Open Access. Powered by Scholars. Published by Universities.®

Business Commons™

Open Access. Powered by Scholars. Published by Universities.®

Air Force Institute of Technology

Discipline
Keyword
Publication Year
Publication
Publication Type

Articles 601 - 630 of 1164

Full-Text Articles in Business

Developing Cost Per Flying Hour Factors For The Operations And Maintenance Phase Of The Satellite Life Cycle, Anthony K. Kimbrough Mar 2003

Developing Cost Per Flying Hour Factors For The Operations And Maintenance Phase Of The Satellite Life Cycle, Anthony K. Kimbrough

Theses and Dissertations

The purpose of this thesis was to develop cost per flying hour factors for the operations and maintenance (O&M) phase of the satellite life cycle. At a time when space system platforms are becoming some of the most strategic weapons in the military arsenal, it is critical that accurate cost models and factors be developed to assist in budgeting for the O&M of these assets.

Go to article

Integrating Cost As An Independent Variable Analysis With Evolutionary Acquisition - A Multiattribute Design Evaluation Approach, Marc T. Lewis Mar 2003

Integrating Cost As An Independent Variable Analysis With Evolutionary Acquisition - A Multiattribute Design Evaluation Approach, Marc T. Lewis

Theses and Dissertations

Guidance from the Under Secretary of Defense for Acquisition, Technology, and Logistics (USD(AT&L)) requires 100 percent of defense programs to incorporate cost as an independent variable (CAIV) and evolutionary acquisition (EA) plans within their management baselines. Historically, these two concepts have been implemented independent of one another. In reality, CAIV and EA are tightly coupled, Integration of these two initiatives enables warfighters and developers to better allocate constrained resources, respond to fluctuations in program funding, and plan for future development activities. This research creates a decision tool to assist the DoD acquisition community in satisfying the intent of the USD(AT&L) …

Go to article

A Comparative Analysis Of The Cost Estimating Error Risk Associated With Fly Away Costs Vs Individual Components Of Aircraft, Jonathan D. Ritschel Mar 2003

A Comparative Analysis Of The Cost Estimating Error Risk Associated With Fly Away Costs Vs Individual Components Of Aircraft, Jonathan D. Ritschel

Theses and Dissertations

A shrinking workforce, unstable budgets, and rapidly changing objectives under stricter time constraints characterize today's cost analysis and acquisition environment. In concert with this environment, cost analyst positions have rapidly decreased as demonstrated by Aeronautical Systems Centers 54% decline in total authorized slots from 1992 to 2001. The question is how to deal with this more with less' mentality. The purpose of this research is to investigate and measure the risks associated with taking a macro versus micro approach to aircraft cost estimation. By analyzing the fidelity of a cost estimate developed at the flyaway cost level versus a cost …

Go to article

An Analysis Of The Air Force Working Capital Fund's Performance And The Pricing Strategy Of The Materiel Support Division, Lisa M. Stanley Mar 2003

An Analysis Of The Air Force Working Capital Fund's Performance And The Pricing Strategy Of The Materiel Support Division, Lisa M. Stanley

Theses and Dissertations

The Air Force Working Capital Fund (AFWCF), a revolving fund established to create a more business-like environment between the Air Force and its customers, is comprised of several divisions providing depot level repairs, supplies and inventory, information technology solutions and transportation services to military customers, Since its establishment, the AFWCF has been the source of much criticism due to its inability to meet its primary goal of operating on a break-even basis. Ideally, the Fund will generate enough revenue from the sale of goods or services to cover its expenses and break-even. Instead, there is either a surplus that must …

Go to article

Combat Air Forces Campaign Level Modernization Planning-A Study In Group Decision Making, Ian L. Walker Mar 2003

Combat Air Forces Campaign Level Modernization Planning-A Study In Group Decision Making, Ian L. Walker

