Mission command: A self-determination theory perspective

It is well documented that leadership behavior influences employees’ motivation. In particular are autonomy-supportive leadership styles associated with desirable outcomes through basic psychological needs satisfaction and subsequent autonomous motivation. Mission Command, a leadership philosophy endorsed by the armed forces of many nations, can be considered autonomy-supportive and should therefore foster motivational outcomes beyond effective mission execution. Despite this, research on the relationship between mission command and soldiers’ motivation is currently lacking. In the current study, an instrument was developed to measure the perceived degree of mission command behavior. Using structural equation modeling, the instrument was then used to examine the relationship between perceived degree of mission command, basic psychological needs satisfaction and autonomous motivation, as well as soldiers’ job satisfaction and turnover intention. The empirical sample comprised 286 respondents from three different rapid-reaction forces in the Norwegian Home Guard. The results indicate that mission command was not directly related to autonomous motivation. However, there was a direct relationship between mission command and the satisfaction of the need for autonomy, and a significant indirect effect of mission command on autonomous motivation through satisfaction of the need for autonomy. Moreover, there was a positive relationship between autonomous motivation and job satisfaction and a negative relationship between autonomous motivation and turnover intention. Taken together, this study suggests that mission command leadership behaviors can contribute to basic needs satisfaction, promote soldiers’ autonomous motivation and job satisfaction, and reduce turnover intention. Practical and theoretical implications are discussed.publishedVersio

Multiteam Systems Handling Time-Sensitive Targets: Developing Situation Awareness in Distributed and Co-located Settings

There is an increasing interest in how to organize operations carried out by multiteam systems (MTS). Large MTS typically operate with a dedicated integration team, responsible for coordinating the operation. We report a study of a military multiteam system that prosecute time-sensitive targets. We asked whether and how the integration team’s efficiency depends on its communication setting. Specifically, we studied how a co-located vs. a distributed communications setting influenced the shared situation awareness and whether the shared situation awareness again influenced the outcome of the decision processes. We found that performance fell when the integration team shifted from a co-located to a distributed setting. The fall in performance seemed to be mediated by a corresponding fall in situation awareness. Moreover, while the performance improved for each run in the co-located setting, we did not see such learning in the distributed setting. Qualitative observations revealed that misunderstandings lasted longer in a distributed configuration than in a co-located setting. We found that situation awareness at level 3 was the only level of situation awareness significant for predicting all dimensions of performance. Implications for theory, research, and practice are discussed.publishedVersio

Idéen om språkets konstruktive muligheter som tema i Ezra Pounds og Marshall McLuhans kulturkritikk : En lesning av tekstene Guide to Kulchur og The Gutenberg Galaxy The Making of Typographic Man

Denne oppgaven er et forsøk å beskrive innholdet i Ezra Pounds (1885-1972) og Marshall McLuhans (1911-1980) kulturkritikk. Gjennom en lesning av særlig Ezra Pounds Guide to Kulchur (1938) og Marshall McLuhans The Gutenberg Galaxy the Making of Typographic Man (1962). Pound og McLuhan forestiller seg en tanke om et erfaringsnært språk som står i motsetning til en språkpraksis som fjerner seg fra en konkret bruk av språket. Det finner sted et forfall til en situasjon der språket blir abstrakt og følger regler, systemer eller teknikker som lever sitt eget liv på siden av språkets erfaringsmessige sammenheng. De abstrakte systemene som overtar for en nærværende språkpraksis utgjør for Pound og McLuhans en illegitim situasjon. Oppgaven er et forsøk på å differensiere de to forfatternes synspunkter. Selv om det er slik at Pound og McLuhan deler premissene om det abstrakte språkets overtak synes det som det er grunnleggende forskjeller mellom historisk kontekst for dannelsen av kritikken av abstraksjoner. Pound skriver blant annet i forlengelsen av en modernistisk estetisk kritikk, McLuhan skriver ut fra et klarere definert dannelsesprosjekt i tråd med nyere engelsk kulturkritikk. Når det gjelder det innholdsmessige i kritikken er det også forskjeller. Som eksempel ser mcLuhan teknikk som en lukking av språkets sanselige muligheter, Pound har ingen slik kritikk av teknikk. Del 1 er et forsøk på en rekonstruksjon av Pounds kritiske posisjon. Vi diskuterer Pounds tanker i særlig grad med hensyn til kritikken av abstraksjoner slik den forekommer i Guide to Kulchur. I del 2 vurderer vi Pounds kritikk av abstrakt språk innenfor en videre historisk kontekst, særlig med henblikk på debatten med Thomas Stearns Eliot. Vi diskuterer Marshall McLuhans synspunkter omkring språk og abstraksjoner i del 3 i en utlegning både av samspillet med Pound og en videre kritisk offentlighet og ved en undersøkelse av tanken om abstraksjoner i The Gutenberg Galaxy. I del 3 drøfter vi innenfor rammen av våre undersøkelser Pound og McLuhans respektive synspunkter på språklig abstraksjon

Multiteam Systems Handling Time-Sensitive Targets: Developing Situation Awareness in Distributed and Co-located Settings

There is an increasing interest in how to organize operations carried out by multiteam systems (MTS). Large MTS typically operate with a dedicated integration team, responsible for coordinating the operation. We report a study of a military multiteam system that prosecute time-sensitive targets. We asked whether and how the integration team’s efficiency depends on its communication setting. Specifically, we studied how a co-located vs. a distributed communications setting influenced the shared situation awareness and whether the shared situation awareness again influenced the outcome of the decision processes. We found that performance fell when the integration team shifted from a co-located to a distributed setting. The fall in performance seemed to be mediated by a corresponding fall in situation awareness. Moreover, while the performance improved for each run in the co-located setting, we did not see such learning in the distributed setting. Qualitative observations revealed that misunderstandings lasted longer in a distributed configuration than in a co-located setting. We found that situation awareness at level 3 was the only level of situation awareness significant for predicting all dimensions of performance. Implications for theory, research, and practice are discusse

Multiteam Systems Handling Time-Sensitive Targets: Developing Situation Awareness in Distributed and Co-located Settings

There is an increasing interest in how to organize operations carried out by multiteam systems (MTS). Large MTS typically operate with a dedicated integration team, responsible for coordinating the operation. We report a study of a military multiteam system that prosecute time-sensitive targets. We asked whether and how the integration team’s efficiency depends on its communication setting. Specifically, we studied how a co-located vs. a distributed communications setting influenced the shared situation awareness and whether the shared situation awareness again influenced the outcome of the decision processes. We found that performance fell when the integration team shifted from a co-located to a distributed setting. The fall in performance seemed to be mediated by a corresponding fall in situation awareness. Moreover, while the performance improved for each run in the co-located setting, we did not see such learning in the distributed setting. Qualitative observations revealed that misunderstandings lasted longer in a distributed configuration than in a co-located setting. We found that situation awareness at level 3 was the only level of situation awareness significant for predicting all dimensions of performance. Implications for theory, research, and practice are discussed