Organization Development in the Navy: A Strategy for Addressing Disciplinary Problems

The Navy's Organization Development (OD) program, Human Resource Management (HRM), was investigated as a potential method for addressing and ameliorating those conditions that contribute to disciplinary problems. The design involved a comparison of ships that had participated in HRM activities with a matched group of control (non-HRM) ships. The dependent variable was the unit-level nonjudicial punishment (NJP) rate, which was used as an indicator of the number of disciplinary offenses within the command. A comparison of changes in NJP rates between experimental and control ships yielded no significant differences. That is, no evidence was found to suggest that mere participation in HRM-related activities had any significant impact upon NJP rates. It was noted that the HRM Support System is dynamic in nature and that there are a large number of variables that may moderate the effectiveness of HRM activity. Efforts now underway in the standardization of HRM cycle activities should enable more comprehensive evaluations of HRM effectiveness. (Author)