Description
Case Study On Transitional Leadership In The Defense And Aerospace Industry: A Critical Analysis For Recruiting And Developing Talent, Critical thinking is reflective reasoning about beliefs and actions. It is a way of deciding whether a claim is always true, sometimes true, partly true, or false. Critical thinking can be traced in Western thought to the Socratic method of Ancient Greece and, in the East, to the Buddhist kalama sutta and Abhidharma.
Case Study on Transitional Leadership in the Defense and Aerospace Industry: A Critical Analysis for Recruiting and Developing Talent
Abstract: This article proposes a framework to create effective transitional leadership in the defence and aerospace industry. The proposed framework identifies and maps traits and skills of military personnel in a manner that can be tested and validated in accordance with principles of human resource management. Applying this framework would assist hiring managers in their selection of program or project managers from the military in transition to a defence contractor support organisation. Employing a research approach embracing a mix of both quantitative and quantitative strategies, the study examined more than 50 respondents to a 34-question survey, focusing on 14 respondents who submitted fully completed surveys. The conceptual framework for this study is derived from investigations conducted by project management practitioners and scholars who have built upon the research of previous research, which studied project development models within various industries. Keywords: program management; project management; transitional leadership; Department of Defense; DoD; aerospace industry; recruitment; talent; human resource. Reference to this paper should be made as follows: Dawson, M. and Rahim, E. (2011) 'Transitional leadership in the defence and aerospace industry: a critical analysis for recruiting and developing talent', Int. J. Project Organisation and Management, Vol. 3, No. 2, pp.164-183. Biographical notes: Maurice Eugene Dawson Jr. is currently employed as an Information Assurance (IA) and Networking Product Line Manager at Textron Systems' AAI Division. Responsibilities include overseeing the efforts of a network engineering, software assurance, and IA engineering staff to design, develop, engineer and implement solutions to network and security requirements. He is also a Senior Researcher with Morgan State University. He has over a decade of project management experience working in crossfunctional organisations, managing government, military and private
Transitional leadership in the defence and aerospace industry
contracts. He has published widely on the topics of project management, information security, DoD, higher education, engineering and organisational development. He received a DCS with a concentration in Enterprise Information Systems from IAS at Colorado Technical University, an MBA and MSM in Information Security from Colorado Technical University and earned several internationally recognised IT certifications (CSSLP, CGEIT, ISP). Emad Abdul Rahim is a Core Faculty at Walden University, where he teaches in the DBA degree program. He is also an Assistant Professor for Venture Connect at Morrisville State College. He is the Principal Consultant at Global i365, a management consulting organisation specialising in e-learning solutions and thought leadership and diversity training. He has published widely on the topics of diversity management, project management, Islam, organisational development, leadership, entrepreneurship and organisational behaviour. He obtained his Doctorate in Management from the Institute for Advance Studies at Colorado Technical University, two graduate degrees in Business Management and Project Management from Colorado Technical University and earned four internationally recognised management certifications (PMP, CM, CPM). He is a Certified FastTrac Facilitator through the Kauffman Foundation.
165
1
Introduction
As numerous acquisition program managers (APMs) leave the military, companies are working hard to hire them to lead their government-funded programs, as indicated through the military human resources commands. With this influx of personnel to the civilian workforce, human resources departments must adapt to select the best individual for the job, as indicated by the Rockwell Collins Human Resources and Diversity Advisory Council (DAC). These former-military PMs bring tactical and strategic knowledge from their commands, including program management utilising the acquisition lifecycle, direct end-user experience on the battlefield, and understanding of military operations in relation to the war fighter. Each of these PMs will become the leader, manager, facilitator, and voice to communicate with both upper management and the executing team in the company, as indicated by the federal and defence acquisition communities.
2
Research design
Inquiry can consist of quantitative, qualitative, or mixed methods as a form of gathering information. Figure 1 is an extraction from Creswell's table found in research design: qualitative, quantitative, and mixed methods approaches (Creswell, 2003). This figure displays the three methods utilised for gathering information to include the common uses of these various methods and illustrates the strategy of inquiry utilised in the research; its impact was that a mixed-methods approach should be taken in order to perform a complete analysis with the data types presented in the paper (Creswell, 2003).
166
Figure 1
M. Dawson and E. Rahim
Alternate strategies of inquiry (see online version for colours)
The purpose for using a mixed-methods approach was that using only one did not allow the researcher to have the desired control, given the subject matter and manner of research. However, the use of both methods allowed the researcher to reach a more focused audience to develop a base and then select a smaller audience to build a sound theory. Through this particular method, the researcher was able to create a sequential model for constructing the model for effective transitional leadership (Creech, 2004). The study, a four-step process displayed in Figure 2 is detailed as follows: Step 1 involved presenting a pilot survey to selected military service personnel with acquisition experience. Upon completion of this pilot survey, the requested responses were received and then incorporated to an initial survey.
