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- Alvinius, Aida, Docent, 1979-, et al.
(författare)
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Staff Advisors in Military Context : A Qualitative Interview Study in a Swedish Military Staff
- 2019
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Ingår i: Res Militaris. - 2265-6294. ; 9:1
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Tidskriftsartikel (refereegranskat)abstract
- Military organizations have a long tradition of autonomy in relation to other groups. Most positions in military organizations, at least those at the higher levels, are reserved for military officers. However, given the increasing complexity of modern society, civilian specialists have become more common in high-level military staff contexts. The purpose of this study was, through an inductive approach, to gain a deeper understanding of the role of civilian and military advisors in a high-level military staff context. A grounded theory approach was used. The empirical material is based on 10 interviews with advisors in high-level military staffs, three of which were with women. The qualitative analysis resulted in a theoretical model that describes that the trustworthiness of advisors is established through two types of action-logics: (1) through the advisor’s individual strategies - that is, what the advisors themselves do and (2) through an “allowing” structure, which permits an increased freedom of action for advisors. Advisors' positions and skills are unique in a staff environment, which is important in a decision-making process. These two logics influence one another as well as the credibility of the advisor’s agenda. Research limitations/implications are the following: small sample, lack of representativeness, and lack of illumination of possible gender-related aspects. The suggested model may be valuable in military educational settings.
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| 4. |
- Alvinius, Aida, 1979-
(författare)
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The Inadequacy of Bureaucratic Organizations : Organizational Adaptation through Boundary Spanning in a Civil-Military Context
- 2012
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Ingår i: Res Militaris. - Paris : Res Militaris. - 2265-6294. ; 3:1, s. 1-23
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Tidskriftsartikel (refereegranskat)abstract
- Governmental bodies such as the Armed Forces are examples of bureaucratic organizations characterized by centralized hierarchical structure, rationality, stability, impersonal rules, clear boundaries, responsibility and authority. Critics claim that because of a rigid structure, organizations with a strict vertical hierarchy of authority do not function well in non-routine situations where creativity and flexibility are required. But hierarchy survives by incorporating elements that are not traditionally found in a classically bureaucratic structure. In the military context, liaison officers and military observers are examples of such elements, frequently operating with a high degree of independence between the boundaries of their own organization and its environment. The purpose of this study is to explore how bureaucratic, hierarchically structured organizations can function in a demanding and dynamic environment characterized by life and death situations? 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 shows that military organizations' adaptation to unpredictable environments can be empirically shown to be a balancing act between improvisation and flexibility on the one hand and the pursuit of structure and adherence to established hierarchical order on the other. For adaptation to be possible there must be actors (boundary spanners or links) to implement it, and meeting grounds (temporary organization) on which to work and get their act together.
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| 5. |
- Berg, Annika, et al.
(författare)
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Dissecting Gender Imbalance : A Horizontal Perspective on When Risk Matters for the Assignment of Women to UN Peacekeeping Missions
- 2016
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Ingår i: Res Militaris. - 2265-6294. ; :2
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Tidskriftsartikel (refereegranskat)abstract
- Despite efforts to improve the gender balance in UN peacekeeping missions, the overall proportion of female military peacekeepers is still low. This article focuses on the methodological challenges involved in examining gender balance in international missions. By bringing a horizontal analysis to bear on the proportion of women in UN peacekeeping missions, the study shows how different factors influence that proportion among contingent troops and military observers, respectively. Earlier research has pointed to the fact that the proportion of women is lower in high-risk missions because of the influence of military masculinities in assignments. The authors argue that when examining such a relationship, the different nature of the two groups - contingent troops and military observers, and how prone they are to combat and risk - must be considered and is best approached through a horizontally disaggregated line of analysis. The horizontal study outlined in this article confirms that such a relationship exists as regards contingent troops, but not among military observers. Its findings primarily show the relevance of a horizontally disaggregated analysis when examining factors that influence gender balance in international missions. Secondly, it suggests that other factors than the influence of military masculinities and the prevalence of mission risk also affect the proportion of women among military observers and similar groups in international missions. The authors conclude by stressing the need for future research to identify the factors that underpin assignment to different military functions, not least when it comes to servicewomen.
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| 7. |
- Engelkes, Torbjörn, et al.
