Logo: to the web site of the Swedish Defence University

"Factors Affecting Ethical Leadership” shows that the ethical behavior of leaders is the most important factor in shaping an organization’s ethical climate. Representatives from ten countries, Canada, Australia, Czech Republic, Finland, Greece, Netherlands, Slovenia, Sweden, United Kingdom and United States of America participated in the research, with six (Canada, Australia, Finland, Netherlands, Sweden and the USA) able to collect data. The goals of RTG HFM-304 included identifying the individual, situational, and organizational variables predictive of ethical leadership, developing a model of ethical leadership, and collating best practice in military ethics education amongst NATO and Partner for Peace (PfP) countries. Findings evidence that ethical leadership is strongly associated with values, in particular with value achievement (e.g., setting high standards and striving for excellence) and person-environment fit. Leaders who have the ability to address an ethical dilemma tend also to be those with high standards, a firm foundation in values (such as helping others and generosity) and belief that their institution shares these values. To engender ethical cultures and attract, train and sustain principled leaders, there is a need for military institutions to emphasize values, reinforce ethical decision-making and promote and value-informed ethical leadership from the beginning.

En ledares förmåga att leda påverkas i stor utsträckning av yttre omständigheter. Trots detta finns få böcker som denna som behandlar ledarskap, organisationsutveckling och medarbetarskap utifrån kontextfaktorer. I särskilt fokus är organisationer som arbetar i påfrestande kontexter. Författarna beskriver hur ledarskapet påverkas av exempelvis samhällsförändringar och yttre kriser såväl som av organisatoriska problem och andra typer av faktorer som omger ledaren.

När en kris inträffar ska en organisation kunna agera snabbt. Som ledare kan det finnas många mål och perspektiv att ta i beaktande, samtidigt som beslut måste fattas – ofta under tidspress och med bristande beslutsunderlag. I boken beskrivs ledarskapsutmaningar som uppstår till följd av kontextfaktorer i kombination med krissituationers ovisshet och oförutsägbarhet. Författarna presenterar också ett antal verktyg som stöd för analys och agerande i olika situationer.

Ledarskapets kontext vänder sig till personer som studerar ämnen relaterade till krig, kris och säkerhet, men även till yrkesverksamma i insatsorganisationer som vill fördjupa sig i faktorer som påverkar ledarens förmåga att verka under svåra och ibland farliga betingelser.

Background: Answering calls for an interactionist approach that would help clarify the complexity of organizational socialization, this study applied a person-centered analytic approach aiming to examine the role of proximal socialization outcome profiles for distal outcomes. Organizational socialization concerns the learning and adjustment process enabling newcomers to adapt to an organizational role. Proximal outcomes (or adjustment indicators) are assumed to reflect how well individuals adjust on their way to become organizational insiders, while distal outcomes reflect the ultimate organizational socialization outcomes. Thus, proximal outcomes precede distal outcomes, mediating effects of various organizational and individual socialization factors (known as antecedents) that foster the socialization process.

Method: In this study, a person-centered analytic approach was used to examine the role of proximal socialization outcome profiles for distal outcomes. Data from new police officers in Sweden (N = 430), from three time points (T0 = Application process [spring 2008], T1 = Near end of field training [end of 2010], and T2 = Near end of first work year [end of 2011]), were analyzed. First, latent profile analysis (LPA) was performed to identify proximal outcomes profiles. Then, the identified profiles were validated by a complementary analysis, which examined differences in antecedents and distal socialization outcomes among officers with different profiles.

Results: Among the new police officers, three proximal outcome profiles were identified – a vulnerable (35%), a troublesome (11%), and a successful (54%) – with profiles exhibiting distinct patterns in the proximal outcome indicators role conflict, task mastery, and social integration. Complementary analysis showed subgroup differences in some antecedents (e.g., personality and psychosocial working conditions) and distal outcomes (e.g., organizational commitment, job satisfaction, and work-related anxiety), thus emphasizing the role of personality and psychosocial working conditions in organizational socialization.

