Hostname: page-component-76fb5796d-qxdb6 Total loading time: 0 Render date: 2024-04-26T06:13:19.081Z Has data issue: false hasContentIssue false
  • English
  • Français

The application of Naturalistic Decision Making (NDM) and other research: lessons for frontline commanders

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  03 August 2015

Jelle Groenendaal  and
Ira Helsloot
Jelle Groenendaal*
Affiliation:
Radboud University, Nijmegen, The Netherlands
Ira Helsloot
Affiliation:
Radboud University, Nijmegen, The Netherlands
*
Corresponding author: jellegroenendaal@gmail.com
Get access Rights & Permissions [Opens in a new window]

Abstract

This article focuses on a thus far insufficiently explored theme within management sciences, specifically the direct supervision of frontline workers, that is, frontline command. Frontline command can be defined as making decisions in the frontline and ensuring that frontline workers carry out these decisions accordingly. Scholarly knowledge on frontline command is still fragmented and the associated implications for frontline commanders have not yet been described or discussed in depth. This contribution aims to make up for that deficiency. For this purpose we brought together existing insights derived from research into Naturalistic Decision Making and other relevant research which we subsequently present using the FADCM model. This model sets out frontline command in five steps, already described in scholarly literature, and provides, per step, recommendations for frontline command. Finally, we provide associated examples derived from the Dutch firefighting practices.

Keywords

naturalistic decision makingfrontline commandersfire serviceleadershipFADCM
Type
Research Article
Information
Journal of Management & Organization , Volume 22 , Issue 2 , March 2016 , pp. 173 - 185
Copyright
Copyright © Cambridge University Press and Australian and New Zealand Academy of Management 2015 

Access options

Get access to the full version of this content by using one of the access options below. (Log in options will check for institutional or personal access. Content may require purchase if you do not have access.)