Figure 2 Stages of research approach (see online version for colours)
Transitional leadership in the defence and aerospace industry
167
Step 2 was built upon Step 1's pilot survey. This allowed for the development of the initial survey, which was directed toward a smaller group with more focused questions regarding items taken from the literature review. Step 3 pertained to in-depth interviews of five non-acquisition PMs, all former service personnel. Each interview was a taperecorded conversation consisting not only of direct questions but also probing questions to gain more information needed for research. Step 4 consisted of validating and constructing a model that represented transitional leadership after doing a detailed analysis of all findings. The research was conducted using the stages described in Figure 2. The hypothesis is that a system that identifies and maps the traits and skills of military personnel transitioning to non-military positions can be developed, tested, and validated under the principles of human resource management. The hypothesis that will be validated is the assertion that there is a common thread of trait and skill sets allowing for individuals to transition successfully from the military into the Department of Defense (DoD) associated civilian sector, specifically into the defence and aerospace market.
3
Target population
The target population consisted of former service members and project managers from the DoD. The preference was to target individuals in the initial pilot study who had received their training from the Defense Acquisition University (DAU), which requires the minimum of a bachelor's degree with at least 24 semester hours from an array of subjects, including accounting, business finance, law, contracts, purchasing, economics, industrial management, marketing, quantitative methods, and organisational management. Other target population considerations included years of overall experience and years within that specific role for which the certification is being required. For example, if an individual wanted to do contracts, he or she would take all required DAU coursework and must perform for a length of time in that position. This was the additional training that the above individuals (targeted in the pilot study) had received that played a part in their success in the military and commercial sectors.
4
Sample size
The sample size for the initial study was approximately 50 respondents. The researcher anticipated between 25-50 responses. The reason for acquiring the number of respondents in this survey was that only completed surveys were utilised. By using the anonymous survey instrument, versus a purposive sampling strategy and personal interviews for the initial survey, the researcher hoped to remove any investigator bias. Participants of these surveys were current professionals in the defence and aerospace sectors.
5
Study design
The customised questionnaire was the primary data collection tool; it was strengthened using the desired competency cluster validation. The validity for the desired competency
168
M. Dawson and E. Rahim
cluster validation tool was reestablished by Stevens (2003) in his dissertation. The questionnaire was designed to require that key personnel identify and solidify key roles, traits and responsibilities as a project manager. The assessment model is measured by a five-point Likert scale, where a score of 1 shows a low rate of competence and 5 shows a high rate of competence. Participants rated themselves on each criterion. The instrument design, displayed as Figure 3. Desired competency cluster validation, was of particular note pertaining to the study's hypothesis.
Figure 3 Desired competency cluster validation
The instrument had to be designed and modified in such a way that the respondents could freely disclose the level, if any, of their implementation of the competency cluster validation. The questionnaire consisted of 34 questions that focused on the level and implementation of competency cluster validation processes. The demographics were detailed only to the appropriate level needed to meet the hypothesis contained within this study.
6
Ethical issues
Ethical issues in qualitative research are more subtle, and less visible, than issues in survey or experimental research. The issues are related to the characteristics of qualitative methodologies, such as the researching author's long-term involvement, personal relationships, and interviewing. This tends to create potential for variances in field research due to the human interaction component; hence, the research for this study was
Transitional leadership in the defence and aerospace industry
169
prone to a biased outcome due to interaction with the interviewees. However, the quantitative component of the research was limited to the data that was collected and the way data was interpreted since it was numerically based without any emotions involved; thus, it may be concluded that the quantitative findings are unbiased. In performing this study, the author complied with the Colorado Technical University Institutional Review Board's standard for the review of all requests for conducting research using human or animal subjects. The primary purpose of this standard is to ensure ethical treatment and protection of all human and animal participants.
7
Validity issues and reliability
Validity issues rest upon the quality of interview questions and the selection of interviewees. Since the data set is composed of interviews of four individuals, the quality of the emergent theory and insight will be delimited by the depth and breadth of the interview questions. While the individuals chosen for the interviews comprise various military backgrounds, they all have experienced similar leadership training and hold leadership positions within the same company; as such, results are case-specific. In an effort to validate the instrumentation tool prior to its distribution, a pilot study was administered to members of the acquisition workforce. This workforce had multiple locations: Cedar Rapids, IA; Huntsville, AL; Washington, D.C.; Colorado Springs, CO; and Heidelberg, Germany. Multiple respondents completed a pilot study questionnaire put forth by the researcher. Together, the responses and comments recorded in the pilot study served as a valuable asset in adjusting some questions while eliminating others. Further, an advantage was achieved through this learning process of developing an instrument that would elicit the desired information pertaining to the developed model for transitional leadership.
