Ebook: Disaster, Diversity and Emergency Preparation

The objective of the NATO Science for Peace and Security Workshop, Disaster, Diversity and Emergency Preparation, held in TÃÿnsberg, was to strengthen organizational leadership. One of NATO’s objectives is a better understanding of the human and social aspects of security-related issues. Spurred on by the inspiration created in 2014 in Brussels by Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe, and the initiative of Mari Skåre, former NATO Secretary General’s Special Representative for Women, Peace and Security, this workshop firmly establishes the collaboration between Japan and other NATO countries on the topics of ‘Women, Peace and Security’ (WPS).

This book explores some highly interesting topics with regard to the way in which continued progress and change in institutional behaviors require an approach focused on altering the perspectives and enhancing the skill sets of leaders. The workshop entitled Leadership Development Programme on Gender and Diversity, Peace, Risk, Security and Emergency Preparedness and Collaboration, provided all participants with new and broader outlooks. It gave all participants, speakers and authors contributing to this proceedings an opportunity to ‘yield to a change in mindsets and behaviors in our institutions and promote awareness and positive changes’.

The scientific workshop proceedings consists of fourteen chapters, including a summarizing introductory chapter. Each chapter stands on its own, but is ordered within the framework of the Societal Programme Model (SPM) described in Chapter 1. The workshop allowed leaders and researchers to meet and discuss in confidentiality and to learn and build networks of leaders for change.

We would like to express our thanks to NATO in general, and to the Emerging Security Challenges Division and Ms. Randi L. Gebert in particular, for all the support and aid received in connection with this project. We would also like to take this opportunity to thank Ms Turid Amundsen and Ms Anne-Britt Solberg KlevsjÃÿ for their valuable help and support.

Happy reading,

Horten 06.06.19

Leif Inge Magnussen

Associate professor (Co Director SPS Workshop)

Most leadership training initiatives fail to produce leaders, and few participants undergo a transformation in their learning regarding some important topics such as gender equality and diversity. Dealing with the core values of leadership, it is logical to believe that some of these values should be addressed early in life, while others may be gained or enhanced through courses, exercises, programs, etc. Empowering families, women, and children, as the smallest unit in society, is the most important mechanism to guarantee a sound and steady increasing of welfare and to provide opportunities for the young generation, irrespective of gender and diversity, to learn the needed skills and to enhance their hidden competencies. Simulation exercises may be an effective instrument to enhance individual and group knowledge, skills, and competencies in both youths and adults.

This chapter takes a close look at the interconnection between social trust and income inequality across countries. It argues that trust is both a consequence and a determinant of income equality. Small income differences create trust and trust feeds back on small income differences through an expansion of the welfare state. Together the two mechanisms, and the feedback process that they give rise to, explain how differences in history, institutions, or sudden adjustments can be enlarged over the long run—and give rise to a situation where countries differ significantly with respect to social trust and income inequality.

Social problems related to gender and diversity are contested topics in Albania. However, the geographical distribution of these social problems and their diversity in the socio-geographical space of Albania appear as interesting issues. Among the main social problems are violence against women; domestic violence; trafficking of persons, in particular women’s trafficking; limited participation by women in decision making; limited access to employment; and limited access to educational services. In this paper, we present a data analysis on this geographical distribution, according to separate administrative divisions and influencing factors from the perspective of social geography. At the same time, we also present information about the evolution of these issues over certain periods, as well as trends for the future. A special issue is the presentation of suggestions for considering the risk management of such social problems in Albania. We also draw attention to the identification of social planning and social policies intended to reduce or solve these social problems in the socio-geographical space of Albania in the future.

