| 1. |
- Larsson, Gerry, 1952-, et al.
(författare)
-
Swedish military officers through other nations' eyes : experiences related to leadership theory, stereotypes, identity and military contextual history
- 2016
-
Ingår i: International Journal of Organizational Analysis. - 1934-8835 .- 1758-8561. ; 24:4, s. 615-633
-
Tidskriftsartikel (refereegranskat)abstract
- PurposeGlobalisation of working life means that many organisations are manned by people from different countries. A potentially critical factor is how members from various nations are looked upon by their partner countries. Such perception may be more or less accurate and affect organisational outcomes. The military is no exception as modern warfare is characterised by multinational composition of task forces. The aim of this paper was to gain a deeper understanding of how military officers from other nations perceive Swedish military officers and their leadership qualities in particular.Design/methodology/approachInterviews were conducted with 20 military officers representing ten nations. Interview questions were deduced from the Developmental leadership model. Responses were first coded inductively according to the constant comparative method. Generated categories were then deductively related to this leadership model.FindingsThe analysis resulted in positive and negative patterns. The positive picture included Swedish officers being perceived as calm, competent and generally good at exhibiting exemplary leadership behaviour, showing individualised consideration and creating an inspiring atmosphere. The negative side included opinions such as Swedish officers being too emotionally restrained, exhibiting poor self-confidence, discussing too much before making decisions and having difficulties giving negative feedback. The results are discussed in relation to the Developmental leadership model and the stereotype concept.Research limitations/implicationsSmall sample size and a focus on military organisations imply a low degree of generalisability.Practical implicationsThree suggestions regarding Swedish officer education are presented: officer students should be given an increased awareness of how they are perceived by others, decision-making without group support and giving negative feedback in a constructive, straight forward, but still considerate way, should be practiced and more attention should be paid to emotion management.Originality/valueThe paper addresses an increasing tendency in work organisations – a multinational composition of the work force. The foundation of study in leadership theory and the stereotype concept is new.
|
|
| 2. |
- Fors Brandebo, Maria, 1979-, et al.
(författare)
-
Leadership : Is bad stronger than good?
- 2016
-
Ingår i: Leadership & Organization Development Journal. - 0143-7739 .- 1472-5347. ; 37:6, s. 690-710
-
Tidskriftsartikel (refereegranskat)abstract
- Purpose– The purpose of this paper is to investigate if the thesis “bad is stronger than good” also holds true for a number of leadership issues, more specifically: trust in the immediate leader, emotional exhaustion, work atmosphere and propensity to leave.Design/methodology/approach– Questionnaire responses were obtained from military personnel in Estonia, Sweden, Switzerland and the Netherlands (n=625).Findings– Multiple regression analyses revealed a certain pattern. Constructive leadership behaviours showed stronger positive associations with trust in the immediate supervisor and work atmosphere, than destructive leadership behaviours showed negative associations. On the other hand, destructive leadership behaviours showed stronger positive associations with emotional exhaustion and propensity to leave, than constructive leadership behaviours showed negative associations. This suggests that constructive leadership behaviours possibly have a greater impact on positive phenomenon and/or phenomenon associated with work-related relationships. On the other hand, destructive leadership behaviours appear to have a greater impact on negative phenomena with a stronger personal meaning. The results also show that the passive forms of destructive leadership are the behaviours that had the strongest impact on the investigated dependent variables.Research limitations/implications– Limitations related to item construction, common method variance, response set tendencies, translation of the instruments, and lack of response rate are discussed.Practical implications– The results emphasize the importance of focusing on both constructive and destructive leadership at the selection stage, as well as during training of military leaders. Focusing on them separately obstructs optimal leader development and prevents leaders from gaining authentic self-knowledge. The results also point at the importance of including both aspects of leadership in leader evaluation processes.Originality/value– The use of both constructive and destructive leadership behaviours with respondents from multiple nations in the same analysis.
|
|
| 3. |
- Fors Brandebo, Maria, 1979-, et al.
(författare)
-
Re-enlistment in the Swedish Armed Forces – individual motives and driving forces
- 2016
-
Konferensbidrag (övrigt vetenskapligt/konstnärligt)abstract
- As many other armed forces, the Swedish Armed Forces (SAF) is having a difficult time recruiting a sufficient number of soldiers. The turn-over rate is high as well as the cost for recruiting and training soldiers, should they leave the SAF immediately (after basic training) or after a shorter period of employment. This has brought attention to the issue of re-enlistment and the need to understand what factors impact soldiers’ willingness to re-enlist to the SAF. The aim of the study is to investigate the motives and driving forces that make soldiers inclined to re-enlist within the SAF. Interviews are conducted with about 20 re-enlisted soldiers from three different units. A grounded-theory approach will be used to analyse the data. At the time of the conference the data analysis will be completed and the results will be presented.
|
|
