ATTRACTING QUALIFIED MINORITY AND DIVERSITY NAVAL
OFFICER CANDIDATES: A PHENOMENOLOGICAL STUDY
by
Scena B. Webb
A Dissertation Presented in Partial Fulfillment
of the Requirements for the Degree
Doctor of Management in Organizational Leadership
UNIVERSITY OF PHOENIX
September 2011
© 2011 by Scena B. Webb
ALL RIGHTS RESERVED
ATTRACTING QUALIFIED MINORITY AND DIVERSITY NAVAL OFFICER
CANDIDATES: A PHENOMENOLOGICAL STUDY
by
Scena B. Webb
September 2011
Approved:
Orlando Ramos, Ph.D., Mentor
Katrina Zimmer, Ph.D., Committee Member
Donyell L. Roseboro, Ph.D., Committee Member
Accepted and Signed:____________________________________________________ Orlando Ramos Date
Accepted and Signed:____________________________________________________
Katrina Zimmer Date Accepted and Signed:____________________________________________________
Donyell L. Roseboro Date ______________________________________________________________________ Jeremy Moreland, Ph.D. Date Executive Dean, School of Advanced Studies University of Phoenix
iv
Abstract
The population of the United States will experience an increase of 54% in the
number of diverse people entering the workforce by 2050. The qualitative
phenomenological research study explored the specific problem of the lack of minority
and diversity naval officers attracted by the Navy through lived experiences of 27 officer
recruiters dispersed throughout the United States. The Navy has reported that only 21%
of all Navy officers are minorities. The study explored what causes recruiters to engage
in attraction practices aimed at qualified minority and diversity officer candidates from
the perspective of conscious and unconscious thought theory and group theory. The
study examined the link between attraction to members of the same ethnic or racial group
as recruiters and attraction to members not of the same ethnic or racial groups. The
findings from the research study provides organizations interested in increasing minority
and diversity leadership in their companies with relevant information they may use to
attract more minority future leaders.
Keywords: diversity, Navy, military representation, minority officers, attraction
practices
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Dedication
I dedicate this dissertation to my husband, Boyce. Thank you for all of your love,
support, and inspiration. I also dedicate this dissertation to my family whom has been pillars of
support in all of my endeavors. Lastly, and most especially, I dedicate this dissertation to my
God, my Lord and Savior, Jesus Christ, who guides my every moment in life.
vi
Acknowledgments
I would like to thank my husband, Boyce for his unconditional love and support in my
educational journey. The patience, understanding, deeply reflective discussions, and constant
motivation you always gave meant the world to me, thank you Boyce!
I would like to thank my mentor and committee members for your flexibility, critical
analysis, and guidance. Dr. Ramos, Dr. Zimmer, and Dr. Roseboro, your professionalism was
the best!
Last, I would like to thank the United States Navy ROTC recruiters across the nation who
gave their support and insights to this project. Thank you for serving to help protect our nation
both foreign and domestic! Go Navy!
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Table of Contents
Abstract ..................................................................................................................... iv
Dedication .................................................................................................................. v
Acknowledgments ..................................................................................................... vi
Table of Contents ..................................................................................................... vii
List of Tables ........................................................................................................... xii
List of Figures ......................................................................................................... xiii
Chapter 1: Introduction .............................................................................................. 1
Background of the Problem ....................................................................................... 3
Statement of the Problem ........................................................................................... 3
Purpose of the Study .................................................................................................. 4
Significance of the study ............................................................................................ 5
Significance of the study to leadership ...................................................................... 6
Nature of the Study .................................................................................................... 7
Research Questions .................................................................................................... 8
Conceptual Framework ............................................................................................ 10
Definitions................................................................................................................ 14
Minority and Diversity Definitions. ................................................................. 14
Diversity. ...................................................................................................... 14
Minority. ...................................................................................................... 15
Social identity. ............................................................................................. 15
Acronyms. .................................................................................................... 15
IM – Impression management. ..................................................................... 16
viii
NRD – Navy Recruiting District. ................................................................. 16
NROTC – Navy Reserve Officers Training Corps or Navy ROTC. ............. 16
Assumptions ............................................................................................................. 16
Scope, Limitations, and Delimitations ..................................................................... 17
Summary .................................................................................................................. 18
Chapter 2: Review of the Literature ......................................................................... 20
The need for diversity in organizations ................................................................... 23
Attracting minorities and diversity; an organizational perspective ......................... 24
Attraction through Big Five Personality Traits. ............................................... 24
Attraction through the use of Impression Management. .................................. 26
Attraction through the use of literature and media. .......................................... 28
Attraction through word-of-mouth. .................................................................. 30
Attracting minorities and diversity; a candidate perspective ................................... 31
Attracting minorities and diversity; an organization recruiter perspective .............. 32
Implicit and explicit attitudes in attraction practices. ....................................... 33
In-group and out-group perceptions that affect attraction. ............................... 36
Naval Application .................................................................................................... 38
Attraction to the military .......................................................................................... 42
Leadership applications ........................................................................................... 42
Attraction through the lens of group theory ............................................................. 45
Attraction through the lens of unconscious thought theory ..................................... 47
Conclusion ............................................................................................................... 49
Summary .................................................................................................................. 50
ix
Chapter 3: Method ................................................................................................... 52
Research Method and Design Appropriateness ....................................................... 53
Population, Sampling, and Data Collection Procedures and Rationale ................... 54
Population. ........................................................................................................ 54
Sampling Frame. ............................................................................................... 54
Informed Consent. ............................................................................................ 55
Confidentiality. ................................................................................................. 55
Geographic Location. ....................................................................................... 56
Data Collection. ................................................................................................ 56
Interview Protocol ............................................................................................ 57
Instrumentation. ................................................................................................ 58
Credibility, Transferability, and Reliability ............................................................. 59
Credibility. ........................................................................................................ 59
Transferability. .................................................................................................. 59
Reliability. ........................................................................................................ 60
Data Analysis ........................................................................................................... 60
Summary .................................................................................................................. 62
Chapter 4: Results .................................................................................................... 63
Research Questions .................................................................................................. 63
Review of Data Collection ....................................................................................... 64
Participants. ...................................................................................................... 64
Gender Distribution. ......................................................................................... 65
Ethnicity Distribution. ...................................................................................... 66
x
Age Distribution. .............................................................................................. 67
NROTC Officer Recruiter Experience. ............................................................ 68
Data Analysis Procedures ........................................................................................ 68
Collection of the data. ....................................................................................... 69
Reading of the data. .......................................................................................... 69
Dividing the data into parts. .............................................................................. 70
Organization and expression of the data. .......................................................... 70
Synthesis of the data. ........................................................................................ 70
Data Management .................................................................................................... 71
Findings ................................................................................................................... 71
Emerging themes. ............................................................................................. 71
The theme of no special attraction techniques used……………………….72
The theme of promoting educational benefits……………………………..72
The theme of conducting NROTC presentation. .......................................... 73
Sub-themes. .................................................................................................. 73
Sub-theme 1: Recruiter selection. ............................................................... 73
Sub-theme 2: Minority and diversity success measures…………………...73
Sub-theme 3: Recruiter demographics…………………………………….74
Outliers ..................................................................................................................... 74
Summary .................................................................................................................. 75
Conclusion ............................................................................................................... 76
Chapter 5: Conclusions and Recommendations ...................................................... 77
Conclusions .............................................................................................................. 77
xi
Interpretation of results ............................................................................................ 78
The theme of no special attraction techniques used. .................................... 78
The theme of promoting educational benefits. ............................................ 79
The theme of conducting NROTC presentations. ........................................ 80
Theme rationale. .......................................................................................... 80
Sub-themes. .................................................................................................. 81
Sub-theme 1: Recruiter selection. ............................................................... 81
Sub-theme 2: Minority and diversity success measures. ............................. 82
Sub-theme 3: Recruiter demographics. ........................................................ 82
Implications and Significance of findings ............................................................... 83
Implications to Leadership ....................................................................................... 84
Reflection of Experience .......................................................................................... 85
Recommendations .................................................................................................... 87
For Higher Education. ...................................................................................... 88
Leadership. ........................................................................................................ 88
Further research. ............................................................................................... 89
Summary .................................................................................................................. 89
References ................................................................................................................ 91
Appendix A: Additional Information Form ........................................................... 112
Appendix B: Informed Consent Form ................................................................... 113
Appendix C: Questionnaire .................................................................................... 115
xii
List of Tables
Table 1 Summary of Literature Reviewed by Search Topic .................................... 21
Table 2 Demographic Data of Participants ............................................................. 65
xiii
List of Figures
Figure 1. Navy Diversity Officer Goals for 2037 ................................................... 10
Figure 2. The projected demographics of Navy-wide personnel for 2020 ............. 40
Figure 3. The projected demographics of officers for 2020 ................................... 41
Figure 4. Data collection and analysis process ....................................................... 58
Figure 5. Gender Distribution. ................................................................................. 66
Figure 6. Ethnicity Distribution. .............................................................................. 67
Figure 7. Age Distribution. ...................................................................................... 67
Figure 8. NROTC Officer Recruiter Experience. .................................................... 68
Figure 9. Emergent themes by frequency and intensity of inductive recurrences. . 73
1
Chapter 1: Introduction
Diversity refers to a state or fact of being diverse; difference; unlikeness; and variety
("Diversity," 2011). Diversity is by definition, a noun. The use of the term, diversity, in
mainstream literature is normally found as an adjective often interchangeably with the term
minority (Alire, 2001; Eagly & Chin, 2010; Fuentes, 2007, 2010; K. Barrett, 2009, 2010a,
2010b; Ng & Burke, 2005; Wiltrout, 2008). The term diversity appears throughout the study in
the same manner as the literature presented, as an adjective interchangeably with the term
minority.
During the 2008 presidential race, public attention to the importance of gender and race
for leadership escalated dramatically in the United States (Eagly & Chin, 2010). Americans
appeared more concerned for the race and ethnicity of the presidential hopeful than the
qualifications (Eagly & Chin, 2010, p. 216). Projections suggest that minorities will become the
majority of working aged people in the United States by 2020 (Christie, 2009). In the federal
government system, every minority group has increased its participation since 1996 except for
African American men, who dropped slightly. The federal workforce has 7.6% of Hispanic
workers compared to the Hispanic percentage of the civilian labor workforce (14%). In fact,
there are no Hispanics in senior-management positions in the Office of the Secretary of Defense
(Lewis, 2006).
The Supreme Court of the United States, which is the highest judicial body in the United
States, has been slow to reflect minority and diversity among the ranks holding only one African
American male along with just four women associate justices (Kellerhals Jr, 2010). Women in
the United States federal and state-level judgeships fall short of equal representation of women
on the nation’s federal and state benches. “In the U.S., women make up only 22 % of all federal
2
judgeships and 26 % of all state-level positions,” according to the study, prepared by the center
for women in government and civil society at the State University of New York at Albany (The
Center for Women in Government & Civil Society, 2011, p. 1). The population of the United
States expects to experience an increase in the number of diverse people entering the workforce
(Adler, 2011; Overman, 2011).
Only one of 38 four-star generals or admirals serving as of May 2008 was African
American and just 10 African American men have ever gained a four-star rank – five in the
Army, four in the Air Force, and one in the Navy (Wiltrout, 2008). In 2008, African Americans
made up about 17% of the total force in the Navy with only 9% members of the officer corps
(Wiltrout, 2008). The Navy fails to attract and train minority and diversity naval officers; only
21% of all Navy officers are minorities (K. Barrett, 2010b). In an effort to understand the
phenomenon surrounding the Navy’s failure to attract this group, research exploring the problem
is needed.
The under-representation of minorities and diversity among leadership has not gone
unnoticed in the United States military services. The Navy has policies in place to attract
qualified diversity officer candidates, but there does not seem to be a significant amount of
literature to suggest why increased amounts of diversity representation among leaders have not
been achieved (Armor & Gilroy, 2010; Blowers, 2008; Stauffer, 2008).
Key areas in chapter 1 include an introduction to the current research study. The focus of
chapter 1 highlights the problem, the purpose of the current research study, its significance, and
research questions guiding the research study along with the conceptual framework. The
research method and design along with definitions of terms are presented. The final discussions
in chapter 1 conclude with the scope, limitations, and delimitations of the current research study.
3
Background of the Problem
The population of the United States will experience an increase in the number of diverse
people entering the workforce. Civilian and military organizations have recognized the need for
diversity representation (Armor & Gilroy, 2010; Chiplock, 2009; Eagly & J. L. Chin, 2010;
Fuentes, 2007; Ployhart, 2006). The best method to increase diversity representation in
organizations varies from an applicant perceived fit (Kristof-Brown, 2000), to an organization
perceived fit (T. Kim, D. M. Cable, & S. Kim, 2005), to collectivism (Akande, 2009), and to
various strategies on recruitment efforts (Roberson, C. J. Collins, & Oreg, 2005).
The focus on at what point the thought of attraction moves into action, whether on a
conscious or unconscious level may offer insight into the rationale for the decision to move
forward or not move forward with attraction practices toward out-group members. The primary
focus with thought theory is not whether or not recruiters use conscious or unconscious thought
to propel them toward engaging in attraction practices, but an understanding of the current
findings on thought theory as a contextual background for the current study. The basis of the
current research study sought to understand the lived experiences of attraction of minority and
diversity naval officer candidates from the officer recruiter perspective using decision-making
and thought theory applications from a social identity conceptual framework.
Statement of the Problem
The general problem is despite 44% of the United States population consisting of
minorities with an estimated increase to 54% by 2050 Ortman and Guarneri (2009), the Navy
fails to attract and train minority and diversity naval officers; only 21% of all Navy officers are
minorities (K. Barrett, 2010b). The current qualitative phenomenological research study
4
explored the specific problem of the lack of minority and diversity naval officers attracted by the
Navy through lived experiences of 27 officer recruiters dispersed throughout the United States.
Purpose of the Study
The purpose of the current qualitative, phenomenological research study was to explore
the lived experiences of the attraction process from the perspective of Navy officer recruiters in
the United States. The study explored what causes recruiters to engage in attraction practices
aimed at qualified minority and diversity officer candidates from the perspective of conscious
and unconscious thought theory and group theory. The study examined the link between
attraction to members of the same ethnic or racial group as recruiters and attraction to members
not of the same ethnic or racial groups.
The study used a qualitative research method to explore decision-making theories and
group affiliation practices that may help recruiters become aware of attraction techniques that
may be helpful in attracting minority and diversity candidates. The study gained knowledge
from 27 regional Navy officer recruiters throughout the United States. The recruiters
participated in online questionnaires. The purpose of the questionnaires was to explore the
recruiters’ perceptions of effective attraction practices geared toward minority and diversity
officer candidates.
To determine the effectiveness of attraction processes currently in place, the study helps
officer recruiters evaluate their attraction practices by comparing the conscious or unconscious
thoughts toward minority candidates of different groups with attraction methods used.
Throughout the process, the study examined the attraction procedures geared toward minority
and members of diverse groups. A qualitative method was the most appropriate method to
collect and analyze data for the broad topic of recruiter attraction practices. Attraction practices
5
used in recruiting efforts is a very complex and dynamic process that benefits from
understanding attraction theory, cultural diversity, and group socialization, which is best
captured from the lived experiences of recruiters.
The findings from the research study provides organizations interested in increasing
minority and diversity leadership in their companies with relevant information they may use to
attract more minority future leaders. The results of the study offer insight into best practices
from the perspective of recruiters’ to increase their current understanding of methods to attract
diversity. For the Navy specifically, the results may assist senior leadership in their efforts to
increase minority and diversity officer representation to higher levels.
Significance of the study
McKay and Avery (2005) emphasized several reasons for diversity attraction and
recruitment to include labor shortages, avoidance of legal scrutiny, enhancement of public
image, gained access into minority consumers, and increased organizational creativity and
innovation. Despite the growing diversity among leaders, the still under-representation of
women and of racial and ethnic minorities in leadership roles demands an explanation (Eagly &
J. L. Chin, 2010). Diversity attraction practices from the perspective of the officer recruiter may
add to the existing literature on attraction strategies (Devendorf & Highhouse, 2008; Ryan &
Tippins, 2004) by focusing on the social identity aspect. Organizations that engage in worldwide
communications may have a need to attract minorities and people of diverse cultures and
backgrounds. The ability to engage in a cross-cultural examination of business attraction
practices from the perspective of organizational reputation is a concern of many major
companies (Caligiuri et al., 2010). An examination of attraction practices from the perspective
6
of recruiters’ fills a gap in the literature and adds another view for the changing dynamics of
minority attraction.
Social identity theory suggests that a person’s self-concept is a combination of a personal
identity, and a social identity. Restated, people identify with people who have similar
characteristics (Baray, Postmes, & Jetten, 2009). The decision to identify with particular groups
may be attributed to social identity consciousness. Current literature suggests that there are two
schools of thought, conscious, and unconscious involved in the most active decision-making and
impression management processes (Dijksterhuis & Nordgren, 2006). The theory distinguished
between two modes of thought; unconscious and conscious. The significance of thought theory
to the study is central to the theoretical framework, which suggests that groups provide insight
into a sense of social identity (S. A. Haslam et al., 2009) and that perceptions about various
groups have a significant impact on socialization of group members (p. 7).
Significance of the study to leadership
Alire (2001) articulated why there is a need for diversity in leadership by insisting that
“Leaders of Color” are more sensitive to challenges of diverse workers. According to Alire,
minority leaders can serve as role models, leaders, and spokespersons that provide a linkage to
minority communities. Cultural intelligence can increase with the inclusion of diversity in
organizations. As a result of globalization and advances in communication technology, cultural
intelligence research in leadership circles that pertained to expatriates, has become more
prevalent in business in America. Leaders who have diverse populations in organizations may
have challenges that can benefit through the lens of shared social identity.