(författare)
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Loyal to the end : Examining the meaning of loyalty among high-ranking military officers
- 2023
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Ingår i: Res Militaris. - 2265-6294. ; 13:3, s. 936-953
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Tidskriftsartikel (refereegranskat)abstract
- Organizations need co-workers who are committed to common goals and that are loyal to the core values of the organization.[1] The conscious fostering of organizational core values is seen as an important tool in creating loyal co-workers and hence an effective organization.[2] Professions with a strong vocational calling such as medicine (Kallin, 2010), the police (Ewin, 1990 ; Foust, 2018) or the military[3] have particular demands on loyalty to certain core values, and individuals are expected to adopt these as their own. However, organizational core values can be contradictive (Billig, 1988) and sometimes in conflict with the individual´s own core values which – when incompatible – can in turn cause severe moral stress and mental illness.[4] This implies a need for clarification about what is expected from members of an organization concerning the objectives and manifestations of core values. In terms of loyalty, the military profession is possibly one of the most demanding, expecting individuals to risk their own lives and to kill other human beings for the benefit of the organizational goals. However, since misplaced loyalty can cause destructive,[5] and unethical behaviour[6] with enormous consequences – especially in the military (Winslow, 1998) – there is a need to be clear about what kind of loyalty behaviour is constructive and vice versa. Although loyalty is a concept that seems to be defined in many different ways, the number of studies of loyalty and its meaning are quite limited - especially in military research.[7] The overall purpose of this study is to broaden understanding of the meaning of loyalty within the military. Because important core values of an organization are set – or strongly influenced[8] – by its leaders,[9] the aim of this study was to explore how high-ranking officers in the Swedish Armed Forces (SAF) give meaning to their own personal experiences of loyalty and to describe possible common patterns within the participant group. [1] Wieseke, Alavi & Habel, 2014.[2] Berghaus & Cartagena, 2013.[3] Huntington, 1985 ; Moskos & Wood, 1988 ; Kirkhaug, 2009 ; Olsthoorn, 2011 ; Beard, 2014.[4] Molendijk, Kramer & Verweij, 2018.[5] Gabriel, 1982 ; Connor, 2010.)[6] Umphress & Bingham, 2011.[7] Olsthoorn, 2011 ; Connor, Andrews, Noack-Lundberg & Wadham, 2019.[8] Larsson, Haerem, Sjöberg, Alvinius & Bakken, 2007.[9] Fergusson & Milliman, 2008 ; Oh, Cho & Lim, 2018.
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| 8. |
- Engelkes, Torbjörn, et al.
(författare)
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Loyal to the End (?) : Examining the Meaning of Loyalty among High-Ranking Military Officers
- 2023
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Ingår i: Res Militaris. - 2265-6294. ; 13:3, s. 936-953
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Tidskriftsartikel (refereegranskat)abstract
- Organizations need co-workers who are committed to common goals and that are loyal to the core values of the organization.1 The conscious fostering of organizational core values is seen as an important tool in creating loyal co-workers and hence an effective organization.2 Professions with a strong vocational calling such as medicine (Kallin, 2010), the police (Ewin, 1990; Foust, 2018) or the military3 have particular demands on loyalty to certain core values, and individuals are expected to adopt these as their own. However, organizational core values can be contradictive (Billig, 1988) and sometimes in conflict with the individual´s own core values which – when incompatible – can in turn cause severe moral stress and mental illness.4 This implies a need for clarification about what is expected from members of an organization concerning the objectives and manifestations of core values. In terms of loyalty, the military profession is possibly one of the most demanding, expecting individuals to risk their own lives and to kill other human beings for the benefit of the organizational goals. However, since misplaced loyalty can cause destructive,5 and unethical behaviour6 with enormous consequences – especially in the military (Winslow, 1998) – there is a need to be clear about what kind of loyalty behaviour is constructive and vice versa. Although loyalty is a concept that seems to be defined in many different ways, the number of studies of loyalty and its meaning are quite limited - especially in military research.7 The overall purpose of this study is to broaden understanding of the meaning of loyalty within the military. Because important core values of an organization are set – or strongly influenced8 – by its leaders,9 the aim of this study was to explore how high ranking officers in the Swedish Aarmed Forces (SAF) give meaning to their own personal experiences of loyalty and to describe possible common patterns within the participant group.
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| 9. |
- Fors Brandebo, Maria, et al.
(författare)
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Influence of IED attacks on leadership : Dealing with the invisible enemy
- 2012
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Ingår i: Res Militaris. - 2265-6294. ; 2:3, Summer/Été
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Tidskriftsartikel (refereegranskat)abstract
- The aim of this study was to gain a deeper understanding of leadership in military operations characterized by the presence of critical incidents (IED attacks). Twenty-one Swedish soldiers and officers (ranking from soldier to colonel) who had experienced IED attacks in Afghanistan during the period 2005-2008 were interviewed, and their responses were analyzed according to grounded theory methodology. A model was developed according to which the essence of military leadership immediately following an IED attack could be summarized as recapturing control over self, the group and the task. The model also illuminates the importance of selected pre-existing conditions and the leader's appraisal/ sensemaking processes. Nine leadership acts of balance were identified, including balanced grief (self), balanced focus on emotional and functional recovery (group), and balanced handling of safety versus necessary risk-taking (task).
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