Implications: The study showed that proximal socialization outcome indicators may form profiles that characterize subgroups of newcomers following different socialization paths. Depicting how the socialization process may differ among subgroups is a significant theoretical contribution that adds nuance to traditional stage models. Findings also emphasize that both psychosocial working conditions and personality are important antecedents, which support viewing organizational socialization as an interactive process including both the individual and the environment. Accordingly, the study suggests the person-centered approach as promising for gaining new insights regarding organizational socialization processes. Further, this study indicates that the socialization process was successful for most new police officers. Still, for a fairly large proportion (i.e., the Vulnerable and Troublesome groups), the proximal outcome profiles indicated a less favourable adjustment. The differences in proximal outcome profiles suggest that the Troublesome and the Vulnerable groups struggled with somewhat different adjustment challenges, which may yield organizational challenges. From an applied perspective, the findings suggest that targeting the challenges and needs that characterize different groups of newcomers may help organizations to tailor actions facilitating learning and adjustment among newcomers. Moreover, to facilitate newcomers’ socialization, organizations may also benefit from monitoring newcomers’ experiences of their working climate as well as their personality.

Answering calls for an interactionist approach that would help clarify complex relationships among organizational socialization variables, this study applied a person-centered analytic approach aiming to examine the role of proximal socialization outcome profiles for distal outcomes. This approach is novel to organizational socialization research, contrasting the variable-centered approach dominating the field. Data from new police officers in Sweden (N = 430) were analyzed using latent profile analysis (LPA). Three proximal outcome profiles - a vulnerable (n = 151), a troublesome (n = 47), and a successful (n = 232) - were identified, with distinct patterns in the proximal outcome indicators role conflict, task mastery, and social integration. Complementary analysis showed subgroup differences in some antecedents and distal outcomes, which emphasized the role of personality and psychosocial working conditions. Thus, the findings show that proximal socialization outcome indicators may yield profiles characteristic of subgroups of newcomers who follow different socialization paths. Importantly, the findings show that a person-centered approach can add nuance to the understanding of how socialization processes differ among newcomers. While these results are promising, their generalizability to other professions and organizations remains to be investigated, which calls for continued person-centered research of organizational socialization processes.

This study uses the full-range leadership model to argue that on days when leaders engage in transformational leadership behaviors, they identify follower strengths and stimulate followers to show personal initiative. We propose that transformational leadership is related to follower work engagement and performance through follower strengths use and personal initiative. Moreover, we hypothesize that followers' personal initiative is most effective when followers use their strengths. A total of 57 Norwegian naval cadets filled out a diary booklet for 30 days (response = 72.6%; n = 1242). Multilevel modeling analyses largely supported our hypotheses. On the days when leaders used transformational leadership behaviors such as intellectual stimulation and individual consideration, followers were more likely to use their strengths and take initiative. These behaviors, in turn, predicted next-day work engagement and next-day job performance. Moreover, followers’ personal initiative was particularly related to work engagement when strengths use was high rather than low. We discuss how these findings contribute to the leadership literature by showing how leaders inspire their followers to lead themselves. In addition, we elaborate on the practical implications for leadership training.

Det är i de mest extrema situationer vi ofta finner människans mest onda och grymma handlingar. Men det är även där individer ofta uppvisar tapperhet, lojalitet och osjälviskt riskerar sitt eget liv för att hjälpa andra. När vi kan förstå mänskliga reaktioner i extrema situationer blir vi bättre rustade att fungera i dem, men också att förstå många fenomen vi omges av i vardagen. Stridens psykologi tar bland annat upp psykologiska aspekter på ondska, våldsutövning, fångenskap, tortyr och att möta döden. Men den diskuterar också coping, överlevnad och vägen tillbaka efter att ha upplevt extrema situationer, såsom krig. Boken tar sin utgångspunkt hos soldater i strid. Resonemangen är dock tillämpbara även för andra yrkesgrupper som regelmässigt arbetar i extrema situationer eller möter människor i kris såsom poliser, brandmän, sjukvårdspersonal, psykologer och präster. Men kriser drabbar inte bara yrkesfolk. Över 80 procent av oss kommer under vår livstid att uppleva något potentiellt traumatiserande, och denna bok kan göra dig bättre rustad att hantera det

This book taps into discussions about social vulnerability, empowerment, and resistance in relation to disaster relief and recovery. It disentangles tensions and dilemmas within post-disaster empowerment, through a rich ethnographic narrative of the work of Occupy Sandy in Rockaway, New York City, after Hurricane Sandy in 2012. It details both a remarkable collaborative relief phase, in which marginalized communities were empowered to take active part, as well as a phase of conflict and resistance that came about as relief turned to long-term recovery.

