Download THE MILITARY PROFESSION

THE MILITARY PROFESSION
AND THE MARKET LABOUR IN ROMANIA
Asst.Prof. DANIELA COSMA
Maj. 2nd SR VASILE CĂRUŢAŞU, PhD
“Nicolae Bălcescu” Land Forces Academy, Sibiu
Abstract
From a sociological point of view, the Army can be regarded as an institution or as time
occupation model; as an institution the Army is regarded as an organization with particularities,
which offer it unity, an abstract individuality. We are interested in other aspect the occupational
one given the way that from this point of view the Army is seen as a social segment, submissive to
the pressure of the most dynamic factors of society-market rules. Approached like this, the Army
submissives to the cost-benefit analyze competition and profitableness.
The approach of the Army through the occupational point of view does not mean that the
institutional role of it is diminished, but it points out the fact that the Army is forced to adapt to a
society where efficiency, competition and responsibility are essential.
1. The military profession concept
In most cases, the studies of work sociology when define the concept of
profession point out the existence of three dimensions: knowledge
specialization (the package of knowledge needed for the profession); the
professional formation and the presence of a professional ideal thus the
elaboration of a deontological code1 .
The American sociologists S.P. Huntington (1957) and M. Janovitz act
when analyzing the military profession, especially the crises it passes
through2 .
For our measure, we consider that the structural mode adopted that the
authors mentioned above represent the most appropriate option. The
specialization of knowledge on the expert’s report, as it appears in the
analysis’s can be reduced to a single concept-angry management. The officer,
social defined as military professional has like main attributes the planning
1
See Cătălin Zamfir, Lazăr Vlăsceanu (coord.), Dicţionar de sociologie, Bucharest, Babel
Publishing House, 1998, p. 449
2
I.N. Sava, G. Tibil, E. Zulean, Armata şi societatea. Culegere de texte de sociologie
militară, Bucharest, INFO-TEAM Publishing House, 1998, p. 26
and control of the prosaically violence, and the soldier is the one who apply
the violence. So the professional soldier is forced more and more to form
competences similar to administration. He becomes more interested in
techniques of relationship, on all the plateaus, to give more judgment to his
actions and to practice his role of lieder conform to the modern leadership.
This does not mean that all the officers give attention to those domains,
but the share of those who do it is high and it seems to grow on continuation.
From this reason we assist to a transfer of specific abilities, not too long ago
of a civil occupation towards the military domain, that take shape in the
accreditation or authorization of functional specialization: “Organization
Management”, “Public Administration” and “Financial-Economic
Management” in the environment of the main institute of professional
achievement of the army-The Land Force Academy from Sibiu.
It’s more than obvious that the military profession requires a high level
of experience. No individual, no matter how many intellectual and character
qualities and leadership abilities he has, he could not efficiently forefeel his
military profession role without proper training and experience. Before angry
management could transform in to a task of extreme complexity like in the
moment given, it’s possible that anyone without a proper training to forefeel
military functions, for short periods of time.
But today only persons who giving up their youth, or in some cases
teenage years to the process of professional achievement in the army, can
hope to obtain a high level of competition. In spite the resemblances
increasable evident with other civil profession, the military one remains
unique by the fact that the only client is the state and the soldier s are
professional serving it. They form a small group with the caries different
from the civil professional courses, they submit to political decisions, not
because they believe in the war’s objectives, but because this is their duty.
In our opinion, we believe that the self-image of the military professions
is built. So that it forms an irreducible competence which makes the
difference between the other social-professional categories, the one of
personal sacrifice 3 .
The professional formation is made in a system of the army as part of the
national education system and the new education program new in progress
3
For more details and arguments supporting this claim see Florin Petruţ, Aspecte
decizionale ale comandanţilor de subunităţi în condiţii de conflict armat. In: Dumitru
Batîr (coord.), „Perspective actuale în psihologie şi sociologie“, Sibiu, ,“Lucian Blaga”
University Press, 2001, pp. 33-36
has proved it self to be a symbol of very high professional standards. This
thing is obvious by studying the educational products of the military
education institutions4 :
● the formation of the fundamental system of knowledge in military,
managerial and civically culture and the formation of the abilities needed for
the evolution in career;
● the know how and the procedures of action needed to participate in
multinational military actions;
● the formation of skills required to work a computer and the technics
specifical to the information of command of the military activities;
● the development of allegiance to the nation, the democratic values, the
rule of law, and the Romanian Army.