8
Results and demographic breakdown
The completed responses were examined; the partially completed surveys were discarded and were not included in the analysis. Reasons given for not fully completing surveys were time constraints, lack of knowledge pertaining to questions, or ability and willingness to answer the question(s). The demographic information collected included undergraduate education, graduate education, military education, motivations, roles in the service, and answers to 34questions. Background information relating to leadership and managerial roles was also considered. Over 50 respondents replied to the pilot survey; however, only 14 submitted fully completed surveys. The respondents came from all over the USA, with 57% from the southern region, 29% from the western region, and the remaining 14% from the eastern region. The breakdown included 64% commissioned officers and 36% non-commissioned officers (NCOs). Of the 14 respondents, all were middle-level managers, senior managers, or executive-level managers/officers. Regarding education level, all had attained at least an associate degree. Pertaining to prior undergraduate-level studies, 27% were business majors, 27% were engineering/science/technology majors, 20% were aviation majors, 13% were educated at an associate's level only, 7% were communications majors, and 6% had an educational background in the social sciences. In counting the educational background, some of the
170
M. Dawson and E. Rahim
respondents had more than one degree and thus, were counted individually when performing the statistical analysis of this survey. Figure 4 displays the graphical representation for education percentages at the bachelor and associate level.
Figure 4 Pilot study undergraduate education breakout (see online version for colours)
Out of all the respondents, 78.5% had one or more advanced degrees. The breakout of the types of graduate-level degrees displays 67% in business administration [Masters of Business Administration (MBA)], 9% as engineering/science majors, 8% in social sciences, and 8% in management. The percentages are captured in Figure 5. All respondents' educational degrees were attained from regionally accredited institutions located within the US In looking at all data, 74% of all respondents' undergraduate educational experiences related to business and engineering/technology/sciences, whereas at the graduate level, 84% had degrees relating to business, management, and engineering/science. It appears that at the undergraduate level, the main drivers were engineering and business-related programs; meanwhile, at the graduate level, more than 75% had degrees pertaining to management and business.
Figure 5 Pilot study graduate education background (see online version for colours)
Transitional leadership in the defence and aerospace industry
171
In total, regardless of military service and gender, 100% of the respondents reported being in management and leadership roles. Only 7% were female, but 93% of the total respondents were included in the pilot survey. All individuals had a role within the acquisition process; however, only 50% were acquisition project or program managers to include being branched as part of the Acquisition Corps. Of the total respondents, all managed projects or programs in excess of $1,000,000; however, only 21.4% had profit and loss (P&L) responsibility for $100,000,000 or more. Only 28.5% had projects or programs in excess of $50,000,000, and 64.2% were responsible for projects over $15,000,000.
9
Preliminary findings
To date, preliminary analysis of the data has enabled identification of a number of characteristics among the interviewees' military backgrounds. None of the individuals interviewed went through a direct commission program, which means they had to undergo rigorous officer training: They became commissioned leaders through either Reserve Officer Training Corps (ROTC), which required two to four years of leadership development, or Officer Candidate School (OCS), which included an intensive 14-week leadership course in Fort Benning, GA. Other individuals interviewed went through BCT and Warrant Officer Basic Course (WOBC), which is an intensive five-week course in Fort Rucker, AL. All enlisted soldiers went through advanced management courses that allowed them to continue their career as NCOs. All of these training courses teach the Army values, known as "LDRSHIP: loyalty, duty, respect, selfless service, honour, integrity, and personal courage"; this reflects the values instilled in them since becoming part of the USA military and that prepares them for the stress of performing in an intensive combat zone. Below in Figure 6, specific percentages concerning military education are broken out.
Figure 6 Pilot study military education (see online version for colours)
172
M. Dawson and E. Rahim
All participants engaged in a variety of a formal college studies from business to aviation. However, 100% of the interviewees had at least an associate-level degree. Out of the individuals selected from the entire group for specific correlation to study, all had at least a bachelor-level education. A majority of them pursued graduate degrees and completed certifications/courses within the Acquisition Corps. The researcher expected the comparative analysis to reveal more common characteristics of leadership traits and skills.
10
Research questions
RQ1 Is there a need for acquisition program management personnel to work as contractors on government-funded programs?
Through the literature review and participation with the DAC companies at a company with its headquarters in the Midwest, it has been revealed that the need and presence of project management have developed to become necessities in many industries (Rahim and Dawson, 2009). In 2008, the two magazines Global Knowledge and Fortune named 'project management' in their top ten careers of choice. This means it is a popular career, yet many personnel are needed to fill the ranks of this profession. Relating to the professional certification and credentials, the Project Management Professional (PMP) certification was listed as the highest paying certification to have in the technology industry, with the Certified Associate in Project Management (CAPM) falling into second place. This survey was conducted by ZDNET's Tech Republic organisation, and further helps prove that this profession is in demand across all industries. The DoD, in cooperation with DAU, has specifically created a career path and military designation relating directly to project management to include methods for retention of these personnel, so as to ensure that the military has appropriate personnel to ensure the successful management of government programs. Even the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) has developed an Acquisition Corps with the United States Coast Guard (USCG) to better manage government programs. The increasing attention on project management has increased the need to educate and further develop project managers and staff in order to provide better services, especially in the defence and aerospace sectors. Multiple postings through http://www.Dice.com, http://www.Careerbuilder.com, and http://www.Securityclearancejobs.com are seeking project managers to supervise their projects with very specific skill sets, military experience, and educational credentials. The screenshot below from http://www.Dice.com has revealed 4,623 job postings that were displayed within a 30-day job period. When the word 'clearance' was typed in addition to the basic search, approximately 1,000 job results appeared. Another job search using the words 'project manager' and 'security' displayed approximately 1,900 jobs in the results field. What the http://www.dice.com search has shown is that there is a need for program or project managers with security clearances; however, a larger need exists in general for individuals who know how to the manage time, scope, and schedule of a project.