This volume particularly aims to understand how community empowerment processes can breach pre-disaster marginalization in the aftermath of disasters. It connects with broader emancipatory literature on dilemmas involved in empowerment ‘from the outside’. In a future of potentially harsher climate related disasters and increased social vulnerability for certain communities, this book contributes to a full and nuanced understanding of community empowerment and vulnerability reduction.

This book will be of interest to sociologists, anthropologists, geographers, political scientists, and urban studies researchers, as well as undergraduate and postgraduate students interested in disaster management, disaster risk reduction, social vulnerability, community empowerment, development studies, local studies, social work, community-based work, and emancipatory theory.

The crisis triggered by Covid-19 has exposed the interdependencies of modern society and sparked interest in local response to protracted and complex crisis situations. There has been a growing awareness and interest in the key roles of political and professional stakeholders, their emotional regulation and how they influence team performance and outcomes in dealing with uncertainty and complex crisis situations. While cognitive and behavioral aspects of crisis leadership are well researched, less is understood about how one can mitigate negative emotions, instill trust, or restore public faith and support of security forces and emergency response teams during crises. In addressing this gap, we propose a simplified conceptual roadmap for research and training of local crisis leadership. In this, we emphasize complex problem solving, team interaction, team context and technology and team training design. These four factors represent significant barriers if neglected. On the other side, they may be considerable force multipliers when better understood and managed. We suggest how seven research and training questions could be linked to the four conceptual factors and guide an evidence-based approach to develop local crisis leadership.

Naval officers must through leadership act well under pressure and be able to develop mature teams. This requires social competence, empathic skills, and a respectful approach to those around you that ensures closeness and durable interaction. Use of safe, free-play cadet-led activities is paramount. Two invariable requirements are set for each cadet – action and justification. Research shows that the Naval Academy’s leadership development program has the desired effect.

Based on the impact of the theoretical big five of teamwork model proposed by Salas et al. (2005), the present study aimed at investigating the model within an operational police simulation. One hundred and sixty-seven frontline police officers participated in the study. Based on path analyses, a reduced model excluding trust and leadership obtained a good fit with the data.

The results provided some support for the model by confirming six out of 10 proposed direct effects and four out of seven indirect pathways. Shared mental models directly affected team adaptability, and backup behavior affects adaptability and team effectiveness. Team orientation affects mutual performance monitoring and backup behavior, and finally, reciprocal monitoring affects backup behavior. Monitoring influenced both team effectiveness and adaptability through backup behavior. Two paths from team orientation towards effectiveness were found. One flowing through monitoring and another through back-up behavior. Our study expands former knowledge of the big five theory by empirically testing the totality of the model and identifying important pathways.

Burnout was originally conceptualized based on experiences of new professionals. Role clarity, task mastery, and social acceptance are recognized as key resources enabling new professionals’ management of the challenges of the new profession. However, relations between these resources and stress, strain, and burnout have not yet been thoroughly investigated at professional entry. Increased understanding of these relations could have implications for strategies to prevent burnout. The aim of the study was to investigate within- and between-individual effects over the first months and relations to burnout at one-year post-entry. Data (n = 322) was collected weekly over the first 13 weeks and again 9 months later. Relationships were modelled using a multilevel regression model and correlation analysis. Results showed that on weeks when participants experienced higher role clarity, task mastery, and social acceptance, they reported significantly less stress, and that participants who experienced higher levels of the resources in general, reported significantly less strain. Levels of the resources at three months were related to symptoms of burnout at 12 months. The study findings provide support of the role of task mastery, role clarity, and social acceptance as resources buffering the impact of demands at professional entry on experiences of stress, strain, and burnout.