Theses and Dissertations

Modernization is a critical component of the current transformation effort within the Department of Defense (DoD) Effective and efficient modernization planning will provide for the improved allocation of limited funding. The Air Force currently conducts capabilities based modernization planning to identify shortfalls. Air Combat Command (ACC) utilizes multi-objective decision analysis (MODA) techniques to support the modernization planning process (MPP). A MODA model has been created to identify and quantify capability shortfalls across a diverse range of mission areas. Groups of subject matter experts are utilized to provide model inputs improving the usefulness and credibility of the model. The intent of …

Go to article

Strategies Leaders Should Use To Respond To Hostile Questions Regarding Organizational Changes: An Empirical Investigation, Michael S. Gore Mar 2003

Strategies Leaders Should Use To Respond To Hostile Questions Regarding Organizational Changes: An Empirical Investigation, Michael S. Gore

Theses and Dissertations

The purpose of this research was to develop a tool, using Speech Act Theory, which will help leaders better handle hostile questions they face during organizational change. Specifically, speech act theory, which outlines five question-response strategies, was used to test the effectiveness of question responses to hostile questions encountered during organizational change.

Go to article

A Study Of Voluntary Turnover Of Air Force Officers In Critically-Manned Career Fields, Jeffrey H. S. Lin Mar 2003

A Study Of Voluntary Turnover Of Air Force Officers In Critically-Manned Career Fields, Jeffrey H. S. Lin

Theses and Dissertations

Turnover in the Air Force has always been a subject of importance. As the costs associated with losing an individual are high, it would be in the best interest of an organization to understand the main reasons for voluntary turnover in order to facilitate retention. Current research has yielded the Unfolding Model of Voluntary Turnover developed by Lee, Mitchell, Holtom, McDaniel and Hill (1999), which identified 5 different paths people take as they voluntary leave organizations. This research effort tested to see if this model held true for a group of former Air Force officers from career fields experiencing low …

Go to article

Analysis Of Air Force Civil Engineering Strategic Planning, Francis J. Mondo Jr. Mar 2003

Analysis Of Air Force Civil Engineering Strategic Planning, Francis J. Mondo Jr.

Theses and Dissertations

Several organizations within the Department of Defense, including the Air Force Civil Engineer, are actively engaged in strategic planning in an effort to create a roadmap for future capabilities and performance. The objective of this research was to analyze the strategic planning process of the Air Force Civil Engineer (CE) as well as the effectiveness of the Civil Engineer Strategic Plan (CESP). The methodology used to complete this analysis was conducted in two distinct phases: 1) process modeling and evaluation, and 2) performance measure evaluation. The first phase compared the CE strategic planning process to a theoretical planning model developed …

Go to article

Visualization Of Career-Related Computer-Mediated Communication For Increased Knowledge Management, Marc A. Grayson Mar 2003

Visualization Of Career-Related Computer-Mediated Communication For Increased Knowledge Management, Marc A. Grayson

Theses and Dissertations

Retention and retrieval of organizational memory has been the concentration of many conceptualized models of an organizational memory information system (OMIS). This thesis presents an extended view for system development of an OMIS from a knowledge management perspective. The United States Air Force maintains various career-related mailing lists (listservs) for information technology (IT) specialists sponsored by the Air Force Communications Agency (AFCA). AFCA has realized the importance of monitoring the communication for patterns in content and behavior. This thesis details an experimental study, which includes a repository of computer-mediated communication (CMC) of IT specialists, analyzed by software created for this …

Go to article

Perceptions Vs Reality: A Longitudinal Experiment In Influence Judgment Performance, Monti L. Knode Mar 2003

Perceptions Vs Reality: A Longitudinal Experiment In Influence Judgment Performance, Monti L. Knode

Theses and Dissertations

Government reliance on computer-mediated information has transformed it from "enabler" to "target" which now demands the detection of manipulated and deceptive measures a primary security objective. As people are not inherently good performers at detecting deceptive communications, this study draws on interpersonal deception theory (Burgoon, 1986) and social cognitive theory (Bandura, 1986) to measure personal perceptions that influence decisions operationalized as the successful detection of a deceptive measure. Department of Defense personnel (N--119) participated in a longitudinal experiment that measured detection performance before and after training and feedback treatments. Self-efficacy and perceived training effectiveness emerged as dominant factors in predicting …