Transitional leadership in the defence and aerospace industry
Figure 7 Dice jobs screen shot (see online version for colours)
173
RQ2 What is the common thread of traits and skills amongst individuals in the acquisition community?
Through the conducted research it was revealed that a remarkable portion of the discussions lead into more of a qualitative analysis. Various topics were addressed during the in-person interviews conducted with former service personnel at a defence and aerospace company headquartered in the Midwest. This particular company has brand aircraft electronics installed in the cockpits of nearly every airline in the world, and its airborne and ground-based communication systems transmit nearly 70% of all US and allied military airborne communication. Professional relationships have been built with nearly all individuals chosen to study; to include the majority of them, the researcher has worked directly with a military program. The preliminary interviews and questions have been completed as a result of an earlier study which was not appropriately constructed. However, the result has allowed the researcher to have a large repository of information that shall assist in this research moving forward. Each of the military personnel interviewed: 1 2 3 has a different military background and has served a minimum of four years within the USA armed forces is currently in a leadership role within an organisation that supports the military in either developing a product or providing a service was interviewed separately through an intensive note-taking session for later analysis as well as for constructing themes and checking evolving concepts
174 4
M. Dawson and E. Rahim was compared to the summarised results of all individuals to include some items found in the work completed earlier in the literature study.
The groupings were questions relating to management, values, ethics, leadership, business development, and technical competency. Many of the individuals interviewed had been in some form of leadership role since childhood. That leadership role varied from a position within the church to academic or athletic teams where they said they learned multiple things such as teamwork, leadership, dedication, determination, integrity, and motivation. Additionally, the probe questions revealed that many had a positive role model whose guidance they followed. All of the interviewees come from various social classes; however, of importance are the above traits they have in common. Even the education aspect presents wide variance, from prestigious university alumni to state university alumni. It appeared that neither race, colour, creed, religion, nor social class was common across the board. However, many did admit that due to social class, they did not have as many opportunities but rather made the best out of what they had out of the ambition to better themselves. All the individuals' studies showed they sought continuous growth and learning, for both educational and professional benefit. The information gathered was utilised to further define the research questions by understanding how to develop follow-up questions and narrow down the information with the interviewee. Some of the items learned were how to properly form a follow-up question, understand the differences in responses that may not be complete or accurate, and decomposing and categorising results.
Figure 8 Grouping 1 (see online version for colours)
As displayed in Figure 8, according to the survey respondents, the vast majority stated that they could control a meeting as it relates to the questions asked in Grouping 1: controlling the meeting. The only response that had a large variation was a question regarding to skipping meetings with more than about 12 people. Otherwise, the rest answered 'almost never,' with one person responding with 'sometimes'.
Transitional leadership in the defence and aerospace industry
175
In Figure 9, according to the survey respondents, the vast majority stated that they could effectively communicate and manage a task as it relates to the questions asked in Grouping 2: effective communication and task management. In this particular grouping the variations were not large. At any one time, no less than 62.5% felt that they performed or conducted a particular task 'almost always.' Thus, all of these items should be considered key skills in terms of program management. Questions 8 and 9 were the same to ensure the integrity of the survey process was maintained; noted in Figure 9, both questions have the same answers by the same respondents.
Figure 9 Grouping 2 (see online version for colours)
According to survey respondents in Figure 10, the vast majority responded similarly in Grouping 3: managing personnel. Here, the variations were noticeable on question 15, which probes the belief that a good employee sometimes may not fit into the corporate culture. With this question, 50% felt they believe this 'somewhat,' while the remaining 50% were divided in between variations of 'never' and 'always'. As a whole, the majority did not feel strongly toward one or the other. This question was divided in multiple ways, but for the most part, the respondents felt that they could judge between 'great' and 'no good'. In all other items, the respondents felt as if they could handle and make the appropriate choices as they saw fit.
176
M. Dawson and E. Rahim
Figure 10 Grouping 3 (see online version for colours)
Figure 11 Grouping 4 (see online version for colours)
Transitional leadership in the defence and aerospace industry
177
According to the survey respondents portrayed in Figure 11, a good percentage did not train employees as replacements; nevertheless, they felt they could pick winners, ensure long-term survival of the project or organisation, and look for a average employee rather than one who excels. Further clarifying on the last point, 'a good average' refers to an employee who comes in, does the job, and performs it as expected. Someone who hits the home run is far from expected, but 25% were indeed looking for that superstar employee. In this particular grouping, the variations occurred in questions 16, 17, and 18.