On March 11, 2011, the strongest earthquake ever recorded in Japan triggered a powerful tsunami and caused a nuclear accident at the Fukushima nuclear plant. That “man-made” disaster had immense effects on people’s lives, health and property, infrastructure, supply chains, economy, policies, natural and institutional environment, and more. This chapter assesses the preparedness for and the agri-food impacts of the Fukushima nuclear disaster, identifies challenges in post-disaster recovery, and summarizes the lessons learned for improving disaster risk management. Japan was not well prepared for such a huge disaster, and the agri-food sector and consumption were among the worst-hit areas. The triple disaster was a rare but high-impact event; therefore it is necessary to “prepare for the unexpected”. Risk assessment is to include diverse hazards and multiple effects of a likely disaster, it is to be discussed with all stakeholders, and measures must be taken to train for complex disasters. It is necessary to modernize property rights, regulations, safety standards, and norms, as well as to improve the capability and coordination of responsible public and private actors. It is important to set up mechanisms for effective public resource allocation and reduction of agents’ costs. Different elements of the agri-food chain have dissimilar capabilities, requiring differential public support. There is a strong regional interdependency of agrarian, food, and rural assets (and damages), and it is important to properly locate risk and take prevention and recovery measures. Disaster response demonstrated the important role of small-scale farms and food organizations; high efficiency for private, market, and collective governance; and international cooperation. Before, during, and after a disaster, all available information from all sources is to be immediately publicized in understandable form through all means. Disasters provide an opportunity to discuss, introduce, and implement fundamental changes in policies relating to agriculture, the economy, regional governance, energy, and disaster management. It is important to learn from past experiences and make sure that lessons learned are not forgotten.

India has a large body of over one and a half million troops comprising just the army (not to mention a blue-water navy, a formidable air force, and other paramilitary forces) who come from diverse socio-economic backgrounds and cultures and practice different religions; the country’s progressive society has now started to contribute women to military units not just in logistics and administration but also as fighter aircraft pilots. However, what is unique is that irrespective of the religious and cultural composition of regiments and battalions, military leaders get commissioned and command troops from diverse multicultural identities on the basis of randomised selection with no consideration of their caste, culture, or religion. This is in consonance with a famous adage in the Indian military: ‘The religion and culture of officers is the religion and culture of troops that they command’. This chapter seeks to understand the dynamics of integrating multicultural religious identities of personnel serving in the military and the tempering of leadership required to earn respect and be acceptable as a leader and command troops in operations as well as during peacetime. The discussion will include military values interwoven in common religious traditions and cultural practices before, during, and after induction into operations as well as major training events like field firing, battle inoculation training, military exercises, and movement of troops/units as well as sports and competitions, along with implications and possible replication in other militaries across the globe.

This paper explores the issue of diversity leadership development within the sociocultural context of contemporary Japan, in particular, focusing on the Japan Self-Defense Forces (JSDF). To effectively develop the diversity leaders who are well aware of the importance of promoting diversity and inclusion within their organizations, what are the key requirements for being a JSDF diversity leader? What cultural differences do we need to take into account? What sorts of cultural awareness are required? What types of knowledge, skills, abilities, and other personal characteristics (KSAOs), attitudes, and mindsets are required that can be “trained” or developed? These questions will be discussed based on a literature review and good practice cases both in the civilian and military sectors, while drawing on the latest policy developments in other countries such as the United States.

Compared to other advanced democratic countries, including NATO member countries, Japan is an underdeveloped country in terms of gender mainstreaming and diversity management. One of the key requirements for any effective diversity leadership development program in Japan is that the JSDF diversity leaders need to be well aware of the historical and sociocultural contexts in which the JSDF exist. It is also required to know the advancement of gender policies and related organizational initiatives promoted by the Government of Japan, the Ministry of Defense, and the JSDF. Diversity leaders also need to know about changing social values, family structure, labour markets, cultural and gender norms, etc. so that the JSDF can effectively adapt to the changing pace of the civilian social world. Challenging policy issues for developing diversity leaders are discussed in the last section of the paper.

It is indispensable for the Japan Self-Defense Forces (JSDF) to secure and nurture high-quality human resources in order to effectively accomplish various missions. It is very important to promote further recruitment of women and assign more active roles to female personnel with motivation and abilities. It is also urgent to maintain a working environment in which those female personnel can fully continue to work even in any challenging circumstances and to demonstrate their abilities. The purpose of this chapter is to examine the necessary leadership as a leader to female personnel with work–family conflict in the JSDF in order to promote their success. What kind of work–family conflict do female personnel have? How should a leader respond to work–family conflict for female personnel? What are the characteristic leadership requirements for work–family facilitation? This chapter will consider and answer these three questions.

Since 1985, under national efforts to activate a women’s workforce, the Japanese military has been grappling with the empowerment of female members. Up to today, the Japan Ground Self-Defense Force has opened all branches including combat units to women, set the “right people in the right place” as a basic principle, and hammered out measures for a right life–work balance to retain and support women as wives or mothers. Through these efforts for three decades, the JGSDF systems for gender integration seem to be almost completed. On the other hand, substantial challenges still remain in managing women. Thus there are gaps between systems and reality to be addressed by the leadership. For that, what should they learn?

