CHANGING COURSE: A CASE ANALYSIS ON THE ORGANIZATIONAL EFFECTIVENESS OF THE SURFACE NAVY

As the Surface Navy continues to advance, Surface Warfare Officers must understand organizational behavior and improve culture onboard ships to better develop teams and avoid mishaps. By examining and understanding organizational behavior, businesses have adapted their strategies to better their employees' performance. Using Nadler and Tushman's Congruence Model, this qualitative case study examines the USS Fitzgerald and USS John S. McCain 2017 ship collisions to answer the question: What interdependencies between the tasks, individuals, and organizational processes onboard ships are affecting performance? Organizations are open systems comprised of interrelated elements, including inputs, transformation process, outputs, and feedback. Our analysis found poor congruence in the transformation processes in both collision cases, specifically, the elements of task, individual, and informal processes. We argue that the lack of congruence led to reduced performance in both organizations. In addressing reduced performance, our study recommends the theory of total motivation by Doshi and McGregor to drive cultural change at both the individual and organizational levels to improve overall performance.Lieutenant, United States NavyLieutenant, United States NavyLieutenant, United States NavyApproved for public release. Distribution is unlimited