In early 2020, decision makers in Stockholm were concerned that intensive care units (ICUs) would fill up because of the massive spread of the coronavirus. Therefore, they decided that a group of doctors, a construction company and the Swedish Armed Forces would build a temporary hospital inside an exhibition hall. Using field study observations and in-depth interviews, this study investigates the role of boundary spanners and leadership in crisis management and team learning. Two types of boundary spanners were prevalent: the 'Leader' and the 'Expert', and together they are crucial for successful crisis management, and for team learning. This study contributes to filling a gap in research regarding the role of boundary spanners in team learning within and across teams. Results show that research into boundary spanners and team learning can use the variables in Edmondson's team learning model for thematic data analysis, and to describe and understand how boundary spanners can contribute to learning within and across teams, when collaborating in the mutual management of crises.

Whereas previous research has focused on the link between (mental and physical) workload and task performance, less is known about the intervening mechanisms influencing this relationship. In the present study, we test the moderating roles of daily recovery and total sleep time in the relationship between work pressure and daily task performance. Using performance and recovery theories, we hypothesized that (a) work pressure relates positively to daily task performance, and that both (b) daily recovery in the form of psychological detachment and relaxation, and (c) total sleep time independently enhance this relationship. Our hypotheses were tested in a 30-day diary study with 110 officer cadets on a cross-Atlantic voyage on a Naval sail ship. The results of multilevel modeling lend support to all three hypotheses. Taken together, our findings suggest that recovery and sleep duration between shifts play a key role in the relationship between daily work pressure and task performance. We discuss the implications of these findings for the stressor-detachment model.

Background 

Empirical research on shared mental models (SMM) in virtual environments are almost non-existent. Pre-hospital emergencies presents an opportunity to examine team processes in virtual teams because the dispatcher is geographically separated from the ambulance and at the same time plays a significant role in coordinating, organizing, obtaining, evaluating, and conveying relevant information to the deployed ambulance. The present study aimed at mapping team behavior and cognition in critical real-life emergency medical missions based on the concept of SMM. 

Methods 

By investigating the frequencies of coordinating mechanisms and team competencies based on voice recordings from real-life missions, differences in team behavior between low and high-complexity missions were investigated. 

Results 

Lower frequencies of team competencies and coordinating mechanisms were found in high compared to low-complexity missions. The results showed a different profile in communication between high and low-complexity missions with more frequent use of both coordinating mechanisms and team competencies in low-complexity missions. Furthermore, the profiles revealed that SMM and closed loop communication were the only coordinating mechanism used, and leadership and team orientation were the only competencies exercised. 

Conclusion 

It was concluded that the lack of visual input of a team member during team interaction could lead to team process loss due to a breakdown of the team into sub-units. Potential improvement of team behavior is discussed within the SMM framework. 

In recent decades there has been an increased emphasis on non-technical skills in medical teams. One promising approach that relates teamwork to medical efficiency is the theory of Shared Mental Models (SMM). The aim of the present study was to investigate the suitability of the Shared Mental Model approach for teamwork between operators in emergency medical communication centers and the first line ambulance personnel in real-life settings. These teams collaborate while working from geographically dispersed positions, which makes them distinct from the kinds of teams examined in most previous research on team effectiveness. A pressing issue is therefore whether current models on co-located teams are valid for medical distributed teams. A total of 240 participants from 80 emergency medical teams participated in the study. A team effectiveness model was proposed based on identified team coordinating mechanisms and the “Big five” team processes. Path analyses showed that SMM was positively associated with team effectiveness (i.e., performance satisfaction and situational awareness) and negatively related to mission complexity. Furthermore, the coordinating mechanisms of SMM and Closed Loop Communication was positively related to “Big five” team scores. However, no effects were found for the “Big five” team processes on effectiveness, which could indicate that the model needs to be adjusted for application to geographically dispersed teams. Possible implications for team training of distributed emergency response teams are discussed.