2. The development of patriotism and values of democracy of the
Romanian army
The contents of the instructive and educational process lead to the
formation of future officers with four abilities: lieder for people and military
structure, fighter, educator and citizen. As we can observe the professional
formation of the officers doesn’t represents a trade (which means only
propelling abilities, ethnic manipulation), neither an art (which requires a
special talent), but represents a very complex intellectual ability which
requires the crossing of a rigorous training program and an intense study.
Finally, the existence of a professional ethic specific to soldiers makes
the difference between the military and the civil professional.
The essence of this professional ethic is the social responsibility to the
state, responsibility, which comes from a very special feeling of the duty.
Regarding the soldier, duty isn’t just a feeling, but it capture shape becoming
an attitude or a moral pleasure. As it’s called by I. Kant5 an actionable support
of the social good. The lake of responsibility of the military professional or the
bad practice of his profession can have disaster consequences going to the
edge – the collapse of social order.
In conclusion we can say that the officers like a prototype of the military
4
*** Planul de învăţământ al Academiei Forţelor Terestre „Nicolae Bălcescu“,
available starting with the 2002-2006 series, Sibiu, 2002
5
The German philosopher defines „moral pleasure“ as a state which should precede the
intervention of a judicial norm in order to be felt, and which represents the opposite of
„pathological pleasure“. See Immanuel Kant, Scrieri moral-politice, Bucharest,
Ştiinţifică Publishing House, 1991, p. 224
professional has an intellectual qualification obtained by going throw a
period of academic professional forming and the practical slide of the
profession involves the application of the technical knowledge in a human
context.
The officer’s behavior is influence by the rules, habits, customs,
traditions and it has a special relationship with the society he is part of.
This relationship is governed by a spirit of sacrifice and the duty
sacrifice feeling which do not allow him to his qualification in other ways but
the one’s impose by the society through is political agent-the state. The
officer responsibility towards the state is the same of the one of an consulter
expert that’s way it can’t impose certain decisions which surpass his feed of
experience, but it can participate to the elaboration of those decisions. After
decisions were made by the politicians, the officer takes to its application
enshrouding an efficient anger management.
3. Characteristic of the work market from Romania
If we analyze the development rhythm of the reforms from Romania in
the last 14 years, it might seem to us too slow, but if we observe all our
history and the way it has evolved or how we have been slowed in our
evolution, the rhythm isn’t as so slow as it seems. Comparing the Romanian
work with the one from European Union, we can see that the lake of direct
foreign investitions from a lot of geographic areas from Romania, the
snowlines of reform, the lake of tradition in doing business, the legislative
system which until the present changed in function of the certain subjective
interests, make so hard the general implementation of rules of efficient
business and keep our country behind the others countries from Central
Europe. We are advantaged by the thirst of information and a large capacity to
adapt.
Comparing with the others countries from European Union, the
Romanian work market is not the same for all regions. The foreign
businessmen have invested in Bucharest, in vest countries (Timiş, Arad,
Bihor) in Braşov, Prahova, Argeş, Sibiu and other areas from the country.
These areas have attracted most specialists, even if others areas have also
a huge potential. Because of the resist to change and the lake of information,
in the towns with small or average population and development, the
professional quality of the people is less appreciated, even if their potential,
as we said, is huge.
Till the start of transaction in Romania, the lost of jobs in the hole
industrial area, but the strangle for a work place has become very tensioned
given the fact that work insecurity and restructure is accelerated, a lot of
social problems have appeared.
The work market decline instituted after 1990 has put Romania in cries
of the occupation of work force.
The work market was influenced by the economic reforms resulting huge
problems and the unemployment phenomenon.
The involution in the economy has restricted the possibilities of
occupation a work place, the number of active population, the rate of activity
has reduced and unemployment has increased. The work force in the public
sector has fallen with 50% between 1994 and 2001. The most dramatic drop
appeared after 1996 (–50%) as a consequence to the acceleration of the
private sectors restructure and the percentages in the private sectors has risen
with 60%, this resulted in a grow of the occupation process from 44% in
1994, to 71% in 2001 6 .
To lower the social tensions, programs to occupied the work force have
been initialized especially for vulnerable groups of population. For example
the main objective of the occupation work place program for the year 2006
are:
♦ the reduction and prevention of unemployment for long periods of
time by given money, stimulating mobility by making temporally work place.
