Page 254 - Working-and-ageing-Guidance-and-counselling-for-mature-learning

3062_EN_C1_Layout 1 11/23/11 4:22 PM Page 248

Working and ageing
248 Guidance and counselling for mature learners

practical reasons (a very large geographical dispersion of respondents) few
interviews were done by phone. The method for recording and processing
was the same in both cases. The items to be covered in the interviews were
identified and sent to respondents before the interview. This helped
respondents to give well thought-out answers, and whenever necessary, to
consult information sources available to them in advance, for instance with
respect to statistics relevant to their own unit or operation. Each interview
lasted for about one hour. There was no transcription; rather, by listening and
marking highlights, we could go back to recordings and obtain exact wordings.
Quotes were grouped in accordance with the main areas of concern (see
Section 12.4). We tried to find elucidative quotes from different groups of
respondents to assess if conflicting views for each area would appear.

13.4. Results

13.4.1. Organisational aspects
A general view of many respondents in the armed forces is that openness to
change is low; it is difficult to bring about change in a large, complex organisation:
ʻthe armed forces are an ocean liner, manoeuvred slowly, with tough resistance
forces in the organisation hampering movementʼ (human resources).
There is high momentum in the organisation also visible in the career
switching project. Over the years, the Swedish Armed Forces have
accumulated problems linked to the age and competence structure of the
organisation for provisions made in employment contracts, and general
unwillingness to fire officers. In interviews there was an almost unanimous
view that reform was necessary to change the age and competence structure.
Many respondents believed that motivation of older officers was a problem.
They are neither willing to, nor obliged to do foreign service. It is difficult to
recruit staff officers to such assignments, and older officers, 55+, also have
problems to fulfil physical demands in field service: ʻthey did not join the armed
forces to go to Afghanistanʼ (human resources);ʻ soldiers have to carry ever
heavier burdens, and officers should be good examplesʼ (commanding officer).
It is often a specific unit and its situation that has priority, rather than the
overriding problems of the armed forces at large. Commanding officers have
a strong and dominant position; they may not be persuaded by personnel
officers that a change is necessary: ʻthe major problem was to make
commanding officers agree that this was a problem; “this is not what it looks
like in my unit” ʼ (human resources).