Information for Senior Leaders and Coast Guard Members, Employees, & Contractors at Main Street Tower

Institutional Authorization Sought for Proposed Program Evaluation:
Impact of a Leadership Development Program on Interpersonal Conflict Management within a Coast Guard Staff Command
The evaluation will examine if the ULDP program has been implemented appropriately at the MLCA staff. The  evaluation will also examine specific outcomes which are related to leadership and the leadership competency of conflict management.
Entering the Next Phase of Research


To continue with this research, I now need permission from a senior Coast Guard leader at Main Street Tower.
 

Seeking Organizational Permission to Continue Research

If you are inside the CGDN, you can see the above slide show here.

Specifically, I require permission to access and use extent organizational data, to survey Coast Guard employees at Main Street Tower, and to interview several key people.

Frequently Asked Questions

What is this evaluation looking to answer?

This evaluation looks to answer five research questions:
  1. What measures or indicators does the literature indicate serve as a barometer of interpersonal conflict.
  2. Has the Maintenance and Logistics Command Atlantic staff implemented the Unit Leadership Development Program according to the standards required by the program and in accordance with the mandate from the Commandant?
  3. Does the Unit Leadership Development Program impact conflict management at a staff command?
  4. What impact, anecdotally, has the Unit Leadership Development Program had on individual members of a staff?
  5. What Unit Leadership Development Program interventions were, according to staff members, most helpful in their own development? 
What do you agree to do for the Coast Guard?
I agree to:
 
  • Provide bi-weekly updates to the Deputy Commander, Coast Guard Maintenance and Logistics Command Atlantic, or his designee.
  • Provide an in-person brief, on acceptance of the dissertation by the faculty of the Fischler School of Education and Human Services, to the Deputy Commander, Coast Guard Maintenance and Logistics Command Atlantic, and other personnel as requested.
  • Make available the full dissertation and a summary of the study online and available for download by any interested Coast Guard member at http://dissertation.peterstinson.com.
  • Provide two printed copies of the dissertation, one for the Deputy Commander, Coast Guard Maintenance and Logistics Command Atlantic, and one for the Director, Coast Guard Leadership Center.
  • Follow all policies of Nova Southeastern University and the Fischler School of Education and Human Services concerning human subject studies.
  • Abide by the requirements of the Institutional Review Board of the Fischler School of Education and Human Services
What are you asking of the Coast Guard?
That the Deputy Commander, Coast Guard Maintenance and Logistics Command, or designated successor, agrees to:
 
  • Ensure the Coast Guard provides the organizational data requested as designated in the investigator’s approved proposal and as allowed by the Institutional Review Board of the Fischler School of Education and Human Services.
  • Ensure the investigator has access to the staff personnel designated in the in the investigator’s approved proposal and as allowed by the Institutional Review Board of the Fischler School of Education and Human Services.
  • Ensure Coast Guard members and employees at Coast Guard Maintenance and Logistics Command Atlantic are informed of the investigator’s survey and afforded the opportunity to participate in the electronic survey.

What data will you be using for the program evaluation?
This program evaluation is a mixed methods research project, using both quantitative and qualitative data. Early on in this effort, I wanted to use hard measures. Hard measures are measures of behavior. For instance, measuring repeat business is a hard measure; measuring how you  felt about something is a soft measure. The key was to find hard measures that are indicators of conflict management, which is my focus for this evaluation.

There are three sets of extent organizational data which I propose using. Granted, these are not direct measures of conflict or conflict management, but they are indicators or surrogates:
  • Civil Rights data, including the numbers of formal and informal complaints made.
  • Employee retention data, including civilian churn and military retention rates.
  • Staff disciplinary data, including the numbers of military justice incidents and civilian discipline.
Please note that for each of these data sets, I am looking only at the activity measure. All identifying information will either be stripped away before I receive the data, or I will strip it away immediately and destroy it. Privacy and confidentiality are paramount.

In addition to these three data sets, I will review the program documents, such as meeting minutes and charters, for the leadership development program at Main Street Tower. These documents will primarily be reviewed to determine if the Maintenance and Logistics Command Atlantic staff implemented the Unit Leadership Development Program according to the standards required by the program and in accordance with the mandate from the Commandant.

In addition to these program documents, I will be looking at historical survey data. Specifically, I'll be looking at the results from five questions from the Coast Guard’s Organizational Assessment Survey. These five questions are included in a survey which is open to all Coast Guard employees (contract, military, civilian) at Main Street Tower. This survey is hosted by Survey Monkey and accessible from anywhere on the Internet. The URL is: http://bit.ly/F2ew4.

Lastly, I'll be conducting several interviews with key individuals in the development and implementation of the unit leadership development program.


