOL MONTEREY CA

Personal Author(s):

• Steele, Jay D.

Report Date:

1987-06-01

Pagination or Media Count:

166.0

Abstract:

This thesis addressed the question of which factors most highly influence the career decision of officers in the U.S. Army and Marine Corps who are between their fourth-year and twelfth-year of service. This was accomplished using data from the 1985 DOD Survey of Officer and Enlisted Personnel in a logistic regression model. Several conclusions were drawn from this study. Intrinsic factors appear to contribute more to the career decision than extrinsic factors. Specifically, promotion probability and satisfaction with current job have the most influence . Extrinsic factors, especially length of service and sex, are also important. The impact of individual factors, however, is generally quite small so an effective retention program must include a combination of factors. Finally, the Army as a whole, Marine Corps as a whole, and Army medical specialists are not homogeneous and so must be considered separately when determining policy changes intended to increase retention. Keywords Officer personnel, Personnel retention, Motivation.

Descriptors:

• *ENLISTED PERSONNEL
• *OFFICER PERSONNEL
• *ARMY PERSONNEL
• *MARINE CORPS PERSONNEL
• CAREERS
• DECISION MAKING
• ECONOMICS
• JOBS
• LENGTH
• LOGISTICS
• MATHEMATICAL MODELS
• MEDICAL SERVICES
• MILITARY FORCES(UNITED STATES)
• MOTIVATION
• PERSONNEL RETENTION
• POLICIES
• PROBABILITY
• PROMOTION(ADVANCEMENT)
• REGRESSION ANALYSIS
• RETENTION(GENERAL)
• SEX
• SOCIOLOGY
• SPECIALISTS
• SURVEYS
• THESES

Subject Categories:

• Personnel Management and Labor Relations

Distribution Statement:

APPROVED FOR PUBLIC RELEASE