ABSTRACT Making organizational changes is a serious challenge for everyone who is in one wa

Elena A Boradjieva

Gatio P Gatev

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36th IAMPS   Split, CROATIA 2000 
 
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EXAMINED INTERACTIONS IN A CHANGING MILITARY 
EDUCATIONAL ENVIRONMENT 
 
Elena A. Boradjieva* Gatio P. Gatev** 
*Land Forces Academy, Veliko Turnovo – Bulgaria 
**Artillery and Air Defense Military Academy, Shumnen - Bulgaria 
 
ABSTRACT 
 
Making organizational changes is a serious challenge for everyone who is in one way 
or another connected with that process. Military education is closely concerned the 
current reform in Bulgarian army. This paper discusses the ways the Military Academy 
environment is accepted and also the way the students meet the challenges of the 
educational process. Using multiple correlation and behavior regressive analysis the 
tendency of interrelation between the general and component satisfaction with the 
students' personality traits and academic success is traced. On this reason, some ideas 
arc suggested for the successful carrying out the purposes of the reform. 
 
36th IAMPS   Split, CROATIA 2000 
 
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INTRODUCTION 
 
 Making organizational changes is a serious challenge for everyone who is one way or 
another connected with that process. The changes  brake the equilibrium of the organization in 
K.Levin's (1951) concept /unfreezing/, which is the reason for many problems in the movement 
toward a new status and reaching again a new and again stable functioning condition 
/refreezing/. In analogous cases, the managing body is the factor that has to control the 
operational efficiency of what is being carried out by stimulating the accelerating forces, 
minimizing the restrictive ones and keeping the constructive vector of change. This means that 
the managing of the organization changes requires exact and in-time information about things 
going on with the people and finding relative approaches to balance the innovation processes 
when looking for a higher efficiency for the organization.  
 In this paper we study the interaction and the effect of the personal features on the 
degree of satisfaction and the academic efficiency of different student categories in a Military 
academy in a period of organizational and technological changes within the military education 
system.  
 
FRAMEWORK 
 In some contemporary researches on organization psychology the behavior mechanism 
of the individual is shown when the working situation is changing. It turns out that people get 
too sensitive to changes, especially if not engaged in the process which regulates their attitude 
towards the organization in either positive or negative direction. From this point of view it is 
easy to understand why the professional attitude proves to be the main purpose of the 
organizational changes and why the attempts to work reorganization create principle 
mechanisms for improving the professional satisfaction. The satisfaction with one's activities 
will give results if the work helps to form personal values and standards. However, when the 
work blocks the creation of such personal characteristics, non-satisfaction occurs (Gordon, 
1993). 
 The opinion that satisfaction is a sign of adaptation to the working process and of 
utilizing the personal potential in the team-work process is worth paying attention to. In certain 
conditions satisfaction affects the quantitative and qualitative characteristics of performance, 
responsibility, discipline, innovation abilities and creativity (Radoslavova, 1987). 
 
METHOD/PROCEDURE 
 146 cadets were surveyed out of three cadet units. They were asked to give an opinion 
and assessment on the situation and their own behavior and it was explained to them that the 
research is connected with the reforms carried out at the Military academy. Their current scores 
were taken as the basic index of the personal academic activity in the Military academy 
environment. 
 The data was collected by several methods, one of them being the multidimensional 
card of satisfaction, the Likert type, our own invention. We used it to measure the following 
variables: total satisfaction, needs satisfaction, satisfaction from the learning process 
organization, satisfaction from the internal relations, level of support satisfaction, level of 
challenges satisfaction, balance level of interaction.  
 The second part of the scale is built on the principle of  the semantic differential and 
measures the cognitive-emotional attitude towards separate elements of the inside environment 
of the Military academy. The following subscales are included: acceptance-rejection of the 
learning process; satisfaction with the management; satisfaction with the commanders; 
satisfaction with the military lecturers and satisfaction with the civilian lecturers at the Military 
academy. 
 The prevailing part of the scales and sub-scales showed from satisfactory to a very high 
degree of consistent reliability (Alpha from .51 to .96). 
Low is the reliability of the needs satisfaction sub-scale (Alpha = .38), the balance sub-scale 
(Alpha=.40) and the interrelations satisfaction sub-scale (Alpha=.45).  
The next empirical information collection method was the multi-measure personality 
questionnaire. The questionnaire is designed to diagnose personal characteristics and states that 
36th IAMPS   Split, CROATIA 2000 
 