Fairhurst and Grant (2010) recognized that literature is inconsistent with regard to the
definitions of social construction of leadership. The research identified variations of the same
7
topic, depending on the author. Two common traits, “(1) leader-centric approach where the
leader’s personality, style, or behavior is the primary influence on follower’s thoughts and
actions, or (2) leadership as a co-constructed reality, the processes and outcomes of interaction
between and among social actors” (p. 175). Accordingly, literature supports the need for
inclusionary processes designed to remove obstacles to succession into leadership positions by
qualified minorities (McCarty-Kilian, Hukai, & McCarty, 2005).
Nature of the Study
Seeking an understanding of the effectiveness of diversity in naval officer programs is
not a new concept. In 1998 a research study on the effectiveness of the Navy ROTC program
(Pompey, 1998), sought to understand recruitment practices of African American high school
students from historically black colleges. The current research sought to expand Pompey’s
research by understanding the attraction practices of minorities and diversity candidates through
the same Navy ROTC program by enlarging the population across the United States. Qualitative
inquiry works well for addressing the “how” questions and for understanding the world from the
perspective of the studied (Huberman & Miles, 2002; Magilvy, Thomas, & Kotzer, 2009).
Qualitative research methods are exploratory and understanding-oriented, whereas quantitative
research methods are descriptive and explanation-oriented.
Data collection was achieved through the use of online questionnaires designed to elicit
recruiters’ perceptions of how minority and diversity attraction is achieved. Participants were
solicited through purposeful sampling of individuals central to diversity recruiting. Navy
recruiting sites were selected through the use of purposeful sampling because of the expertise of
naval officer recruiters who are employed at the recruiting sites. Officer attraction and
recruitment are the best method to study the phenomenon. Recruiters are the first contact
8
negotiators for the Navy and have the responsibility to attract minority and diversity applicants.
Navy officer recruiters were given an invitation to participate in the current research study and
receive the results by completing an Additional Information Form (Appendix A).
Quantitative research methods are best for answering “how many” or generalize results of
research across a larger population through the use of statistical data analysis that identifies
trends, comparisons, and relationships (Neuman, 2003). The use of a mixed-method design has
the potential to yield the most comprehensive findings of the research study; instead because of
the limited amount of time for the research study; mixed-method is not the most efficient.
The exploration of the lived experience could be approached from a grounded theory
perspective if the goals were to use the data to support new theories or from an ethnological
perspective shared culture and lived experience of people involved shared the same lived
experiences while the experience took place (Goulding, 2005). An ethnographic design is
appropriate if the focus is on a shared culture of a group of people (Neuman, 2003).
Consideration was given to grounded theory and ethnological approaches to the research study.
A conclusion that even though personal experience as a recruiter for several years was
accessible, the time frames were different and the practices involved in attracting minority and
diversity candidates may be different. The phenomenological design is most appropriate to the
current research study because the focus is to enlarge and deepen an understanding of diversity
attraction practices through the lived experiences of those who engage in the business of
recruiting (Huberman & Miles, 2002).
Research Questions
Highhouse, Brooks, & Gregarus (2009) introduced social identity theory and attraction to
organizations as a framework that conveys the importance of diversity. The interview process
9
has received noticeable attention (Kristof-Brown, 2000) with respect to the interview applicant
perceptions of fit to the organization. The Navy has two avenues where applicants can enter the
naval officer career track without any prior military service, acceptance to the Naval Academy or
acceptance to the Naval Officer Reserves Training Corps (NROTC) program. NROTC qualified
candidates must possess a standard set of criteria (United States Navy [USN], 2010) with no
regard to race, gender, ethnicity, or financial status. The requirements equally apply to qualified
officer candidates and should produce an equal number of candidates.
The Navy has confirmed the shortfall in attracting qualified diversity officer candidates
(K. Barrett, 2010) and has made a commitment to increase the number of diversity officers. The
current research study had the goal to understand the phenomenon surrounding the inability to
attract qualified minority and diversity naval officer candidates through the NROTC program.
The central areas of minority and diversity attraction to the Navy were explored.
Q1: How do naval officer recruiters experience attraction methods aimed at minority and
diversity candidates to the NROTC program?
Lievens (2007) found that impressions of military organizations are formed by applicants
through organizational advertisements, applicant perceptions of organizational fit, and the
interactions of recruiters. Impression management (IM) becomes a significant tool in attraction
and recruitment efforts. In the context of IM, the following sub-questions were explored.
Q2: How are officer recruiters selected for recruiting assignments?
Q3: How is recruiting for minorities and diversity performed to ensure success?
Q4: What are the demographics of the current recruiters?
A collective understanding of the lived experiences of NROTC officer recruiters on how
minority and diversity candidates are attracted to the Navy’s program and the selection process
10
for officer recruiters offered the best avenue to gain insight into why the diversity officer
attraction and recruitment efforts have failed to reach the Navy’s goals. The Chief of Naval
Operations, Admiral Roughead, set the officer diversity goal for 2037, to reflect 64% officer
diversity, 10% African American, 13% Hispanic, and 13% a combination of Asian Pacific and
Native Americans.
Figure 1. Navy Diversity Officer Goals for 2037
Conceptual Framework
De Rue and Ashford (2010) identified three levels involved with leadership identity
construction. The levels are an individual internalization, relational recognition, and collective
endorsement. A meta- analytical review of identity work was undertaken both by an individual
projecting a particular image and by mirroring back and reinforcing (or not) that image as a
legitimate identity. Diversity leadership has the potential to increase relational recognition
among diversity workers and increase the level of collective endorsement in organizations. The
implications of the projected minority population in the United States coupled with research on
the social construction of leadership (Fairhurst & Grant, 2010) warrant further research in the
11
interplay of UTT and social identity constructs in an attraction of qualified minority and diversity
officer candidates for the United States Navy.
Shared social identity can be seen as the basis for all forms of productive social
interaction between people, including leadership, motivation, communication, cooperation,
helping, and trust (S. A. Haslam, Jetten, Postmes, & C. Haslam, 2009). Diversity leaders can be
very helpful in linguistic challenges (Eagly & Chin, 2010) by drawing upon a common cultural
heritage. Additionally, diversity leaders can become a valuable asset in understanding self-
esteem of workers from a cultural standpoint (Akande, 2009). Leaders responsible for conflict
management must be aware of social identity at work with workgroup conflicts. Dalton and
Chrobot-Mason (2007) implied that workgroups form inside of organizations, which share
commonalities for support and guidance in an effort to navigate through the dominant culture.
The lens of social identity theory works well when studying issues of social,
organizational, and corporate identity Cornelissen, S. A. Haslam, and Balmer (2007).
Inconsistencies on the application of identity theories highlighted by the work of (Cornelissen et
al., 2007) demonstrated various applications to the same theory. For example, social identity
examines issues of cognitive process and structure, organizational identity addresses the
patterning of shared meanings, while corporate identity focuses on products that communicate a
specific message (Cornelissen et al., 2007, p. 31). The conceptualization of identities has blurred
resulting in a multi-disciplinary approach to understanding identities. A focus on social identity
theory complements realistic group conflict theory by highlighting group identification (Brief,
2005). Managers, who are not members of salient groups, may have difficulty managing work
conflict of diverse groups Dalton and Chrobot-Mason (2007). An understanding of the various
identity theories and the various applications of these theories may be helpful to managers
12
responsible for dealing with conflicts among diverse groups. Senior leaders in the military have
the increased responsibility to handle conflict among diverse groups as a consequence of the
stress inherent in military operations and therefore, an understanding of identity theory is
paramount.
The phenomenon of the failure to attract qualified minority and diversity naval officer
candidates is best studied through the conceptual framework of social identity theory on the
individual level. The recruiter perspective has the potential to offer the most salient contribution
to existing literature on minority and diversity attractions. To date, literature has examined
recruitment from the organization perspective of attraction (Lievens, Decaesteker, & Coetsier,
2001; Van Hoye & Lievens, 2007), from the interviewer perspective of interview techniques, and
from the perspective of the applicants (Desrumaux, De Bosscher, & Leoni, 2009; Devendorf &
Highhouse, 2008). The perspective of the recruiter and what motivates the recruiter to pursue
qualified minority and diversity applicants has not been adequately researched.
S. A. Haslam et al. (2009) articulated that groups provide insight into a sense of social
identity, which has an understanding that people belong to certain social groups together with
some emotional and value significant to the group membership. For example, a person may
choose to affiliate with a group because of racial and ethnic commonalities. Perceptions about
various groups have a significant impact on socialization of group members. Self-categorization
builds on three insights, group behavior, sharing category membership, and shared social identity
(p. 7).
One focus of the current research study was socialization from the perspective of the
individual recruiter. For instance, a recruiter who feels more comfortable with group members
who have racial similarities, Caucasians may gravitate toward other members considered a part
13
of the in-group of Caucasians. The rationale for the decision not to pursue the out-group
member is unknown. The perspective of shared identity states that when people perceive
themselves to share group membership with other people in a given context an increased
motivated to strive actively to reach agreement and to coordinate behavior in relation to activities
relevant to that identity occurs (Bakker & Schaufeli, 2008; Caligiuri et al., 2010).
With respect to the concept of sharing category membership, it is possible that the effort
that goes into pursuing a qualified minority officer candidate who is Asian (a member of an out-
group) may be different by an officer recruiter who is not Asian. The intention of this research
was to understand the dynamics of the minority and diversity attraction process for qualified
naval officer candidates. The assumption was that decisions and actions about how to pursue
diversity candidates rest with the recruiter. The uniqueness of the research study provided
insight into how those decisions are made by naval officer ROTC recruiters. Unconscious
thought theory (UTT) is the conceptual framework that primarily guided the research at the level
of decision-making exercised by officer recruiters.
Thought theory literature supports the belief that conscious thought and first impressions
may lead to effective decision-making Waroquier et al. (2010) often with conflicting results.
The literature was inconsistent about the level of the effect conscious or unconscious thought has
on decision-making. Proponents of UTT suggested that the “go home and sleep on it” concept is
an effective process for complex decision-making (Dijksterhuis & Nordgren, 2006). Opponents
of UTT suggested that unconscious thought does not necessarily result in better normative
decision-making performance (Newell, Wong, Cheung, & Rakow, 2009). A definitive case for
the effects of unconscious thought theory in the affirmative or the negative has not surfaced in
the literature (Dijksterhuis & Nordgren, 2006; Gawronski, Hofmann, & Wilbur, 2006; Newell,
14
Wong, Cheung, & Rakow, 2009; Rey, Goldstein, & Perruchet, 2009; Thorsteinson & Withrow,
2009; Waroquier et al., 2010).
The research postulates that both conscious and unconscious thought is active when naval
officer recruiters are engaging in diversity attraction. Social identity becomes the implicit
forerunner and has a greater impact on the level of attraction that involves qualified diversity
candidates of out-group members. In other words, the current research study sought to
understand the reasoning behind implicit actions in decision-making involving the attraction of
diversity candidates expanding the approach Admiral Mullen took when serving as Chair of the
Joint Chief of Staff (Parrish, 2010).
Definitions
The following definitions occur several times in the current research study. The
definitions are common in diversity texts (Alire, 2001; Armor & Gilroy, 2010; Christie, 2009;
Eagly & J. L. Chin, 2010; Stauffer, 2008). Previous literature contains many of the definitions
with varying contextual applications. The presentation of definitions seeks to clarify the
contextual use in the current research study.
Minority and Diversity Definitions.
Diversity.
Diversity refers to a state or fact of being diverse, difference, unlikeness, and variety
(Minority, 2011). Diversity is by definition, a noun. Diversity is used in mainstream literature as
an adjective often interchangeably with the term minority (Alire, 2001; Eagly & J. L. Chin,
2010; Fuentes, 2007, 2010; Ng & Burke, 2005; Wiltrout, 2008). The use of the term diversity
throughout the study is in the same manner as the literature presented, as an adjective
interchangeably with the term minority.
15
Minority. Minority refers to a group differing, especially in race, religion, or ethnic
background from the majority of a population; a member of such a group (Office of the
Assistance Secretary of the Navy for Manpower and Reserve Affairs, 2011). The term minority
has been used interchangeably with diversity in this study to represent African Americans,
Asian/Pacific Islanders, Latinos, Native Americans, and Alaskan Natives (Armor & Gilroy,
2010; Fuentes, 2010; Halibut, 2011; Kelly, 2011; Lewis, 2006; McCarty-Kilian et al., 2005;
McKay, Avery, Tonidandel, Morris, Hernandez, & Hebl, 2007; Blowers, 2008; Stauffer, 2008).
The use of the term minority throughout the study is in the same manner as the literature
presented, as an adjective interchangeably with the term diversity.
Social identity. Social identity functions refer to the facility of attitudes to establish
identities and obtain social approval (Cornelissen et al., 2007; Highhouse, Thornbury, & Little,
2007). Social identity has been used in this research study in the context of self-categorization.
Self-categorization probes into the social psychological dynamics of self with respect to
perceived fit into groups (S. A. Haslam et al., 2009).
Unconscious thought theory has two modes of thought: conscious and unconscious.
Conscious thought is thought with attention; unconscious thought is thought without attention (or
attention directed elsewhere) (Dijksterhuis & Nordgren, 2006; Lakin, Jefferis, Cheng, &
Chartrand, 2003; Waroquier et al., 2010). The use of unconscious thought theory is as a
theoretical frame for complex decision-making used in attraction practices.
Acronyms. The uses of acronyms represent significant theories used throughout the
study.
16
IM – Impression management. Impression management refers to manipulation of
literature to present an impression of an organization from a positive perspective (Avery &
McKay, 2006; Bolino, Kacmar, Turnley, & Gilstap, 2008; Caligiuri et al., 2010; Highhouse et
al., 2009). Impression management also refers to manipulation of personality traits done by the
candidate whom present themselves as a good fit for the organization (Devendorf & Highhouse,
2008; McKay & Avery, 2005).
NRD – Navy Recruiting District. Navy Recruiting District refers to the 26 districts that
are a part of Navy Recruiting Command. Each district is responsible for attracting and recruiting
future leaders for the Navy.
NROTC – Navy Reserve Officers Training Corps or Navy ROTC. NROTC refers a
program that trains officer candidates for service in the United States Navy.
Assumptions
The research study has the potential to be most useful for organizations, which engage in
diversity attraction and recruitment. D. M. Cable and Graham (2000) revealed that significant
losses have the potential to occur when diversity workers are recruited and leave the
organization. McKay and Avery (2005) indicated that minority turnover in American companies
is 40% to 50% higher than Caucasian turnover. According to McKay and Avery, organizations
seem to spend attention on diversity recruitment but little attention is on “re-addressing
conditions within organizations that undermine diversity efforts” (2005, p. 336).
From a Navy perspective, I bring 21 years of naval service to the research study assuming
that the Navy does want to capture a more diversified leadership cadre to become more reflective
of the population served. My assumptions come from reading leadership documents from the
Chief of Naval Operations on diversity inclusion, from working with aviators, shipboard
17
commanders, and sailors from many cultures. My final three years of service in the Navy were
spent as a naval officer recruiter being on the edge of attracting future naval leaders.
The focus on minority and diversity attraction may yield new insights that have the
potential to become areas for training included in established diversity training or new training
development specifically geared toward diversity attraction and recruitment. For the purposes of
the current research study, it is assumed that subjects will respond honestly to the questionnaires.
Scope, Limitations, and Delimitations
The scope is limited by the honesty of the subjects’ responses during the online
questionnaire responses and the amount of time available to conduct the study. The current
research study was also limited because of the possibility of researcher bias with regard to
minority and diversity recruiting practices. Three years spent as a naval officer recruiter from
2003 until 2005 brings prior subject-matter knowledge to the research study. The research
validation process was designed to eliminate or mitigate researcher bias through the use of data
triangulation.
The population was a theory-based purposeful sampling. The findings cannot be
generalized outside the scope of the theoretical concept using social identity theory. Since online
questionnaires were sent using the Internet, there was a possibility that certain participants would
not respond. The current research study was delimited by the use of Navy ROTC officer
recruiters as the population.
The research study was further delimited to “current Navy ROTC” recruiters who do not
permit the inclusion of corporate knowledge gained from prior successful recruiters. Only
NROTC officer recruiters were potential subjects even though the Navy has other types of naval
officer accession programs. The research study was delimited by using written communication
18
via questionnaires that did not allow the participants to ask for further explanation of terms that
may have been unclear. The current research study was delimited by not using in-person
interviews, time, money, and human resources.
The population was composed of 27 naval officer recruiters representing each of the
states in the United States and travel, geographical constraints, and time zone demands delimit
the current research study. The research study was delimited by using social identity as the
conceptual framework. Within the bounds of social identity theory, questions centered on social
identity to include group theory and decision-making applications.
Summary
The key areas discussed in chapter 1 were the background of the problem attracting and
recruiting minority and diversity applicants to civilian and military organizations. A review of
recruitment practices from the perspectives of the need for diversity in organizations based on
the United States workforce population forecasts (Armor & Gilroy, 2010; Christie, 2009), from
the applicant fit perspective (Armor & Gilroy, 2010; Chapman, Uggerslev, Carroll, Piasentin, &
Jones, 2005; Christie, 2009; Devendorf & Highhouse, 2008), and from the interviewer
perspective (Desrumaux et al., 2009; Kristof-Brown, 2000) provided a historical basis for the
study. A presentation of the purpose and significance of the current research study through the
conceptual framework of social identity in leadership construction and group theory provided
significance to leadership (Cornelissen et al., 2007; De Rue & Ashford, 2010; S. A. Haslam et
al., 2009). A discussion of the key concepts of unconscious thought theory with regard to the
interviewer decision-making (Dijksterhuis & Nordgren, 2006; Gawronski et al., 2006) with
respect to attracting and recruiting qualified diversity candidates provided a background to the
19
significance of the current research study. A review of research design and method along with
the scope, limitations, and delimitations of the research study concluded the discussion.