China’s improving nuclear arsenal, the United States’ deteriorating “strategic ambiguity” policy, and Taiwan’s increasing identification as independent polity raises the prospect of conflict over Taiwan. But the use of nuclear weapons in the Taiwan Straits would happen only under extreme circumstances. This paper argues Beijing is increasing its use of gray-zone tactics with conventional and non-military means below the level of nuclear provocation to tip the cross-straits military balance in its favor. This report first examines China’s aim to achieve unification with Taiwan via its use of threat and use of force in both the nuclear and conventional domains through a close examination of the three historical cross-strait crises. Second, it outlines the geostrategic and geopolitical rationale for continued American support for Taiwan in an era of United States-China competition. Lastly, it explores the role of Taiwan’s consolidating democracy and how Taipei responds to Beijing’s coercion. The report concludes with consideration of how the Taiwan Straits case may affect the possibility of nuclear weapons use in Northeast Asia, including in Japan and on the Korean peninsula.

This report assesses trends in Taiwan’s defense policy and force posture. The Republic of China’s (ROC, Taiwan) armed forces’ primary aim is to deter the People’s Republic of China (PRC, China) from military aggression against Taiwan’s main island and offshore islands. In the event of such a contingency, the ROC armed forces aim to deny the People’s Liberation Army (PLA) the ability to establish mainland China’s rule over Taipei. But Beijing is ratcheting up military pressure on Taiwan to coerce it to accept “peaceful reunification” on Chinese terms. This includes record-setting air incursions into Taiwan’s Air Defense Identification Zone (ADIZ) in October 2021 and the regular holding of military drills and amphibious landings on small islands near Taiwan. As well, in response to the 2022 visit of the US Speaker of the House, Nancy Pelosi, to Taiwan, China held its largest live-fire drills in the Taiwan Strait with the firing of ballistic missiles and the deployment of warships and fighter jets. The exercises simulated a blockade of Taiwan and infringed on Taiwan’s territorial waters. Such scenarios have demonstrated the vulnerabilities in Taiwan’s defense, including a haphazard force structure, lack of readiness, and dependence on US military and diplomatic support.

The United States has recently stated that it would prevent changes to the cross-strait status quo by bolstering Taiwan’s defense against China. As a result, America’s Indo-Pacific allies and partners are considering how to contribute to Taiwan’s defense and deterrence against China. Also, Russia’s invasion of Ukraine has reminded Taiwan and other countries in the Indo-Pacific that the possibility of war in the Taiwan Strait is very real. The willingness with which Japan, South Korea, Australia, Taiwan, and Singapore responded to the Biden administration’s call to sanction Russia and provide assistance to Ukraine suggests that the Indo-Pacific would be looking to Europe for similar support should China provoke conflict. Today, neither Europe nor the Indo-Pacific can continue to hold the notion that “far-away” conflicts will not have political, economic, or strategic repercussions on their own neighborhood.

This report begins by tracing Taiwan’s evolution to a de facto sovereign nation with a unique geopolitical and geostrategic status. It then looks at the country’s military capabilities and modernization plans and examines whether Taipei can meet its objectives to deter and deny China from using force to impose sovereign control over Taiwan. Taiwan is investing in missile defense and asymmetric weapons to signal to China that it would incur high costs if it decided to invade. Should such an invasion occur, Taiwan’s armed forces must meet certain requirements to defend its littoral coast and offshore islands. For China to invade Taiwan, PLA forces would have to dominate the air and sea approaches to Taiwan, land amphibious forces, and deliver sufficient manpower, weapons, logistics, and supplies to achieve control over Taiwan. Such an effort would also mean occupying Taiwan’s offshore islands which could otherwise be used to cut off the PLA from resupply and support from the mainland. Due to their geostrategic position, the islands also serve as an early warning system for Taiwan, the United States, and its allies.

As part of its deterrence effort, Taipei is also attempting to diversify its security partnerships, to increase its standing in the international system, and to raise awareness of the repercussions if China invaded Taiwan. As Taiwan remains reliant on the United States for arms and informal security guarantees under the 1979 Taiwan Relations Act (TRA) and the 1982 Six Assurances, it is focusing on enhancing its partnerships with the United States’ allies in the region. Primarily, these are Japan and Australia, who have a shared interest in countering China in the East and South China Sea. Taipei may also look to European defense manufacturing nations such as France and Germany to obtain technological and military know-how for its indigenous defense industry.

