e. bryan - the informal organization within the jamaica defence force coast guard (jdfcg)

8/8/2019 E. Bryan - The Informal Organization Within the Jamaica Defence Force Coast Guard (JDFCG)

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THE INFORMAL ORGANIZATION WITHIN THEJAMAICA DEFENCE FORCE COAST GUARD

(JDFCG (NR) Intake 99/01 Passing Out Photo.)

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In the Jamaica Defence Force (JDF) the essential need(s) of the individual

serviceman/soldier is association, and that necessitates local activity or interaction on bilateral-

level, i.e.; among or between other soldiers of equal rank. The willingness of people in the JDF to

endure onerous routines and dangerous or life threatening tasks, which they could have avoided

in civilian life, may be rationalized by the necessity for action by those individuals, to maintain

the soldiers' sense of social integration, whether the latter is as a result of instinct, from social

conditioning or from physiological necessity, or all of the above.

Definitions of Formal and Informal Organizations

Informal Organization

Definition

1. The aggregate of the personal contacts, interactions, and the associated groupings of people, withcommon objectives. It (the informal organization) may be indefinite and rather structureless, and

may have no definite subdivision. Indeed it may be regarded as a shapeless mass of varied

densities, the variations in density being as a result of external factors affecting the closeness of

people geographically, or of formal purposes, which bring them especially into contact for

conscious joint accomplishments.(Classics of Public Administration, 2nd edition, Shafritz et al (1987)


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2. \In*form"al\, a. [Pref. in- not + formal.] Not in the regular, usual, or established form; notaccording to official, conventional, prescribed, or customary forms or rules; irregular; hence,

without ceremony; as, an informal writing, proceeding, or visit.(http://www.hyperdictionary.com/dictionary/form)

Formal Organization

Definition

a group that restricts membership and makes use of officially designated positions and roles, formal

rules and regulations, and a bureaucratic structure.(http://www.hyperdictionary.com/dictionary/form)

TABLE 1THE FOUR MAIN CONTENTS OF INFORMAL NETWORKS

AffectFriendships, trust and intimate relations

PoliticalInfluence, power, authority

ProductionAdvice, exchange of technical/instrumentalknowledge and innovation

CulturalCommunication and flow of information

The formal structure is the one that can be found in organization charts. Usually hierarchical,

the formal structure follows job titles and job descriptions. Often this will try to coincide with

who is authorized to do a job or perform a function. But in most organizations, there is an

informal structure in which individuals recognize who actually gets which tasks done. It was

thought by Chester I. Bernard1, a scholar of sociology, that attitudes, institutions, and customs of

informal society, are affected and are partly manifested throughformal organizations, which are

conversely, those organizations that strictly observe organizational structures and procedures.

Bernard is also of the opinion that there is interdependence between the formal and the informal

organization, and that one may not exist without the other. Thus, the maintenance of

cohesiveness, in what may be viewed as a formal organization (the Jamaica Defence Force),

through the regulation of the willingness of soldiers to serve the, organization, and the

stabilization of objective authority must be considered. What this means in laymans terms is thatthe soldiers attitude to his job is heavily dependent on discipline and respect for his superiors and

comrades. The interactions of informal organization may not be consciously dominated by a

given impersonal objective or by higher authority/ authorities, e.g. the Chief of Staff,

Commanding Officers, etc. to express the desires of the organization. In fact, in this kind of

structure (informal), a peer is usually the authority figure. It is often through observing these

1The Functions of the Executive. Cambridge, Massachusetts, Harvard University Press:1968


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interactions that leadership potential is spotted by those with the authority to promote. The ability

to lead without any real or established authority is usually not an easy task. As military personnel,

we must recognize that these interactions are characterized by choice (of the individual soldier/

officer), and often present the opportunities for the reinforcement of personal attitudes and

behavior. Although this function is often deemed a threat to formal organization, it must instead

be regarded as a means of maintaining the personality of the individual against certain effects ofthe JDF, which tend to encourage the disintegration of personalities; indeed it is often perceived

by most servicemen, that their superiors often regard them as only a number2. One of the main

concepts responsible for the operations of the Jamaica Defence Coast Guard (JDFCG) is the

establishment of rigid system of authority (top down hierarchical structure) whereby the central

purpose or objective, i.e.:

Maritime Law Enforcement and Protection; Maritime Safety; Defence Readiness and Naval Duties; and Nation Building.

