Organizing doubt : grounded theory, army units and dealing with dynamic complexity / Eric-Hans Kramer.

Format:

Book

Author/Creator:

Kramer, Eric-Hans, author.

Series:

Advances in organization studies.

Advances in Organization Studies

Language:

English

Subjects (All):

Armies--Organization.

Armies.

Self-organizing systems.

Crisis management.

Organizational change.

Physical Description:

1 online resource (277 p.)

Edition:

1st ed.

Place of Publication:

Frederiksberg, Denmark : Copenhagen Business School Press, 2007.

Summary:

Military organizations operate in complex environments and difficult circumstances. During deployment, armies are confronted with dangers, cunning enemies, unexpected changes, and a general level of uncertainty. The obvious implication is that armies need to be able to deal with complexity, or dynamic complexity as it will be labeled in this book.Ã?Â?Ã?Â?This study develops an analytical framework that is composed of different ingredients of formal theory. Central to this framework is the idea that the ability to 'doubt' is of crucial importance for organizations that are confronted with dynamic complexity. From this it follows that organizations need to organize their ability to doubt in such environments. The framework is used to analyze the way military units of the Dutch Armed Forces, when deployed to perform peace operations, dealt with dynamic complexity. Subsequently, it is analyzed how specific organizational characteristics of the mother organization in the Netherlands influenced the ability of the deployed units to organize doubt.

Contents:

Intro

Organizing Doubt - Grounded Theory, Army Units and Dealing with Dynamic Complexity

Copyright

Preface and Acknowledgements

Table of Contents

Introduction

Central issues

The concept of dynamic complexity

Experiences of military organizations with the challenges of dynamic complexity

Peace operations and conventional military operations

The methodological approach

Organizing Doubt

The different parts of this study

Part I: The architecture of this study

Chapter 1: The architecture of this study

1.1 The background

1.2 The starting point of this study

1.3 The relevance of the core concept

The problems of operational units in the cases

(Potential) danger

Unforeseen situations

The problematic neutral position

No consistent effects of operations

A dispersed way of operating

1.4 The implications of choosing 'dynamic complexity' as a core concept

The implications of choosing dynamic complexity as a core concept

The consequences for this study: the issue of design

1.5 The goal and central questions of this study

The relevance of the study

Central questions

Conceptual model

Important definitions

1.6 An overview

Chapter 2: Methodological considerations

2.1 Methodological characteristics of the case studies

Research projects at the Military Academy

Exploratory phase

Specification phase

2.2 Methodological structure of this study

Research strategy

Part Four

Part Five

Selection of the cases

Data collection

Data analysis

Analytical framework

Research Process

2.3 Methodological position

Pragmatism

Selectivity: heuristics and maps

Analytical abduction

Normative claims and causation

The substantive theory and usefulness

Part II: Analytical framework: Dealing with dynamic complexity.

Chapter 3: Systems theory as background

3.1 Connecting multiple levels of explanation

The circularity of agency and structure

3.2 Systems theory as a macro theoretical framework

3.3 A history of systems theory

Three paradigms

3.4 Dynamic complexity and the problem of openness

Making a system/environment distinction

3.5 Final remarks

Chapter 4: The concept of dynamic complexity and the organizing problem

4.1 The basic problem of dealing with dynamic complexity

A problematic environment

The organizing problem

4.2 The problem of openness as the essence of the organizing problem

4.3 Final remarks

Chapter 5: A model of dealing with dynamic complexity

5.1. A description of meaningful action

5.2 A model of organizing

The various elements in the model

The dynamic process portrayed by the model

The connection between acting and thinking

Contradiction in the body of hypotheses

5.3 Positioning Weick

Traces of self-referential thinking

Structuration in Weick

The consequences for this study

Chapter 6: Normative aspect of the organizing model

6.1 Normative elements in the organizing model

The importance of doubt

6.2 The concept of doubt and its intricacies

Doubt as the foundation of self-organization

6.3 Organizing doubt

6.4 The influence of design on operational units

6.5 Weick and 'naturalistic decision-making'

6.6 Final remarks

Chapter 7: Doubt and argumentation

7.1 The concept of 'argumentation'

7.2 Similarities between Billig and Weick

Premises of rhetorical psychology

The structuring and de-structuring effects of argumentation

7.3 Argumentation and its subtleties

7.4 Consequences of the previous discussions

7.5 Conclusions from part two

Part III: Analytical framework: Organizing doubt in an organizational system.