Essential elements of chapter 2 presented a review of germinal and current literature
related to the examination of diversity attraction and recruitment. Chapter 2 began with an
introduction to the need for diversity in organizations. The majority of the chapter included a
discussion of germinal and current literature on attraction and recruitment practices. The chapter
concluded with a discussion on the gap in literature and a summary presentation of key points
was included in the chapter.
20
Chapter 2: Review of the Literature
The qualitative research study is a phenomenological approach that examines the lived
experiences of naval recruiters responsible for attracting qualified minorities and diversity officer
candidates into the naval service. A key element when organization’s search for top performers
is diversity (McDonald, 2006). The search for leadership that encompasses diversity is also one
of the priorities set forth in the military (Armor & Gilroy, 2010; Fuentes, 2007). Senior
leadership in the Navy has set policies establishing a need for diversity among the officer ranks
(Blowers, 2008). The literature review supports a need for attracting qualified minority and
diversity officer candidates in the military as well as attracting diversity in organizations
(Chiplock, 2009). The literature is organized in themes that emerged beginning from the general
need for minority and diversity leadership in organizations, attraction, minority, and diversity
representation in the military.
A search of the literature produced one similar research study that set out to understand
the effectiveness of the Navy’s ROTC program and minority recruitment of African American
high school students entering historically black colleges (Pompey, 1998). The research findings
suggested that Navy organizations that wish to increase the success rate for minority recruitment
should employ minority recruiters who look like the target population. The current research
expands Pompey’s research by shifting the focus from the recruiter group identity to the
recruiter’s implicit and explicit thought processes in decision-making while engaged in minority
and diversity attraction and recruitment.
The foundational compilation of the research includes peer reviewed journals from the
Journal of Leadership Studies University of Phoenix, Military Leadership, and Defense
Technical Information Center. Database searches included EBSCOhost, ProQuest Dissertations
21
and Thesis @ University of Phoenix. Internet search engines included Google Scholar and
Google. Title searches consisted of key words that included diversity, attracting diverse
candidates, recruitment, social identity theory, group theory, organizational theory, in-group/out-
group theory, minority population, military demographics, and decision-making theory.
Theoretical concepts and search topics
Peer-reviewed journal articles
Empirical Research and Dissertations
Books, reports, & Other
Government issued documents
Total
Organization Attraction Methods & Models 25 25
Recruitment practices & recruitment models 31 1 9 40
U.S. population trends 4 1 5 Diversity in the military/Navy 5 6 5 16
Diversity leadership 9 9 Leadership identity theory 3 3
Social identity theory 7 7 Cultural, Organizational, and Group theory
16 16
Thought theory 17 2 19 Approachability theory 10 10 Diversity retention 3 3 Research designs 15 3 18 Research methods 6 3 9 185 Table 1
Summary of Literature Reviewed by Search Topic
The complied research presents the implications of diversity and inclusion in the
workplace. Literature in the chapter focused on the need to attract qualified minorities in
corporations, in public organizations, and in the military. Demographic material has been
presented that illustrates the diverse population in the military and the specific diverse population
in the Navy. The analysis of the literature is in support of a need for attracting diversity in
22
leadership. Social identity theory is the contextual lens for the presentation of literature on
attracting qualified diverse people into the workforce and into the Navy’s officer ranks. The
gaps in literature concerning identifiable measures that can be taken to increase the probability of
attracting qualified diverse people into organizations were addressed in the chapter.
Research has been thorough on the need to attract qualified minority and diversity
candidates into both public and private organizations (Chapman et al., 2005; Ployhart, Weekley,
& Baughman, 2006), and in military organizations (Fuentes, 2007; Parrish, 2010). Research has
been done on conscious and unconscious decision-making (Dijksterhuis & Nordgren, 2006). A
gap exists in the literature on the impact of conscious and unconscious decision-making through
the application of social identity theory. More specifically, research that centers on what makes
recruiters aggressively pursue certain groups of qualified applicants. The results of the current
research study’s aim were the generalizability of minority and diversity attraction methods to
both public and private sector organizations and to add to the body of literature on attracting
qualified minority and diversity applicants for officer programs in the Navy.
The research question, “How do naval officer recruiters attract minority and diversity
candidates to the NROTC program?” provided insight from the perspective of the recruiter
explored (Chapman et al., 2005; Devendorf & Highhouse, 2008). The context of impression
management provided the framework for the following sub-questions, “How are officer
recruiters selected for recruiting assignments?”, “How is recruiting for minorities and diversity
performed to ensure success?”, “What are the demographics of the current recruiters?”
In this chapter, the following sections on attraction are included: The need for diversity in
organizations, attracting minorities and diversity from an organizational perspective, reviewing
attraction through Big Five traits, attraction through the use of impression management,
23
attraction through the use of literature and media, and attraction through word-of-mouth.
Attraction methods focusing on attracting minorities and diversity from an organizational
recruiter perspective are addressed including a review of implicit and explicit attitudes in
attraction practices, and in-group and out-group perceptions that affect attraction. A review of
naval applications to attraction appears to include attraction to the military, and leadership
applications with respect to minorities and diversity constructs. The chapter ends with a review
of attraction through the lens of group theory, and attraction through the lens of unconscious
thought theory.
The need for diversity in organizations
Organizations in America have recognized the need for a more diverse workforce
(Chiplock, 2009; Stauffer, 2008). One basis for the need to increase diversity was the projected
increase in the minority population in the United States (Christie, 2009; Day, n.d.). Medical
schools reported struggles with recruitment aimed toward diversity students (Chiplock, 2009) as
well as newspapers that also referred to the projections, which reported minorities make up 33%
of the United States population, and that most news rooms do not mirror the statistic (Stauffer,
2008). Schools are making strides to keep track of the success and failure rates in the effort to
attract minority students. Grand Valley State University 2008 minority enrollment dropped to
9.8% compared to 15.6% in fall 2007. Western Michigan University and Ferris State
experienced declines. Considering the failure to attract minorities, schools used a more
aggressive recruitment strategy to obtain minority students such as inviting minorities to college
level football games.
Available literature on attracting diversity applicants stemmed from several viewpoints.
Highhouse et al. (2007) approached attraction to organizations from the perspective of the
24
person’s perception about the people who work at organizations. Social identity constructs and
attraction to the organization were the focus of research (Highhouse et al., 2007) that postulated
that symbolic features of the organization relay a message of the organization’s culture. The
presentation of organizational culture has been promoted through the use of corporate imagery
through recruitment messages such as literature about the organization, online media
advertisements, and recruiters (Roberson et al., 2005).
Attracting minorities and diversity; an organizational perspective
Attraction through Big Five Personality Traits.
Cole, Field, Giles, & Harris (2009) confirmed low levels of estimated inter-rater
reliability as a result of reviewing entry-level applicants’ resumes and made inferences regarding
applicants’ personality traits. A quantitative approach that used 244 recruiters provided data in
two pilot studies where 41 masters of business administration students provided data (resumes),
and 88 upper-level undergraduate business students participated to determine the validity of
recruiters’ inference of job characteristics based on applicant resumes. The findings indicated
little reliability or validity in inferences toward favorable traits made by recruiters.
Zhao and Siebert (2006) found that there are significant differences between
entrepreneurs and managers when compared to the big five personality dimensions. A review of
the Five Factor Model, which adopted Attraction-Selection-Attrition theory, explained the
association between personality and entrepreneurial status. Zhao and Siebert used a meta-
analysis review of entrepreneurs and managers to understand the differences of an
entrepreneurial framework and a managerial framework that may better help leaders of
organizations understand the diversity among workers. The implications of the research offered
25
insight into the perceptions of a high need for recognition, risk-taking, and openness of
applicants had an entrepreneurial work ethic.
Slaughter and Greguras (2009) studied a set of beliefs found to influence initial attraction
to organizations using a quantitative approach referred to as organization personality perceptions.
Slaughter and Greguras used a qualitative approach that included 828 undergraduate students
enrolled in a large, introductory to psychology course at a large university in the southern United
States. The participants completed a measure of the Big Five personality traits at different
intervals. The findings suggested individuals initial attraction to firms is influenced by the
perceptions of the degree to which firms display desirable traits.
Ployhart, Weekley, & Baughman (2006) integrated mult-level theory and the attraction-
selection-attrition model to conceptualize homogeneity hypothesis that stated members of the
same organization should be more similar in shared personality than members of different
organizations (p. 662). A multi-level analysis in conjunction with a quantitative approach that
involved 9,603 employees from 85 jobs in 12 organizations provided the catalyst for data
collection. The literature showed that high correlations exist between personality performance
and personality of organizations.
Assessing organizational attractiveness through the use of personality traits resulted in a
common thread that indicated that correlations exist between personality traits of applicants and
the propensity for applicant choice of certain organizations (Van Hoye & Lievens, 2007). The
current research study was not a departure from prior research on the Big Five Personality traits
and organizational fit but added to existing literature through the effort to explore the
effectiveness of personality traits and organizational fit from the perspective of Navy officer
recruiters. The next section presents a perspective on the use of attraction methods through the
26
lens of impression management, including in general, by using literature and media, and ending
the section with the use of word-of-mouth.
Attraction through the use of Impression Management.
Avery and McKay (2006) posited that organization impression management (OIM) was a
good tool for targeted recruitment in the attraction stage. OIM refers to any action purposefully
designed and carried out to influence an audience’s perceptions of an organization (p. 162).
Avery and McKay used a meta-analysis approach and emphasized that minority and female
applicants were attracted by different factors than Caucasian male counterparts, and with an
understanding of the different factors, organizations can increase diversity attraction by using
OIM. The salient point of the literature rested with the commitment of organizations to design
and implement targeted recruitment strategies, to communicate a desire to attract diversity, and
critically analyze failures that may occur in attracting minority and female applicants.
Bolino et al. (2008) conducted a multi-level review (individual level, concepts, and
organizational level) of literature that centered on OIM and behaviors. The literature served as a
compilation beginning from 1988 until 2006. The findings suggested that manipulation of OIM
happens by individuals in organizations toward each other, individuals who represent the
organization to outsiders, such as attracting applicants, or applicants who want to appear to have
a good fit for the organization. Recruiters responsible for attracting qualified minority and
diversity candidates could use OIM as a way to demonstrate the organization concern about a
diverse workforce by showing imagery of diverse workers.
Highhouse et al. (2009) presented a framework of reviews that focused on reputation
research formed by organizations during the last decade. A meta-analysis that viewed
corporations as social actors out for self-presentation was the method of choice that included an
27
illustrative electronic model that integrated corporate attributes, imagery, and an impression of
the organization. The literature highlighted the organization as the major actor involved with
organization impression management (OIM). Organizations, like people, have an interest in self-
preservation that brings a contrast to previous literature that focused on individuals as actors
involved in impression management (Avery & McKay, 2006; Bolino et al., 2008; D. M. Cable &
Graham, 2000). The findings suggested that an understanding of corporate reputation is an
important step to understanding the formation of reputations. In essence, the formation of
reputations may have a potential use as a tool for attraction with future applicants.
Caligiuri et al. (2010) looked for cross-cultural and individual differences in predicting
employer reputation as a driver of organizational attraction focusing on the importance of
employee reputation and concluded that the need for power and achievement from the
perspective of the applicant had a high correlation to the importance attached to employer
reputation. A quantitative method using graduate engineering students across nine countries that
surveyed global graduate students revealed the need for recruitment practices to align corporate
reputation with the culture of the applicant. Students looked for ideal employers on the needs for
power, need for achievement, need for affiliation. The literature focused on global attractions for
applicants as contrasted to previous literature that focused on applicants for U. S. companies.
Understanding the use of organization impression management can be helpful to
leadership in several areas of management (Avery & McKay, 2006; Bolino et al., 2008).
Impression management is not only a function of organizations, employees, and applicants can
engage in impression management (Bolino et al., 2008). The current research study was not a
departure from prior research on impression management but added to the gap in existing
28
literature on impression management of the recruiter from the perspective of Navy officer
recruiters.
Attraction through the use of literature and media.
Roberson et al. (2005) contended that detailed recruitment messages led to enhanced
perceptions of organization attributes and person-organization fit. The use of a quantitative
approach determined the effects of detailed recruitment messages as compared to fewer detailed
recruitment messages on applicant perceptions of organization attributes as well as how
applicant’s perceived fit into the organization. The literature indicated that detailed information
on organizations would allow applicants increased references to base a judgment, whereas less
detailed information would suggest applicants had to infer about organizations. More detailed
advertisements may provide job seekers with sufficient information to generate favorable
perceptions of an organization, thus influencing an applicant’s perception of fit to the
organization (Devendorf & Highhouse, 2008).
Understanding how applicants perceive organizations may allow managers to change
working conditions that help form first impressions. D. M. Cable and Graham (2000) theorized
that the perceptions of an organization’s reputation were a considerable factor of the
organizations’ attractiveness to job seekers. Cable and Graham used a qualitative approach that
included 14 upper-level graduate students at two large state universities in the southeastern
United States. While some students participated in the surveys, other students sought to
understand the perceptions applicants had of organizations and the attractiveness to the
organization based upon the organizational perceptions. The findings suggested that
organizational reputation perceptions were affected by the industry in which employers operate,
the amount of organizational familiarity, and company profitability.
29
Body posture, facial expressions, and words as a form of literature and media
manipulation significantly increased the organizational beliefs of applicants (D. M. Cable & Yu,
2006). Through the use of quantitative inquiry a significant correlation emerged among the
types of organizational media such as an online advertisement delivered through websites,
electronic bulletin board use, and career fairs (D. M. Cable & Yu, 2006). The literature provided
an understanding of the research on perceptions of richness and credibility (body posture, facial
expressions, words) that later became more prevalent (Desrumaux et al., 2009).
Ryan and Tippins (2004) maintained that proven recruitment methods do work for
organizational efforts in attracting and recruiting applicants. The research was a meta-analytical
compilation of proven effective strategies targeted toward attracting and selecting applicants to
organizations with a focus on the benefits for human resources professionals. The implications
of the literature suggested that HR managers were not using practices established from research
to attract, recruit, and select the best qualified candidates could benefit from prior research on
attraction models and theories (Devendorf & Highhouse, 2008; Roberson et al., 2005).
Leaders engaged in the attraction and recruitment process for qualified minority and
diversity candidates should increase exposure to applicants through the use of career fairs in
combination with positive imagery on websites and bulletin boards. The diverse workforce
should be the highlight of a company in the attraction process for exposure to applicants were of
a diverse population (D. M. Cable & Yu, 2006). Additionally, increased positive posturing can
be achieved by organizations through the use of word-of-mouth advertising. The current
research study was not a departure from prior research on organizational manipulation of
literature and media in attractions, but added to existing literature through the effort to explore
the effectiveness of literature and media from the perspective of Navy officer recruiters.
30
Attraction through word-of-mouth.
Van Hoye and Lievens (2007) posited that word-of-mouth in attraction to organizations
would result in a positive effect. A quantitative approach using 171 graduate students in
industrial/organizational (I/O) psychology from a Belgian university was taken to understand the
relationship between word-of-mouth influence on organizations and which factors would
influence the effect. The goal was to identify the relationship between recruitment practices and
company product awareness to job seeker’s application behavior, which focused on how much
job seekers knew and how strong the job seeker’s intentions were. The findings implied that job
seekers tended to combine information from multiple sources, and that interactions from the
sources were likely to occur (p. 2040).
Van Hoye and Lievens (2009) expanded previous research (Van Hoye & Lievens, 2007)
on the positive relationship between word-of-mouth about organizations and applicant
attractiveness to organizations. The effects of positive influence word-of-mouth early in the
recruitment strategy were analyzed by using a qualitative approach with 612 potential applicants
targeted by the Belgian Defense with exposure to Internet advertisements. The first stage of
attraction to the organization was the focus. The findings suggested that time spent receiving
positive and negative word-of-mouth predicted applicant attractiveness to organizations in
tandem.
Word-of-mouth used as organizational advertising has the potential to increase
organizational attractiveness. For example, advertising from organizations combined with the
word-of-mouth of family members who favorably endorsed organizations increased the positive
attraction for applicants. The implication of the research on word-of-mouth advertising (Van
Hoye & Lievens, 2007, 2009) suggested that organizations could capitalize on increasing
31
exposure to minority and diversity candidates by holding job fairs and seminars that have the
potential to increase community awareness and generate positive word-of-mouth advertising.
The current research is not a departure from prior research on the effectiveness of positive word-
of-mouth advertisement. Little literature was found on the effectiveness of negative word-of-
mouth advertisement, and the research study added literature to the existing gap through the
effort to explore the effectiveness of negative word-of-mouth advertisements from the
perspective of Navy officer recruiters. The next section presents a perspective on the use of
attraction methods from a candidate perspective, through implicit and explicit attitudes in
attraction, and ends with a review of in-group and out-group perceptions that affect attraction.
