Aida Alvinius

Emotional smoothness and confidence building : boundary spanners in a civil-military collaboration context

This study illuminates a deeper understanding of the processes of confidence building and emotion management among boundary spanners from organisations with a bureaucratic structure in a multinational civil-military operational context. Twenty-one informants (mainly military officers) were interviewed. They had a variety of experiences and occupational roles in civil-military collaboration contexts. A grounded theory analysis of interview data yielded a model according to which the most central aspects of civil-military collaboration are confidence building, maintaining existing confidence, avoiding distrust and rebuilding damaged confidence. The study shows that boundary spanners strategically utilise a variety of emotion management strategies in order to fulfil the demands laid upon them by their collaborating counterparts in the hostile environment and by their own organisation. Three interrelated dimensions of smoothness were identified: cultural, structural and smoothness in risky situations. By acting ‘smoothly’, an adaption to the dynamic environment can be achieved. The proposed model is compared to existing writings on emotional labour and self-presentation.

From common operating picture to situational awareness

The purpose of this study is to investigate what influences the formation of a common operating picture and situational awareness during collaborative efforts to deal with complex disasters. Particular focus is given to the relationship between the operating picture and situational awareness. The study was conducted using qualitative interviews and a grounded theory approach, and is based on interview data from three crisis events. The results show that the operating picture is influenced by information coming together from different sources and forming a snapshot of the event, a portrait which changes and is updated over time, while organisational belonging, role and occupationally specific knowledge provide a framework for and influence situational awareness. The results also show that the operating picture forms the basis for an occupationally specific and role-based situational awareness and its subsequent decision-making. Further studies on the relation between common operating picture, sense making and situational awareness are discussed.

Indirect leadership: a quantitative test of a qualitatively developed model

Purpose – The purpose of this paper is to explore the applicability of a previously developed model of indirect leadership (qualitative Grounded Theory case study) in a broader military context.Des ...

Frames of Public Reactions in Crisis

The aim of this study was to identify and analyze the ways in which images and reactions of the public are described and framed in media articles and reports. Reporting from six major events affecting the Swedish public was studied using a thematic method of analysis. The results show three dynamic interrelated processes at work simultaneously in framing the public: identification, characterization and evaluation. A significant contribution of this study is the emphasis on how this often subtle and implicit framing influences the portrayal of human reactions, thus possibly influencing the expectations and evaluations of both the public in general and crisis managers in particular.

Leaders as emotional managers : Emotion management in response organisations during a hostage taking in a Swedish prison

Purpose – The purpose of this paper is to develop a deeper understanding of how leaders manage their own and others’ emotions in professional crisis management organizations during severely demanding episodes. The empirical case is a hostage drama that occurred in a small Swedish town. Although staff at the local prison were situationally prepared and trained in incident exercises, two inmates with knives fled the prison after taking a warden hostage. Design/methodology/approach – A grounded theory approach was used. In all, 14 informants from four Swedish authorities were interviewed on the basis of their involvement in the hostage drama. Findings – According to the analysis, an emergency response leader’s emotion management is framed by an organizationally embedded emotional regime which is summed up in two core themes: focus on the task and do not let emotions interfere; and provide the task force with maximum physical and psychological security. The leader’s emotion management within this framework co...

Job satisfaction as a form of organizational commitment at the military strategic level: A grounded theory study

