“The Psychological Peculiarities of the Management Culture of Sergeants of the Land Forces of the Armed Forces of Ukraine”. Dissertation for the Degree of Doctor of Philosophy (PhD) in specialty 053 “Psychology”. – National Defense University of Ukraine, Kyiv, 2024.
The dissertation research aimed to address a scientific task relevant to psychological theory and practice. This task involved elucidating and justifying the psychological peculiarities of the management culture among sergeants of the Land Forces (hereinafter referred to as LF) within the Armed Forces (hereinafter referred to as AF) of Ukraine during key stages of their professional development.
The state of research on the issue of management culture among professionals in the psychological literature has been clarified, and it has been determined that its formation and development occur based on general and national cultural values. It is an important element of professional development and growth for managers, as well as a foundation for the effectiveness of their management activities.
It has been established that the management culture of sergeants of the LF of the AF of Ukraine (hereinafter referred to as sergeants), as an integrated component of the culture of military management subjects, is determined by the depth of understanding and perception of values and specifics of management activities and its goals, acquisition of the content, principles, methods, and means of management in a military-professional environment, and becoming subjects of military management. The management culture of sergeants is a component of work culture, particularly the culture of professional management activities of professionals in extreme kind of activities. Based on the foundational principles of the subject-activity methodological approach, the notion of “management culture of sergeants of the LF of the AF of Ukraine” is established as their integrated and professionally important psychological construct, which encompasses a framework of management values, motivations, knowledge, skills, abilities, and crucial management traits that foster their evolution into effective military managers. It has been proven that the managerial activities of sergeants ensure the development of the military unit as a combat team, flexibility in selecting the appropriate management style for each sergeant according to the context of the military-professional task being performed by the unit (part), and create a favorable moral-psychological atmosphere for the active participation of all military personnel in the life of the unit (part). The theoretical model of the management culture of sergeants has been designed as their dynamically significant psychological formation, encompassing a set of values and motivations of management activities, managerial competence (including professionally significant managerial qualities, norms, principles, and behavioral-management standards as management subjects), and professional subjectivity as a military manager. The functions of the management culture of sergeants have been identified as value-motivational, managerial, psycho-educational, communicative, and integrative-reflective. The components have been determined as value-motivational, cognitive, emotional-volitional, and activity-professional.Based on the results of expert assessment, the 7-factor model of the management culture of sergeants has been developed. This model projects it as a psychological system, taking into account the peculiarities of their activities. The main psychological characteristics of the management culture of sergeants have been identified in accordance with the stages of their professional development. This identification takes into account various psychological factors, such as motivation for success and avoidance of failure, determination of life values and personal traits, cognitive regulation of emotions, positive and negative affectivity, resilience, cognitive-behavioral coping strategies, cognitive errors, and the ability to analyze one's own personal limitations. The scientific novelty of the research lies in the following:
it was the first time: the psychological characteristics of the management culture of sergeants of the LF of the AF of Ukraine have been identified at the key stages of their professionalization. It was deepened and refined: the theoretical, methodological, and practical principles of researching the management culture of sergeants of the LF of the AF of Ukraine have been deepened and refined. It was improved: the process of professional (combat) training of sergeants of the LF of the AF of Ukraine has been improved based on the implementation of the training program aimed at developing their management culture. The practical significance of the research results lies in the development and implementation of the training program aimed at enhancing the management culture of sergeants of the LF of the AF of Ukraine.