Attracting minorities and diversity; a candidate perspective
Devendorf and Highhouse (2008) approached attraction to organizations from the
perspective that most decisions to join an organization rely on very little information about the
job. The research suggested that perceptions of typical coworkers played a part in the decision
for applicants to join organizations. The research used working adults in the clothing industry
where contact with coworkers was increased for applicants who followed the similarity-
attraction effect. T. Kim, D. M. Cable, and S. Kim (2005) studied the linkage between
organizational socialization tactics and person-organization fit (P-O) and examined the
moderating influence of employee’s pro activity behaviors. The method used was a quantitative
inquiry with the role of socialization tactics in an Asian cultural setting. The participants of the
research study were new employees across job types and job levels in seven large organizations
in South Korea.
McKay and Avery (2005) showed person-organization fit (P-O), realistic job preview,
and psychological contract literature to demonstrate how diversity recruitment strategies can fail.
32
A meta-analytical approach was taken that highlighted the use of impression management to
target diversity candidates. The caution that emanated from the research was if the organization
does not live up to the impressions made by the advertisements, high turnover can result. If the
psychological contract is not fulfilled the newly hired diversity employees may leave the
organization.
Attraction of an organization from the perspective of candidates based on perceptions of
organizational fit had the potential to affect the perception of fit from minority and diversity
candidates. The literature on person-organization fit suggested that organizations have the power
to manipulate the attractiveness of the organization through several techniques that included
literature and media. The current research study was not a departure from prior research on P-O
fit from the candidate perspective but added an additional perspective to existing literature
through the effort to explore the person-to organization fit from the perspective of Navy officer
recruiters.
Attracting minorities and diversity; an organization recruiter perspective
Chapman et al. (2005) discovered that attraction to organizations was achieved through
recruiter behaviors, the recruiting process, perceived job fit, and hiring experiences. Chapman
and the team conducted a qualitative meta-analytic review that included 667 coefficients from 71
studies examined relationships between various predictions with job–organization attraction, job
pursuit intentions, acceptance intentions, and job choice (p. 928). Attraction and recruitment
practices that advanced type of job and organizational image were shown to be the most effective
in terms of attracting applicants.
Communication between recruiters and applicants was found to be an essential element
of attraction. Desrumaux et al. (2009) confirmed that perceptions about abilities of applicants
33
could be drawn from inferences, attractiveness, and gender stereotypes. The literature
represented a qualitative method that included 40 recruiters from Paris and Northern France,
whom only used photos, and resumes that investigated the relationship between gender,
attractiveness, and competence in situations in which the recruiters had to judge an applicant’s
hire ability, utility, and desirability (p. 33). The findings suggested that there is a strong
relationship between the physical attractiveness of an applicant and the recruiter’s perception of
the applicant’s hire ability.
Recruiters are the face of the organization and have a significant impact on the perception
of the organization. Recruiter behaviors and perceptions heavily influence the attraction process
(D. M. Cable & Yu, 2006; Desrumaux et al., 2009), a void exists on what influence, specifically,
has yielded little published literature. The research study added literature to the existing gap
through the effort to explore the specific influence of recruiters on minority and diversity
attractions from the perspective of Navy officer recruiters.
The contribution of employee knowledge, skills, and assessments to organizations has
been recognized (Bakker & Schaufeli, 2008; Bjarnason, 2009; E. Michaels, Handfield-Jones, &
Axelrod, 2001). The ability to attract the best applicants has become a priority in many
organizations. Interviewer assessment of applicants using the Big five personality dimensions
has been enumerated. A limited amount of literature exist that addressed the attraction efforts of
minority and diversity candidates in both negative word-of-mouth advertisements and impression
management from the perspective of Navy officer recruiters.
Implicit and explicit attitudes in attraction practices.
Recruiters most often are the first initial contact representing organizations with potential
candidates. The actions of recruiters have an effect on the impression that organizations make on
34
applicants (Desrumaux et al., 2009). Recruiters must make decisions when involved in attraction
and recruitment practices of whether or not to approach potential candidates to begin recruitment
efforts. Research has shown incoherency on what basis recruiters engage applicants (Chen & Li,
2009; Cole et al., 2009).
Betsch, Kaufmann, Lindow, Plessner, & Hoffmann (2006) found that implicit and
explicit information integration is not a function of one or two domains to thinking, but a result
of multiple strategies. A quantitative approach that used 14 psychology undergraduates at the
Universty of Heidelbert provided the venue for the research. The studies served to show the
relationship between implicit and explicit decision-making and varying access to information
used as a basis for decision-making. The literature made an argument for implicit and explicit
information integration processed through the value account model normally used in financial
decision-making discussions. The findings suggested that different aggregations principles guide
implicit and explicit attitude formation. The implications of the research offer insight into an
alternate view of implicit and explicit decision-making suggesting that no prior intention need be
present for outcomes of decision-making whether implicit or explicit.
Gawronski et al. (2006) posited that implicit attitudes are unconscious with at least three
different aspects of the unconsciousness. A meta-analytical approach was taken to focus
previous research surrounding aspects of unconsciousness in relation to attitudes. The literature
described source awareness, content awareness, and impact awareness as ways to understand the
levels of unconscious factors that help form attitudes. The findings suggested that people often
lack awareness of the causal origin of attitudes, which is considered source awareness people are
consciously aware of the attitudes as reflected in indirect attitude measures considered content
35
awareness, and last there is evidence that indirectly assessed attitudes can influence other
psychological processes outside of impact awareness.
Aberson and Haag (2007) found that dual attitude’s conceptualization existed with the
implicit and explicit perspective taking process. A quantitative approach using 153 Caucasian
undergraduates to categorize unpleasant words showed the effect of implicit and explicit
perspective taking with increased contact among different ethnic groups. The literature is not a
departure from prior research conducted on the positive effect of increased contact with other
ethnic groups (Betsch et al., 2006; Pettigrew & Tropp, 2006) ; an alternate perspective emerged
with regard to the quality and quantity of the contact within groups. The findings suggested that
a reduction in implicit and explicit prejudice is possible as a result of quality contact with the
group that has been pre-judged (Tajfel & J. Turner, 1979). The research implied, for example,
increased contact with African Americans improved the ability to understand African American
perspectives and reduced the amount of prejudice against African Americans.
The introduction of inter-group conflict theory Tajfel and J. Turner (1979) was unknown
before the pioneering work of Tajfel and Turner. The examination of inter-group conflict
contributed to development of the term realistic group conflict theory. Current literature (Betsch
et al., 2006; Pettigrew & Tropp, 2006) is an addition on the germinal work of Tajfel and Turner.
Current literature on implicit and explicit perspectives (Aberson & Haag, 2007; Betsch et
al., 2006; Gawronski & Bodenhausen, 2006; Gawronski et al., 2006; Prestwich et al., 2008)
exists, but limited current literature on assessment procedures to measure implicit and explicit
actions was available. Power, Barnes-Holmes, D., Barnes-Holmes, Y., and Stewart (2009) found
that the use of the implicit relational assessment procedure was an accurate measurement tool to
examine implicit beliefs or attitudes. The use of a quantitative approach determined if the
36
implicit relational assessment procedure could identify a socially sensitive attitude readily
predictable and to assess beliefs that involve comparative relations. For example, the study
advocates that individuals may not even be aware of their own beliefs, or if awareness does exist,
they make efforts to conceal their views if they are deemed socially undesirable (Power, et al., p.
621). The research did not imply that implicit relational assessment procedure was the only tool
to assess implicit attitudes or beliefs but that it was the only tool analyzed for the research study.
The findings suggested the use of the implicit relational assessment procedure was a good
measurement to identify socially sensitive attitude readily predictable even if the belief is well
hidden.
Understanding and measuring the impact of implicitness and explicitness with respect to
attracting and recruiting decisions geared toward minority and diversity candidates will add to
the existing decision-making literature. The knowledge of decision-making on whether or not to
engage a potential minority or diversity candidate may be useful in recruitment processes.
Identification of bias can be an extremely valuable asset when organizations develop attraction
models or processes targeted toward minority and diversity applicants. The research study added
to the gap in literature on the effects of implicit and explicit decision-making toward minority
and diversity candidates from the perspective of Navy officer recruiters.
In-group and out-group perceptions that affect attraction.
D. W. Campbell, Neuert, Friesen, & McKeen (2010) discovered that members of in-
groups did engage in social preferences to members of the same group at an increased rate over
members of the out-group. A qualitative approach using 130 young adult university
undergraduates enrolled in an introduction to psychology course served as the research sample.
Exposure to pictures of faces and probing questions concerning the rate the approachability
37
served as the data collection in laboratory settings. The findings suggested that people were
inclined to approach members of the same group supporting literature on in-group bias.
Pettigrew and Tropp (2006) found that inter-group contact can reduce racial and ethnic
biases. A meta-analytic approach was taken to produce a comprehensive timeline of attitudinal
research. The literature covered 713 independent samples from 515 studies who focused
primarily on the question, “Can intergroup contact reduce inter-group prejudice?” The findings
suggested that the explicit automatic reactions of racial bias were reduced by increased inter-
group contact. Additionally, the research indicated that the bias and prejudice of the dominant
group continued to decrease after the establishment of inter-group contact.
R. N. Turner, Voci, & Hewstone (2007) found that the inclusion of self-disclosure
significantly reduced out-group prejudice. A quantitative approach described the effects of self-
disclosure in inter-group settings and the reduction of prejudice against out-group members. The
focus of the research addressed self-disclosure in friendships and the creation of reciprocal trust
using four studies on self disclosure with inter-group anxiety. The findings indicated that direct
and extended contact across cultures had the potential to result in lasting positive effects toward
members of the out-group in the form of friendships.
The area of applicant attraction could benefit from more community awareness among
members of out-groups to increase levels of trust with out-groups. Incorporation into training of
an approach to reduce implicit and explicit inter-group bias and prejudice for attraction,
recruitment, and selection practices may produce good results. The implications of prior
research (Pettigrew & Tropp, 2006; R. N. Turner et al., 2007) are salient when considering the
projected changing demographics of the American workforce. Reviewed literature that focused
on in-group and out-group dynamics posited a priori prejudice often associated with racial
38
tensions (Baray et al., 2009; D. W. Campbell et al., 2010; Prestwich et al., 2008). The
assumption of the research with respect to in-group and out-group perceptions is that people are
naturally drawn to people of similar qualities (Akande, 2009). The research study added to the
gap in literature on the perceptions of in-group and out-group with respect to attracting minority
and diversity candidates from the perspective of Navy officer recruiters. The next section
presents a review of attraction with an emphasis on military applications, to include, naval
applications, attraction methods towards the military in general, and leadership applications. The
section closes with a review of attraction through the lens of group theory and unconscious
thought theory.
Naval Application
The United States census data reported “the fastest rate of growth should occur for
Asians, Pacific Islanders, and Hispanic populations” (Overman, 2011, p. 1). The fourth fasted
populations are African Americans. The changing minority representation of the U.S. military
has been recognized by the Department of Defense as an area that must be analyzed and adjusted
to ensure the composition of the force represents society (Armor & Gilroy, 2010). In this
literature, the subject to address is the context of social representation of the armed forces with
respect to all segments of society. Representation reflective of society is a goal of American
national security policies (p. 224). The literature reviewed a historical account of minority
enlistments from 1973–2008 in the Navy. The findings held that minority enlistments were
fairly stable until about 2001 and 2003 when America entered the war with Afghanistan and Iraq.
Wan (2008) wrote an article in the Washington Post that described the school’s flashy
television commercials and graphic novel in a bid to attract more diversity for the Naval
Academy. “A young, diverse, achieving group who want to achieve ultimate destiny” is the new
39
theme for the Naval Academy according to Admiral Fowler, Superintendent (Washington Post,
2008). The goal is to bolster diversity among officer ranks. Candidates who entered the Naval
Academy were 28% minority in 2008 compared to 47% diversity among enlisted ranks. Senior
leaders in the Navy have argued for a comparable number of minority and diverse officers to the
number of enlisted members in the Navy under the leadership of officers (Fuentes, 2007; Parrish,
2010; Wiltrout, 2008). In a more recent article published in January 2011, the Naval Academy
received criticism for the perception that qualified minority students receive priority over
qualified Caucasians, 91% of qualified African Americans and 82% of qualified Hispanics
received offers to enroll in the classes of 2012 to 2014 compared to 55% of qualified Caucasians
(Kelly, 2011).
The Navy found success with attracting minority enlistments between 2004 and 2007.
Senior leaders who specialized in Navy recruitment reported extraordinary success among the
enlisted ranks but could not achieve success in minority and diversity officer candidate
accessions. As a consequence of the disparity in achieving desired levels of officer recruitment,
senior Navy leadership has set a more aggressive tone for the need to increase minority naval
officers in the ranks. Rear Admiral Len Hering spread the word about the Navy’s desire to
increase minority officer representation during an officer’s association conference in California
(Fuentes, 2007). Senior leadership impressed upon active duty naval officers the need to become
mentors to diverse officers upon entering active duty. The Secretary of the Navy gave the same
message to active duty naval officers in Virginia a year later that stressed the need for active duty
naval officers to serve as mentors to minority officers (Winter, 2008). The Washington Post
reported that the Naval Academy launched new recruitment efforts aimed at attracting minority
candidates because of the low rate of roughly 28% as compared to the Navy’s enlisted rate of
40
47% (Wan, 2008). The Navy’s highest level of leadership, the Chief of Naval Operations,
Admiral Roughead, issued a diversity policy that recognized the significant contributions made
by diverse members of the Navy (Blowers, 2008). The policy in part, stated, “As leaders, we
must anticipate and embrace the demographic challenges of tomorrow, and build a Navy that
always reflects our Country’s make up” (p. 1).
Military leadership has shown a continued effort to educate and demonstrate a
commitment to diversity among Navy officers. Barrett (2009), Diversity director for the Chief of
Naval Personnel, whose department has the responsibility for staffing, training, and development
of Navy-wide personnel, presented projected demographics for 2020 that included a 13.4%
projection of African Americans, 17.8% Hispanic, 8.8% Asian, and 60% non-minority
representation of the naval forces. Minority officer representation was at 21% in 2008 as
compared to 79% non-minority officer representation in the Navy during the same year. Figure
2 illustrates the projected demographics of Navy-wide personnel for 2020. Figure 3 illustrates
the projected demographics of Navy-wide officers for 2020.
Figure 2. The projected demographics of Navy-wide personnel for 2020
41
Figure 3. The projected demographics of officers for 2020
The military leadership diversity commission’s report indicated that the challenge of
diversity attraction and recruitment for Navy leadership must take an aggressive direction to
increase diverse leadership. Barrett (2010) conducted a symposium to address naval senior
leadership in diversity as the “Spirit of diversity” as compared to Equal Employment
Opportunity as the “Letter of the Law.” The message was clear that the Navy values a diverse
workforce and identifies with diversity as strength of the naval service (p. 12).
Parrish (2010) reported that the Chair of the Joint Chief of Staff, Admiral Mike Mullen
commented to senior military leaders that the armed services “can’t go fast enough to increase
diversity” (p. 1). In 2005, Admiral Mullen focused his diversity goals for the Navy on two areas;
minorities and women. One approach Admiral Mullen took was to look and see who was putting
people in the career path leadership jobs. He discovered these people were Caucasian men.
Admiral Mullen replaced some of the men and put more diversity in and shortly after, diversity
records began to surface. The service academies, which in 2009 graduated the flag officer class
of 2040, do not reflect the diversity of the nation. Less than 50% and in some cases less than
25% was minorities and women.
42
Attraction to the military
Lievens, Van Hoye, & Schruers (2005) revealed that attraction to the military as a
potential employer surrounded four areas; gender, and familiarity with military organizations,
perceptions of job and organizational attributes, and trait inferences. Lievens and the team used
D. M. Cable and Turban (2001) employer knowledge framework as a conceptual model. Cable
and Turban sampled final year students of high schools, which involved 1100 in Belgian high
school surveys of which 576 completed. Though previous research had identified familiarity
with the armed forces as a strong indicator of attraction to the military service (D. M. Cable &
Graham, 2000) the research used a qualitative approach to understand the perceptions from the
applicant’s view. The findings upheld that familiarity with military organizations, and employer
image, were indicators for applicant attractiveness.
Lievens (2007) posited that package brand of how organizations advertise has a
relationship to positive beliefs of potential applicants across different groups. Quantitative
inquiry using 955 individuals (420 potential applicants, 392 applicants, 134 military employees
showed the relationship between instrumental and symbolic brand beliefs across different groups
of people. An emphasis was on applicants who showed an attraction to the military. The
literature presented the relative importance of different aspects of the employee brand across
groups that ranged from the general labor pool to applicants and current employees.
Leadership applications
Alire (2001) focused on racial and ethnic diversity and the role leadership plays for
emerging library leaders of color. Based on the research, Alire found four identifiable
differences between Caucasian and diversity leaders as (1) minorities have to use added energies
to lead and develop other minorities, (2) leaders of color must dispel negative stereotypes, (3)
43
fight the perception of inadequate communication skills, and (4) major stakeholders in higher
positions are predominantly Caucasian (pp. 98-99).
Eagly and Chin (2010) advocated that leadership needs to be more diverse to attract
diversity within organizations. These researchers found that diversity considerations need to
move into theories about leadership. Meta-analysis was done covering statistical findings with
respect to the limited number of diverse leaders. Eagly and J. L. Chin (2010) recommended that
scholars of leadership contemplate how current theories may better address diversity concerns.
Scholars of diversity explore the large multidisciplinary body of knowledge that constitutes
theory and research on leadership to illuminate issues of race, ethnicity, gender, and culture. The
special edition was in response to the 2008 Presidential race.