References

Ashby, W. R. (1956). An introduction to cybernetics. New York, NY: Wiley & Sons.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Ask, K., & Granhag, P. A. (2005). Motivational sources of confirmation bias in criminal investigations: The need for cognitive closure. Journal of Investigative Psychology and Offender Profiling, 2(1), 43–63.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Baddeley, A. (2003). Working memory: Looking back and looking forward. Nature Reviews Neuroscience, 4(10), 829–839.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Beach, L. R. (1990). Image theory: Decision making in personal and organizational contextsl. Chichester, UK: Wiley.Google Scholar
Beilock, S. L., & Carr, T. H. (2005). When high-powered people fail working memory and “choking under pressure” in math. Psychological Science, 16(2), 101–105.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Brehmer, B. (2000). Dynamic decision making in command and control. In C. McCann, & R. Pigeau (Eds.), The human in command (pp. 233–248). New York, NY: Kluwer.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Brehmer, B. (2005). Micro-worlds and the circular relation between people and their environment. Theoretical Issues in Ergonomics Science, 6(1), 73–93.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Brehmer, B. (2007). Understanding the functions of C2 is the key to progress. The International C2 Journal, 1(1), 211–232.Google Scholar
Brugghemans, B. H., & Marynissen, H. (2013). The process of decision-making in a fast-burning crisis situation: A multiple-sequence approach of decisiveness. International Fire Service Journal of Leadership and Management, 7, 41–50.Google Scholar
Campbell, D. J. (2012). Leadership in dangerous contexts. The Oxford Handbook of Military Psychology. New York: Oxford University Press.Google Scholar
Catherwood, D., Edgar, G. K., Sallis, G., Medley, A., & Brookes, D. (2012). Fire alarm or false alarm?!: Situation awareness and decision-making “bias” of firefighters in training exercises. International Journal of Emergency Services, 1(2), 135–158.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Cohen, M. S., Freeman, J. T., & Wolf, S. (1996). Meta-cognition in time stressed decision making: Recognizing, critiquing and correcting. Human Factors, 38, 206–219.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Conrad, C., & Poole, M. S. (2011). Strategic organizational communication: In a global economy. Chichester, UK: John Wiley & Sons.Google Scholar
Crichton, M. T., Lauche, K., & Flin, R. (2005). Incident command skills in the management of an oil industry drilling incident: A case study. Journal of Contingencies and Crisis Management, 13(3), 116–128.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
De Wolde, A., Groenendaal, J., Helsloot, I., & Schmidt, A. (2013). An explorative study on the effect of ethical leadership on organizational misbehavior in a Dutch Fire Service. International Journal of Leadership Studies, 8(2), 18–43.Google Scholar
Endsley, M. R. (1995). Toward a theory of situation awareness in dynamic systems. Human Factors: The Journal of the Human Factors and Ergonomics Society, 37(1), 32–64.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Flin, R. H. (1996). Sitting in the hot seat: Leaders and teams for critical incident management. Chichester: Wiley.Google Scholar
Flin, R. H., & Arbuthnot, K (Eds.). (2005). Incident command: Tales from the hot seat. Aldershot: Ashgate.Google Scholar
Forster, S., & Lavie, N. (2007). High perceptual load makes everybody equal eliminating individual differences in distractibility with load. Psychological Science, 18(5), 377–381.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Forster, S., & Lavie, N. (2008). Failures to ignore entirely irrelevant distractors: The role of load. Journal of Experimental Psychology: Applied, 14(1), 73.Google ScholarPubMed
Funke, J. (2001). Dynamic systems as tools for analysing human judgement. Thinking & Reasoning, 7, 69–89.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Groenendaal, J., Helsloot, I., & Scholtens, A. (2013). A critical examination of the assumptions regarding centralized coordination in large-scale emergency situations. Journal of Homeland Security and Emergency Management, 10(1), 113–135.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Hannah, S. T., Uhl-Bien, M., Avolio, B. J., & Cavarretta, F. L. (2009). A framework for examining leadership in extreme contexts. The Leadership Quarterly, 20(6), 897–919.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Helsloot, I. E., Oomes, R., & Weewer, R. (2010). Eindrapport evaluatie van de brand in De Punt op 9 mei 2008 (Evaluation report on the major fire at De Punt, May 9th 2008). Den Haag: Boom Juridische Uitgevers.Google Scholar
Henderson, A. C. & Pandey, S. K. (2013). Leadership in street-level bureaucracy: An exploratory study of supervisor-worker interactions in emergency medical services. International Review of Public Administration, 18(1), 7–23.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Hogarth, R. (2003). Deciding analytically or trusting your intuition? The advantages and disadvantages of analytic and intuitive thought. The Advantages and Disadvantages of Analytic and Intuitive Thought (October 2002). UPF Economics and Business Working Paper, 654, 1–46.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Hogarth, R. M. (2001). Educating intuition. Chicago, IL: University of Chicago Press.Google Scholar
Jensen, E. (2009). Sensemaking in military planning: A methodological study of command teams. Cognition, Technology & Work, 11(2), 103–118.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Kahneman, D. (2003). A perspective on judgment and choice: Mapping bounded rationality. American Psychologist, 58(9), 697–720.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Kahneman, D. (2011). Thinking, fast and slow. London, UK: Penguin.Google Scholar
Kahneman, D., & Klein, G. (2009). Conditions for intuitive expertise: A failure to disagree. American Psychologist, 64(6), 515–526.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Klein, G. (1989). Recognition – Primed decisions. Advances in Man-Machine Systems Research, 5, 47–92.Google Scholar
Klein, G. (1993). A recognition-primed decision (RPD) model of rapid decision making. In G. A. Klein, J. Orasanu, R. Calderwood, & C. E. Zsambok (Eds.), Decision making in action: Models and methods (pp. 138–147). Norwood, NJ: Ablex.Google Scholar
Klein, G. (1998). Sources of power: How people make decisions. Cambridge, MA: MIT Press.Google Scholar