♦ improving the work force quality and the professional specialization,
continue tanks the courses for the persons which have interrupted the activity,
so when, they get back to work, they are able to forefeel their duties, on the
other hand the diversification of professional abilities having the purpose of
integration on the work market; through courses regarding people who work
in country side and for employed people or for people which have a
maximum oh 9 months in detention.
♦ the reduce of unemployment for the people with special needs through
the stimulation of the employers with unemployers over 45 years, single
parents and families with only a single parent.
♦ the longings of the life through stimulating measures of the employers
which are unemployers who have 3 years until they forefeel the conditions
for the allowance, the anticipate allowance or for the given of allowance for
the limit of age.
♦ the development of the entrepreneurial spirit through accreditation of
services of consultation and assistance for to start an independent activity or
6
The data come from the Gouvernamental Repport, Evaluarea economică – România,
O.C.D.E., June 2002
for the ignition of a business and also through giving entrees for new jobs.
♦ the real decrease of the unemployment through implementation to the
new package with measures forced by the legislative environment, through
measure for the prevention of unemployment7 .
These objective of the work force occupation are found also in the
programs elaborated by the military institution. The Ministry of Defense
initiated a system of professional recon version. So, in 1998 was born the
institutional environment of the professional recon version of the militaries8 ,
here we found the advising, prequalification and the support on the civil
market of the work of the military personal who doesn’t forefeel the
condition to obtain military duty allowance.
4. The integration of the military profession on the work market
The analysis of the personal structure from romaine army put in the light
two realities. The first refers to an absence of humane resource schedule,
based on scientific rules, the second is based on the existence of some
phenomena and process which give dysfunctions, at the organizational level.
Until 1989 the army was very big, practically were two armies but with
different missions. The first one, with few people and which occupy only
some territories, its mission was to prepare the military to able to fight,
forefeeling practically its role in society and the second was used in national
economy.
The worst part was:
● The obvious degradation of the military career idea, which was
characterized of the fact that a lot of officers and non commission officers to
stay for ever in a function which gave them stability and safety, practically
refusing any kind of proposal of the professional proposal. The internal
promotion (in the same unit) and the retirement from the first unit has been a
choice of professional ideal.
● The erosion of military personal by investment with responsibilities below
the standards of their rank and the taking over, almost entirely of the
attributions and the responsibilities by the officers. This affected especially the
moral and the professional status of the non-commissioned officers.
● The lack of transparency in managing human resources.
The implementation of the reform’s measures generated another
inconvenient, distinguished also by the French analysts, such as the inversion
7
For details see Programul Naţional de Ocupare a Forţei de Muncă pentru anul 2006,
http://www.anofm.ro/mpm/program _ocupare_2005.htm
8
The Order of the Minister of National Defence no. M.48 of 25 May 1998 endorsed
Normele privind reconversia profesională în Ministerul Apărării Naţionale
of the report between command and execution. It is about an unusual
distribution of military ranks by raising the hierarchical pyramid of military
ranks in the median area, by evidencing a deficit of personal with ranks of
lieutenant proper to the function of platoon commander and a surplus of the
ones with function of major and colonel. The French army has resolved this
problem using a program of professional reconversion9 , similarly with what is
happening now in Romanian army.
Our opinion is that the reform of military profession represents the main
component of army reform, the quality component. It has to regard the
rehabilitee of the social status of the military officer by applying a coherent
and efficient promoting system, mustering and selection of candidates; the
assurance of transparency and the involving of every individual in the design
of his own professional career; the proper motivation to assure the growth of
performance in the fulfilling of functional attributes; also the elaboration of
some viable plans of professional recon version, for those who leave the
system. Of course the proper functionality of this kind of system is
conditioned by the existence of some components such as: adequate logistic,
in which the system of employment houses equipped with everything that s
necessary for a family; an efficient system of management of military career
relied on transparency and clear rules.
Sadly, neither the army nor the society is prepared to deal with such a
dynamic system. The high cost requested by its functionality can be
supported by a perpetual transition economy and the argument of repairing
the costs through the assurance of national security is to abstract for the new
political class.
5. The social status of the military professional
Isn’t absolutely isolated, but in relation with other concepts like prestige,
authority and power, this is why we want to give you a detail image over the
social status of the officer in the Romanian army in general and Ground
Forces in particular.
As you know, the general impression over the social status is the one of
the general poison of an individual or a social group compared to the others,
and the appreciation of this positive is catching shape in terms of inferiorsuperior.