Ng and Burke (2005) investigated the importance of diversity management in applicants’
job choice decisions. A quantitative approach using 113 masters of business administration
students from a mid-sized university located in southwestern Ontario provided a basis for the
research. The students reviewed offers of employment letters and were asked to assess the
attractiveness of two companies as potential employers based on information in the letters of
which one letter had a diversity message. Women and ethnic minorities found diversity
management to be more important when accepting offers of employment. The findings
suggested a need to place a higher emphasis on diversity management in women and minority
application attractions.
Discussion in the literature on minority and diversity leadership appeared to have themes
of corporate struggles faced by minorities and diverse leaders (Alire, 2001) and group identity
attraction (Armor & Gilroy, 2010; De Rue & Ashford, 2010; Ng & Burke, 2005) that suggested
that minority and diversity leaders can attract more members of the same group to organizations.
44
Additionally, discussions in the literature focused on the necessity to remove barriers faced by
minority and diversity leaders in organizations (Lewis, 2006; McCarty-Kilian et al., 2005;
McDonald, 2006) and about the necessity of minority and diversity leaders who bring cultural
awareness to the people led (Eagly & J. L. Chin, 2010; Fuentes, 2007; K. Barrett, 2010, 2010;
Parrish, 2010). Each of the discussions centered on aspects of social identity theory, which is the
theoretical framework for the research. Social identity theory is understood as the relationship or
lens between individuals and the surrounding social world (Tajfel & J. Turner, 1979). Social
identity theory does not imply the identity of individuals but the identity that emerges out of the
experiences between the person and the situation.
The research investigated the perspectives of NROTC officer recruiters who engage in
attracting and recruiting minority and diversity officer candidates using two aspects of social
identity, (1) group theory and (2) unconscious thought theory. The hypothesis of the research in
attracting qualified minority and diversity officer candidates is one of the foundational steps
toward achieving increased minority and diversity leadership representation in organizations.
The Navy has not met the established minority and diversity leadership goals that have been set
on a national level even though Navy-wide policy has been established that targets increased
minority and diversity representation (Blowers, 2008). During the last two years 2009 and 2010,
senior Navy leaders have reiterated the need for increased minority and diversity leadership
among the ranks (K. Barrett, 2009, 2010).
In 1998, one research study set out to understand the effectiveness of the Navy’s NROTC
program toward minority officer recruitment that focused on African American high school
students with an emphasis on programs at historically black colleges and universities (Pompey,
1998). Pompey conducted the research by using surveys sent to current and former Navy
45
recruiters, Navy Recruiting Command, and a directorate in the Navy that dealt with diversity,
Pers-61. The diversity initiative in the Navy in 1998 entitled, “Enhanced Opportunities for
Minorities Initiative,” that was a recruiting strategy designed to increase the number of
minorities on active duty and to create a culturally diverse force that reflected the racial
composition of the United States (p. 1).
The study concluded that in 1998, there were generally negative perceptions of the Navy
among many persons in the African American community (Pompey, 1998). The
recommendation was for the Navy to decrease the perception of segregation in the Navy by
increasing exposure of African American officers to the public. The method of increased
exposure of minority officers was suggested as more advertisement that portrayed African
Americans in leadership positions, increased community outreach using African Americans
leaders in the Navy, and encouraging African American Navy officers to become volunteer
recruiters and ambassadors for the Navy (p. 61).
The population surveyed by Pompey, Navy recruiters, Navy Recruiting Command, and
Pers-61, is similar to the population for the current study with the exception that the study only
targeted current Navy NROTC recruiters. The specific Navy recruiters were not identified in
Pompey’s study as NROTC recruiters or Navy recruiters in general. The research added to the
existing body of knowledge on attracting minority and diversity officer candidates from the lived
experiences of the NROTC officer recruiters specifically by narrowing the scope of Navy
recruiting specifically to the NROTC program.
Attraction through the lens of group theory
Brief (2005) explained that realistic group theory and variants of the theory have been
around since the 1970s (Tajfel & J. Turner, 1979). Realistic group theory explains the tensions
46
that may occur between groups identified as realistic group conflict (R. C. T.). The central
theme of RCT is that identifiable conflicts of group interests cause inter-group conflict in the
functional settings between social groups. Baray, Postmes, and Jetten (2009) introduced the
concept of self-defining groups to explain how personal and social aspects of identity relate to
each other.
S. A. Haslam, Jetten, Postmes, and C. Haslam (2009) dealt with group identity as a part
of social identity. Shared identity is the basis for mutual social influences. When people
perceive themselves to share a group membership with other people in a given context,
motivation increases to strive actively to reach agreement with the same group members and to
coordinate behavior in relation to activities relevant to group identity (p. 8). Chen and Li (2009)
found that group identity has a significant effect on distribution of preferences. A quantitative
approach using 562 students from the University of Michigan provided the sample for the
research. A measurement of the effects of group identity on social preferences used a four-stage
experimental design.
The similarities inherent in groups have an effect on the approachability of out-group
members (D. W. Campbell et al., 2010). Implicit and explicit dynamics exists contributing to the
decision-making process, which leads a person to move into action (Baray et al., 2009). When
people are with members of the same group, increased charity is shown putting more weight on
the in-group (S. A. Haslam et al., 2009). The exploration to understand the experiences of naval
officer recruiters who engage in decision-making on approachability toward members of various
groups added to the existing literature.
47
Attraction through the lens of unconscious thought theory
Dijksterhuis and Nordgren (2006) presented a human thought theory named
Unconscious-thought theory (UTT) that was applicable to decision-making. The theory
distinguished between two modes of thought; unconscious and conscious. A meta-analysis of
literature covering thought theories, and preferential basis decision theory provided the empirical
data for the research. Quantitative research designs with four experiments tested the theory.
UTT suggested that people often apply the two modes of thought inappropriately. For example,
people tend to engage in a great deal of conscious thought when dealing with complex problems,
whereas engagement in more unconscious thought was more appropriate (p. 108).
Acker (2008) established that unconscious thought does not necessarily increase
normative decision-making performance in contrast to conscious thought, which was contrary to
the results found in (Dijksterhuis & Nordgren, 2006). A quantitative replication of the original
research study with 98 Australian third year psychology students provided the research data. A
slightly different approach was taken to test UTT in the same year. Payne, Samper, Bettman, &
Luce (2008) found that self-paced conscious thought was similar in effectiveness to unconscious
thought in some conditions and superior in opposite conditions. A quantitative approach
replicating the original research study (Dijksterhuis & Nordgren, 2006) was done with 280
students from a southeastern university. The research suggested that the mechanisms underlying
the conscious/unconscious thought dichotomy may be more complex than the replicated research
study.
Newell et al. (2009) examined the claims of better decision-making using “unconscious
thought” (Dijksterhuis & Nordgren, 2006) and found no evidence to support the superiority of
UTT. A quantitative analysis replicated the original research study with a total of 301
48
undergraduate students from the University of New South Wales. The findings suggested that
there was little evidence for superiority for choices made unconsciously but some evidence
surfaced that supported that conscious deliberation can lead to better choices. The implication
was that decisions should be conscious decisions.
During the same year, Rey et al. (2009) expounded on the work of Dijksterhuis and
Nordgren (2006) by using a similar experimental design with an additional control, the
immediate condition, and found that participants produced as well, and even descriptively better,
decisions in the condition than in the unconscious one, hence challenging the initial
interpretation of the authors. Using a quantitative analysis approach, 96 students from the
University of Bourgogne received exposure to the same material as in the original research study
(Dijksterhuis & Nordgren, 2006). The findings suggested that there was no advantage of the
unconscious condition relative to the control, immediate condition, suggesting that a period of
unconscious thought does not seem to help solve complex decisions.
The current literature on unconscious thought theory has been inconclusive. Some
researchers affirmed that complex decision-making should be done after unconscious thought
has been engaged (Dijksterhuis & Nordgren, 2006; Payne et al., 2008) while other scholars
believed there was no significant difference to engage in unconscious thought prior to complex
decision-making (Thorsteinson & Withrow, 2009, 2009). The specific point at which an
unconscious thought becomes a conscious thought has not been addressed in the literature. The
significance of thought theory to the study is central to the theoretical framework, which
suggests that groups provide insight into a sense of social identity S. A. Haslam et al. (2009), and
that perceptions about various groups have a significant impact on socialization of group
members (p. 7).
49
The focus on at what point the thought of attraction moves into action, whether on a
conscious or unconscious level may offer insight into the rationale for the decision to move
forward or not move forward with attraction practices toward out-group members. The primary
focus with thought theory is not whether or not recruiters use conscious or unconscious thought
to propel them toward engaging in attraction practices, but an understanding of the current
findings on thought theory as a contextual background for the current study. Unconscious or
conscious thought is inherent in decision-making processes (Rey et al., 2009) and engaged when
Navy officer recruiters are in the process of attracting minority and diversity officer candidates.
The research study added to the existing literature on unconcious and conscious thought theory
with respect to attracting minority and diversity candidates from the perspective of Navy officer
recruiters. The research study did not add to the inclusive findings on whether unconscious or
conscious thought in complex decision-making is best.
Conclusion
The literature presented in the chapter focused on the need for diversity in organizations,
attractions, minority representation in the military and recruitment. The literature contained in
the chapter provided a synopsis of findings and recommendations that covered recent insights
since the turn of the century. A consensus emerged of the need to attract minority and diversity
applicants across organizations. The belief was due to the projected demographics in American
organizations would experience an increase in minorities eligible to enter the workforce.
Organizations may benefit from the information gained as a result of this research study,
which will contribute to the limited amount of literature on the effects of implicit and explicit
decision-making (Aberson & Haag, 2007); the effects of conscious and unconscious thought
with respect to engagement in attraction processes (Dijksterhuis & Nordgren, 2006); influence of
50
recruiters on applicants (D. M. Cable & Graham, 2000); and impression management
manipulation by the recruiter. Gaps in the literature were in the area of attracting qualified
minority and diversity officer candidates into the Navy. The literature found on the Navy
indicated that senior leadership recognized a need for the officer corps to reflect the
demographics of the members led; there was a significant void in guidance from the Navy on
how to achieve the goal of increased officer representation by the officer recruiter.
Summary
In chapter 2, the themes discussed are the need for diversity in organizations, attracting
minority and diversity candidates from the organization, candidate, and recruiter perspectives.
The literature ranged from civilian organizations, to military organizations, and specifically the
Navy. Several attraction methods appeared to include applicant perceptions of organizations in
terms of fit (Chapman et al., 2005; Highhouse et al., 2007), manipulation of literature and media
and organizational manipulation of recruiting advertisements. Consideration addressed the
effects of diversity in organizations from a leadership perspective. The literature presented an
opposing view to the positive effects of diversity and minority recruitment (Aberson & Haag,
2007; McKay & Avery, 2005). Inter-group conflict and anxiety as a result of implicit and
explicit attitudes and behaviors identified areas of concern (Bakker & Schaufeli, 2008; Caligiuri
et al., 2010; Caligiuri, Colakoglu, Cerdin, & M. S. Kim, 2010; McKay & Avery, 2005). The
generalization of attraction and selection for minority applicants were applied to the military
(Fuentes, 2007; Lievens et al., 2005; Lievens, 2007; Winter, 2008). Last, a discussion on social
identity as the conceptual framework of the research with a focus on two areas germane to the
research, (1) group theory applications to attraction and (2) unconscious thought theory used in
complex decision-making appeared in the chapter.
51
Key areas of chapter 3 elaborate on the purpose statement and the need for the current
research study. The research method is presented along with research design appropriateness. A
discussion on the current research study population, instrumentation, instrumentation reliability,
and research study goals conclude the chapter.
52
Chapter 3: Method
The purpose of the current qualitative, phenomenological research study is to explore the
lived experiences of the attraction process from the perspective of Navy officer recruiters in the
United States. The elements that comprise the study explore what causes recruiters to engage in
attraction practices aimed at qualified minority and diversity officer candidates from the
perspective of conscious and unconscious thought theory and group theory. The study themes
examined the link between attraction to members of the same ethnic or racial group as recruiters
and attraction to members not of the same ethnic or racial groups.
The review of the literature revealed a consensus that minorities and persons of diversity
need to occupy leadership positions (Alire, 2001; Eagly & Chin, 2010; Halibut, 2011; Lewis,
2006; McCarty-Kilian et al., 2005) and several methods to attract minority and diverse
populations surfaced in the literature (D. M. Cable & Yu, 2006; Devendorf & Highhouse, 2008;
Highhouse et al., 2009; Lievens, 2007; Slaughter & Greguras, 2009; Van Iddekinge, McFarland,
& Raymark, 2007). The literature surrounding the Navy identified the goal to increase minority
and diversity representation in the leadership ranks (Fuentes, 2010; Pompey, 1998; Wiltrout,
2008; Winter, 2008) yet the literature review did not yield diversity attraction practices from the
perspective of the recruiters from the perspective of social identity theory.
In chapter 3, discussions include the method and design, research questions, population,
and sampling frame used to explore the lived experiences of officer recruiters who have insight
into how qualified naval officer candidates are attracted and recruited into the Navy. The chapter
displays the informed consent form, questionnaire, and geographic location of the participants as
well as data collection. Techniques used to reduce researcher bias are presented in the area of
53
credibility, transferability, and data analysis. The narrative approach applied is described in the
chapter (Josselson, 2006).
Research Method and Design Appropriateness
The general purposes of qualitative research methods are to examine human behavior in
the social, cultural, and political contexts in which behavior occurs (Salkind, 2003). Qualitative
research methods are exploratory and understanding-oriented, whereas quantitative research
methods are descriptive and explanation-oriented (Neuman, 2003). Research qualitative in
nature relies largely on the interpretive and critical approaches to social science, unlike attempts
to demonstrate a comparison or relationship between variables found in quantitative research
methods (Neuman, 2003). The primary focus to explore the lived experiences of the attraction
and recruitment process from the perspective of officer recruiters was most appropriately
presented interpretatively (Neuman, 2003; Salkind, 2003).
The art of attracting minority and diversity officer candidates is not a static practice and
has the potential to be experienced differently by each recruiter. Because the focus of the
research is to explore the lived experiences process from the perspective of Navy officer
recruiters in the United States, the problem would be qualitative (Neuman, 2003). Inviting
participation through the use of surveys Simon and Francis (2004) and capturing the experience
through open-ended interviewing techniques Polkinghorne (2005) aids in data collection geared
toward qualitative inquiry in contrast to the use of closed-ended data collection methods used in
quantitative inquiry. The phenomenological design is most appropriate to the study because the
focus is to enlarge and deepen an understanding of diversity attraction practices through the lived
experiences of those who engage in the business of recruiting (Huberman & Miles, 2002).
54
Population, Sampling, and Data Collection Procedures and Rationale
Population.
Sample selections for phenomenological studies are purposeful and not random, where
the sample selection is for a specific reason (Magilvy, Thomas, & Kotzer, 2009). The population
was a purposeful sampling focusing on naval officer recruiting experience. The findings cannot
be generalized outside the scope of the theoretical concept using social identity theory. The
population was comprised of 27 NROTC officer recruiters who work for the Naval Recruiting
Districts responsible for all 50 states. The population consists of Navy officer recruiters who
work under the NROTC program with no selective sampling or snowball sampling within the
population (Neuman, 2003).
Sampling Frame.
The Navy recruiting sites were selected because of organizational expertise in Navy
recruiting (Magilvy et al., 2009). The populations of the sites employ recruiters who have the
responsibility for attracting and recruiting future Navy leaders for the armed services of America
("Navy Recruiting Command," n.d.). The selection of the Navy Reserve Officers Training
Corps, NROTC over the Naval Academy officer program happened for two reasons. First, the
NROTC program does not have any elements designed to help students who do not meet the
nationwide criteria, which eliminate any bias toward or preferential treatment of minority or
diverse candidates. The Naval academy does have a program called Naval Academy Preparatory
School (NAPS), which tutors candidates selected but do not meet the established ACT/SAT
scores (Kelly, 2011).
Second, the NROTC active duty recruiters are more accessible than Naval Academy
civilian recruiters. The location of the NROTC recruiters are known and relatively constrained
55
to the 26 Navy Recruiting Districts. The NROTC officer recruiters have uniqueness in that most
of the recruiters are not officers and are attracting potential superiors. The perspective of the
lived experiences of the NROTC officer recruiter population have the potential to offer the
richest level of experience because recruiters are out doing the field work on the multi-level of
serving as an active duty member, possibly becoming a subordinate of the potential officer
candidate, and serving as the first contact of the Navy for the minority and diversity officer
candidates.
Informed Consent.
A copy of the Informed Consent Form appears in Appendix B. The form informed the
volunteer that participation required no personal information, and that no party could buy or
receive the voluntary personal information. The choice to include personal information was at
the discretion of participants. The participants were invited to participate in the research study
through the use of questionnaires. The informed consent was faxed or through an e-mail to the
participants. Once the informed consent forms were returned, the questionnaires were sent to the
participants (Cone & Foster, 2006). Participants indicated an address to obtain additional
feedback about the research results using an Additional Information Form (Appendix A). The
research study was submitted to the University’s Institutional Review Board, formally reviewed,
and approved.
Confidentiality.
Voluntary personal information was held in the strictest of confidence. Participants were
informed how the information shared was kept in the highest confidentiality. Questionnaires and
field notes were stored in a locked cabinet not available to the public. No identifying
information was compiled that identifies the participant responses to the participant. A coding
56
system that identified the participant for data analysis was used such as participants were
identified as P1, P2, P3, etc. to represent participant 1, participant 2, and participant 3. The
responses were identified as R1, R2, and R3 to represent response 1, response 2, and response 3.