It has been claimed that job satisfaction is the most important and frequently studied attitude in organizational behaviour research. However, as most studies relate to lower hierarchical levels, the purpose of this paper is to gain a deeper understanding of job satisfaction and organizational commitment among high-level managers – military leaders in this case.,A grounded theory approach was used. The empirical material is based on 12 interviews, two of which were with women. The informants had wide experience of a number of leadership positions as well as participation in international operations. Their ranks ranged from Colonel to Brigadier General, and they represented army and naval units, the Armed Forces Headquarters and Swedish Defence University.,The qualitative analysis resulted in a theoretical model that describes the job satisfaction of military leaders at the strategic level, which concerns establishing and balancing organizational commitment. This means that top level managers develop, manage and recreate a “sense of oneness” between themselves and the organization – a strong identification that is established, challenged, changed and renegotiated in a continuous process. Establishing and balancing organizational commitment is built on two overarching categories: keeping up the organizational image and responding to organizational greediness.,Research limitations are as follows: small sample, lack of representativeness and lack of elaboration on possible gender-related aspects.,The suggested model may be valuable in educational settings when evaluating the job satisfaction and organizational commitment of high-level officers. The model may have practical implications when it comes to selection, retention and leader development of high-level military officers.,A new integrative, theoretical model of job satisfaction and organizational commitment of high-level officers is developed and discussed.

Becoming a Swedish military ranger: a Grounded Theory study

The armed forces in virtually all countries are traditionally male-dominated organisations. Military rangers constitute an elite unit whose chief skills and capabilities centre on unconventional warfare and intelligence gathering in enemy territory, as well as conducting low-intensity warfare. The purpose of this study was to gain a deeper understanding of the process of becoming a military ranger and what it means to be one in this context from a masculinity perspective. The study was carried out with informants from three military ranger units in Sweden: the Armys ranger battalion, parachuting rangers from an airborne battalion and intelligence battalion, and coastal rangers. In total, 28 informants participated in the study. All of them were men. A qualitative analysis resulted in a model where the core variable was labelled on becoming a ranger through reproducing masculinity as a form of emotional regime. This core variable is built up by three different strategies, each of which contains a number of actions: building social identity by means of coolness strategies, observing symbols and rituals to build a sense of pride and building cohesion to maintain group intimacy, and emotionally exclude the external environment.

Applying the Organizational Centaur Theory on Boundary Spanners in Demanding Situations

The aim of the present study was to compare the existing conceptualization of the dual nature of organizational centaurs to discover what could be found in an investigation of organizational contexts characterized by risky and life-threatening situations. The study design involved a two-step procedure. The first step was inductive in character and followed the guidelines of grounded theory regarding selection of the participants in the study (further called informants, N = 71), data collection and initial analysis. The second step consisted of an attempt to compare this conceptual model to the existing ideal-typical descriptions of the organizational centaur concept. Managing crisis, disasters and other uncertainties as a boundary spanner can be understood in terms of a typology differentiated at the organizational and individual levels. The organizational part defines the prevailing conditions in uniformed, greedy organizations for boundary spanners who contribute to the organization’s foundation of competence and behavior, and also outlines the limitations this may entail. The individual part focuses on the human such as no room for mistakes and the management of asymmetrical collaborations. It was concluded that the special case of severely demanding conditions added new insights into the organizational centaur framework.

Managing visibility and differentiating in recruitment of women as leaders in the armed forces

Abstract Recruitment is one of the Swedish Armed Forces’ (SAF) main challenges today. Recruiting more women into the organization is one of the organization’s aims, as well as providing them with more opportunities for career development. The purpose of this article is to gain a deeper understanding of how female military officers perceive barriers and advantages on their way to higher leadership positions. A total of 10 women from a variety of backgrounds and positions in the armed forces were interviewed. Their ranks ranged from Captain to Colonel and they represented army, naval units and air force. The interviews were analysed using a Grounded Theory approach. The qualitative analysis resulted in two main themes: Supporting visibility of women as leaders and differentiation of women as leaders. The former concerns positive strategies on an individual and organizational level that support an increase in the number of female leaders in the SAF, and is a way of responding to political incitements and the SAF’s fundamental values. The second concerns ways how women are portrayed as different and divergent from the male standard. The suggested model may be valuable in recruitment, educational settings and leader development of high-level military officers from a gender perspective.

Gender Differences in Different Contexts

The development of gender differences as an area of research has been rapid over the last decades. Varieties of studies have focused on the gender differences as well as the similarities of women a ...