This report continues with an analysis of the regional and international implications of a possible loss of Taiwan’s independence. The United States and its allies have already begun to adjust doctrine and force posture. Regional stakeholders in the Indo-Pacific are also discussing what they can learn from Russia’s invasion of Ukraine to strategically support Taiwan in the event of a conflict with China. This has heated up the debate within Taiwan – as well as between Taipei and Washington – of how ROC armed forces can succeed in defending Taiwan, deterring China from a unilateral attack, and denying China control over Taiwan and its offshore islands.

Moreover, bolstering Taiwan’s defense in the short to medium term would make a lasting contribution to deterring China from aggression and adventurism. Therefore, this report concludes with a set of policy recommendations to hold substantive ex - changes between Taiwan, Europe, and the IndoPacific. The recommendations are based on the assumption that war over Taiwan is not a certainty. Key recommendations include establishing an official dialogue between Taiwanese and Europe - an lawmakers to exchange knowledge on countering foreign interference and disinformation. NATO and Taiwan should set up a working group to raise awareness of the implications to both the IndoPacific and Europe of a conflict in the Taiwan Strait. This could include a wargame about the consequences of a Taiwan Strait conflict on Russia’s calculations in Europe and NATO deployments. Lastly, it would be useful for Taiwan, other Indo-Pacific nations, and European countries to share insights on improving societal resilience and civil defense capabilities. Such joint efforts would signal to China the willingness to punish actions that change the cross-straits status quo. This could contribute to deterring China from conducting a unilateral attack on Taiwan and its territories and might decrease the likelihood of conflict.

This chapter analyses how Nordic health authorities and prime ministers used social media during the first wave of the Covid-19 pandemic. The research questions address the extent to which they interacted with other actors on social media and what communication objectives they pursued in messages to the public. The data consists of health authorities’ Twitter communication and prime ministers’ Instagram posts. The results show that both the health authorities and prime ministers primarily interacted internally with domestic governmental and administrative actors. Still, they pursued different communication objectives. Whereas the health authorities mainly instructed the public on how to act, the prime ministers provided support and appealed for solidarity. National differences are observed. The Danish case stands out, as both the national health authority and the prime minister clearly focused on communicating support to the public.

How organizations engage with gender equality is crucial to them being perceived as fair and attractive employers. As recruitment and training of personnel is a core function of the military organization, it is relevant to investigate this from a gender critical perspective. The aim was to critically examine how a military organization operates in respect of equality of pay between women and men by means of a collective agreement, as an example of how the organization tries to address gender inequality. A qualitative analysis using Bacchi's 'What is the problem represented to be' (2009) analysis of policy documents was conducted. The analysis focuses on how the actual issue is problematized and what is left unproblematised, and the key findings are that efforts to achieve gender equality within the Swedish Armed Forces are counterproductive and result in perpetuating deficiencies in the organization's work with wider gender-equality issues. Despite external pressures, there is a structural reluctance and inability within the Swedish Armed Forces to seriously engage with addressing the organization's gender-equality issues. As resistance to gender-equality work is usually implicit, this study's strongest contribution to the field is that such resistance can be identified as being explicit and therefore more easily challenged.

The purpose of the study is to investigate how the everyday experience of being a man in a male-dominated organization and what navigating the organization is like. The study builds on 15 interviews with men of various ages and ranks in the Swedish Armed Forces. The findings revealed three major themes that illustrate how men, and their actions, contribute to producing and re-producing gendered norms. First, the ideal military person is seen to have characteristics that are predominantly male and even though respondents only identify with these characteristics to some extent, the typical male ideal is still prevalent within the Armed Forces. Second, this image is reproduced by an uncritical stance towards the internal workings of the organization, relating to career paths and their reliance of traditional gendered roles. Third, the Armed Forces encounter resistance to gender equality work from within the military organization, in both action and inactions. We suggest this is due to a resistance to change and that work with gender equality is minimized to a shadow task that lacks committed men. We conclude that men's reality seems both obvious and unreflected, and these structures are upheld within the Armed Forces.

