Communication Effectiveness of the Army Civilian Personnel Program

This publication describes procedures used in a study of communication effectiveness. The study involved communications from the Army Office of Civilian Personnel to its operating personnel offices. In the initial phase of the project four specific communications were studied. These messages concerned the training of executives and managers, the employment of youths for summer jobs, the registration of certain civilian employees in career programs, and the preparation of a written report concerning certain personnel programs. It was found that in general the messages were understood by the operating office staffs. However, variation was found in the responses made to these communications. The factors influencing these variations are organized and discussed under the following six categories: the importance of the command offices and commanding officer, the communication channels, the skills of the Civilian Personnel Officer and his staff, the local conditions in the community, the personnel program evaluation system, and the knowledge of influences affecting policy generating offices. It is concluded that the major problems are associated not so much with the local office correctly interpreting the content of a message, but rather with the optimal way of administering Army policy within the local installation context.