For example, P1, R2 would indicate participant one responded to question two. The true identity
of a participant will not be made available to the public (Polkinghorne, 2005).
Geographic Location.
Navy officer recruiters who represent each of the 50 states were the population. The sites
were also selected using purposeful sampling with “resident expertise in recruiting” as the
criteria. The sites were Navy Recruiting Districts in the United States. The Navy Recruiting
Command is 26 Navy Recruiting Districts (NRDs) responsible for all recruiting throughout the
Navy. NRDs are on the west coast, mid-west, and east coast of the United States ("Navy
Recruiting Command," n. d.).
Data Collection.
Data collection was done through the use of online questionnaires, using field notes, and
online information such as newsgroup or analyzing data in hard copy files. The unit of analysis
was the experience. Neuman (2003) described the unit of analysis as the unit that a researcher
observes, measures, and analyzes in the study (p. 547). In qualitative inquiry, the essence of
research is not the individual, but the lived experience of the individual, which points to the
experience itself as the object of inquiry (Polkinghorne, 2005; Randolph, 2009). Participants had
the option of returning questionnaires via the Internet, fax, or e-mail. A confidential fax number
was provided with restricted access.
An alternate form of data collection could be the use of historical documentation
(Neuman, 2003). Historical documents provide empirical data with the benefit of easy
57
accessibility. The exploration of lived experiences is best for interpretive inquiry of the
participants’ story (Polkinghorne, 2005). A meta-analytical approach was impossible as an
alternate method of data collection because a limited amount of literature exists pertaining to
attraction of minority and diversity naval officer candidates through Navy officer programs.
Last, the use of observation as a method of data collection was not a feasible alternate method of
data collection for the research study due to the mass geographic location of each participant.
Interview Protocol
To ensure that the participants were NROTC officer recruiters, the following interview
protocol was established. A search of Navy Recruiting Districts was conducted using available
internet search engines. The Navy Recruiting Command served as the headquarters that lists all
the recruiting districts. A listing was created that included the available contact information for
each recruiting district. Because of the time zone considerations where each recruiting district
was located, a plan of action was developed with the goal of contacting each recruiting district
between the hours of 9 a.m. and 11 a.m. respective of their geographic locations. A subjectivity
journal was used to record the script that was used to introduce the study to potential
participants. Calls were made to the offices of the NROTC recruiting districts, and the script was
read. NROTC recruiters were introduced to the study, were asked for their participation along
with their email address. The potential participants were asked to verify that they were NROTC
recruiters. Upon receipt of verbal confirmation, the recruiters were asked for a fax number, and
the informed consent forms were faxed to them and a return confidential fax number was
provided for use to return the informed consent forms. The online questionnaires were sent to
the email address provided by the participants, and the results were received via email.
Participants were emailed procedures outlining how to receive the results of the study. The data
58
was gathered; analyzed using the Human Scientific Phenomenological protocol by Giorgi
(1997), and the results were presented.
Figure 4. Data collection and analysis process
Instrumentation.
Online questionnaires were the instrument used for data collection. The development of
questionnaires sought to help answer the central research question of “How do naval officer
recruiters experience attraction methods aimed at minority and diversity candidates to the
NROTC program?” Each of the questions was framed to help explore the lived experiences of
attracting minority and diversity officer candidates (Cone & Foster, 2006; Salkind, 2003; Simon,
2006). The questionnaires consisted of 10 questions (Appendix C), five questions addressed
demographic, and two addressed how NROTC recruiters attract minority and diversity
candidates. For example, the question, “What are some of the techniques you use to attract
59
minority officer candidates?” seeks to understand what the recruiters’ feel is a way to attract
future minority leaders. Two addressed recruiter selection for recruiting assignments developed
with the goal to understand if recruiters felt forced into the job, which may have an effect on
their attitudes when actually engaged in attracting future leaders. One question addressed the
performance of recruiting for minority and diversity success. These questions were designed to
gain a rich understanding of how recruiters experience attraction practices.
Credibility, Transferability, and Reliability
Credibility.
A subjectivity journal was used, as suggested by (Magilvy et al., 2009) to deal with
researcher bias increasing credibility. The journal allowed constant reflection and analysis of the
ways in which researchers’ self, including personal bias, opinions, beliefs, and values shine
through the process. For example, the journal was used to record notes of the conversations held
with each recruiter as well as the administrative staff that assisted with locating officer recruiters
for each site. By having the ability to review conversations empirically, the reliability of
consistency with interview protocol was enhanced. The script that was used for introductions to
the study was recorded in the journal and read from the journal during each conversation to
ensure that every participant received the exact same information about the study’s purpose, the
expectations of participation, and the availability to receive the results of the study.
Transferability.
The procedures suggested by Wolcott (1990) to increase transferability were used to
include being a listener, to record accurately through the use of detailed notes and electronic
recordings, and the inclusion of primary data in the final report. Data in the final report was
analyzed to ensure that the information is candid, and the information reflected feedback that
60
was sought, and that the information achieved a balance between perceived importance and
actual importance written accurately.
Reliability.
Triangulation across identifying outliners across themes was used to ensure reliability.
Data originated from many sources such as peer reviews, interviews, and articles was used
(Barusch, Gringeri, & George, 2011). Through the use of identifying replicated patterns in a
variety of sources, reliability was increased (Yin, 1991); Bowen, 2005). Morse et al. (2002)
argued rigor was an essential element for establishing reliability and validity in qualitative
research. Methodological coherence, sampling sufficiency, developing a dynamic relationship
between sampling, data collection, and analysis, thinking theoretically, and theory development
are steps recommended for all qualitative research. Scholars seem to agree that internal validity
(credibility), external validity (transferability), and reliability are essential when conducting
qualitative research (Magilvy et al., 2009; Malterud, 2001; Neuman, 2003; S. Kim & Curzio,
2005).
Data Analysis
The theme when analyzing data was to present a narrative of the lived experiences of
NROTC recruiters. The data was analyzed from a hermeneutic standpoint aiming to understand
human experience as a form of text construction, much like producing a story (Josselson, 2006).
A hermeneutic data analysis is best when data needs to be interpretive, explanatory, or
illustrative. Hermeneutics emerged from theology and literature according to Strauss and Corbin
(1990) referring to the process through which people interpret classic texts. Over time, the use of
hermeneutics expanded to include many texts, including people as texts.
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Hermeneutics is the most appropriate data analysis method whereby continuous
interpretation of the text takes place to search for the exact meaning in context (Strauss &
Corbin, 1990). During the data analysis process bracketing was used to separate personal
experiences to understand the participant experiences. Atlas.ti© is the qualitative data analysis
software that incorporates a hermeneutic style coding, which was used. The codes and themes
used emerged from the knowledge gained from the recruiters. Data was sorted and organized
through clustering ensuring continuous interpretation of the experiences from the recruiters.
Alas.ti© was useful in data analysis because the program codes for themes using a hermeneutic
framework, which provides hyper linking to text, other files, graphic files, audio files, and
multimedia. Once the data was analyzed, the results were presented in a narrative format and the
participants who expressed a desire to receive research results had results provided through the
postal service.
The exploration of lived experiences was interpreted using a phenomenological approach
aimed at understanding the essence in each experience (Giorgi, 1997). Giorgi expressed a
systematic approach to phenomenological inquiry in a Husserlian sense giving experience a more
precise state called intuition (Giorgi, 1997). The alternative qualitative approaches not the most
appropriate choice for this research study are grounded theory and ethnological approach. The
exploration of the lived experience could be approached from a grounded theory perspective if
the goals were to use the data to support new theories or from an ethnological perspective shared
culture and lived experience of all people involved shared the same lived experiences while the
experience took place (Goulding, 2005). An ethnographic design is appropriate if the focus is on
a shared culture of a group of people (Neuman, 2003). A conclusion that even though personal
experience as a recruiter for several years was accessible, the time frames were different and the
62
practices involved in attracting minority and diversity candidates may be different. Grounded
theory and ethnographic designs were not the most appropriate because of the theory-based
questionnaires used and the dispersed geographic locations of the study population.
Summary
A discussion on the key elements contained in chapter 3 focused on the need for research
designed to explore the lived experiences of NROTC officer recruiters responsible for attracting
minority and diversity naval officer candidates. The qualitative research method (Salkind, 2003)
and design appropriateness with respect to population, sampling, data collection, and rationale
appeared in the chapter (Magilvy et al., 2009; Neuman, 2003; Polkinghorne, 2005). The data
collection and analysis process appears below. The process was the same during each initial
contact.
The main focus in chapter 4 included a presentation of the data collected from the
research study. The data appeared in a narrative format with a focus on the lived experiences of
Navy officer recruiters’ minority and diversity attraction and recruitment practices (Josselson,
2006).
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Chapter 4: Results
The purpose of the current qualitative, phenomenological research study is to explore the
lived experiences of the attraction process from the perspective of Navy officer recruiters in the
United States. The practices of 27 Navy officer recruiters responsible for attracting minority and
diversity qualified officer candidates throughout the United States are explored to examine the
link between attractions to members of the same ethnic or racial groups (Giorgi, 1997). Key
areas in chapter 4 present the detailed analysis of 27 questionnaires received from active-duty
naval officer recruiters throughout the United States.
The data was analyzed to develop emerging themes that relate to how minority and
diversity candidates are attracted to the Navy’s NROTC officer scholarship program through the
lens of social identity focusing on group theory and unconscious thought theory. The
presentation and analysis in chapter 4 include an explanation of the data analysis used to
discover common themes, and the results of the provided analysis are related directly to the
research question. The results of the questionnaires revealed that participants believed the most
effective way to attract minority and diversity candidates was by promoting educational benefits
of the NROTC program and not engaging in special attraction techniques aimed specifically at
minority or diversity candidates.
Research Questions
The following central research question guided the research study: “How do naval officer
recruiters experience attraction methods aimed at minority and diversity candidates to the
NROTC program?” The following three sub-questions supported the research question: (1)
“How are officer recruiters selected for recruiting assignments?” (2) “How is recruiting for
minorities and diversity performed to ensure success?” and (3) “What are the demographics of
64
the current recruiters?” The responses from the study participants did assist in answering the
central research question and three sub-questions effectively.
Review of Data Collection
Participants.
Participant selection using purposeful sampling began May 20, 2011, and ended on June
17, 2011. NROTC officer recruiters completed the questionnaire (see Appendix C) composed of
three demographic questions and seven open-ended questions supporting the research questions.
A telephone call was made to each of the 27 recruiting districts inviting NROTC officer
recruiters to participate in the research. The opportunity to receive research results (see
Appendix A), a participant informed consent form (see Appendix B), and the questionnaire (see
Appendix C) were e-mailed to 27 participants who are active-duty members located throughout
the United States. One NROTC recruiter disclosed that there were two members on the officer
recruitment team and two questionnaires were completed.
Administrative personnel and recruiters shared the e-mail addresses of the potential
participants. The e-mail also contained an informative notice for participants to return the signed
informed consent form and completed questionnaires as soon as practical. Questionnaires were
returned within 36 hours of delivery from each recruiter electronically via e-mail to the e-mail
address provided in the consent form.
Navy officer recruiters responsible for attracting qualified naval officer candidates are
selected for recruiting duty from the top 10% of the fleet sailors ("Navy Recruiting Command,"
n. d.). The participants for the study are members of more than 6,350 active and reserve officer
and enlisted sailors who perform duties in more than 1,490 recruiting stations and centers
throughout the U. S., Guam, Puerto Rico, and Europe. Navy recruiters are the only visible face
65
of the Navy. Approximately, 154 NROTC units are located on U. S. college campuses ("Navy
Recruiting Command," n. d.) where potential officer candidates will learn how to become the
next generation of naval leaders. Table 2 shows a demographic overview of the study
participants.
Table 2
Demographic Data of Participants
Participant Gender Ethnicity Age Group Years recruiting P-01 Male Latino 31 and over 6 mo. – 1 yr. P-02 Male Caucasian 31 and over 1 to 2 yrs. P-03 Male African American 31 and over 1 to 2 yrs. P-04 Male Asian Pacific Islander 31 and over 3 to 4 yrs. P-05 Male African American 31 and over 6 mo. – 1 yr. P-06 Male Caucasian 31 and over 1 to 2 yrs. P-07 Male Caucasian 31 and over Less than 6 mo. P-08 Male Latino 26 to 30 Less than 6 mo. P-09 Male Caucasian 31 and over 6 mo. – 1 yr. P-10 Male Caucasian 31 and over 1 to 2 yrs. P-11 Male Caucasian 26 to 30 Less than 6 mo. P-12 Male Caucasian 26 to 30 1 to 2 yrs. P-13 Female Caucasian 31 and over 1 to 2 yrs. P-14 Male Caucasian 31 and over Less than 6 mo. P-15 Male Caucasian 31 and over 1 to 2 yrs. P-16 Male African American 31 and over 1 to 2 yrs. P-17 Male African American 31 and over 1 to 2 yrs. P-18 Female African American 31 and over Less than 6 mo. P-19 Male Caucasian 31 and over 6 mo. – 1 yr. P-20 Male African American 26 to 30 6 mo. – 1 yr. P-21 Male Caucasian 31 and over 1 to 2 yrs. P-22 Male Caucasian 31 and over Less than 6 mo. P-23 Male Caucasian 31 and over Less than 6 mo. P-24 Male Caucasian 31 and over 6 mo. – 1 yr. P-25 Male Caucasian 26 to 30 1 to 2 yrs. P-26 Male Caucasian 31 and over Less than 6 mo. P-27 Male Caucasian 31 and over 3 to 4 yrs.
Gender Distribution.
The pie chart depicted in Figure 5 reflects the gender distribution of male to females.
The pie chart shows a significant difference in gender distribution with 92.59% of the
participants as males and only 7.41% females. Literature on attraction models suggest that
recruiters should look like the population being recruited (Avery & McKay, 2006; Bolino et al.,
2008) and the low numbers of female recruiters mirror the current underrepresentation of active-
66
duty women. Currently women make up about 15% of the Navy (P. Stewart & Cornwell, 2010)
and were once prohibited by law from participation in ground combat occupations (Quester &
Gilroy, 2002). Women have been approved to serve on submarines to begin in 2011 (P. Stewart
& Cornwell, 2010) and with respect to recruiter representation, the number of women should
increase to mirror attraction goals (D. M. Cable & Yu, 2006).
Figure 5. Gender Distribution.
Ethnicity Distribution.
The graph depicted in Figure 6 reflects ethnicity distribution of the participants. The
participants were diverse in ethnic background and worked all over the United States. The
Caucasian participants consisted of 64.29% of the study. The African American participants
consisted of 25% of the participants. The Latino participants consisted of 7.14% of the
participants. The remaining 3.5% of participants replied as Asian Pacific Islander. None of the
participants identified themselves as Native American or Alaskan American ethnicity. The
ethnicity categories were derived from the same standards used by the Navy’s goal attainment as
discussed in Chapters 2 and 3.
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Figure 6. Ethnicity Distribution.
Age Distribution.
The pie chart depicted in Figure 7 reflects age distribution. The age of the participants
ranged from 26 to over 31 years. The largest percentage of participants ranged from 31 and over
making up 80.77%. The second largest distribution of age included participants 26 to 30 making
up 19.23%. Navy reports disclosed that the average age of the total active-duty workforce is 28
(Defense Equal Opportunity Management Institute [DEOMI], 2009), which is significant from a
group attraction perspective that the majority of NROTC recruiters are 31 and over. A review of
literature on group attraction revealed that people are naturally drawn to people of similar
qualities (Akande, 2009) and commercials for the Navy typically show images of much younger
people (Wan, 2008) in contrast to the older group of recruiters that potential candidates actually
meet.
Figure 7. Age Distribution.
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NROTC Officer Recruiter Experience.
The pie chart depicted in Figure 8 reflects the level of recruiter experience. Participants
of the study had to be NROTC officer recruiters currently on active-duty in the Navy. The
majority of participants, 42.86% reported one to two years of recruiting experience. The second
largest recruiting experience of 28.57% was less than six months. The third reported experience
in recruiting was six months to a year, which comprised 21.43% of participants. The least
number of participants reported three to four years of experience, 7.14% with none of the
participants possessing recruiting experience of more than four years.
Figure 8. NROTC Officer Recruiter Experience.
The demographic information was captured in support of research question 4: “What are
the demographics of the current recruiters.” Empirical data on elements of successful
recruitment strategies seem to agree that the demographics of recruiters should mirror
demographics of minorities and diverse target applicants (Avery & McKay, 2006).
Data Analysis Procedures
Bracketing was one of the most useful techniques of Epoche that was used to address
personal beliefs and experiences about the effects of race and gender on the recruiters’ efforts to
attract applicants (Dowling, 2004; Shank, 2006). Epoche involved refraining from previous
knowledge and judgment of the phenomenon by bracketing personal knowledge and remaining
69
focused on the experiences of the participants (Bradbury-Jones, Irvine, & Sambrook, 2010).
Epoche allowed the essences of the participants’ experiences in Navy attraction techniques to
emerge.
Data was analyzed using the Human Scientific Phenomenological method (Giorgi, 1997),
which includes five basic steps of (1) collection of data, (2) reading of the data, (3) breaking the
data into some kind of parts, (4) organization and expression of the data from a disciplinary
perspective, and (5) synthesis or summary of the data.
Collection of the data.
Collection of the data was done through questionnaires, which consisted of three
demographic and seven open-ended questions, which sought to gain detailed descriptions of
NROTC recruiters’ experience and attraction methods, as truthful as possible from their
perspective (Giorgi, 1997). The participants were telephoned at the Navy Recruiting Districts
and engaged in a short introduction about the study followed by an invitation to participate.
