Date of Award

January 2019

Document Type

Dissertation

Degree Name

Doctor of Philosophy (PhD)

Department

Space Studies

First Advisor

James G. Casler

Abstract

High-reliability organizations (HRO) and organizations in isolated, confined environments (ICE) both operate under conditions where reliability is expected, but do not appear to have similar emphases placed on total reliability, based on a brief survey of the literature. A content analysis searched out a stronger relationship between HRO and ICE. Leadership and team size are hypothesized as differences between HRO and ICE, since the literature appears to show HRO as taking place in larger teams with more distinct hierarchies. This dissertation examined this postulation, based on two sub-hypotheses. Hypothesis 1 is that the error rate of a team's actions is inversely related to the size of the team, based on the distinction between HRO and ICE. Hypothesis 2 is that transformational leaders in ICE reduce the number of human errors compared with transactional leaders, since Bass suggests transformational leaders better inspire their teams to improve. Two datasets were gathered to test these hypotheses. The first, in support of Hypothesis 1, was a meta-synthesis of team literature. The second, in support of Hypothesis 2, were new recordings of extra-vehicular activities (EVAs) from two crews at the University of North Dakota Inflatable Lunar/Martian Analog Habitat (ILMAH). The result for Hypothesis 1 is inconclusive, and the result for Hypothesis 2 was rejected.

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