Figure 12 Grouping 5 (see online version for colours)
As Figure 12 displays, according to survey respondents, the vast majority indicated that they could transfer their military skills to the civilian sector in Grouping 5: process and transfer. Process is pivotal, as the goal is to create a framework that allows for this to occur. The response received for question 25 was that approximately 75% of the respondents did not have a strong answer regarding whether an individual should be a technical expert to manage the program. Nonetheless, it does appear that one must have knowledge of the business market if seeking growth. Also included is that an organisation cannot always expand beyond a certain size. As shown in Figure 13, the vast majority of survey respondents acknowledged that continuing education is important, and 87.5% of the respondents felt that the military trained them for leadership. Another important finding within Grouping 6: training and
178
M. Dawson and E. Rahim
education is the consensus that having either an MBA or a business degree was not of high importance. It appears the majority felt that the degree overall, as it relates to business or management, is unimportant. In the earlier survey, it was brought to light that a large percentage had business undergraduate and graduate degrees, albeit there seemed to be mixed messages regarding civilian sector leadership training and one's understanding of the acquisition process.
Figure 13 Grouping 6 (see online version for colours)
RQ3
Can random non-acquisition personnel in program management fit in the model or be a rejection of the model?
By conducting qualitative in-depth interviews, the final results revealed that the individuals did not possess all traits necessary to be an Acquisition Program Manager. Interviewees had very specific skill sets within their domain, such as information assurance (IA), systems engineering, contract management, and test. It should be notedthat they did not possess all these skills, but there was a large variation amongst all interviewees: some of the individuals lacked experience in program management and did not understand the acquisition process at all. Many of the interviewees admitted that they may not be good for a program management experience, while others stated that they
Transitional leadership in the defence and aerospace industry
179
could be successful starting off at a small program. One of the interviewees appeared to dodge the questions completely; outside the interview in private discussion, it was apparent that many of the needed skill sets and qualities were not present. In comparing the answers captured in the initial survey and according to how they were answered, they proved inadequate as program managers.
RQ4
What would a framework look like that could be utilised by the Human Resources group for selecting personnel?
The framework that could be utilised for selecting personnel should encompass a twostep process. The first step is similar to the original framework created, although this framework is based on the demographics and results taken from the pilot and initial survey. This model would select individuals with the all following properties: 1 2 3 4 leadership roles within military P&L responsibility of at least $15 million undergraduate education in business, engineering, or aviation graduate education in management.
The second step is to take the individuals who have the required credentials and experiences that relate and measure them once again, but against more criteria. These criteria should be base on the initial survey. The individuals shall be measured against the six groupings as follows: 1 2 3 4 5 6 controlling the meeting effective communication and task management managing personnel choosing employees process training and education.
Grouping 1 shall provide information on how they control a meeting, including meeting preparation. Grouping 2 shall provide how well an individual can communicate to the team and handle task management. For a program manager, task management is essential as detailed by PMI (2004). With the global nature of work in business, one must also be able to transition across cultural boundaries internally in the workplace as well as externally to customers. As a project manager, it is essential to communicate upward to senior leadership and downward to the project team. Grouping 3 shall provide information on personnel management. This shall give insight on judgments, assignment of tasks, and rewards for performance. Grouping 4 provides information on choosing employees, training replacements, and ensuring long-term survival of project or organisation. This grouping shows the traits and skills needed essentially for choosing key players and displaying aspects of 360-degree leadership (Yukl, 2001). Grouping 5
180
M. Dawson and E. Rahim
shall provide information relating to the knowledge of processes and transfer. Specifically, this grouping point to skills of various systematic processes of waste elimination and business development, as well as validates self-view of skill transfer. Grouping 6 shall provide information relating to training and education, which will allow the variety of items ranging from continuing education to importance of an education to be evaluated. This new two-step process is created from the majority answers given during each grouping. These answers serve as the standard against which individuals will be evaluated.
11
Interesting findings
The interesting findings revolved around the variety of leadership experiences and the ways in which some individuals were shaped into their current role. The entire process for conducting this research led the researcher to discover additional developmental facets behind leadership qualities. Acquiring these details facilitated the insertion of more frequent, probing questions for gaining more information that is related to the research topic. Many interviewees that participated in the research were open and honest in disclosing their strengths and weaknesses. This enhanced the capturing of questions for building the pilot survey. During the pilot survey, many provided critical feedback, particularly via contacting the originator of the survey/questionnaire if there were items that were misunderstood. A key factor that influences the acceptance of organisational decisions is trust in the leadership. When trust is high, an organisation's internal atmosphere is positive, which increases the potential for positive outcomes. Likewise, the opposite is true; a low level of trust generates a negative internal environment that impedes organisational success. To create an effective leadership transition plan for program managers, it is recommended that the defence and aerospace industry evaluate their recruitment practices and organisational culture and examine its blind spots and to create best practices. Hurley (2006) proposes a model to develop trust for leaders and for decisions made, and suggestions for practical ways to manage trust, which influences recruitment practices and success for the DoD sector, specifically in the defence and aerospace.