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are of primary importance for the social adjustment process and for the behavior control and 
was adapted to the Bulgarian cultural environment by À.Velichkov. It contains the scales: 
Neurotism (Alpha=.75), spontaneous aggressiveness (Alpha=.63), lowered self evaluation 
(Alpha=.78), nervousness (Alpha=.64), sociability (Alpha=.65), stability (Alpha=.55), reactive 
aggressiveness (Alpha=.58), shyness (Alpha=.64), openness (Alpha=.57), 
extraversion/introversion (Alpha=.47), emotional liability (Alpha=.48), manhood/womanhood 
(Alpha=.49). 
 A scale for measuring the locus of control - an adapted version of the classical test of 
Rotter with additions from the tri-factor test of Reid - Weir and some items of other improved 
methods of the construct measuring (Velichkov, Lukarski, Radoslavova, Russeva, Genova, 
1987). The test shows a summary of the anticipations of the individuals regarding the exerted 
personal control over the environment and the situations (Alpha=.73). 
 
RESULTS 
 
 Most representative concerning the comprehension of the organizational changes 
situation are the levels of the general and component satisfaction. This is well illustrated in fig. 
1, where five of the variables are in the negative part of the continuance of satisfaction and 
seven variables are in its positive part, i.e. they have values higher than 3.0. In this sense there is 
a certain amount of dissatisfaction regarding the general environment parameters (M = .284, SD 
= .58), with satisfying the basic needs (M = 2.35, SD = .62), with the learning process 
organization (M = 2.64, SD = .85), the level of challenges (M = 2.64, SD = .85) and the 
satisfaction with the administrative services (M = 2.85, SD = .83). 
1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12
0
0.5
1
1.5
2
2.5
3
3.5
4
 
Figure 1. Levels of the cadets' satisfaction with the conditions and the activities at the 
Military Academies. 
 
 The analysis won't be complete if we do not show the dependence of one variable on 
the other. The general satisfaction correlates weakly and negatively with the neurotism (r = - 
.31, p< .001), with the spontaneous aggressiveness (r = - .25, p< .001), moderately with the 
depressive’s(r = - .42, p< .001), with the nervousness (r = - .36, p< .001), with the shyness (r = - 
.35, p<.001), openness (r = - .30, p< .001), the emotional liability (r = - .42, p< .001) and with 
the locus  of control  (r = - .40, p< .001). Positive but weak is the connection between the 
general satisfaction and the sociability (r = .36, p< .001), with the stability (r = - .29, p< .001) 
and with manhood/womanhood (r = .41, p< .001). 
 Similar are the tendencies in the relations between the rest of the satisfaction aspects 
and the features with the exception of the correlation’s between the scoring in class and the 
personal features, the scoring and the different ways to demonstrate satisfaction (p> .05). We 
found out that the high scores were in a statistically important but still weak correlation only 
with the balancing (r = .29, p< .001). 
 The acts regression analysis shows that the scoring at school is affected only by the 
balancing (R2= .09, T = 3.760, p< .001), and the level of general satisfaction with the cadets is a 
result of the effect of a number of variables. In the order of importance, they are as follows: in 
the first place is the basic needs satisfaction in the Military academy environment (R2= .76, T = 
1. Total satisfaction 
2. Needs satisfaction 
3. Satisf. from the learning process organ. 
4. Level of support satisfaction 
5. Satisf. from the internal relations 
6. Level of challenges satisfaction 
7. Balance level of interaction 
8. Acceptance-rejection of the learn. pr. 
9. Satisfaction with the management 
10. Satisfaction with the commanders 
11. Satisfaction with the military lecturers 
12. Satisfaction with the civilian lecturers 
36th IAMPS   Split, CROATIA 2000 
 