Go to article

Analyzing Differences Between Public And Private Sector Information Resource Management: Chief Information Officer Challenges And Critical Technologies, Scott M. Mitchell Mar 2003

Analyzing Differences Between Public And Private Sector Information Resource Management: Chief Information Officer Challenges And Critical Technologies, Scott M. Mitchell

Theses and Dissertations

The office of the Chief Information Officer is still new within public sector organizations. Further, the office of the CIO was hastily created by Federal laws that provide only broad direction for its implementation and practice while at the same time limiting each office's power and reach within Federal agencies. Presently, because of broadly defined scope and the newness of the office in the public sector, Federal CIOs now face many challenges and critical technologies in managing their agency's information resources. Private sector organizations have a valuable knowledge base from their CIO office implementation efforts and subsequent operations. This private …

Go to article

Incorporating Organizational Culture Into A Decision Framework For Identifying And Selecting Knowledge Management Projects, Jeffrey A. Phillips Mar 2003

Incorporating Organizational Culture Into A Decision Framework For Identifying And Selecting Knowledge Management Projects, Jeffrey A. Phillips

Theses and Dissertations

Knowledge management is an emerging business practice throughout commercial industry and is becoming more recognized as a valuable concept in the Department of Defense and the Federal government. In March 2001, Captain William Bower completed a research effort that proposed a framework model for guiding the identification and selection of knowledge management initiatives within the Air Force. The members of the Delphi committee that participated in the original research to develop the decision framework recommended that organizational culture be more emphasized. Therefore, this research effort evaluated the decision framework proposed by Captain Bower and adapted the framework by including organizational …

Go to article

The Effects Of Technology Turnover On Workplace Productivity Perceptions, Robert W. Povlich Jr. Mar 2003

The Effects Of Technology Turnover On Workplace Productivity Perceptions, Robert W. Povlich Jr.

Theses and Dissertations

The productivity paradox is a theory that suggests that investments in Information Technology (IT) do not necessarily lead to associated gains in the productivity of the organization (Malakoff 2000; Hitt and Brynjolfsson, 1996). This perception leads practitioners to question if acquiring new IT systems for the sake of having the latest technology will make their organization any more productive (Liebmann, 1996). Understanding the problem that is facing the practitioners, this research was undertaken to attempt to answer some of the underlying questions relating to the perceptions held about the relationship between IT expenditures and workplace productivity with respect to Air …

Go to article

Analysis Of The Theoretical Relationships Between Work Exhaustion, Job Satisfaction, And Turnover Intention Of Air Force Information Systems Managers, Alfred D. Ray Mar 2003

Analysis Of The Theoretical Relationships Between Work Exhaustion, Job Satisfaction, And Turnover Intention Of Air Force Information Systems Managers, Alfred D. Ray

Theses and Dissertations

The use of information technology has increased exponentially over the last two decades (Cohen and Burton, 2001), Accordingly, the ability of organizations to retain their information systems staff has been a critical factor in the effort to achieve strategic goals (Moore, 2002), When IS professionals leave an organization, not only is the number of them available for assignment to projects depleted, the professionals themselves often take specialized skills, tacit knowledge, and understanding of specific business operations and information systems with them (Agarwal and Ferratt, 2002), Chief Executives have become increasingly interested in issues related to the recruitment, development, and retention …

Go to article

Text Manipulation Judgment Accuracy: An Exploratory Study, Randy S. Wardak Mar 2003

Text Manipulation Judgment Accuracy: An Exploratory Study, Randy S. Wardak

Theses and Dissertations

Deception aims to affect a decision-making process in a way that somehow benefits the deceiver. More knowledge is desired in the area of purely text-based scenarios. Thirty-seven graduate students at the Air Force Institute of Technology participated in an experiment in order to gain an initial understanding of how people determine whether text has been manipulated, and to identify specific areas that may be more closely investigated in future research. Excerpts were drawn from editions of a current-events newsletter that the participants receive on a weekly basis as part of their enrollment in the graduate program. Some of the excerpts …