12
Future research
The finalised process selecting program managers shall encompass two steps. The first step is similar to the original transitional leadership framework created however this framework is based off the demographics and results taken from the pilot and initial survey. This model would select program managers who have the minimum of all following numbered items below: 1 2 3 4 leadership roles within military P&L responsibility of at least $15 million undergraduate education in business, engineering, or aviation graduate education in management.
Transitional leadership in the defence and aerospace industry
181
The next step within this newly created process is to take the selected program manager have acquired the common credentials and experience. These criteria shall be based of the initial survey. The individuals shall be measured against the six groupings which are the following: 1 2 3 4 5 6 controlling the meeting effective communication and task management managing personnel choosing employees process training and education.
13
Importance of research
The importance of this research is that the process utilised can be applied to multiple disciplines such as PM, enterprise information systems (EIS), human resources, and knowledge management (KM). This research has touched multiple disciplines in a manner that can ultimately shape the way organisations select employees. For example, a Chief Executive Officer (CEO) must select their organisation thus, they could utilise this selection process for employment. This process could be applied to healthcare, education, non-profit organisations and even political groups. This research allows multiple groups to truly interface and experience the systems development life cycle (SDLC) from start to end. For example, the human resource team must map out the personnel traits and the EIS team would develop a system that would interpret the information. The management team would use this developed system to select and/or manage employees. The SDLC would also require testing of the system, requirement development, fielding of the systems, and maintenance that would continuously engage all parities throughout. This research could be utilised to properly profile terrorists and criminals eliminating issues today that are widely known to the greater public.
14
Recommendations
This research has answered four questions but reveals opportunities for other interesting research into the further development of human resource decision support systems (DSS) and selecting future APMs. Because the literature indicates that individual factors are strongly correlated to education, ethics, leadership, this study did not consider many demographic factors. However, if a future revised model were to be developed for transitional leadership, other individual factors must be considered. A limitation of this study is that the vast majority of these interviewees in the sample did not communicate with international offices. Though the organisations varied in size and industry, a commonality among all but one of the organisations was that work with international program offices was very limited. Through the interviewees it has been demonstrated thatthe military had a significant part in the development as a leader, and manager. Though the results of the present study showed no statistical relationship between working with
182
M. Dawson and E. Rahim
program managers with military experience and managers from the commercial sector, further research could explore this potential correlation with a different sample of program management workers.
15
Areas of potential research
There are many ways that this research can be utilised for near and long term areas of future research. For areas of near term research it would be beneficial to the program management community to compare program managers with military program experience with those who have only commercial experience As the surveys were distributed to individuals who have served in the multiple branches representing the majority of the participating organisations in this study, many of the participants expressed their thoughts of leadership, management, and other related items pertaining to program management verbally to the researcher. The similarities in atmospheres and military leadership training were often similar. However a quantitative or qualitative study examining the differences and correlations between the program managers of military and non-military experience backgrounds might also be conducted to ensure that program managers of military background provide the organisation the best value. For areas of long-term research it would be beneficial to all communities to understand key traits across all disciplines. This would allow the proper selection of employees in multiple areas to be properly selected thus, reducing the overall program risk. Other areas would be in KM by utilising the DSS to act as a key decision maker on the program. Essentially the selected PM would be emulated by the DSS to make key decisions or act as a mentor to younger managers. Another area of future research is to understand how this knowledge could be utilised for executive training and knowledge transfer.
16
Conclusions
The findings of this study implicate organisational politics as a correlate of the building blocks of program management and transitional leadership. If human resource managers or corporate level managers are concerned about recruiting the best and brightest from the military sector preparing to leave they might want to consider a model for selection with steps built into place to weed out the low potential employees. The findings of this study also strongly implicate the problem of not having selected the proper individual for the task of managing program significant. Nearly all of the respondents felt that education was unimportant. Workers may be interrupted with tasks they deem menial and then receive conflicting or ambiguous messages about what work is has highest priority or how they should be spending their time at work, and this uncertainty and feelings of inefficacy could certainly lead to emotional exhaustion. To avoid incorrectly placing, practitioners must be diligent in prioritising the weights for the tasks and qualities that become the foundation for the model of transitional leadership. This research is beneficial to multiple communities as this can ultimately affect the way all organisations select all employees and develop KM systems to transfer key skills/traits.