Informed consent forms were e-mailed to each participant and returned in the same manner.
During each telephone conversation participants were introduced to the purpose of the study. No
questions were asked that pertained to attraction practices or recruitment methods. Participants
were told that the purpose of the research was to gather information, from the people in the field,
on best practices used in Navy recruiting to attract minority and diversity NROTC officer
candidates.
Reading of the data.
To obtain a global sense of the data, reading of the data was approached from a
phenomenological view. Data was read through from beginning to end before beginning any
70
analysis (Giorgi, 1997). The data was reread as a second step to ensure the essence of recruiters’
experience was accurately represented.
Dividing the data into parts.
Division of the data was done focusing on the meaning creating meaning units (Giorgi,
1997). The meaning units captured certain meaning, relevant for the study, which were clarified
later. During this phase, no specific attitude was employed, which allowed unexpected meanings
to emerge. An audit trail was compiled using a journal, recording steps taken during the data
collection process from beginning to end (Anfara et al., 2002).
Organization and expression of the data.
Organization and expression of raw data into disciplinary language was undertaken,
meaning units were examined, probed, and re-described so that the disciplinary value of each
unit was made more explicit (Giorgi, 1997). The disciplinary language used was from a
sociological perspective. The meaning units were examined, probed, and re-distributed again to
determine which were essential for the phenomenon of NROTC recruiter attraction practices and
which were not.
Synthesis of the data.
Last, synthesis of the data was done, which included the interpretation of structures.
Structures can be understood as essences and their meanings (Giorgi, 1997). A focus was placed
on the interrelationships among the parts of the structures. The structures represented the
measures of central tendencies. The final stage of synthesis reviewed the raw data to seek
understanding of the clusters of variation contained in the data (Giorgi, 1997) with the ultimate
goal to ensure the scientific analysis captures the essence of minority and diversity attraction
methods as experienced by the recruiters.
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Data Management
Atlas.ti© qualitative analysis software facilitated classification and careful management
of the vast amount of data collected. Atlas.ti© assigns codes, accommodates text, and word
frequency searching, enables querying to ask questions of data, and provides links to connect
data to content. Data collected from the questions on the questionnaire allowed the creation of
emerging themes based on the NROTC recruiter’s perception of minority and diversity attraction
techniques that contribute to successful attraction practices.
Findings
In the current study, certain patterns began emerging in the data collected. The patterns
were analyzed and categorized into major themes that support the research questions and
conceptual framework of social identity that guided the study. Most recruiters reported (1) there
were no special attraction techniques used, (2) promoting education benefits, and (3) giving
NROTC presentations, which are represented by the three major themes that emerged. The
themes provided an understanding of the phenomenon surrounding the Navy’s failure to attract
and train minority and diversity naval officers; only 21% of all Navy officers are minorities (K.
Barrett, 2010) through the lived experience of Navy officer recruiters in the United States.
Emerging themes.
Emergent themes are the themes with the highest frequency (i.e., number of study
participants who stated the theme in the questionnaire) for each question shown in the synapses
of responses coupled with the intensity of inductive recurrences (Onwuegbuzie, 2003). As
shown in Figure 9, the emergent theme resulting from questions six with a frequency of five
(18%) and question seven with a frequency of three (11%) are no special attraction techniques
used a combination of eight (29%). The second emergent theme resulting from question six with
72
a frequency of six (22%) is promoting educational benefits with a frequency of six (22%). A
final emergent theme resulting from questions six with a frequency of three (11%) and question
seven with a frequency of three (11%) is NROTC presentations, a combination of six (22%).
The theme of no special attraction techniques used. The theme that emerged as no
special techniques used to attract minority and diversity candidates was as a result of the inquiry
into attraction practice for minority and diversity officer candidates. Many participants felt that
no special attraction techniques were used to attract minority and diversity officer candidates.
For example, participant P6 stated, “No particular techniques are used. I talk to everyone in the
classroom. I do not single anyone out.” Participants P3, P4, P6, P11, P14, P16, P20, P24, P26,
and P27 expressed similar thought patterns. For example, participant P24 stated, “No special
techniques are used.” As discussed in Chapter 1, the intent of the current research study was to
explore the lived experiences of NROTC recruiters responsible for attracting minority and
diversity candidates.
The theme of promoting educational benefits. The theme that emerged of promoting
educational benefits of the NROTC program is consistent with the benefits of the program. The
NROTC program is a scholarship program that offers 150,000.00 in education benefits to
qualified applicants (USN, 2010). Several participants felt that promoting the educational
benefits of the program was an effective attraction method for minority officer candidates. For
example, participant P16 stated, “I discuss the importance of a quality education and how the
Navy can help them to achieve that aspect.” Participant P4 stated, “I focus on minority target
markets that represent diverse and ethnical backgrounds.” Participants P3, P4, P11, and P20
expressed similar thought patterns.
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The theme of conducting NROTC presentation. Many participants felt that visiting
minority schools and giving NROTC presentations was an attraction technique used to attract
minority officer candidates. For example, participant P2 stated, “I visit schools with high
minority numbers.” Participants P3 and P21 expressed similar thought patterns. Participant P25
stated, “We utilize a diversity road show where we take our top minority and diversity schools
and use NROTC coordinators and educational specialists to conduct presentations in the school.”
Participants P2, P3, P9, P17, P21, and P25 expressed similar beliefs and thought patterns. For
example, participant P9 stated, “I conduct NROTC presentations at school, place NROTC
posters in the counselor’s office at school, and attend college fairs at school.” The theme that
emerged of conducting NROTC presentations to students supports the belief that attraction
through the use of literature and media is an effective tool (Devendorf & Highhouse, 2008) as
discussed in Chapter 2.
Figure 9. Emergent themes by frequency and intensity of inductive recurrences.
Sub-themes.
Sub-theme 1: Recruiter selection. All recruiters volunteer for recruiting duty that
resulted in 100% response rate for question that addressed how recruiters are selected. Sub-
theme 2: Minority and diversity success measures. An unanticipated theme appeared resulting in
30% of participants responding that they were not sure how success was measured or did not
74
respond to the question. Sub-theme 3: Recruiter demographics. With respect to the social
identity construct focusing on group theory, the research expected to find the ethnic makeup of
recruiters to match the population recruited. The gender distribution was 92.59% male and
7.41% female, the ethnicity distribution was 64.29% Caucasian, 25% African American, 7.14%
Latino, and 3.4% Asian Pacific Islander and the age distribution revealed that 80.77% of
NROTC officer recruiters are 31 and older while 19.23% are between the ages of 26 to 30.
Outliers
An indication of two significant themes emerged opposite to the majority of the
responses (Yin, 1993). In response to question 6: “What are some of the techniques you use to
attract minority officer candidates?” Participant P4 responded, “Excellent training in
leadership.” No other recruiters’ responded toward training in leadership as an attraction method
for minority candidates. In response to question 7: “What are some of the techniques you use to
attract diversity officer candidates?” Participant P3 responded, “By demonstrating a sincere
desire to want their success.” and participant P4 responded “To make naval history by
representing your ethnicity.” as attraction methods for diversity candidates. No other recruiters’
responded toward demonstrating a sincere desire to want diversity candidate’s success and
making naval history by representing ethnicity or as an attraction method for minority candidates
who made this response a theme that may be an indication of a theme opposite the majority
(Barusch et al., 2011).
In response to question 10: “How is recruiting for minorities and diversity performed to
ensure success?” Eight participants, P5, P7, P8, P12, P13, P15, P19, and P23 did not respond.
Participant P20 responded, “Not sure.” The high number of non-responses 8 of 27 (30%) along
with an additional response of “not sure” of how these participants ensure their efforts of
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recruiting for minority and diversity is successful represents an outlier theme contradictory to the
majority participant responses (Sproull, 2004).
Summary
The qualitative phenomenological study used a questionnaire to explore the lived
experiences of the attraction process from the perspective of Navy officer recruiters in the United
States. The exploration of lived experiences of the recruiters revealed promoting educational
benefits of the NROTC program along with no special attraction techniques are what study
participants believe are most effective in attracting minority and diversity candidates. Participant
selection using purposeful sampling began May 20, 2011, and ended on June 17, 2011.
Telephone introductions and invitations to participate in the research study proved to be an
effective tool for motivating participants to complete the questionnaire. Each participant
completed the questionnaire questions 1 through 4 entirely and eight participants partially
completed questions. The e-mailed questionnaire also minimized interviewer bias (Shank,
2006). The data collection process resulted in a 100% response rate. Neuman (2003) asserted
interviews using questionnaires with open-ended questions generate high responses. The
synopses of responses were the result of Giorgio’s method of phenomenological data analysis
(Giorgi, 1997). In addition, Atlas.ti© qualitative research software program was used to identify
common themes and patterns among the study participants’ responses. The results of the
research study were categorized into four major themes, (1) no special attraction technique used,
(2) promote education benefits, (3) give NROTC presentations, and (4) visit minority schools.
The emergent themes are a result of the synopses of responses.
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Conclusion
Major areas found in Chapter 4 included a description of the specific emerged themes and
patterns discovered during the data analysis process. Essential elements in Chapter 5 present the
conclusions and recommendations of the research study. The majority of Chapter 5 shows a
discussion of the emerged themes and how the identified attracting minority and diversity
qualified naval officer candidate’s techniques aid in the improvement to increase minority and
diversity naval officers among Navy leadership.
In Chapter 5, data are summarized, findings are discussed, and conclusions are drawn.
Each major theme described in Chapter 4 is discussed in Chapter 5, comparing each theme to
literature findings and analyzing the similarities and differences, beginning with the most
significant themes with discussion on the themes’ importance of application to leadership. Every
theme has been analyzed and interpreted to discover new knowledge that answers the problem
statement, research question, and theoretical concept of social identity as explained in Chapter 1
that was used to guide this study. The final discussion in chapter 5 concludes with
recommendations for leadership, further research, and the summary.
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Chapter 5: Conclusions and Recommendations
The purpose of the current qualitative, phenomenological research study is to explore the
lived experiences of 27 Navy officer recruiters in the United States, who engage daily in
attraction practices. The completed questionnaires with the study participants reveals that
promoting the educational benefits of the NROTC program along with using no special attraction
techniques are most effective in attracting minority and diversity candidates. The study was
limited by the honesty of the participants’ responses, and the use of a questionnaire. The e-mail
delivery method for the questionnaires did not allow open dialogue between participants and
researcher. Without the benefit of interviewing participants in person, probing could not be
achieved, which may have resulted in deeper data collection (Giorgi, 1997; Shank, 2006).
In Chapter 1 a focus is on the policies that have been developed by senior naval leaders,
which explicitly states the need to increase minority representation and diversity among the
officer ranks (Halibut, 2011). The specific problem that drove the current research study is the
reality that only 21% of Navy officers are minorities (K. Barrett, 2009, 2010, 2010a). The
findings from the perspectives of navy officer recruiters offer insight for organizations and senior
Navy leadership, to help increase minority and diversity representation.
Discussions found in chapter 5 are interpretations of results, themes, significance of
findings, implications to leadership, and reflections of experience of the study. A further
discussion is presented on recommendations for leadership and further research. The final
discussion in chapter 5 concludes with the summary.
Conclusions
Minorities are estimated to be 44% of the United States population with an estimated
increase to 54% by 2050 (Ortman & Guarneri, 2009). The paradox of increases in the diversity
78
of the population, the Navy reports that revealed an inability to increase minorities and diversity
levels among the officer ranks, and scholarly reports of disproportionate levels of diversity
leadership in America (Alire, 2001; Eagly & Chin, 2010), provided the foundational premises for
the research study. The central research question of Q1: “How do naval officer recruiters attract
minority and diversity candidates to the NROTC program?” provided the catalyst to explore the
phenomenon. Scholars who understand attraction and recruiting methods posited that best
practices for success are achieved through the use of impression management (Avery & McKay,
2006; Bolino et al., 2008; Highhouse et al., 2009), through the use of literature and media (D. M.
Cable & Graham, 2000; Devendorf & Highhouse, 2008; Roberson et al., 2005), and through the
use of word-of-mouth practices (Van Hoye & Lievens, 2005, 2007). The attraction practices of
NROTC officer recruiter’s questioned across the nation revealed that attraction methods through
the use of literature and media complimented with impression management are widely practiced.
Interpretation of results
Themes.
The theme of no special attraction techniques used. When asked the questions “What
are some of the techniques you use to attract minority officer candidates?” and “What are some
of the techniques you use to attract diversity officer candidates?” 29% of participants indicated
that there was no need to engage in any special attraction techniques. Several of the participants
expressed practices that involved engaging in dialogue with qualified applicants without regard
to gender or ethnicity. The effectiveness of attraction techniques using the Big Five Personality
trait techniques was not substantiated from the responses of the participants.
Attraction through recruiter behaviors, such as communication between recruiters and
applicants, are an effective tool for organizations (Chapman et al., 2005; D. M. Cable & Yu,
79
2006; Desrumaux et al., 2009). The majority of participants did not disclose any particular
behaviors or communication used when engaging in attraction practices toward minority and
diversity applicants. A determination if attraction was increased through recruiter interaction
with applicants could not be determined with respect to recruiter’s techniques to attract minority
and diversity officer candidates.
The theme of promoting educational benefits. When asked the questions “What are
some of the techniques you use to attract minority officer candidates?” and “What are some of
the techniques you use to attract diversity officer candidates?” 22% of participants indicated
that promoting educational benefits was a method used to attract minority and diversity officer
candidates. Impression management refers to any action purposefully designed and carried out
to influence an audience’s perceptions of an organization (Avery & McKay, 2006; Highhouse et
al., 2009). Attraction is achieved through manipulation of literature and media messages read or
seen by applicants (D. M. Cable & Yu, 2006; Roberson et al., 2005; Ryan & Tippins, 2004).
Most of the participants disclosed that promoting educational benefits was a successful attraction
technique.
Some ways that recruiters expressed promoting the educational benefits of the program
were through hanging posters in counselor offices in some schools, encouraging completion of
the NROTC applications, attendance at college fairs held in high schools, and showing videos of
successful diversity candidates selected. The decision to use literature and media to attract
candidates appeared to be for any qualified candidate and not just minority or diversity qualified
candidates. Support was found from the candidates’ responses for the use of literature and media
as an effective attraction tool.
80
The theme of conducting NROTC presentations. When asked the questions “What are
some of the techniques you use to attract minority officer candidates?” and “What are some of
the techniques you use to attract diversity officer candidates?” 22% of participants indicated
that giving NROTC presentations was a method used to attract minority and diversity officer
candidates. Positive relationships can form between potential candidates and organizations
through word-of-mouth (Van Hoye & Lievens, 2005, 2007). Some participants disclosed that
diversity road shows are used, which have an education specialist and diversity active-duty
officers as members of the team, to go into targeted high schools and give presentations about
NROTC. Other participants believed that visiting schools to speak about the program that had
high minority populations was an effective way to attract minority and diversity candidates.
Most decisions to join an organization rely on very little information about the job (Devendorf &
Highhouse, 2008). Presentations allow potential candidates the opportunity to learn more about
an organization.
Theme rationale.
The themes that emerged from the perspectives of navy officer recruiters’ (1) that no
special attraction techniques were used, (2) that promoting the benefits of the program, and (3)
that conducting NROTC presentations were in support of the central research question of “How
do naval officer recruiters attract minority and diversity candidates to the NROTC program?”
The themes have high importance to the outcome of the research study by providing data related
to the phenomenon of the Navy’s failure to reach stated minority and diversity officer goals
(Fuentes, 2007; K. Barrett, 2010, 2010a). The Navy has adopted a position that diversity is a
strategic imperative for the United States Navy. Navy leadership has articulated clearly their
commitment to a diverse Navy.
81
Improving diversity within the Navy is not only the right thing to do; it is the smart thing
to do. Increasing the number of minority officers and the quality of minority sailors in
the Navy are critical elements for ensuring the productivity, growth, and success of this
institution that we serve. Greater diversity enhances the Navy’s flexibility and expands
our collective problem-solving capabilities. We defend the greatest nation in the world.
The strength of our diversity directly and irrefutably helps us do so. The Navy will stay
committed to improving that strength ("Navy Recruiting Command," n. d., p. 1).
Sub-themes.
Themes that emerged in addition to the major themes supported the remaining four
research questions of Q2: “How are officer recruiters selected for recruiting assignments?” Q3:
“How is recruiting for minorities and diversity performed to ensure success?” Q4: “What are
the demographics of the current recruiters?” The research sub-questions were explored in the
context of impression management. Impression management is significant with respect to how
organizations engage in posturing to present themselves in the best light for potential applicants
(Lievens, 2007).
Sub-theme 1: Recruiter selection. All recruiters volunteer for recruiting duty. When
asked the question, “How did you get selected for recruiting duty?” 100% of participants
responded by volunteering for the special assignment. A follow-up question was asked, “What
are some of the reasons you became a recruiter?” 44% of participants agreed that helping others
gave them a sense of giving back to the community, 18% believed that a chance to relocate
within the boundaries of their hometown was a motivator for becoming a recruiter, and 14% of
the participants expressed a desire for a challenge or a change of job duties motivated them to
become a recruiter. The significance of questioning that focused on recruiter selection may
82
provide insight for Navy leadership when determining a good fit for the organization and the
demands of recruiting duty.
