Challenges in coordination: differences in perception of civil and military organizations by comparing international scientific literature and field experiences.
The extreme pressure resulting from modern-day disasters in terms of severe shortages of resources, mass casualties, infrastructure breakdown, large-scale damage and their impact necessitate coordination between all the agencies involved in . Better coordination in international operations will make them more effective in organizing the different phases of relief, rehabilitation and . Recent disasters such as the hurricane Katrina, the Indian Ocean tsunami and the earthquake in Haiti have seen multiple civil agencies and the military working together. However, challenges have been identified in civil military coordination. Differences in working procedures and a lack of knowledge on the other organizational identities resulted in stereotyping and prejudices, which are root obstacles to coordination. The aim of this study was to identify the perception-related challenges in civil military coordination, and how they are perceived in the field by civil and military teams, and to investigate whether perception-related challenges and their implications have been reported in the international literature. A systematic literature review and 12 semi-structured interviews were carried out to answer these questions. Nine out of the 12 respondents were practitioners from the Swedish Civil Contingencies Agency (MSB) and the Swedish military, with experience of international disaster response missions that involved civil military interactions, and 3 were trainees from Karlberg Military Academy, Stockholm, who were expected to participate in similar operations in the near future. The questions asked during the interviews were based on the systematic literature review. National backgrounds, attitudes and perceptions of the professionals towards the other organization were found to be key factors influencing civil military coordination. This indicates that comparisons between the perceptions of professionals from both civil and military teams with different nationalities and different political histories should be carried out in future research. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]/nCopyright of Journal of Research is the property of Routledge and its content may not be copied or emailed to multiple sites or posted to a listserv without the copyright holder's express written permission. However, users may print, download, or email articles for individual use. This abstract may be abridged. No warranty is given about the accuracy of the copy. Users should refer to the original published version of the material for the full abstract. (Copyright applies to all Abstracts.)
systematic analysisThe responses obtained in the form of different views and perceptions were compared to the themes that had been identified from the literature review.
a systematic literature review and interviews conducted to obtain empirical data
CommunicationInformation managementOrganizational structureOrganizational cultureOrganizational identity
- systematic literature review using the Scopus database- filtering process after the retrieval of resources were inspired by PRISMA (Preferred Reporting Items for Systematic Reviews and Meta-Analyses, a systematic way of reporting scientific literature)12 semi-structured interviews were carriedThe interviewees had taken part in international operations providing either humanitarian assistance following natural disasters or in peacekeeping operations in a setting, involving civil–military coordinationHalf of the interviewees worked for the Swedish Civil Contingencies Agency (MSB), which is the largest Swedish civil responder to disasters
systematic literature review - empirical data were collected Semi-structured interviews allowed to include ‘subjective theories’, spontaneously mentioned by the interviewees while answering open questionsThe interviews were conducted personally or on Skype, based on the availability of the interviewee.
- the amount of research on challenges to civil–military coordination publishedin the scientific literature - the thematic coverage of these challenges to civil–military coordination or the classification of challenges to civil–military coordination under major themes- determine whether civil and military professionals acting in the field identified challenges to civil–military coordination similar to those found in the literature, and whether these could be classified under similar themes.
It is necessary to discuss the generalizability and validity of the findings internationally.
The primary research question addressed in this study – the extent of scientific studies in challenges to civil–military coordination – was answered by identifying specific challenges in civil–military coordination through a systematic literature review and categorizing these challenges under major themes.National backgrounds, attitudes and perceptions of the professionals towards the other organization were found to be key factors influencing civil–military coordination. This indicates that comparisons between the perceptions of professionals from both civil and military teams with different nationalities and different political histories should be carried out in future research.
The aim of this study was to identify the perception-related challenges in civil–military coordination, and how they are perceived in the field by civil and military teams, and to investigate whether perception-related challenges and their implications have been reported in the international literature.
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