Cohesion in a Multinational Coalition Center
Abstract
Military officers from Canada, Denmark, Finland, France, Germany, Israel, Japan, Poland, Singapore, South Korea, Sweden and the United Kingdom formed a Command Center during three, two-week Trials of an experiment. Participants completed surveys examining cohesion three times during each two-week Trial, on days 1, 5, and 8. One item consistently fell below "agree" on a 7-point Likert scale. Participants did not agree that: As a team we feel that we are very similar. Diversity of opinions and experiences were valued according to respondents and commanders who received products from this team. All of the remaining nine items fell within the agree-to-strongly agree area. On interpersonal cohesion, highest agreement was found on items addressing the importance of liking and socializing with team members. On task cohesion, strongest agreement was found between: As a team, we enjoyed the task and As a team, we felt that the task was meaningful. These findings provide insights on how a successful multinational team forms and functions. Participants valued getting to know their coalition partners, with a particular emphasis in gaining an understanding of their military role. Diverse opinions were valued which, according to leaders, led to innovative solutions to assigned tasks. Coalition operations are becoming the norm for military actions (Bensahel 2003) Differences in goals policies and procedures and values can present challenges to forming a cohesive team. This research looked at cohesion within a multinational team of military officers participating in an experiment replicating a stability operation. In the "real world" some of these officers were from countries that were part of a coalition with the U.S. military supporting ongoing operations, while others were from countries that did not support or were opposed to the operation.
Document Details
- Document Type
- Technical Report
- Publication Date
- Jun 01, 2007
- Accession Number
- ADA481215
Entities
People
- Brooke Schaab
Organizations
- U.S. Army Research Institute for the Behavioral and Social Sciences