Research Summaries

Back Variable Flow Modeling (VFM) for USMC Manpower Analysis

Fiscal Year 2017
Division Research & Sponsored Programs
Department Naval Research Program
Investigator(s) Gates, William R.
Sponsor NPS Naval Research Program (Navy)
Summary To understand the problem which prompts this proposal, it is useful to compare two recent surveys by PWC. A 2015 survey of CEOs showed that 70% (the largest number reported) were worried about the availability of skills in the future workforce. At the same time, in a survey of young workers only half (51%) listed 'opportunities for career progression' as a factor that made an employer attractive. The attraction of a single 'up or out' career path is waning, at the same time that attracting talent is becoming more difficult.
Changes in regulation (DOPMA/ROPMA) and managerial initiatives in the DoD (Talent Management, and SecDef Carter's Force of the Future) are intended in part to respond to this changing reality.
But manpower planning in the US Marine Corps is still based on a relatively inflexible up-or-out force structuring model. Current tools make it difficult to predict the impact of changes to policy, or changes in the workforce. More flexible planning systems exist not only in the private sector, but in other areas of the DoD as well (e.g., US Army). Whether or not the existing approaches used by other organizations would be sufficient to meet USMC needs is unknown.
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Publications Publications, theses (not shown) and data repositories will be added to the portal record when information is available in FAIRS and brought back to the portal
Data Publications, theses (not shown) and data repositories will be added to the portal record when information is available in FAIRS and brought back to the portal