Is translated or manifested into reality through the combined or coordinated efforts of its

service personnel, with each individual working in his/ her own field to realize the overall

objective/ goals of the Jamaica Defence Force Coast Guard. These goals are best achieved when

the soldier/ seaman shares the aim of the organization, i.e.; he believes in what he has been

ordered to do, whether thats patrolling at sea for days, or engaging in a search and rescue (SAR)

operation.

Further evidence of this train of though, may be found in sociologist Robert K. Merton 3,

argues that a formal, rationally organized social structure, involves clearly defined pattern ofactivities, which ideally is or should be functionally related to the purposes of the organization.

Merton goes on further to say that some of those authorities/ persons/ offices which have been

delegated by the relevant authorities are usually limited by specific rules that regulate the power

of control within that organization. In the Jamaica Defence Force Coast Guard, this is certainly

true. For example, if a serviceman/ seaman is given an order by a Chief Petty Officer/ Staff

Sergeant (or any other superior rank), initially and while executing that command he is given

another command by an officer higher in rank to the Chief Petty Officer, e.g.; the Commanding

Officer, the serviceman/ seaman is obligated to relinquish his previous order, and to execute the

order given by the higher authority, i.e.; the Commanding Officer's orders. Of course official

action in the JDFFCG (and the JDF at large) usually occurs within the framework of pre-existing

rules of the JDF, which is large contained in the Defence Act (1962).

2NOTE: Each service personnel is assigned a regimental number to identify firstly and for reasons of singularity secondly.

3Social Theory and Social Structure. MacMillan Publishing Company Limited:1957


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THE TRADITION OF FORMALITY IN THE JDFCG

Generally in the JDF, authority and the power of control, which derives from anacknowledged status, inheres in the office/ appointment, and not in the individual who performs

the official role. To some service personnel, the matter of giving orders seems a very simple

affair; they expect to issue their own orders, and have their superiors comply without question.

My observation of my fellow service personnel, makes it clear to me, that when officers/ NCO 4s

try to get soldiers to do things satisfactorily, ordering them in a 'high handed' fashion, or

exhorting them, often had a negative effect. Although the soldier/ serviceman is obligated to

comply with the order, reasoning with them, and even convincing them intellectually (making

them partners in the effort), usually produces a much more desirable effect.

The system of pre-described relations between the various parties in the JDF and the

JDFCG involves a considerable degree of formality and clearly defined social distance between

the occupants of the various positions/ appointments. This 'formality' is manifested by means of, a

set of complicated social rituals, which symbolizes and often support the pecking order of the

various service personnel at HMJS Cagway5, where there is strict adherence to the social

separation (or segregation) between enlisted personnel and, commissioned personnel (officers).

For instance, the officers are obligated (and some may even argue. required), by tradition to eatat the Wardroom, a place where officers congregate, while the enlisted personnel, eat in the

galley/ mess (dining hall). I should point-out, that not only is there strict observation of this social

separation between the officers and the enlisted ranks, but also between the NCOs and their

subordinates (i.e., the ordinary seamen/ privates), where there is a separation in the areas

designated for eating and for drinking/ congregating. Therefore, ready calculability of the other

group(s) behavior, and a stable set-up of mutual expectations are thus built-up. It would seem that

without this formality, the facilitation of interaction among the occupants of offices/appointments, despite their (possible hostile) attitudes towards one another, would be very

difficult. Also, in this way, the subordinates are protected from the possible arbitrary actions of

their superiors, since the actions of both are constrained/ governed by a mutually recognized set

of rules, both by the Defence Act, and a set of regulations commonly called the 'Rights of a

Soldier6

'. Let me hasten to say however, that adherence to this type of formality (to theamusement of my fellow seamen) is threatened most when JDFCG personnel is at sea. I have

witnessed enlisted and commissioned personnel feeding the fishes together arm-in-arm over the

side, and also sharing food and beverages whilst the vessel is underway! A clear deviation to the

strict observance of segregation outlined above.