Sub-theme 2: Minority and diversity success measures. The rationale behind exploring
success measures for minority and diversity recruiting stemmed from the goals set by senior
naval leadership. The Chief of Naval Operations, Admiral Roughead, set the officer diversity
goal for 2037 to reflect 64% officer diversity (Blowers, 2008). When asked the question “What
did you do to ensure recruiting for diversity was successful (as measured by the Navy diversity
officer goal attainment) defined by your organization?” 18% of participants indicated that
targeting diversity populations was the measure of success while 7% of participants revealed that
showing others their success in the Navy was the measure of success. An additional
unanticipated theme appeared in response to the question, 30% of participants responded that
they were not sure how success was measured or did not respond to the question.
Sub-theme 3: Recruiter demographics. Research indicated that members of in-groups
engage in social preferences to members of the same group at an increased rate over members of
the out-group (D. W. Campbell et al., 2010), and that people who see leaders who possess
similar ethnic backgrounds or similar physical characteristics are drawn to the organization
(Eagly & J. L. Chin, 2010). Shared social identity can be seen as the basis of productive
interaction between people (S. A. Haslam et al., 2009) and served as the foundation for gathering
recruiter demographics.
The gender distribution for the 27 NROTC recruiters is 92.59% male and 7.41% female.
On average, women hold nearly 46% of senior leadership positions in the United States
(Terjesen & Singh, 2008). The ethnicity distribution was 64.29% Caucasian, 25% African
American, 7.14% Latino, and 3.4% Asian Pacific Islander. The ratio of diversity and ethnicity
83
for NROTC recruiters across the nation does not reflect the ratio of diversity and ethnicity that
the Navy wants to achieve. The age distribution revealed that 80.77% of NROTC officer
recruiters are 31 and older while 19.23% are between the ages of 26 to 30. The eligibility age
range for candidates is 17 to 27. Candidates are ineligible to apply for the NROTC program if
they have reached their 27th birthday by the year they are projected to graduate from college
(USN, 2010).
Last, the distribution for NROTC officer recruiter experience was 42.86% had 1-2 years
recruiting, 28.57% had less than six months recruiting, 21.43% had recruited for six months to a
year, and 7.14% had three to four years recruiting experience. The significance of recruiter
experience was revealed with the depth of answers to questions that focused on measuring goal
achievement. Participants who reported having less than one year of recruiting experience
accounted for 62% of the blank answers given.
Implications and Significance of findings
NROTC officer recruiters responsible for attracting minority and diversity officer
candidates found success through the use of literature and media on the benefits of the program.
Impression management literature recommends that organizations engage creating a positive
impression through the use of several techniques, which include manipulation of literature and
media (Avery & McKay, 2006; Bolino et al., 2008). Military attraction can be enhanced through
brand packaging (Lievens, 2007). NROTC officer recruiter have reported engaging in
impression management through conducting presentations targeted toward highlighting what the
Navy’s program can do for potential candidates.
The findings revealed a significant departure from literature that uses the social identity
construct as a basis for group affiliation (Armor & Gilroy, 2010; De Rue & Ashford, 2010; Ng &
84
Burke, 2005). Recruiters lived experiences while engaging in attraction practices did not reveal
an affiliation with group identity positively or negatively. The responses from the participants
were of a sense of duty to perform the job with no respect to group affiliation.
Unconscious thought theory (UTT) was a part of the conceptual framework that guided
the research study. Scholars who have studied UTT proposed that thinking overnight on
thoughts lead to better decision-making (Dijksterhuis & Nordgren, 2006; Waroquier et al., 2010).
Opponents of UTT suggested that unconscious thought does not necessarily result in better
decision-making (Newell et al., 2009). The current research study sought to explore if recruiters
engaged in UTT when deciding which candidates to approach to begin the attraction process.
The participants did not disclose any information that would have substantiated or negated UTT
in practice while engaged in attracting minority and diversity officer candidates.
Implications to Leadership
The changing demographics in the United States have brought attention to the
demographics of leadership in organizations (Buttner, Lowe, & Billings-Harris, 2009; Stevens et
al., 2008). Leaders in organizations may wish to enhance strategies aimed at the available
minority and diversity in the pool of potential workers. The primary method used by NROTC
recruiters was the colorblind approach, which ignores cultural group identities focusing on the
overarching common affiliation goal (Stevens et al., 2008). Treating all people the same was the
approach used by recruiters who engaged in attraction practices. Research has shown the
colorblind approach works well for organizations whose majority group membership is the same
but can be perceived as devaluing racial differences for others (Stevens et al., 2008). The
effectiveness of using the colorblind approach by NROTC officer recruiters could not be
established. The practices involving visits to schools and locations with a concentration of
85
diversity markets were attraction tools that officer recruiters used. Organizational leaders may
consider adopting similar practices to attract minority and diversity markets.
Senior Navy leadership touts that the Navy is recognized for its best practices in diversity
outreach, and stating that with the class of 2014, the Naval Academy reached 35% minority
admissions and the Navy ROTC reached 40% (Watterworth, 2001 p. 2). The efforts of officer
recruiters are making an impact and the current research study may provide insights into how
results happen. The subject of diversity in the Navy has been discussed and documented over
the last 50 years; literature on best practices to increase diversity among the leadership ranks has
been void. The perspectives of 27 NROTC officer recruiters across the nation contributed to the
gap in literature on attraction best practices in the Navy for minority and diversity populations.
Reflection of Experience
The current research study on the lived experiences of NROTC recruiters proved to be a
learning experience in understanding the depth of phenomenological research methods. I gained
a deeper understanding of Phenomenology as a philosophy during the research. A deeper level
of cognitive learning took place when determining phenomenological practices in data collection
and data synthesis. My years of successfully recruiting for diversity and minority officers
through the NROTC program was a bias that Epoche helped to constrain. Selection of social
identity theory along with unconscious thought theory derived from my requisite experience in
Navy ROTC recruiting. As a result of my prior successful recruiting, a paradox was presented
by the Navy’s reported shortfalls in minority and diversity officer goal attainment, especially
during a time when projected demographics held that minority and diversity populations were
increasing.
86
Questionnaires served as a good data collection tool to decrease the effects of researcher
bias that could have influenced participant responses using in person interviews (Huberman &
Miles, 2002; Shank, 2006). Ineffective communication of goals, particularly on the process of
exactly how to recruit for minorities and diversity officer candidates, was a preconception in the
beginning stages of the literature review. A low response rate because of the pressures involved
with recruiting was anticipated. The stages of learning during the research process yielded the
opposite results. With respect to communication of goals, none of the participants disclosed
unawareness of the goals that the Navy has set to increase minority and diversity officer
attainment.
Recruiters with less than one year experience (30%) who reported unawareness to
measure recruiting success or did not respond to understanding how to measure recruiting
success was a surprise as discussed in chapter 4. Drawing from my years of recruiting
experience, I anticipated that every recruiter would know what the goals are in recruiting, to
include the goals to increase minority and diversity future leadership. The efforts of the Navy to
communicate the percentages of projected minority and diversity goals have been well
documented (Fuentes, 2007, 2010; K. Barrett, 2009, 2010, 2010a; Wiltrout, 2008) in both official
Navy publications and Navy news magazines. Navy recruiting is a goal-oriented business that is
built around the philosophy of goal achievement. Communication of population goals for
recruitment is done from the smallest levels within the organization to the highest levels of
international audiences (Sellman, 2000). The unawareness to measure recruiting success was not
anticipated based on the amount of published literature available on Navy recruiting goals.
However, based on my 21 years of Navy experience, I strongly recommend an overhaul of the
rewards systems for goal attainment in Navy. Currently, recruiters who are responsible for
87
attracting future naval officers through the NROTC program are generally not rewarded the same
as recruiters who are responsible for enlisted goals. Second, I would recommend that junior
officers become recruiters for future officers through the NROTC program only. Because
current Navy leaders have the experience of upper management, and because future officer
candidates selected to the NROTC program will share those same lived experiences, the match
of officer recruiters to officer candidates has the potential to produce a better fit. With respect to
the anticipation of a low response rate, 100% success rate was achieved. Telephone calls were
made to all 26 recruiting districts. One of the districts has two officer recruiters who participated
in the study. The recruiters were very friendly and receptive to participation in the research and
no information was disclosed during telephone conversations about recruiting experience.
The phenomenological approach used in the current research study demanded reflexivity
during each phase from planning research questions, to selecting the conceptual framework,
planning the most appropriate data collection instrumentation and method, data analysis, and
presentation of results. An increased level of understanding on the rigor involved in qualitative
research ensued. A deeper level of consideration was achieved for leadership in organizations
who have the responsibility to increase diversity in the workplace.
Recommendations
McCarty-Kilian et al. (2005) posit that there is a need for increased levels of diversity in
senior leadership positions. Diversity is a necessary element to move organizations forward in a
global business environment. Benefits of diversity in senior leadership have been reported to
exist on group levels (Fairhurst & Grant, 2010), dyad levels (Livi, Kenny, Albright, & Pierro,
2008) and individual levels. Group and dyad levels are the recommended focus for future
inquiry on minority and diversity attraction methods. More scholarly research on the diversity
88
construct, with respect to offering a more congruent definition of what diversity may look like in
the 21st century, would prove helpful in offering ways to incorporate a new and emerging
constructs to the changing demographics in America.
For Higher Education.
The case has been made for diversity in higher education with respect to faculty
representation ethnically and with regard to gender (Dey, 2008; Johnson, 2011). Scholars are
expected to emerge from institutions of higher learning and more awareness is necessary with
regard to the changing demographics in America, and the increased importance of diversity
leadership. Conversations that center on what diversity is and is not should be more prevalent in
courses held at the graduate level. Drawing from over 13 years of post-secondary education that
I have been involved with, there has been a lack of courses that address minority and diversity
leadership. Higher education may benefit from the results of this study by tapping into the
attraction methods expressed by the voices of the participants in developing models of attraction
methods aimed at increasing minority and diversity leadership in the faculty that seems to be a
concern (Johnson, 2011).
Leadership.
Little consistency was found on the definition of diversity in a leadership context
(Stevens et al., 2008) and diversity must be defined to plan for measuring successful attainment
(Lim, Cho, & Curry, 2008). A plethora of literature exists on the need for diversity (Armor &
Gilroy, 2010; Christie, 2009; Kelly, 2011; Office of the Assistance Secretary of the Navy for
Manpower and Reserve Affairs, 2011; Blowers, 2008; Ryan & Tippins, 2004; Stauffer, 2008)
that suggests that leadership needs more research guidance on how to increase minority and
diversity representation in both civilian and military organizations. Research that focuses on an
89
attraction best practices from recruiter experiences may be most helpful to leadership by
providing key information in diversity management (Mujtaba & Sungkhawan, 2009).
Further research.
The current research study sought to explore the lived experiences of recruiters who
engage in attraction practices with a focus on minority and diversity officer candidates. The
phenomenological approach was taken to explore perceptions surrounding the Navy’s failure to
reach projected officer targets. Research focusing on the lived experiences of graduates of the
NROTC program may produce insight into the attraction practices that led to recruitment.
Graduates of the program are serving in Navy leadership roles and have the potential to provide
the best source of information.
Replication of the current research study is suggested with a different qualitative method
such as grounded theory approach. Literature suggests that understanding diversity leadership
demands a diversity science (Plaut, 2010). Grounded theory has the potential to add to diversity
science by allowing the experiences of the people involved in attraction practices to dictate a
new emerging theory. Replication of the current research study in the Army, Air Force, and
Marines exploring attraction practices of officer recruiters in each branch may offer a cross-
sectional analysis of minority and diversity representation.
Summary
A discussion on themes found in chapter 4 serves as an introduction to the discussions
found in chapter 5 on the top three attraction techniques used by NROTC recruiters, 1) engaging
in dynamic dialogue with qualified candidates regardless of gender or ethnicity, 2) promoting the
benefits of the program, and 3) conducting NROTC presentations. The significance of findings
revealed that social identity and group identity were not strong motivators for recruiter attraction
90
methods. Specifically, the assumption that unconscious thought theory played a significant role
in the decision to approach potential candidates was not supported from the research study. The
recruiter insights have the potential to help leaders gain a greater understanding about attracting
candidates through the use of impression management. Reflections of experience revealed
knowledge gained on the complexity of the phenomenological research method.
Recommendations for leadership and further research supported replication of the study as
viewed from a different population. As the United States becomes more diverse, attention to
diversity should be of concern to all aspects of business, academia, public policy, and research
(Alire, 2001; Diversity, 2011; Eagly & J. L. Chin, 2010; J. L. Chin & Sanchez-Hucles, 2007;
McCarty-Kilian et al., 2005; Plaut, 2010).
91
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Appendix A: Additional Information Form
Participant ID: ___________
PURPOSE
The purpose of the research study is to explore the lived experiences of the attraction and
recruitment process from the perspective of Navy officer recruiters in the United States. Thank
you for your participation in the research study. The research may help organizations to improve
minority and diversity attraction and recruitment practices for officer candidates.
FORWARDING INFORMATION FOR RESEARCH RESULTS
Please complete the following (optional) information only if you wish questionnaire results
mailed to you.
Today’s Date: _________________
Your name: _______________________________________
Your mailing address: ___________________________________________
___________________________________________
___________________________________________
Would you be willing to participate in future research? ____ Yes ____ No
Comments
______________________________________________________________________________
______________________________________________________________________________
______________________________________________________________________________
113
Appendix B: Informed Consent Form
UNIVERSITY OF PHOENIX
INFORMED CONSENT: PARTICIPANTS 18 YEARS OF AGE AND OLDER
Dear NROTC Recruiter,
My name is Scena Webb and I am a student at the University of Phoenix working on a doctoral
degree. I am conducting a research study entitled “Attracting qualified minority and diversity
naval officer candidates: A phenomenological study”. The purpose of the research study is to
explore the lived experiences of the attraction process from the perspective of Navy officer
recruiters in the United States. The study will explore what causes recruiters to engage in
attraction practices aimed at qualified minority and diversity officer candidates from the
perspective of conscious and unconscious thought theory and group theory. The study will
examine the link between attraction to members of the same ethnic or racial group as recruiters
and attraction to members not of the same ethnic or racial groups.
Your participation will involve answering a short questionnaire that has 10 questions which
should take about 10 minutes. Your participation in this study is voluntary. If you choose not to
participate or to withdraw from the study at any time, you can do so without penalty or loss of
benefit to yourself. The results of the research study may be published but your identity will
remain confidential and your name will not be disclosed to any outside party.
In this research, there are no foreseeable risks to you except: Time constraints of participating in
the questionnaire. To lessen time constraints, the questionnaire will be delivered directly to your
email address for your convenience.
Although there may be no direct benefit to you, a possible benefit of your participation is your
insights could provide organizations interested in increasing minority and diversity leadership
with relevant information they may use to attract more minority future leaders. For the Navy
114
specifically, the results may assist senior leadership in their efforts to increase minority and
diversity officer representation to higher levels.
If you have any questions concerning the research study, please call me at 1-800-618-9736 or by
email at [email protected].
As a participant in this study, you should understand the following:
You may decline to participate or withdraw from participation at any time without consequences.
Your identity will be kept confidential.
Scena Webb, the researcher, has thoroughly explained the parameters of the research study and
all of your questions and concerns have been addressed.
In the event interviewing becomes a part of the data collection method, all interviews will be
recorded; you must grant permission for the researcher, Scena Webb, to digitally record the
interview. You understand that the information from the recorded interviews may be
transcribed. The researcher will structure a coding process to assure that anonymity of your
name is protected.
Data will be stored in a secure and locked area on the researcher’s home premises. The data will
be held for a period of three years, and then destroyed.
The research results will be used for publication.
“By signing this form you acknowledge that you understand the nature of the study, the potential
risks to you as a participant, and the means by which your identity will be kept confidential.
Your signature on this form also indicates that you are 18 years old or older and that you give
your permission to voluntarily serve as a participant in the study described.”
Signature of the interviewee _____________________________ Date _____________
Signature of the researcher ______________________________ Date _____________
115
Appendix C: Questionnaire
Purpose of the questionnaire is to explore the lived experiences of NROTC officer recruiters in two ways. (1) To understand how minority and diversity candidates are attracted, and (2) To understand how officer recruiters are selected. Ultimately, your insights may offer the best avenue to explore minority and diversity naval officer attraction practices for my dissertation research.
It is very important to hear from you because you are often times the first contact that potential NROTC candidates will have to the Navy. I may be contacted at any time by using the contact information provided. An Additional Information Form is attached to use if you would like to receive the results of this research.
What is your gender? Male ____ Female ____
Please indicate your ethnicity or the ethnicity you most closely belong to:
African American _____
Asian/Pacific Islander _____
Latino _____
Native American _____
Alaskan Native _____
Caucasian _____
Please indicate your age range. 18 to 20 years of age _____; 21 to 25 years of age _____;
26 to 30 years of age _____; 31 and over _____.
How long have you been a NROTC recruiter? Less than 6 months _____; 6 month to 1 year _____
1 to 2 years _____; 3 to 4 years ____; Over 4 years _____
What department do you work in? Officer Programs (OPO) ______ or Enlisted Programs (EPO) _____
What are some of the techniques you use to attract minority officer candidates?
What are some of the techniques you use to attract diversity officer candidates?
What are some of the reasons you became a recruiter?
How did you get selected for recruiting duty?
What did you do to ensure recruiting for diversity was successful (as measured by the Navy diversity officer goal
attainment) defined by your organization?
PROCEDURE TO WITHDRAW FROM THE STUDY:
You may withdraw from the study at any time, you can do so without penalty or loss of benefit to yourself by
selecting this withdrawal option on this form: _______ (an X in this block indicates withdrawal).
Thank you again for your participation
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