dc.contributor.author	Higgs, Michael John
dc.coverage.spatial	Central and North America -- United States	en_US
dc.coverage.temporal	2000-2012	en_US
dc.date.accessioned	2014-05-28T17:53:35Z
dc.date.available	2014-05-28T17:53:35Z
dc.date.issued	2014-05-09
dc.identifier.uri	http://hdl.handle.net/10428/1732
dc.description.abstract	From 2000 through 2012, the Navy relieved 195 Commanding Officers (COs) for a variety of personal and professional failures under a procedure called “detach for cause.” That seemingly low number is significant due to the associated damage to expensive weapon systems, the injury or deaths o f Sailors, and damage to the organization’s image as it competes for recruits from the American people and resources from Congress. These repercussions make the failures far more consequential than raw numbers might indicate. Of 195 dismissals, Surface Warfare Officers (SWOs) accounted for 74 or 38% of them, a larger percentage than the other communities in the Navy. This research was conducted to ascertain what flaws in the surrounding culture or the training and selection process might create SWO COs who are more likely to fail. Documentation was reviewed on the causes and numbers of dismissals, the performance evaluation system, the process for qualifying and selecting COs, and ethics and leadership training. Literature was also reviewed to gain insight into the nature and impact of the SWO organizational culture on developing officers. A survey was used to determine the prevalent type of Ethical Work Climate and the presence of toxic leadership, as contributory factors in the failures of COs. Data were compiled, scored, and tested using chi-square, Cramer’s V, Z-score, and Pearson’s r calculations to determine the strength of association or correlation between factors. This uncovered the widespread occurrence of toxic leadership behaviors including narcissism, unpredictability, and abusive supervision. An elevated occurrence of the instrumental EWC was also revealed. Finally, recommendations were provided to address the findings and potentially reduce the number of failures among SWO COs.	en_US
dc.description.tableofcontents	I. INTRODUCTION 1 Problem Statement1 Scope of the Research 2 Structure of this Work 3 Background4 Detachment for Cause: The Process4 Rationale for the Research7 Civil-Military Relations9 Colonial Origins 9 From Civil War to World War 12 World War II14 The Cold War - An Uneasy Truce15 II. LITERATURE REVIEW23 Environment23 Organizational Construct23 Physical Environment25 Training 30 Primary Training 30 Surface Warfare Qualification 34 Command Qualification36 Organizational Culture41 Organizational Culture Defined41 Reconciling Civilian and Military Culture 43 Ethical and Moral Aspects 45 Navy Culture 53 Surface Warfare Subculture 57 The Practice of Leadership 68 Narcissism 71 Toxic Leadership 74 Selection Process 76 Performance Management 76 Selection Boards 81 Research Questions 85 Assumptions and Research Questions 86 III. METHODOLOGY 88 Research Method 89 Research Environment 89 Research Design 90 Research Phases 92 Research Questions and Hypotheses 93 Instrumentation 94 Data Collection 98 IV RESULTS 100 DFCs: Numbers and Causes 100 Survey Data 108 Data Refinement 108 Respondent Demographics 108 Ethical Work Climate Data 111 Toxic Leadership Data 115 Unit Success D a ta 120 Summary of Findings 123 Limitation of the Study 124 Excursions 124 V DISCUSSION 128 Assessing the System 128 The State of the Culture 130 Recommendations 136 Areas for Additional Study 146 BIBLIOGRAPHY 147 APPENDICES Appendix A: Facebook Page 178 Appendix B: Ships Contacted Via Facebook 180 Appendix C: Ships Contacted Via Email 186 Appendix D: Ethical Climate Questionnaire (ECQ) 189 Appendix E: Scale Reliability and Correlation Calculation Results 192 Appendix F: Toxic Leadership Questionnaire 195 Appendix G: Battle Effectiveness, Command Excellence, and Readiness Questionnaire 198 Appendix H: Demographic Data Elements 201 Appendix 1: Institutional Review Board (IRB) Approval 204	en_US
dc.language.iso	en_US	en_US
dc.subject	Ethical Work Climate	en_US
dc.subject	Toxic Leadership	en_US
dc.subject	SWO	en_US
dc.subject	Surface Welfare Culture	en_US
dc.subject	Narcissism	en_US
dc.subject	Navy Culture	en_US
dc.subject	Commanding Officer	en_US
dc.subject	Detach for Cause	en_US
dc.title	Detach for Cause: Examining the Organizational and Cultural Influences on the Dismissal of Surface Warfare Commanding Officers	en_US
dc.type	Dissertation	en_US
dc.contributor.department	Political Science	en_US
dc.description.advisor	Merwin, Gerald A.
dc.description.committee	Hand, Carl M.
dc.description.committee	Wickersham, Mary Eleanor
dc.description.degree	D.P.A.	en_US
dc.description.major	Public Administration	en_US