The Dutch Moral Questionnaire

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The Dutch Moral Questionnaire
45th Annual Conference of the International
Military Testing Association

• Major Bert Hendriks MA
• Armys Behavioral Science Division
• November 6th 2003

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Topics

• Introduction
• Development of the Dutch Moral Questionnaire
• Practical application
• Experience

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Topics

• Introduction

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Introduction (1)

• Why research on morale?
• The Deployability of teams- questionnaire

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Introduction (2)
Definition of morale Morale is a mental
attitude held by an individual soldier in a
task-oriented group in relation to achieving the
operational objectives for which the group exists
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Topics

• Introduction
• Development of the Dutch Moral Questionnaire
• Practical application
• Experience

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Development of the Dutch Moral Questionnaire (1)
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Development of the Dutch Moral Questionnaire (2)
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Development of the Dutch Moral Questionnaire (3)

• Individual aspects
• Trust
• Home front support
• Job satisfaction
• Organizational Citizenship Behavior

• Unit aspects
• Deployability
• Unit cohesion
• Identification with the unit
• Respect

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Development of the Dutch Moral Questionnaire (4)

• Leadership
• Group
• Platoon
• Team

• Organizational aspects
• Appreciation of the military environment
• Involvement in the objectives of the army
• Familiarity with assignment and terrain
• Perceived organizational support

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Development of the Dutch Moral Questionnaire (5)
Scale reliability

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Topics

• Introduction
• Development of the Dutch Moral Questionnaire
• Practical application
• Experience

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Practical application (1)

• Three measurements
• Just before operational deployment (approx. 1
  month)
• During deployment (approx. 3 months after the
  start of the operation)
• After return the deployment (approx. 1 months
  after return).

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Practical application (2)

• Procedure
• Information
• Contract
• Assessment of the results
• Interventions

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Topics

• Introduction
• Development of the Dutch Moral Questionnaire
• Practical application
• Experience

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Experience (1)

• Recently designed tailor made moral
  questionnaires Airmobile Brigade en
  Stabilization Force in Iraq
• Advantages of the DMQ - Indicates an increased
  or decreased risk of dropouts - Strengths and
  weaknesses analysis of the team - Structural
  and systematic overview of morale aspects -
  Takes little time - High response

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Experience (2)

• Disadvantages of the DMQ - Threatening -
  Inspection by the next level up - Changing
  requires response time
• Commanders assessment

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Final remarks

• How to proceed?
• DMQ under construction!

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Questions???