Go to article

A Theoretical Framework For Turnover Intention Of Air Force Enlisted Information Systems Personnel, Dan W. Smith Mar 2003

A Theoretical Framework For Turnover Intention Of Air Force Enlisted Information Systems Personnel, Dan W. Smith

Theses and Dissertations

Retention of valuable information systems (IS) personnel has become increasingly more difficult over the past decade, even during the current economic downturn (ITAA, 2002). The United States Air Force (AF) also suffers from declining retention of its enlisted IS workforce. This research studies the job satisfaction-to-turnover intention relationship of AF IS workers through extensions to the Mobley et al. (1979) turnover model by assessing the effects of work exhaustion (Moore, 2000), interrole conflict (Hom & Kinicki, 2001), and perceived cohesion (Bollen & Hoyle, 1990) to determine if those with high work exhaustion, high interrole conflict, and low perceived cohesion report …

Go to article

Aerospace Ground Equipment Management's Impact On Home-Station Sortie Production, Michael A. Bayer Mar 2003

Aerospace Ground Equipment Management's Impact On Home-Station Sortie Production, Michael A. Bayer

Theses and Dissertations

Since the Air Force began its evolution into an Expeditionary Air Force, much effort has been expended in attempt to optimize the compositions of each Air Expeditionary Force (AEF) and the manner in which an AEF deploys. Air Force plans were previously based upon deploying 24-ship Unit Type Codes (UTC), although a 12-ship deployment is more prevalent in today's environment. In an effort to eliminate the anomalies between planned and actual deployment composition, the Air Staff directed in 2002 that all fighter UTCs be right-sized to reflect current, planned requirements (Headquarters United States Air Force, 2002), The directive stipulated the …

Go to article

A Comparative Study Of The Warrior Support Tool And The Agile Munitions Support Tool, John C. Lofton Iii Mar 2003

A Comparative Study Of The Warrior Support Tool And The Agile Munitions Support Tool, John C. Lofton Iii

Theses and Dissertations

The purpose of this research is to ascertain if the United States Air Force (USAF) is duplicating effort with the development of the two IT applications, the Warrior Support Tool (WST) and the Agile Munitions Support Tool (AMST), or if one will effectively meet requirements. Specifically, this thesis sought to answer four research questions addressing customer needs for a munitions IT application, identifying the capabilities of the two research IT applications, determining how well each application met the needs of the customer, and determining how supportable each application was in terms of information needs versus existing munitions systems. A mixed …

Go to article

Utility Assessment Of Specificity In Upward Feedback Instruments For Leadership Development, Theresa M. Wardak Mar 2003

Utility Assessment Of Specificity In Upward Feedback Instruments For Leadership Development, Theresa M. Wardak

Theses and Dissertations

Recently, organizations have been modifying performance appraisal systems to collect data from multiple sources to guide the development of supervisors. Upward feedback programs focus on development rather than appraisal by supplementing traditional downward feedback with subordinate feedback. The utility of two upward feedback instruments was assessed in this study; one is a commercially available instrument, the Leadership Practices Inventory (Posner & Kouzes, 1988) and the other is the recently developed, non-proprietary Upward Feedback Instrument (2002). The Upward Feedback Instrument was designed to measure leadership behaviors at a more specific level. It was thought that greater feedback specificity world lead to …

Go to article

Developing A Leadership Commitments Inventory, Abigail L. White Mar 2003

Developing A Leadership Commitments Inventory, Abigail L. White

Theses and Dissertations

Organizations have been modifying performance appraisal systems to collect data from multiple source to guide supervisor development. Multiple rater programs provide leaders with more than one source of feedback, and give them a more complete, and possibly more accurate picture of their performance, which can facilitate meaningful behavioral change. The purpose of this thesis was to develop and validate a Leadership Commitments Inventory (LCI) from a 360-degree feedback approach that reflected a six-factor leadership taxonomy composed of twelve distinct indices, Using successive content adequacy tests, 48 items were validated and the web-based LCI was administered to 278 participants. Internal consistency …

