Team Coordination in Extreme Environments: Work Practices and Technological Uses under Uncertainty

The development and coordination of managerial devices to help businesses cope with the numerous challenges they face have been the subject of many empirical analyses in recent years. This books draws from these studies to answer the question of how to coordinate a team in extreme environments. Embracing a practice-based perspective, it identifies work practices and technological uses that improve coordination within teams. Organizations need to know how to support the coordination of teams that evolve in highly changing, uncertain and risky contexts. Beyond reviewing current literature on the analysis of coordination in the field, the author draws on military case studies and illustrations to offer readers practical ways to implement devices that facilitate coordination within teams.

Table of Contents:
Introduction ix Chapter 1. Extreme Environment and Management Situations 1 1.1. The extreme environment: what is it about? 1 1.2. Various management situations in the extreme environment 2 1.2.1. Routine activities, unexpected events and crises: a typology of management situations in the extreme environment 3 1.2.2. Routine, crisis and unexpected situations: a characterization 4 1.3. Coordination in the extreme environment: shifting from one management situation to another 12 Chapter 2. Team Coordination: What the Theory of Organizations has to Say 15 2.1. Classical theories of coordination 15 2.1.1. Predetermined coordination 16 2.1.2. The limited contribution of classical theories to the analysis of team coordination in the extreme environment 19 2.2. “Practice-based” coordination: putting back actors at the center of coordination 22 2.2.1. The “practice” turn in management science 22 2.2.2. What contribution does the practical perspective bring to the study of team coordination? 25 Chapter 3. Coordination Practices in the Extreme Environment: Communication, Reflexivity and Socialization 29 3.1. Communication practices 29 3.1.1. Shared languages: code words, diagrams and body expressions 30 3.1.2. Technological uses: improving communication through information sources and flow 37 3.1.3. Communication practices: a synthesis 44 3.2. Reflexive practices 45 3.2.1. Briefing–debriefing in the French Air Forces squadrons 45 3.2.2. Reflexive practices in debriefing sessions 46 3.2.3. Reflexive practices: a synthesis 51 3.3. Socialization practices 52 3.3.1. The squadron bar: where common knowledge is built 52 3.3.2. Cohesive activities that convey team values and build mutual trust 54 3.3.3. Socialization practices: a synthesis 56 3.4. Coordination in the extreme environment: articulation of communication, reflexive and socialization practices 56 Chapter 4. Can Coordination in the Extreme Environment be Learned? A Managerial Approach 61 4.1. Necessary individual and collective skills for coordination in an extreme environment 62 4.1.1. From theoretical to practical knowledge: practices, knowledge and skills 62 4.1.2. Skills needed for coordination in extreme environments: the example of tactical airlifter crews 64 4.2. Setting up a process of “immediate” feedback: the case of the Air Force’s Aerobatic Team 73 4.2.1. “Immediate” feedback processes within the Air Force’s Aerobatic Team 74 4.2.2. “Immediate” feedback: a method of collective skills and intelligence acquisition 81 4.3. Deploying decision support systems: the example of LINK 16 in air forces 83 4.3.1. Creativity and network-centric decision support system 84 4.3.2. LINK 16’s creative uses, developed by the Rafale fighter planes’ crews 86 4.3.3. Network-centric decision support systems in support of crews’ creativity 93 4.4. Encouraging the emergence of professional communities: the case of Air Force Knowledge Now 95 4.4.1. Professional communities in a military environment: between hierarchical communities and community of practice 96 4.4.2. The Air Force Knowledge Now online platform 97 4.4.3. Beyond team frontiers: professional communities favoring experience sharing and organizational culture 100 4.5. Summary: coordination in extreme environments and managerial actions 101 Conclusion 103 Bibliography 105 Index 121

About the Author :
Cécile Godé is Full Professor at the University Lumière Lyon 2, France. Her research explores information systems management and coordination management, with a focus on experiential learning processes under extreme circumstances.