The career trajectories of Australian Army officers: how the Army impacts individual career outcomes

<p dir="ltr">The aim of this research is to identify and explore key influences or predictors of career trajectories in Australian Army officers that may be outside the realm of traditional career considerations for an organisation. In particular, the interest is finding the organisational enablers and barriers to career pathways and trajectories, focusing on personnel selection and on the impact of unique events within a military career trajectory such as operational deployment. This thesis has three main aspects to it: to map Australian Army processes against the broader literature; to examine the decision-making processes during organisational personnel selection activities; and to determine what factors are impacting upon these career trajectories once they have joined, specifically those that are caused or controlled by the organisation. The research is exploratory in nature, and while a framework is proposed to assist in identifying these aspects of career trajectories, it is not intended at this stage to be a predictive model. </p><p dir="ltr">A quasi-experimental design that utilises retrospective longitudinal data has been used with pre-existing information collected at key points in a member’s military career. These include: </p><p dir="ltr">- Performance at assessment centres prior to joining and subsequent training outcomes, </p><p dir="ltr">- Deployment on military operations, and </p><p dir="ltr">- Promotion in the Army. </p><p dir="ltr">The first part of the PhD explores the diversity of career theories and proposes a simple framework that incorporates common elements from these career theories which is then applied to the military context. The theory behind psychological processes for selection into the military is then examined, providing a quick-reference model to help guide tools and procedures used in various selection contexts. Next, the selection data and training outcomes of close to 1,000 civilians who attended an Army officer selection centre for entry into either the Australian Defence Force Academy (ADFA) or the Royal Military College (RMC) is analysed. This study found that a targeted approach to training and decision-support during selection processes can improve overall selection outcomes and reduce bias and noise. The literature for use of psychological screening in a selection context is considered, before deployment screen outcomes are compared to longer-term career pathways for Army officers who were considered at an Army promotion panel between the years 2006-2015 (more than 2,400 individuals in total). This found that exposure to a traumatic event during a deployment has a subsequent small but negative effect upon promotion decisions made by the Army, despite not having symptoms of distress or mental illness. </p><p dir="ltr">These findings provide several early snapshots of what an Army officer career trajectory may entail and provides practical examples of what an organisation can do to positively affect trajectory outcomes for some of its individuals. Ultimately, the findings and contributions of this research represent advancements of our understanding of career theory and how it might be applied to a military environment.</p>