Go to article

Participation's Effect On Organizational Readiness For Change: An Empirical Study, Jonathon F. Flanders Mar 2003

Participation's Effect On Organizational Readiness For Change: An Empirical Study, Jonathon F. Flanders

Theses and Dissertations

Organizational change management is a principal issue in virtually every organization. This cross sectional correlation study examined an array of variables (i.e., process, personality, and context -specific) that influence organizational readiness for change. Participation (process variable) was related to higher mean scores in each of the four distinct readiness for change scales and explained a significant amount of incremental variance in appropriateness, valence, and efficacy.

Go to article

An International Study Of Organizational Change: A Simultaneous Analysis Of Process, Context, And Individual Attributes, Hee-Hyung Jung Mar 2003

An International Study Of Organizational Change: A Simultaneous Analysis Of Process, Context, And Individual Attributes, Hee-Hyung Jung

Theses and Dissertations

Few studies in the organizational change literature have examined differences in the change process in different cultures. This cross-cultural study is designed to take a comprehensive view of change using a dynamic model that integrates content, process, context, and individual attribute factors simultaneously. The model is used to compare perceptions of organizational change held by members of military organizations in the United States and in Korea. The U.S. sample consisted of 264 employees who were members of Department of Defense organizations. There were two Korean samples: 280 employees of the Women's Military School and members of the Women's Battalion, and …

Go to article

A Decision Support System For Effective Scheduling In An F-16 Pilot Training Squadron, Davut Aslan Mar 2003

A Decision Support System For Effective Scheduling In An F-16 Pilot Training Squadron, Davut Aslan

Theses and Dissertations

Scheduling of flights for a flight training squadron involves the coordination of time and resources in a dynamic environment. The generation of a daily flight schedule (DFS) requires the proper coordination of resources within established time windows. This research provides a decision support tool to assist in the generation of the DFS. Three different priority rules are investigated for determining an initial ordering of flights and a shifting bottleneck heuristic is used to establish a candidate DFS. A user interface allows a scheduler to interact with the decision support tool during the DFS generation process. Furthermore, the decision support tool …

Go to article

An Analysis Of Information Referenced Testing As An Air Force Assessment Tool, Eric D. Larson Mar 2003

An Analysis Of Information Referenced Testing As An Air Force Assessment Tool, Eric D. Larson

Theses and Dissertations

The Department of Defense (DOD) has placed a great deal of importance on training and education, throughout all areas of infrastructure development and force implementation. A more knowledgeable operating unit, in any situation, is consistently the deciding factor for success. The United States Air Force, too, has emphasized this ideal and sought to employ those persons most qualified for the required task. Yet, problems within the classroom and various training venues are always present and should be continually marked for improvement. Existing assessment techniques should provide an accurate account of the quality of information learned by DOD personnel. This is …

Go to article

The Effects Of Perceived Overqualification On Job Satisfaction, Organizational Commitment, And Turnover: A Study Of Afit Graduates, Thomas E. Hoskins Mar 2003

The Effects Of Perceived Overqualification On Job Satisfaction, Organizational Commitment, And Turnover: A Study Of Afit Graduates, Thomas E. Hoskins

Theses and Dissertations

The U.S. Air Force provides multiple program to increase the educational skills of its workforce. This study focuses on the Air Force Institute of Technology (AFIT) graduate level, in-residence degree program. The Air Force is making a significant investment in the education of its members. Studies on perceived overqualification, overeducation, and match quality suggest that utilization plays a role in an individual's job satisfaction and organizational commitment. Job satisfaction and organizational commitment levels can be used as predictors of turnover. This research studies the levels of perceived overqualification in AFIT graduates and how it effects their job satisfaction, organizational commitment, …

Go to article

A Delphi Expert Assessment Of Proactive Contracting In An Evolutionary Acquisition Environment, Gary L. Wellman Mar 2003

A Delphi Expert Assessment Of Proactive Contracting In An Evolutionary Acquisition Environment, Gary L. Wellman