The assesment of one person can be either subjective or objective and
9
See L’an I de la professionnalisation of the French Defence Ministry. In: „Armée
d’aujourd’hui“, no. 232 July/August, Paris, 1998
consequently, the self-assesment of a person is tightly bounded by the
exterior evaluation 10 . These ideas appear in the explicative treaty of the
prows of social lairs. Karl Marx has promoted the idea that the differences
between people could be reflected by the economical classes, while Max
Weber has an other point view, that the status or honor represents variables of
stratification which cannot derive directly from the economic relations and
they must be kept in mind the particularity of the individual nature.
Taking into the consideration all these aspects, we consider that the
motivation of the social status of officers refers to the position or place which
a social actor takes in the relation with others, in the social stratification or in
a singular social structure. It defines auto perception and identity, a specific
role, the rights and duties of an individual, as well a life style.
Beside the variables mentioned above, we can take into discussion a
variety of other factors, which play an important role in the definition of the
social state, including family, sex, age, ethical origin, education, income,
abilities, occupation and many other things11 .
We can state that people who want power have in mind fame. The power
to influence or impress, determine the fame of very social status, expressed by
concerns positive or not, of the members of society. This is why we cannot
state that the concept of power is equal to fame, because the psychological
fundament is different. Fame is based on an attitude, unlike power, but more a
charisma, on the reputation based on intelligence, on abilities or personal
achievements. So, the professions that have a social prestige, have 4 elements
in common, which, in our opinion, are the basics regarding the identification
of the social status, the level of power and authority(for example, are better
paid, they a good training, involves a more abstract thinking and offers an
higher level oh independence).
We must realize a distinction between the social prestige, attached to the
social status and personal prestige. First it is obtained by social independence
which is given to the function of occupation, by the position obtained by the
social actor in the social structure or an social subsystem.
The second comes from the way of doing the role, from an individual’s
qualities or defects, and also the manner in which an individual full pass the
10
B.S. Turner, Statusul, Bucharest, DU Style Publishing House, 1998, p. 28
Our opinions are shared by authors such as Serge Moscovici or Ioan Radu in their
papers: S. Moscovici, Psihologia socială sau maşina de fabricat zei, Iaşi, Polirom
Publishing House, 1997, I. Radu (coord), Psihologia socială, Cluj-Napoca, Exe SRL
Publishing House, 1994
11
specific role of the gained status12 . These tip of prestige are infect the
basements of the obtaining of authority by the social actor. While the social
status, the prestige attached to the social status and the set of the role
determinate by the achievement of the authority of formal type, the informal
authority results from the position which is gained in to a human group, from
the prestige achieved from the day by day activity.
This short analysis reveals us the fact that those 4 attributes represent
parts of the some continuum being absolute necessary that the analysis of the
social position to be realized by the concomitant comparison to these.
In generally, the sociologists are studying individuals as occupants of a
social statuses. Attached to the statuses are the responsibilities, the
obligations, rules, interests, power and the social capital. At the level of military
structure the roles that the military officers must forefeel, are being translated
in the terms of the rules, prescriptions, rights and military duties, which comes
from the rules of military domains. The regulations inflicted by dynamic of
society, the continuous modernizing of the techno-military base determinate at
the level of military institution, deep changes in the commanding system and
intermundane relationship, and also, in the containing and the way of forefeel
of the roles. So, to realize the forefeel to an optimal level of roles, it’s
necessary to reconstruct the military statuses, according with the mutations
which are happening at the moment in the military structure.
On the other side, the dynamic of status-role of the officer in Romania
army from the actually period is also (because of the passing through a period
of transaction) characterized by incertitude and a multiple of changes and
reorganizations at the level of commandment ship, the major state, units and
subunits, all those for to be characterized from a high level of a malleability
and adaptability.
On other words, as a military officer he must characterize as a big
capacity of adopting at new status, because of frequency changes which
happen at this level, by the capacity of adjusting of equipment of the
requirement of the set of roles, also through the operability of entering in
role.
12
See Sonyei Griei, who claims that each social status has a role – similar to that of
actors - which can be defined as a pattern of expected behaviours, certain social actors
are suposed to have. Ann L. Gill, Sonya A. Grier, How We Explain Depends on Who We
Explain: The Impact of Social Category on the Selection of Causal Comparisons and
Causal Explanations, 1998. In: „Journal of Experimental Social Psychology“, November
2000, vol. 36, pp. 545-566,
http://gsbapps.stanford.edu/researchpapers/detail1.asp?Document_ID=703
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The article is part of a research project developed within the CNCSIS grant no.
91008/2007.