WHERE GUN ISSUES AND CULTURE INTERSECT
RESEARCH ARTICLES
Overlap Issues in Military / Paramilitary Cultures
These studies examine the cultural, attitudinal, and task convergences between the two main societal institutions authorized to use lethal force. Despite their many shared physical and psychological characteristics, the police and military perform distinct and fundamentally different roles in society. This research explores how the lines between the two converge and become blurred, e.g., when police routinely equip and field SWAT teams; and when combat-trained troops are regularly deployed to fulfill peace-keeping policing duties. Discussion focuses on the role difficulties and task performance concerns this blurring inevitably creates.
(1) Blurring Of Military and Police Functions
(2) Soldiers as Police Officers / Police Officers as Soldiers
(3) Police / Military Convergence as Organizational Mimicry
Creating Leadership Cultures
This research explores the role of individual leadership in creating committed, effective organizational cultures; and the role of organizational culture and group dynamics in creating aspirational, transformational individuals. Article (1) represents the approach that the U.S. Military Academy has long used in developing junior officers, while Article (3) examines the crucial impact group interaction has on the emergence of needed leadership. Article (2) explores the potential power strong leadership has on the performance of stress-fatigued teams.
(1) Be-Know-Do Leadership Model
(2) Resiliency through Leadership
(3) Leadership in Dangerous Contexts
Defining Complex Tasks / Measuring Task Performance
The last two studies examine the nature of work, particularly complicated work. What makes a job / task “hard” or “difficult” or “complex”? Although colloquially we may use these terms interchangeably, they are clearly not the same. One task may be “hard” and “difficult” (e.g., hand-digging a house foundation) but not complex. Another may be “complex” (e.g., developing a corporate strategy) but not physically hard. Article (1) examines the characteristics that make jobs complex, while Article (2) demonstrates that, even for simple jobs, measuring effective performance is usually not straightforward and, if not done thoroughly, is fraught with pitfalls for the unwary manager. Done properly, the development of appropriate performance metrics not only results in better job assessment but may serve also as a valuable exercise in team development and culture.