Morale and Its Impact on Organizations and Individuals

Morale is defined in the Merriam Webster Collegiate Dictionary 2001 edition as “1. The mental and emotional conditions (as enthusiasm, confidence, or loyalty) of an individual or a group with regard to the function or task at hand; a sense of common purpose with respect to a group: ESPRIT DE CORPS. 2. The level of individual psychological well being based on such factors as a sense of purpose and confidence in the future.” Morale has different meaning from the word moral which relates to ethics and modes of conduct.

The state of morale of its members can affect the efficiency of any organization. And moral is even more important in the military where proper motivation of soldiers is needed to enable them to successfully accomplish their task. In a military organization the commander is the one primarily responsible for what his unit does or fails to do. He is the one who calls the shot for the unit. In a battalion level or higher units the commander is aided by a coordinating staff whose members are specialized in their respective fields of work. They keep the commander informed on the development and the happenings on their respective areas of responsibility. The personnel officer, the S1, is the staff responsible for personnel administration. His other functions also include overseeing the state of morale and discipline of the men.

We learned from history the impact of morale in a certain situation. An example is the campaign of Alexander the Great in India. After defeating King Porus in battle, Alexander wanted to pursue his campaign eastward. His men tired of long years of battle and fearing the prospect of facing another large and powerful Indian army mutinied and refused to march further. Alexander aborted his plan and took heed to the sentiments of his troops.

Being a former personnel officer of a battalion, I had a first hand experience in the importance of morale in an organization. My former battalion fared poorly in combat and the discipline of the men was not so good. It was at the bottommost of the division as far as ranking in combat efficiency was concerned. Then the commander was replaced by another. The new commander had a better leadership quality, and had more concern with the welfare and the well being of the men than the one he replaced. In no time, the unit was transformed from a mediocre unit to one that became the top unit of the division. Its good performance earned for it the respect of other units in the army. Under the new leadership the men had camaraderie, and positive attitude with respect to their relationship to one another and in the performance of their tasks. Those were indications that their morale was high.