Theses and Dissertations

This study used structured group discussions (The Delphi Method) among three groups of contracting professionals from the Air Armament, Aeronautical Systems, and the Electronic Systems Centers in order to identify potential roadblocks to implementation of Evolutionary Acquisition strategies. The Delphi groups also tackled the problem of identifying and exploring potential business strategies that may counter the identified challenges. Discussions revealed that current laws, regulations, and internal processes pose challenges in an evolutionary acquisition environment. No single business strategy emerged as the best way to implement the EA strategy. Participants suggested that all three Centers concluded that robust business planning, pre-contract …

Go to article

An Analysis Of The Implementation Of Acquisition Reform Initiatives And Contract Cost Variance, Mark A. Holbrook Mar 2003

An Analysis Of The Implementation Of Acquisition Reform Initiatives And Contract Cost Variance, Mark A. Holbrook

Theses and Dissertations

This thesis examines the impact of acquisition reform initiatives implemented since 1993 on contract cost performance. Many initiatives implemented during the 1990s focused on saving the government money in procuring weapon systems. For decades, cost overruns have plagued Department of Defense weapons systems development and procurement costing the government money. The passage of the Federal Acquisition Streamlining Act (FASA) of 1994 and the Clinger-Cohen Act of 1996, marked significant congressional action on aiding the Department of Defense develop and procure systems cheaper. Conclusions drawn in this thesis may aid leadership in supporting current initiatives and drafting new changes.

Go to article

An Investigation Of Air Force Communities Of Practice: A Descriptive Study Of Evolution Through Assessment Of People, Process, And Technology Capabilities, Jason R. May Mar 2003

An Investigation Of Air Force Communities Of Practice: A Descriptive Study Of Evolution Through Assessment Of People, Process, And Technology Capabilities, Jason R. May

Theses and Dissertations

A variety of theories state that communities of practice (CoPs) "evolve" or "mature" through various stages over time. Such theories posit that each stage is characterized by different people, process, and technology attributes/capabilities that ultimately necessitate differing strategies for achieving effectiveness (Gongla and Rizzuto, 2001). A primary goal of AFMC/DRW, AFMC Electronic Learning (eLearning) Knowledge Management Integrated Project Team, and the office of the Air Force Chief Information Officer is to increase CoP participation and effectiveness. This descriptive, cross-sectional research, surveyed all CoP managers of all CoPs "hosted" by AFMC/DRW with a quantitative/qualitative, 86 question, 5-point Likert, survey. This research …

Go to article

Onward Movement Transportation Mode Selection Study, Seong Kyun Lee Mar 2003

Onward Movement Transportation Mode Selection Study, Seong Kyun Lee

Theses and Dissertations

As a result of global security environmental changes, the U.S. Army's posture has changed from forward deployment to power projection and resulted in the reduction of the Army force structure. These changes also reduce the possibility of the United States' involvement in a large-scale war, but require rapid and reliable deployment to stabilize a hostile area. Force projection is the demonstrated ability to alert, mobilize, deploy rapidly, and operate effectively anywhere in the world, and consists of three deployment segments: fort to port, port to port, and port to foxhole. Reception, Staging, Onward Movement, and Integration (RSO&I) is a detailed …

Go to article

Multiple Case Comparison Of The In-Transit Visibility Business Process, Michael L. Horsey Mar 2003

Multiple Case Comparison Of The In-Transit Visibility Business Process, Michael L. Horsey

Theses and Dissertations

Over the past decade, the Department of Defense has developed an In-transit Visibility capability. Despite significant funding and research in developing this capability, the initial deployment in support of Operation ENDURING FREEDOM (OEF) in 2001 highlighted an ongoing problem to achieve ITV within the U.S. Air Force. Initial results from Headquarters USAF initiated studies point to a need to focus on business processes related ITV management. This research employed a multiple case study design embedded in a functional benchmarking process to solicit ITV management "best practices" from leaders in the civilian logistics industry and to identify gaps between their practices …

Go to article

First Prev Next Last