5Non Commissioned Officers, i.e., those enlisted service personnel, who are not privates, usually at, or above the rank of lance

corporal (army) or able seaman (navy).

6Her/ His Majesty's Jamaica Ship Cagway, the Headquarters of the Jamaica Defence Force Coast Guard, which is situated in Port

Royal.

7A document aimed at illustrating the individual rights of military personnel, serving in both in the regular and reserve forces.


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INFORMAL ASSOCIATION

I have also observed that since most soldiers have the same or similar interests /objectives, in-group aggression is not as prominent in the lower ranks, as in the higher ranks,

since there is esprit de corps (co-operative and motivational attitudes) among servicemen. This

often leads to servicemen defending or promoting entrenched interests, which are usually

consistent or compatible with the aims of the JDFCG. This may be defined as dedication or

commitment.

To further enforce the caption, I will once again refer to Bernard, who further suggests

that informal organizations arise out of, and are necessary to formal organizations but that when

informal organizations come into operation, they create and require some formal organization.

It is thought by some sociologists, public administrators, and scholars, that comradeship

is much more powerful than patriotism. In the JDF, where those individuals responsible for

training potential servicemen and servicewomen are immediately in contact with recruits/ officer

cadets, their style of leadership usually influence the potential serviceman/ womans opinion of

his/ herself within the JDFCG, and the JDF, as a whole. Thus, these bonds are formed during the

process of assimilation, from civilian to soldier, that recruit / officer training entails, and are

usually, sustained long after the passing-out ceremony. During this period, the informal

organization is at its most intense. A leader is selected from among the recruits by his/ her peers

(or sometimes by the instructors) and each recruit is allowed to develop their leadership potential

through interdependency, i.e.; that is they must each assume responsibility for each other A

Chain is as strong as its weakest link. In this way, the informal organization, which in my

illustration above is the Recruit Squad, helps to churn out soldiers of the highest caliber for the

formal organization, i.e.; the JDF.

Based on my observations and experiences thus far, in my military life there is evidence

that interaction among service personnel, based on personal objectives, rather than joint orcommon purposes, eventually become systematic, and organized. The leader of the Recruit Squad

is often delegated by the Instructor to undertake simple tasks, which would in effect give him/ her

official authority in this instance.

Informal organizations will often give rise to formal organizations, in that formal

organizations are critical to any large informal or societal organization (such as the Jamaica

Defence Force Coast Guard and the Jamaica Defence Force at large).

I also believe that the reverse is also true, i.e., formal organizations, which once

established, will in turn, create informal organizations themselves.


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BIBLIOGRAPHY

Bernard, Chester, I. The Functions of the Executive. Massachusetts: Howard University Press, 1968.

Hughs, Owen. Public Management and Administration. 2nd

ed. London: MacMillan Publishing Co. Ltd., 1998.

Hyperdictionary [accessed: December 30th

2003] see:

Jones, Edwin. et al, Critical Issues in Caribbean Development: Institutional Aspects of West Indian Development,

No. 3. Kingston: Ian Randle Publishers and the Institute of Economic Research (ISER), University of the West

Indies, 1998.

Merton, Robert K. Social Theory and Social Structures. London: MacMillan Publishing Co. Ltd., 1957

Shafritz, Joy M. and Albert C. Hyde. Classics of Public Administration. 2nd

ed. California: Brooks/ Cole

Publishing Company, 1978.

Turner, Micheal. and David Hulme. Governance, Administration and Development. London: MacMillian, 1997.

______________________________________________________________________________________

NOTE:Ordinary Seaman Bryan is a member of the Jamaica Defence Force Coast Guard (NR), a member of theJamaican Foreign Service (Ministry of Foreign Affairs and Foreign Trade), and a part-time student of the University ofthe West Indies, Mona Campus.

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