Klein, G. (2008). Naturalistic decision making. Human Factors: The Journal of the Human Factors and Ergonomics Society, 50(3), 456–460.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Klein, G. (2009). Streetlights and shadows: Searching for the keys to adaptive decision making. London, England: The MIT Press.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Klein, G., Calderwood, R., & Clinton-Cirocco, A. (1986). Rapid decision making on the fireground. In Proceedings of the Human Factors and Ergonomics Society 30th Annual Meeting, vol. 1, (pp. 576–580), Norwood, NJ, Ablex.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Koschmann, M. A. (2013). The communicative constitution of collective identity in interorganizational collaboration. Management Communication Quarterly, 27(1), 61–89.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Li, W. C., Li, L. W., Harris, D., & Hsu, Y. L. (2014). The application of aeronautical decision-making support systems for improving pilots’ performance in flight operations. Journal of Aeronautics, Astronautics and Aviation, 46(2), 114–123.Google Scholar
Liberman, N., Trope, Y., & Stephan, E. (2007). Psychological distance. Social Psychology: Handbook of Basic Principles, 2, 353–383.Google Scholar
Lipsky, M. (1980). Street level bureaucrats. Nova York: Russel Sage.Google Scholar
Lipshitz, R., Klein, G., & Carroll, J. S. (2006). Introduction to the special issue. Naturalistic decision making and organizational decision making: Exploring the intersections. Organization Studies, 27(7), 917–923.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Lipshitz, R., Klein, G., Orasanu, J., & Salas, E. (2001). Taking stock of naturalistic decision making. Journal of Behavioral Decision Making, 14(5), 331–352.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Mamede, S., Schmidt, H. G., Rikers, R. M., Custers, E. J., Splinter, T. A., & van Saase, J. L. (2010). Conscious thought beats deliberation without attention in diagnostic decision-making: At least when you are an expert. Psychological Research, 74(6), 586–592.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Marynissen, H. (2013). Waarom communicatie niet werkt? (Why communication does not work). Ad Rem, 4, 8–10.Google Scholar
Maynard-Moody, S. W. & Musheno, M. C. (2003). Cops, teachers, counselors: Stories from the front lines of public service. Michigan: University of Michigan Press.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
McLennan, J., Holgate, A., Omodei, M. M., & Wearing, A. J. (2003). Good, poor, and disastrous small-unit command: lessons from the fireground. 39th IAMPS, Brussels.Google Scholar
McLennan, J., Holgate, A. M., Omodei, M. M., & Wearing, A. J. (2006). Decision making effectiveness in wildfire incident management teams. Journal of Contingencies and Crisis Management, 14(1), 27–37.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Meij, G. (2004). Sticking to plans: Capacity limitation or decision-making bias?. Dissertation. University of Amsterdam, Faculty of Social and Behavioral Sciences, Amsterdam.Google Scholar
Mendonca, D. J., & Wallace, W. A. (2007). A cognitive model of improvisation in emergency management. IEEE Transactions on Systems, Man and Cybernetics, Part A: Systems and Humans, 37(4), 547–561.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Mintzberg, H. (2009). Managing. San Francisco, CA: Berrett-Koehler.Google Scholar
Montgomery, H. E., Lipshitz, R. E., & Brehmer, B. E. (2005). How professionals make decisions. Mahwah, NJ: Lawrence Erlbaum Associates Publishers.Google Scholar
Morgan, G. (1982). Cybernetics and organization theory: Epistemology or technique? Human Relations, 35(7), 521–537.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Netherlands Institute for Safety (2011). Onderzoek naar het brandweeroptreden bij de brand in Parkeergarage De Appelaar (Investigation on the fire operation during the major fire at the Appelaar underground parking). Arnhem: Nederlands Instituut Fysieke Veiligheid.Google Scholar
Omodei, M. M., McLennan, J., Elliott, G. C., Wearing, A. J., & Clancy, J. M. (2005). A bias toward overuse of resources in naturalistic decision-making settings. In H. Montgomery, R. Lipshitz, & B. Brehmer (Eds.), How professionals make decisions. Oxford: Routledge.Google Scholar
Orasanu, J., & Martin, L. (1998). Errors in aviation decision making: A factor in accidents and incidents. In 2nd Workshop on Human Error, Safety, and System Development, (pp. 100–107), Seattle, Washington, USA.Google Scholar
The Public Order and Safety Inspectorate (2011). Brand Chemie-Pack Moerdijk. Een onderzoek naar de bestrijding van (de effecten van) het grootschalig incident (Investigation on the fire operation during the major fire at Chemie-Pack, Moerdijk). Den Haag: Inspectie Openbare Orde en Veiligheid.Google Scholar
Rasmussen, J. (1982). Human errors. A taxonomy for describing human malfunction in industrial installations. Journal of Occupational Accidents, 4(2), 311–333.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Rees, G., Frackowiak, R., & Frith, C. (1997). Two modulatory effects of attention that mediate object categorization in human cortex. Science, 275(5301), 835–838.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Rittel, H. W., & Webber, M. M. (1973). Dilemmas in a general theory of planning. Policy Sciences, 4(2), 155–169.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Scholtens, A., & Drent, P. B. G. (2004). Brand in de Koningkerk te Haarlem. Den Haag: Inspectie Openbare Orde en Veiligheid.Google Scholar
Shannon, C. E., & Weaver, W. (1949). The mathematical theory of communication. Urbana, IL: University of Illinois Press.Google Scholar
Shattuck, L. C. L. G., & Woods, D. D. (2000). Communication of intent in military command and control systems. In C. McCann, & R. Pigeau (Eds.), The Human in Command (pp. 279–291). New York: Springer.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Simon, H. A. (1973). The structure of ill-structured problems. Artificial Intelligence, 4(3), 181–201.Google Scholar
Simon, H. A. (1992). What is an “explanation” of behavior? Psychological Science, 3(3), 150–161.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Stanovich, K. E. & West, R. F. (2000). Advancing the rationality debate. Behavioral and brain sciences, 23(5), 701–717.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Tissington, P. (2004). Command decisions. Fire Enginering Journal, 2004, 42–44.Google Scholar
Trope, Y., & Liberman, N. (2010). Construal-level theory of psychological distance. Psychological Review, 117(2), 440.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Van Creveld, M. (1985). Command in war. Cambridge, MA: Harvard University Press.Google Scholar
Weick, K. (1995). Sensemaking. Thousand Oaks, CA: Sage.Google Scholar
Weick, K. E. (1988). Enacted sensemaking in crisis situations [1]. Journal of Management Studies, 25(4), 305–317.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Weick, K. E. (1993). The collapse of sensemaking in organizations: The Mann Gulch disaster. Administrative Science Quarterly, 38(4), 628–652.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Weick, K. E., & Sutcliffe, K. M. (2011). Managing the unexpected: Resilient performance in an age of uncertainty (vol. 8). Hoboken, NJ: John Wiley & Sons.Google Scholar
Woods, D. D., & Shattuck, L. G. (2000). Distant supervision–local action given the potential for surprise. Cognition, Technology & Work, 2(4), 242–245.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Zsambok, C. E., & Klein, G (Eds.) 1997). Naturalistic decision making. Mahwah, NJ: Lawrence Erlbaum Associates.Google Scholar