What is the history and current Military organisational structure mechanistic (bureaucratic) or social entities (organic) structure?
Does military organisational structure influence the leadership style of senior military officer and junior military officers in the Military?
Does the leadership style of senior military officer varies from the leadership style of junior military officers? If yes why?
What is the difference between leadership and management in the context of the military organisation.
Does the understanding of leadership and management in the military influence the leadership style of senior military officers and junior military officers?
What is the power distance interaction between senior military officers and subordinates (autocratic or democratic)?
What is the power distance interaction between junior military officers and subordinates (autocratic or democratic)?
What is the power distance interaction between military leadership and managers (autocratic or democratic)?
Transactional Analysis of power distance interactions in the military? Does the interactions between military senior and subordinates influence the leadership styles in the military?
What impact does human behavior influence leadership style?
Does social influence impact leadership style?
Does personal motivations influence leadership style?
The military actually consists of a diverse collection of organizations, roles, cultures, and people” (Wong 659).
“the U.S. military is much like other large public sector organizations in that it has tendencies toward a hierarchical bureaucracy and must remain responsive to the American people” (Wong 660).
“a combined use of men and materials organized and structured to solve a myriad of problems concerning conflicts” (Cowper 231).
“organizes its personnel and applies its resources to solve the various problems and accomplish the various missions necessitating its employment” (Cowper 234).
“an organizational structure that supports top-down decision making and total submission to ensure their authority and status within the hierarchy and retain operational control” (Cowper 238).
“ignore and neglect important organizational concepts and structures that could radically improve their ability to enhance public safety” (Cowper 238).
“Democratic leadership is the epitome of good leadership for some and a contradiction in terms for others” (Deakin 13).
“Democratic leadership does take time, it can be used to avoid decisions and there is clear evidence that it is inappropriate in a genuine crisis” (Deakin 13).
“under an able leader it can generate commitment, trust, initiative and inventive problem solving subordinates” (Deakin 14).
“Authoritarians are often brilliant individuals, who are committed, dedicated, with high personal standards and an unstinting sense of duty” (Deakin 14).
“Extreme authoritarian leadership cultures cannot sit easily with ideas of initiative associated with mission command & intellectual agility” (Deakin 15).
“structure is important for team effectiveness both within the team and as part of the larger organizational system” (Blascovich 36).
“Team leaders can directly influence the mental models, transactive memories, and perceptions of team climate” (Blascovich 36).
“structural frameworks have been used at various times with teams and have been shown to alter team behavior” (Blascovich 37).
“Social changes such as a sudden, or slow, breakdown of respect for authority or credentials can cause dramatic changes in an organization in any society” (Blascovich 37).
“such respect is crucial to the function of military teams” (Blascovich 37).
“As military team members work ever more closely together and yet are dispersed in space and time” (Blascovich 38).
“Frames of reference are the complex knowledge structures we develop through personal and professional experiences that influence the way we approach issues” (Gerras 4).
These ideas are essentially what provide the “set of criteria or stated values that we refer to when we make measurements or judgments” (Gerras 4).
“Therefore, the attribute of openness will affect the lens through which a person builds their frames of reference, along with the willingness to eventually challenge and potentially alter those frames” (Gerras 6).
“There are organizational level factors that can also contribute to the hindrance of corrective action to the faulty thinking processes of senior leaders” (Gerras 13).
“Behavior in relationship-based cultures is regulated through close supervision by authority figures” (Hooker 6).
“Behavior in rule-based cultures is based on respect for rules” (Hooker 6). Compliance can be based on either a personal need to adhere to rules or on a desire to avoid guilt or punishment.
“Management is the process of setting and achieving organizational goals through its functions” (Popovici 126).
Leadership, on the other hand, can be defined as “the ability to influence, to make others follow you, the ability to guide” (Popovici 126).
“A leader is someone who people naturally follow through their own choice, whereas a manager must be obeyed” (Popovici 126).
“leaders have and should have skills to influence beliefs and feelings of others” (Popovici 127).
“Leadership is the art, the application of personal qualities, knowledge, skills, and behavior to influence and inspire others to succeed; and Management is the science, the application of the functions necessary to achieve the aim” (Fielder 17).
In this sense, it is evdient that both, “leadership and management, are essential to ensure that projects and programs are effective” (Fielder 18)
“for commanders, leaders, and managers, it can be stated that in order to learn at all levels of operations, they need to have vision and moral virtue” (Fielder 25).
“The key to improving confidence between these different levels of leaders is predicated on the functionality of the relationships between them” (Steele 1).
“As senior leaders, one can best impact those who are the primary leaders of the units in their organizations and members of their staff” (Steele 2).
“In the organizational world, successful leaders are those who know how to find the common bonds and build solid relationships” (Steele 4).
References
Blascovich, JA 2008, Human Behavior in Military Contexts, National Academies Press.
Cowper, TJ 2000, The Myth of the “Military Model” in Leadership in Law Enforcement, Police Quarterly Vol. 3 No. 3, 228-246.
Deakin, S 2014, Leadership: Proceedings of a Symposium Held at the Royal Military Academy Sandhurst, Sandhurst Occasional Paper No. 18.
Fielder, D 2011, Defining Command, Leadership, and Management Success Factors Within Stability Operations, PKSOI Papers.
Gerras, SJ & Wong, L 2013, Changing Minds in the Army: Why It’s So Difficult and What To Do About It, U.S. Army War College.
Hooker, J 2008, Cultural Differences in Business Communication, Tepper School of Business, Carnegie Mellon University.
Popovici, V 2012, Similarities and Differences Between Management and Leadership. University of Targu Jiu, Economy Series, Issue 2.
Steele, AM 2001, Are The Relationships Between Junior and Senior Leaders In The U.S. Army Officer Corps Dysfunctional? School of Advanced Military Studies United States Army Command and General Staff College.
Wong, L, Bliese, P, & McGurk, D 2003, Military Leadership: A Context Specific Review, U.S. Army Research, Paper 6.