Transitional leadership in the defence and aerospace industry
183
References
Creech, G.W.L. (2004) 'Organizational and leadership principles for senior leaders', AU-24 Concepts for Air Force Leadership. Creswell, J.W. (2003) Research Design: Qualitative, Quantitative, and Mixed Methods Approaches, Sage, Thousand Oaks, CA. Hurley, R.F. (2006) 'The Decision to Trust', Harvard Business Review, Vol. 84, No. 9, pp.55-62. PMI (2004) A Guide to the Project Management Body of Knowledge, Project Management Institute, Newton Square, PA. Rahim, E. and Dawson, M. (2009) 'Emerging trends: IT project management in a global market', Journal of Information Systems Technology and Planning. Stevens, J.A. (2003) The Motivations-Attributes-Skills-Knowledge Competency Cluster Validation Model: An Empirical Study, August, Doctoral dissertation, Texas A&M University, available electronically at http://handle.tamu.edu/1969.1/339. Yukl, G. (2001) Leadership in Organizations, Prentice Hall, Jersey City, NJ.
doc_319847381.docx
Case Study On Transitional Leadership In The Defense And Aerospace Industry: A Critical Analysis For Recruiting And Developing Talent, Critical thinking is reflective reasoning about beliefs and actions. It is a way of deciding whether a claim is always true, sometimes true, partly true, or false. Critical thinking can be traced in Western thought to the Socratic method of Ancient Greece and, in the East, to the Buddhist kalama sutta and Abhidharma.
Case Study on Transitional Leadership in the Defense and Aerospace Industry: A Critical Analysis for Recruiting and Developing Talent
Abstract: This article proposes a framework to create effective transitional leadership in the defence and aerospace industry. The proposed framework identifies and maps traits and skills of military personnel in a manner that can be tested and validated in accordance with principles of human resource management. Applying this framework would assist hiring managers in their selection of program or project managers from the military in transition to a defence contractor support organisation. Employing a research approach embracing a mix of both quantitative and quantitative strategies, the study examined more than 50 respondents to a 34-question survey, focusing on 14 respondents who submitted fully completed surveys. The conceptual framework for this study is derived from investigations conducted by project management practitioners and scholars who have built upon the research of previous research, which studied project development models within various industries. Keywords: program management; project management; transitional leadership; Department of Defense; DoD; aerospace industry; recruitment; talent; human resource. Reference to this paper should be made as follows: Dawson, M. and Rahim, E. (2011) 'Transitional leadership in the defence and aerospace industry: a critical analysis for recruiting and developing talent', Int. J. Project Organisation and Management, Vol. 3, No. 2, pp.164-183. Biographical notes: Maurice Eugene Dawson Jr. is currently employed as an Information Assurance (IA) and Networking Product Line Manager at Textron Systems' AAI Division. Responsibilities include overseeing the efforts of a network engineering, software assurance, and IA engineering staff to design, develop, engineer and implement solutions to network and security requirements. He is also a Senior Researcher with Morgan State University. He has over a decade of project management experience working in crossfunctional organisations, managing government, military and private
Transitional leadership in the defence and aerospace industry
contracts. He has published widely on the topics of project management, information security, DoD, higher education, engineering and organisational development. He received a DCS with a concentration in Enterprise Information Systems from IAS at Colorado Technical University, an MBA and MSM in Information Security from Colorado Technical University and earned several internationally recognised IT certifications (CSSLP, CGEIT, ISP). Emad Abdul Rahim is a Core Faculty at Walden University, where he teaches in the DBA degree program. He is also an Assistant Professor for Venture Connect at Morrisville State College. He is the Principal Consultant at Global i365, a management consulting organisation specialising in e-learning solutions and thought leadership and diversity training. He has published widely on the topics of diversity management, project management, Islam, organisational development, leadership, entrepreneurship and organisational behaviour. He obtained his Doctorate in Management from the Institute for Advance Studies at Colorado Technical University, two graduate degrees in Business Management and Project Management from Colorado Technical University and earned four internationally recognised management certifications (PMP, CM, CPM). He is a Certified FastTrac Facilitator through the Kauffman Foundation.
165
1
Introduction
As numerous acquisition program managers (APMs) leave the military, companies are working hard to hire them to lead their government-funded programs, as indicated through the military human resources commands. With this influx of personnel to the civilian workforce, human resources departments must adapt to select the best individual for the job, as indicated by the Rockwell Collins Human Resources and Diversity Advisory Council (DAC). These former-military PMs bring tactical and strategic knowledge from their commands, including program management utilising the acquisition lifecycle, direct end-user experience on the battlefield, and understanding of military operations in relation to the war fighter. Each of these PMs will become the leader, manager, facilitator, and voice to communicate with both upper management and the executing team in the company, as indicated by the federal and defence acquisition communities.
2
Research design
Inquiry can consist of quantitative, qualitative, or mixed methods as a form of gathering information. Figure 1 is an extraction from Creswell's table found in research design: qualitative, quantitative, and mixed methods approaches (Creswell, 2003). This figure displays the three methods utilised for gathering information to include the common uses of these various methods and illustrates the strategy of inquiry utilised in the research; its impact was that a mixed-methods approach should be taken in order to perform a complete analysis with the data types presented in the paper (Creswell, 2003).