This article investigates one crisis management effort during the COVID-19 pandemics first wave in Stockholm, Sweden. Decision-makers in Stockholm were afraid that intensive care unit beds would run out due to the massive spread of the virus and therefore decided to build a temporary hospital in an exhibition hall outside Stockholm. Using field study observations and interviews, this article uses grounded theory method to describe what happened between two actors, a hospital and a regional administrative body, during this process. These two actors, in this article called the Operational and the Administrative organisations, are two separate but dependent actors who had to collaborate during this crisis. The crisis management process can be seen as forced collaboration. By investigating the different phases of the crisis management, we found that there were conflicting situational assessments, conflicting actions, power play and stereotyping, which contributed to making collaboration and crisis management difficult.

A simulation was conducted to examine the decision making of 102 high-ranking police and military commanders (male/female = 88/12, mean years of employment = 22.15) engaged in a simulated hybrid attack on Norway. Four 2 × 3 repeated-measures ANOVA tests were performed, with two groups (police, military) and three phases (peace, war, and post-conflict) as independent variables. The decision tasks of force posture and mission urgency, along with Subject Matter Expert (SME) ratings of decision-making performance, served as dependent variables. By using social cognitive theory as the theoretical framework, the analysis demonstrated within-group effects indicating how the transition from peace to war caused more offensive postures, higher urgency levels, and increased performance in wartime. Between-group differences were also found, illustrating that police commanders had higher levels of urgency than military commanders in general. Regarding force posture, within-group differences were only found in the post-conflict phase, when police commanders returned to pre-war levels, while military commanders showed less offensive postures than in peacetime. No significant between-group differences were found in decision-making performance. The analysis demonstrated new empirical findings about how crisis management is impacted by change and the backgrounds of those in charge. The findings have implications for designing interagency frameworks that improve police-military interoperability in collaborative efforts.

In this study, a total of 102 high-ranking commanders from a military and police background were included in a simulation involving hybrid attacks on Norway. The aim was to explore the commanders’ decision-making in the context of hybrid warfare and changing threats. Data were collected in a simulated national headquarters and analyzed by a multinominal logistic regression method using a scenario that transformed from peacetime into war and returned to peace. The results demonstrated significant differences in the commanders’ preferences for unilateral or interagency forces depending on whether decisions were made in peacetime, war or the post-conflict phase. The results also showed how the commanders’ level of operational experience was associated with an increased preference for interagency forces. The current findings are new empirical insights into a thus far neglected aspect of decision-making research and have implications for improving police-military interoperability in major security crises.

Raoul Wallenberg is an important role model from the Second World War, and there are many testimonies about his actions and moral courage in historical literature. But the question remains: How did Raoul acquire his remarkable moral courage and firm leadership? One explanation is to be found in his relationship with his grandfather Gustaf, who was Raouls role model and mentor. He developed an individual education plan for his grandson, focusing not only on formal education but also on personal development including worldviews, people skills and practical and strategical leadership. The plan and the importance of role models are discussed from a virtue ethics perspective, with lessons learned about the development of moral courage. 

Work-related negative effects on well-being have increased in frequency and variability, specifically within the public sector and among managers. In the Job Demands-Resources model it is suggested that increased demands reduce well-being and decrease performance, but the research literature demonstrates little research in the context of managers and leadership. The purpose of this study was to investigate variability in work situations among Swedish public sector managers and how this was related to differences in stress, impaired health, work engagement and leadership performance. 267 managers in a mid-sized Swedish municipality responded to a web-based survey and formed six clusters. Three clusters comprising 42% of managers had less favorable working conditions and significantly worse well-being, less frequent transformational and transactional leadership behaviors as well as slightly lower work engagement. A conclusion from the study is that worse managerial working situations may lead to decreased possibilities to perform leadership in an active way.

The study investigates how two-sided military exercises affect learning and participating personnel's ability to perform tasks safely when confronted with an equally matched opponent. Data were collected from two separate events the Northern Wind 2019 Final Planning Conference and the Northern Wind 2019 exercise using participatory observations and shadowing. The outline of the critical incident technique was used as a guide when designing the data collection and the activity theory framework was used for coding and analyzing the data. The results indicate that a driven desire to win two-sided military exercises can create unsafe work practices by performing work tasks without regard for occupational-, electrical- or fire safety. The results also indicate a need for reshaping the conception of a two-sided military exercise by treating the exercise as a learning opportunity and recognizing the impact of the participating unit on each other’s learning. The study is based on the results of one army exercise and requires further research to understand the activities that take place and how they affect learning and safety. However, it gives some insight into the learning problems occurring during military field exercises.