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6.162, p< .001), the level of challenges (R2= .81, T = 5.914, p< .001), the level of support 
(R2=.85, T = 3.142, p< .021), the satisfaction with the learning process at the Academy (R2= 
.86, T = 4.057, p< .001) and finally the balancing (R2=.87, T = 2.625, p< .009). The general 
satisfaction is affected by some personal features, e.g. shyness (R2= .87, T = - 3.643, p< .001) 
and emotional liability (R2= .86, T = 2.541, p< .012). The balancing is under the  effect of the 
general satisfaction (R2= .13, T = 2.631) and the satisfaction with the civilian lecturers (R2=.23, 
T = 2.032, p< .044). 
 
DISCUSSION 
 The correlation and regression analysis showed connections and tendencies close to the 
anticipated, found out in other researches of ours. The negative correlations of the satisfaction 
with personal features like neurotism, spontaneous aggressiveness, depressiveness and 
nervousness show that in certain conditions the individuals with similar characteristic features 
are most vulnerable as far as satisfaction is concerned which requires special attention for those 
people in the process of reforms so that the adjustment is ensured. On the other hand, the 
positive although weak correlation between satisfaction and sociability, stability and manhood 
shows that the cadets with higher adjustment potential are inclined to overcome that problem, 
which is one more argument in favour of the necessity to take into consideration the personal 
characteristic features when choosing the applicants for the Military academies. 
 Our expectations that we will find a more profound correlation and interference 
between the school scoring and satisfaction as well as between the high scoring and personal 
features were not justified. It turned out that the most important factor for the high scoring at the 
Military academies is the balance or the cadets' ability to get into efficient and harmonic 
connections with the environment of the military establishment. 
 The analysis showed a curious ranging according to the priority degree of the different 
variables which mostly affect the level of general satisfaction in the military academy 
environment. All that gives enough information to the administration people about the 
management of the changes at the military academies who should apply equal care and skills to 
operate the organizational and environmental as well as the personal characteristics of the 
students when carrying out the purposes stated. 
 The analysis pointed out the necessity to assess not only the factors of learning 
importance but more so of developing the personal potential of the future officers who will then 
work on solving the problems in the field of national defense as well as participating in the 
peace-keeping missions in the region and in the world. This requires taking into consideration 
the traditional national virtues that co-exist in harmony with the contemporary values and 
attitudes of a NATO person within the Bulgarian officer's personality so that they make and 
keep the peace and the achievements of the modern civilization. 
 
CONCLUSION 
 The changes at the military academies and in the military education system are 
accompanied with a number of problems and all that directly affects the cadets' level of 
satisfaction with the conditions and, of course, with the activities. This brings us to the 
conclusion that there would be, in that environment, better learning results and the necessary 
adjustment comfort with the cadets only in case that their basic needs are satisfied, the work of 
their immediate commanders is improved as well as a moderate teaching pressure and 
challenges are imposed on them when learning given programs. Our observations  showed that 
the effect from the innovations and changes at the military academies would be guaranteed to a 
much higher degree if the managers could put more trust into the services of the specialists on 
the behaviour applied disciplines and to utilize them with readiness and correctness. 
 
 
REFERENCES 
 
 Radoslavova, M. (1987) Job satisfaction and method  of  measuring. Sofia, p. 84-95. 
 Lewin K. (1951) Field Theory in Social Sciens. New York: Harper & Row. 
36th IAMPS   Split, CROATIA 2000 
 
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 Gordon J.R.(1993) A Diagnostic Approach to Organizational Behavior, Fourth Edition, 
Allyn and Bacon, Boston, London, Toronto, Sydney, Tokyo, Singapore. 
 Pieper R., Richter K. (1990) Management Bedingungen, Erfahrungen, Perspektiven. 
GABLER & "Die Wirtschaft". 
 Shore L.M. and Martin H.J.(1989) Job satisfaction and organizational commitment in 
relation to work performance and turnover intentions, Human Relations 42(7):625-638. 
 Robbins S.P.(1991) Organizational behavior. Concepts, Controversies, and 
Applications. Prentice Hall International, INC. 
 
 
 
 
 


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