This week I had an opportunity to interview Kittma
Boonsirisermsook, a Dental Officer with the United States Navy. Lt. Boonsirisermsook manages a dental clinic
for the military in Southern California (Personal Communication, March 24,
2012). Everyone in her department is
assigned roles and works together in a team environment (Personal
Communication, March 24, 2012).
Employees, both civilian and enlisted, interact constantly with one
another (Personal Communication, March 24, 2012).
Lt. Boonsirisermsook further discussed how she worked in a team
environment when she was given orders by the military to participate in humanitarian
relief in Cambodia (Personal Communication, March 24, 2012). There she worked with both enlisted US
military and local Cambodian dentists and personnel (Personal Communication,
March 24, 2012). Each person was
assigned specific roles and duties were compartmentalized (Personal
Communication, March 24, 2012). For
example, there were stations for extracting teeth, and another for cleaning
instruments (Personal Communication, March 24, 2012). The US did a good job of developing and
fostering relationships with local persons.
This, no doubt, aided in the US Navy being able to provide first class
medical services to the indigent people of Cambodia.
Similarly, in this week’s reading “Coordinating
Expertise Among Emergent Groups Responding to Disasters,” we studied how team
environments interact in emergency situations. There the authors’ state that
“[e]mergent response groups are characterized by a sense of great urgency and
high levels of interdependence.” (Majcharzak, Jarvenpaa, and Hollingshead,
2007, p. 147). People need to know and
understand their roles and how to handle a volatile environment (Majcharzak,
Jarvenpaa, and Hollingshead, 2007).
Majcharzak, Jarvenpaa, and Hollingshead
(2007) further discuss how the relief effort in Hurricane Katrina involved
rescue efforts from various organizations, including the US military, to rescue
the lives of victims of the storm. Similarly,
my conversation with Lt. Boonsirisermsook also discussed this need to
coordinate with various group entities, such as the US Navy coordinating
supplies and resources with the local Cambodian peoples (Personal
Communication, March 24, 2012). Without
this exemplarily teamwork between these groups, it would be unfortunate to
think of all the people who would not have been provided desperately needed
humanitarian relief.
References:
Boonsirisermsook, K. March 24, 2012. Personal Communication.
Majcharzak, A., Jarvenpaa, S., and Hollingshead, A. (2007) Coordinating Expertise Among Emergent Groups Responding to Disasters. Organization Science, 18( 1), 147-161.
Joshua:
ReplyDeleteI thought your post this week was interesting and it sounds like your interview with Lt. Boonsirisermsook gave you some insight to a rather high level of group interaction. Our reading this week also included research on conflicts among teams. What sorts of conflicts within the team environment did Lt. Boonsirisermsook discuss, if any? How were they handled? It would be interesting to find out how a higher level "team" that encompasses a military entity would manage conflict in a team relationship.
Peggy,
DeleteThank you for the comment this week. The military is a very structured organization with a strong culture. While conflicts are certain to occur, I would venture to guess that they are resolved efficiently through the ridged chain of command. Lt. Boonsirisermsook did emphasis that team members know their duties and responsibilities, and hence, follow those orders. Again, I would assume this clarity in the chain of command reduces much of the team conflict.
Hill talks abut team composition and structure, and the need to strike a balance between homogeneity/diversity of team members. You note that Lt. Boonsirisermsook's teams (both on a day-to-day basis and in an emergency setting) were composed of a mix of civilian and enlisted employees. Do you think that having this mix can ever cause tensions in the team? Hill also talks about the role of a manager in shaping team culture. Do you think this might be challenging in a team with individuals who may be accustomed to very different types of organizational cultures?
ReplyDeleteAlso, my apologies because I accidentally "recommended" your post on Google+. I'll see if I can undo this!
Dr. Gould,
DeleteYou bring up a good point about the team environment dealing with the challenges of both civilian and enlisted personnel. I would venture to guess that there is not as much conflict between enlisted and civilian as one would tend to believe. I think this due to the military's uniquely strong culture and a clear chain of command. Lt. Boonsirisermsook emphasized to me that everyone knows their duties and responsibilities and follows those orders.
Moreover, Lt. Boonsirisermsook discussed how every morning they have "quarters," which is quick meeting every morning to discuss what is expected of them for the day (Personal Communication, March 24, 2012). Again, the military is attempting to reduce ambiguity in job responsibilities. Thus, such clarity likely leads to reduced conflict.
Therefore, a person accustomed to a different type of organizational culture will have to learn to adjust accordingly. The military may be ridged, but they are efficient. This efficiency in the chain of command is absolutely necessary, particularly in the emergency and humanitarian relief situations discussed.
This was an interesting interview, Joshua. There are definitely some unique challenges when the military personnel are providing humanitarian aid to third-world countries. There is a ton of coordination and management that needs to take place between the military medical personnel, high level military leadership, the civilian doctors in each of the countries, various governmental organizations in each country, who each have their own priorities and agendas. In this environment, even the simplest task can have international implications. And with these types of pressures weighing upon nearly all the decisions in these fast-moving environments, maintaining a positive and effective team environment can be a major challenge.
ReplyDeleteKen,
DeleteYou are right about there being a lot of coordination amongst the various groups and organizations. In an international setting, this must be considerably more challenging. The job of a military officer is one of constant challenge. I think this interview was helpful in showing the many facets of what the duties and responsibilities are of military personal.