More Frequently Asked Questions

What questions will you be asking in the interviews?
I will be asking each interviewee the following:
  1. What has been your role with the leadership development program at MLCA/MST?
  2. What value do you see in leadership development within the Coast Guard?
  3. What impact has the leadership development program had on members of the staff?
  4. What impact on conflict management and interpersonal conflict have you seen as a result of the leadership development program?
  5. Given your understanding of the leadership development program, what you would have expected to see or happen but were missing? How do you explain this? What data do you have to support that explanation?(http://managementhelp.org/evaluatn/fnl_eval.htm)
  6. Given your understanding of the program, what did you see or happen but you expected to be absent? How do you explain this? What data do you have to support that explanation?(http://managementhelp.org/evaluatn/fnl_eval.htm)

Additionally, I will ask the program manager:

  1. How did you assess the state of leadership development at the Maintenance and Logistics staff?
  2. How were the results of those assessments analyzed?
  3. What was the action planning process used following the analysis of the assessment?

What communications do you propose the Coast Guard make on your behalf?
I ask that the Coast Guard provide to the Institutional Review Board at Nova Southeastern University a letter indicating that I have permission to complete the program evaluation as outlined in the approved proposal. This letter must be written on Coast Guard letterhead and provided to the Institutional Review Board along with my completed IRB package.

Here is a sample text for this letter.

Example Letter (to be drafted on official Coast Guard letterhead) to Use Extent Organizational Data and to Conduct Program Evaluation

 

I have given Mr. Peter Stinson permission to complete a program evaluation here at Coast Guard Maintenance and Logistics Command Atlantic. I understand the scope of the research and how the data will be collected and presented.

 

Mr. Stinson has permission to complete the study as specified in his approved proposal, as outlined at http://dissertation.peterstinson.com/mlca, and as spelled out in our memorandum of agreement. Mr. Stinson may conduct a survey and interviews and review extent organizational data supplied by the Coast Guard.

 

All data and information gathered will be done in a confidential and appropriate manner. Mr. Stinson’s study is expected to run from the time of IRB approval by the university and will conclude no later than 31 December 2009.

 

My staff point of conduct for this effort is Ms. Renee Lukondi. If you have any questions or concerns, she can be reached at xxxxx.x.xxxxxxx@xxxx.xxx or 757-xxx-xxxx.


Additionally, I ask the Coast Guard provide several bits of internal communication to Coast Guard employees at Main Street Tower in support of this program evaluation.

Here is a sample broadcast letter the program manager could sent to various targeted mailing lists (such as to the training advisory committee):

You are invited to participate in a survey to help us evaluate the Unit Leadership Development Program, an initiative we've had here in the building for several years. You can access the survey here: http://bit.ly/F2ew4. This URL is accessible from anywhere on the Internet.

Peter Stinson, an organizational performance consultant at Atlantic Area is conducting this program evaluation as a part of his dissertation at Nova Southeastern University. If you are interested in learning more about his research, you'll find more information at http://dissertation.peterstinson.com.

Please forward this information. This survey is open to all Coast Guard employees (military, civilian, contract) at Main Street Tower. You can complete this very brief survey at http://bit.ly/F2ew4.

Here's the proposed text for an email from the deputy (or successor) to sent to division officers, detachment supervisors, and unit commanding officers in Main Street Tower:

For the last several years, we have had a unit leadership development program in place. This initiative has been led by Dr. Kathy Nash. Peter Stinson, an organizational performance consultant at Atlantic Area, is conducting a program evaluation of the ULDP as a part of his doctoral work at Nova Southeastern University. Peter will be looking at extent organizational data, conducting a few interviews, and running a survey. The survey is open to all Coast Guard employees (military, civilian, contract) working here at Main Street Tower. The survey is found here: http://bit.ly/F2ew4; this is accessible from anywhere on the Internet.

If you would like to learn more about Peter's research, you'll find more information at http://dissertation.peterstinson.com.

Please let your employees know about this opportunity for them to provide feedback about leadership development here in the building.

My point of contact for this is Renee Lukondi. Dr. Kathy Nash is serving as the sponsor for this initiative. In addition, Peter will be glad to answer any questions you have about this evaluation.

And, finally, here's a proposed notice for the plan of the week and/or the weekly readahead:
Program evaluation of the ULDP: Peter Stinson, an organizational performance consultant at Atlantic Area and a doctoral candidate at Nova Southeastern University, is conducting research to determine the effectiveness of the unit leadership development program which has run in the building for the last several years. All Coast Guard employees (military, civilian, contract) are invited to complete a very brief survey. You can find the survey here: http://bit.ly/F2ew4. If you are interested in learning more about this research effort, you'll find more information at http://dissertation.peterstinson.com.
Who is overseeing your research?
This program evaluation, while certainly linked to my organizational role as an organization performance consultant, is being conducted under the auspices of the Fishcher School of Education and Human Services, Nova Southeastern University. This is a part of my doctoral studies at the University. As such, this research will be reviewed and approved by the federally-mandated Institutional Review Board which oversees all research with human subjects.


Will you publish the results of your findings?
Yes. The entire dissertation will be posted at http://dissertation.peterstinson.com; at the moment, the approved proposal is posted at there. In addition, once the final document is approved, I will upload it to the Academic Papers Repository on CGPortal.
If you have additional questions, please contact me.

www.PeterStinson.com
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