Chapter 8: Organizing doubt

8.1 What is well-organized argumentation?

Organizing and argumentation

8.2 Perspectives on organizing argumentation

Meaningful argumentation as a complicated concept

8.3 Analyzing the organization of doubt in the cases

8.4 Organizing argumentation: Billig and Habermass

Why Billig's account on argumentation is preferred

8.5 Final Remarks

Chapter 9: Doubt and the organizational structure

9.1 The influence of organizational structure on argumentation

9.2 Analyzing self-organizing potential in the cases

1. Create the whole in the parts

2. Requisite variety

3. Redundancy

4. Minimal critical specification

5. Double-loop learning ('learning to learn')

9.3 Implications of the previous discussions

Chapter 10: Leadership and the internal structure of argumentation

10.1 Dynamic complexity and self-organizing units

10.2 Leadership in a self-organizing unit

Deficiencies in group functioning

10.3 The spirit of contradiction

10.4 Specific influence of leaders on argumentation

Selecting topics for debate

Providing expert knowledge

Attending the process of debate

Influencing the external structure of debate

10.5 Vision and argumentation

10.6 Analyzing leadership in the cases

10.7 Engaging the object of study: The function of the analytical framework

Part IV: Analyzing the cases

Chapter 11: Peace operations according to the Army

11.1 Peace operations according to the doctrine

11.2 'Peace operations' as a fuzzy category

11.3 Peace operations and complexity

Mission Command

11.4 An illustration: KFOR (1999)

11.5 The Army and dealing with dynamic complexity

Chapter 12: The Logistic and Transport Battalion

12.1 General Description

The operational units

The rotation policy

12.2 Dealing with dynamic complexity.

Practical problems of operational units

Tackling the practical problems

12.3 The structure of the operational units

The whole in the parts

Requisite variety

Redundancy of functions

Minimal critical specifications

Double-loop learning

12.4 Leadership

12.5 The resulting hypotheses

Chapter 13: SFOR

13.1 General description

The nature of the elements

13.2 Dealing with dynamic complexity

Practical problems for operational units

13.3 The structure of the operational units

13.4 Leadership

Leaders as spiders in the information web

Leaders as managers of information

Leaders as clarifiers of the 'framework of meaning' surrounding the operations

Leaders as protectors of those at the operational level

13.5 The resulting hypotheses

Chapter 14: Dutchbat

14.1 General description

14.2 Dealing with dynamic complexity

14.3 The structure of the operational units

Minimal critical specification

14.4 Leadership

Leaders as managers of the internal affairs of units

Leaders as arguers about the usefulness of the mission

14.5 The resulting hypotheses

14.6 Final remarks

Part V: The influence of the mother organization

Chapter 15: The influence of the mother organization

15.1 Indications of the influences of the mother organization

Differences between the cases

Similarity

15.2 The influence of structural characteristics of the mother organization.

15.3 The ambitions of the reflection

Chapter 16: The Army doctrine and dealing with dynamic complexity

16.1 A description of the doctrine

16.2 The military doctrine and the analytical framework

The definition of complexity

The concept of self-organization

'Situations' for Mission Command

Implementation of initiative

Operational units that are 'out of control'

16.3 The military doctrine and the SFOR case

16.4 Hypotheses about the influence of the doctrine

Chapter 17: The influence of the organizational structure

17.1 The organizational structure of the mother organization

Crisis organizations according to the Army

17.2 The influence of the assembly process

The process of assembly and the organizational structure

The 'direction' of assembly

17.3 The direct effect of the organizational structure

Not made for crisis operations

17.4 Hypotheses about the influence of theorganizationalstructure

Chapter 18: The influence of leadership structures

18.1 The nature of the leadership structures

18.2 The leadership structures

The organizational structure

Command and control

The distinction between officers and soldiers

18.3 The education of leaders

Socialization

Isolation

The intellectual climate at the Academy

18.4 Hypotheses about the influence of leadership

Part VI

Chapter 19: Implications of the reflection

19.1 The substantive theory

19.2 Proposals for future research

Proposal 1: 'further research is necessary'

Proposal 2: The Army and self-organization

Proposal 3: Changing the organizational structure

Proposal 4: Leadership as a problem

Proposal 5: A psychoanalytic approach to organizational change

19.3 Final remarks

Appendix I

Appendix II

References to the Logtbat case study

References to the SFOR case study.

References to the Dutchbat case study.

Notes:

Description based upon print version of record.

Includes bibliographical references and indexes.

Description based on print version record.

ISBN:

87-630-0306-6

OCLC:

935248849