This chapter discusses how character strengths can be a relevant tool for selection of military officers, prediction of entrance into a military academy, leadership education, and prediction of military performance. Twelve character strengths have been found to be important for Norwegian officers, and an observational instrument that can be used to measure character strengths in field exercises has been developed and tested. The chapter also discusses the development of self-proficiency, social proficiency, and subject matter proficiency, and which character strengths to develop under each of these three proficiencies.

Preparing military strategic leaders and crisis managers for work related to increasing competence and efficiency within their own organization is a complex task. Diversity in organizations is not easy to obtain but still necessary to increase competence and efficiency, not least in military organizations preparing for unforeseen situations. This study rests on two premises: that diversity is essential for handling unforeseen situations, and that a common framework for diversity across organizations is needed to develop inter-professional efficiency. The article aims to discuss the concept of diversity and what importance the nature of diversity can have in preparing military leaders. The term is analysed in accordance with a semantic view of theories and theory construction. The key point is to perceive diversity as a phenomenon consisting of many underlying and interdependent variables, which together constitute different degrees of diversity. Aligning this theoretical analysis with practical work, it is important to identify the organization’s current plans for preparedness and its future need for diversity, including what can limit or hinder the development and implementation of its diversity policy. Our study identifies both potential and hindrances found in the Norwegian Armed Forces as an example. Based on this foundation, we introduce a new strategic model which may support leaders both within and across organizations in their work on diversity development. Based on our theoretical and empirical studies, we also introduce a definition of diversity.

In this study we reviewed scientific papers which measured the effect of collaboration exercises in terms of learning and usefulness. The question to be answered was: Do collaboration exercises contribute to learning that is useful in actual emergency work? The point of departure was the perception that exercises improve handling logic and actions that increase security and safety in the community. However, the organizations involved in emergencies are regarded as inflexible, conservative, and non-collaborative. Data was collected in three steps. In the first step, studies of collaboration exercises in a crisis context were selected. In the next step, studies focused on the outcome of collaboration exercises in terms of learning and usefulness were identified. Out of 564 articles, seven were selected. The data from all included articles was collected by a common questionnaire in the included studies. The instrument measured learning and usefulness on a 5-point Likert scale, from strongly disagree to strongly agree. A total of 477 participants responded to the surveys. The mean within the learning dimension was 3.54 (SD = 0.62), and the mean within the usefulness dimension was 3.64 (SD = 0.65). The results showed that a developed type of exercise that included room for seminars resulted in a higher degree of learning and usefulness than the rest of the exercises studied.

This paper examines a crisis collaboration exercise and tests whether there is a relationship between participants’ past exercise and professional experiences and their perceived levels of collaboration, learning, and utility (CLU). The study reports on data collected from emergency personnel belonging to a Norwegian maritime agency responsible for maritime safety services. Survey data was collected in conjunction with a 2017 maritime oil-spill collaboration exercise in the southern parts of Norway. The personnel held operative positions during the exercise. Forty-two respondents constituted the final data set. Findings indicated that collaboration exercises have an effect, as the participants experienced moderate levels of CLU during the exercise. However, past exercise and professional experience constituted jointly little of the variance in learning (r2 = 0.19) and utility (r2 = 0.02). The results indicated a possible decoupling between exercise behaviour and behaviour in real crisis work, showing a possible dominance of single-loop learning, and a missing constructive alignment between planned learning activities and outcomes. To enhance perceived levels of learning and usefulness, this study recommends a stronger focus on initial simplicity, variation, constructive alignment, and the inclusion of collaboration elements in the design phases of exercises. Comparable research, preferably using the same design and instrument, is recommended.

This paper focuses on the relationships between exercise scripts and the need to improvise in emergency preparedness exercises. Two relatively large emergency preparedness collaboration exercises are examined (Øvelse Nord 2016 & SCOPE 2017). Our primary observation from these exercises is that they exemplify a common trait: the participants and collaboration partners are governed more by strict manuscripts, where little or nothing is unforeseen. Hence these events are not training innovative practices or improvisation. Path dependency in emergency collaboration exercise can, as shown in the cases, provide both clarity and understanding of the tasks at hand. On the other hand, script dependency in exercises creates an artificial atmosphere where the dynamics of real-time chaos and urgency are left out of the training grounds.