Officer Socialization as Prelude to in Extremis Leadership

Dalenberg, Sander

doi:10.1007/978-3-319-55059-6_17

Cited by 2 publications

(1 citation statement)

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“…Being a newcomer goes along with having preconceived notions while also trying to meet the organization’s expectations (Ashforth & Mael, 1989), in particular regarding tensions embedded in becoming a manager (Bolander et al, 2019) because of being in a mediating position between the organization and the employee. Although military socialization has gained scholarly attention (Bachman et al, 1987; Goertzel & Hengst, 1971; Janowitz, 1959a; Lippert et al, 1978; Rothacher, 1980), and some recent studies have been published (see Dalenberg, 2019; Franke, 2000; Moelker, 2005), there seem to be few empirical studies of the experience of officers commencing employment in military organizations.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Professional Socialization During Restructuring: A Study of Workload and Career Time

Nilsson

Österberg

2021

Armed Forces & Society

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This article examines the experiences of newly graduated officers and specialist officers, as they recently entered employment in the Swedish Armed Forces. Building on 35 interviews, this article illustrates the dynamics of excessive workload and an unstructured working environment, and how embedded strategies for mentoring and guidance can reduce negative outcomes associated with the workload. The article introduces the concept of career time, reflecting the participant’s propensity to perform unpaid work to pursue a career in the organization. This study reveals tensions between organizational and employee interests, and experiences of exclusion from the officer profession, contextualized drawing on classical theorists Foucault and Habermas. When restructuring organizations, the quest for efficiency can outweigh professional values, such as esprit de corps and taking pride in work and professional identity.

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