The purpose of this article is to discuss the transformation of Twitter from a usable tool for spreading information to a space for learning. When we talk about different software, we in many cases can’t phantom their outreach and connectivity. Specific software solutions have been integrated into our lives making them a part of ourselves. Specific tools can be designed to enhance specific functions within the software such as automatic accounts spreading keywords users write. Users are humans and perceive their cyber environment in the same way as they perceive human interaction in real life. The transformation changed the tool to an area of operation where different stakeholders can interact with each other. From an intelligence perspective, the distinction between technology and HUMINT no longer serves its purposes of classification – it has merged into one and the same. From the perspective of C2, information technology in itself is still emphasized at the cost of other dimensions, hence obscuring the very mechanisms of how what is only seen as social media in fact is a dimension of itself. While the human dimension is sometimes addressed, there is a dearth of research exploring its workings.

The purpose of this study is to adjust and develop Nordic Safety Climate Questionnaire (NOSACQ-50) specifically for the military domain. Many safety climate instruments have been developed for complex organizations but few with a military perspective including military exercises and physical training. Data were collected during two separate occasions, experiment one (n = 956) and experiment two (n = 377). The questionnaire was distributed to civilian and military personnel working in the Swedish Armed Forces and to military cadets. The results of experiment one was then analyzed using principal component analyses and confirmatory factor analyses, the factor structure was reproduced in experiment two. The results from the study confirmed the reliability and validity of NOSACQ-50 as a safety climate instrument in the military organization. However, several new factors were identified with the military safety climate questionnaire (MSCQ). Physical fitness and exercises are important activities in the military but are less important in other organizations which could explain why it isn’t present in traditional safety climate instruments. This study identifies several limitations one being the design of questions suitable for both military and civilian personnel. Another limitation is combat operations, this data collection recognizes the field but was unable to capture data from actual combat operations. Further research is needed to fully develop more dimensions for both exercises and combat operations.

Both academics and professionals often claim that individuals in defense enterprises with access to the most relevant information and who possess the best situation awareness should decide upon what to do. This claim is typically interpreted as the person closest to the situation should decide, inferring that closeness automatically provides the best situation awareness. This interpretation is problematical however, partly because the term “situation” is undefined and partly because the individual would have to always be provided with information regarding the whole enterprise and also have the possibility to assimilate this information.

This interpretation is probably influenced by prevalent descriptions or models of command and control (C2). The field of C2 research has developed models of C2 covering several different perspectives. Two distinct classes of models are represented in this paper. First, models stemming from an individual perspective, typically focused on decision-making are highlighted. Second, models focused on a systemic and activities perspective on C2 are presented. We refer to these as reference models. This paper provides a  relational analysis between the models of individual decision making and the C2 reference models. The analysis relates key features from the models of individual decision making to cornerstone aspects of the C2 reference models, especially aspects such as centralized/decentralized decision-rights. The discussion covers arguments to why it is important to avoid unreflected and noncritical transfer of features from one class of models to the other.

In the present study, we integrate Person-Organization (P-O) fit and Job Demands-Resources theories to argue that P-O fit (i.e., value congruence between person and organization) is a key resource that facilitates the accumulation and activation of situational job resources. We hypothesize that P-O fit strengthens the well-established positive relationship between job autonomy and job performance. Measures of objective P-O fit were obtained for 43 Norwegian naval cadets before embarking on a training mission onboard a sailing ship. During the mission, we measured daily self-reported autonomy as well as peer-rated task and contextual performance for 30 consecutive days. As predicted, the results of multilevel modeling analyses showed that the relationship between daily autonomy and (a) next- (but not same-) day task performance, and (b) next- (and same-) day contextual performance is stronger positive for individuals high (vs. low) in P-O fit. Moreover, effects of the daily autonomy – P-O fit interaction were noticeable on performance several days after. We discuss the theoretical and practical implications of these findings.