166
Figure 1
M. Dawson and E. Rahim
Alternate strategies of inquiry (see online version for colours)
The purpose for using a mixed-methods approach was that using only one did not allow the researcher to have the desired control, given the subject matter and manner of research. However, the use of both methods allowed the researcher to reach a more focused audience to develop a base and then select a smaller audience to build a sound theory. Through this particular method, the researcher was able to create a sequential model for constructing the model for effective transitional leadership (Creech, 2004). The study, a four-step process displayed in Figure 2 is detailed as follows: Step 1 involved presenting a pilot survey to selected military service personnel with acquisition experience. Upon completion of this pilot survey, the requested responses were received and then incorporated to an initial survey.
Figure 2 Stages of research approach (see online version for colours)
Transitional leadership in the defence and aerospace industry
167
Step 2 was built upon Step 1's pilot survey. This allowed for the development of the initial survey, which was directed toward a smaller group with more focused questions regarding items taken from the literature review. Step 3 pertained to in-depth interviews of five non-acquisition PMs, all former service personnel. Each interview was a taperecorded conversation consisting not only of direct questions but also probing questions to gain more information needed for research. Step 4 consisted of validating and constructing a model that represented transitional leadership after doing a detailed analysis of all findings. The research was conducted using the stages described in Figure 2. The hypothesis is that a system that identifies and maps the traits and skills of military personnel transitioning to non-military positions can be developed, tested, and validated under the principles of human resource management. The hypothesis that will be validated is the assertion that there is a common thread of trait and skill sets allowing for individuals to transition successfully from the military into the Department of Defense (DoD) associated civilian sector, specifically into the defence and aerospace market.
3
Target population
The target population consisted of former service members and project managers from the DoD. The preference was to target individuals in the initial pilot study who had received their training from the Defense Acquisition University (DAU), which requires the minimum of a bachelor's degree with at least 24 semester hours from an array of subjects, including accounting, business finance, law, contracts, purchasing, economics, industrial management, marketing, quantitative methods, and organisational management. Other target population considerations included years of overall experience and years within that specific role for which the certification is being required. For example, if an individual wanted to do contracts, he or she would take all required DAU coursework and must perform for a length of time in that position. This was the additional training that the above individuals (targeted in the pilot study) had received that played a part in their success in the military and commercial sectors.
4
Sample size
The sample size for the initial study was approximately 50 respondents. The researcher anticipated between 25-50 responses. The reason for acquiring the number of respondents in this survey was that only completed surveys were utilised. By using the anonymous survey instrument, versus a purposive sampling strategy and personal interviews for the initial survey, the researcher hoped to remove any investigator bias. Participants of these surveys were current professionals in the defence and aerospace sectors.
5
Study design
The customised questionnaire was the primary data collection tool; it was strengthened using the desired competency cluster validation. The validity for the desired competency
168
M. Dawson and E. Rahim
cluster validation tool was reestablished by Stevens (2003) in his dissertation. The questionnaire was designed to require that key personnel identify and solidify key roles, traits and responsibilities as a project manager. The assessment model is measured by a five-point Likert scale, where a score of 1 shows a low rate of competence and 5 shows a high rate of competence. Participants rated themselves on each criterion. The instrument design, displayed as Figure 3. Desired competency cluster validation, was of particular note pertaining to the study's hypothesis.
Figure 3 Desired competency cluster validation
The instrument had to be designed and modified in such a way that the respondents could freely disclose the level, if any, of their implementation of the competency cluster validation. The questionnaire consisted of 34 questions that focused on the level and implementation of competency cluster validation processes. The demographics were detailed only to the appropriate level needed to meet the hypothesis contained within this study.
6
Ethical issues
Ethical issues in qualitative research are more subtle, and less visible, than issues in survey or experimental research. The issues are related to the characteristics of qualitative methodologies, such as the researching author's long-term involvement, personal relationships, and interviewing. This tends to create potential for variances in field research due to the human interaction component; hence, the research for this study was
Transitional leadership in the defence and aerospace industry
169
prone to a biased outcome due to interaction with the interviewees. However, the quantitative component of the research was limited to the data that was collected and the way data was interpreted since it was numerically based without any emotions involved; thus, it may be concluded that the quantitative findings are unbiased. In performing this study, the author complied with the Colorado Technical University Institutional Review Board's standard for the review of all requests for conducting research using human or animal subjects. The primary purpose of this standard is to ensure ethical treatment and protection of all human and animal participants.
7
Validity issues and reliability
Validity issues rest upon the quality of interview questions and the selection of interviewees. Since the data set is composed of interviews of four individuals, the quality of the emergent theory and insight will be delimited by the depth and breadth of the interview questions. While the individuals chosen for the interviews comprise various military backgrounds, they all have experienced similar leadership training and hold leadership positions within the same company; as such, results are case-specific. In an effort to validate the instrumentation tool prior to its distribution, a pilot study was administered to members of the acquisition workforce. This workforce had multiple locations: Cedar Rapids, IA; Huntsville, AL; Washington, D.C.; Colorado Springs, CO; and Heidelberg, Germany. Multiple respondents completed a pilot study questionnaire put forth by the researcher. Together, the responses and comments recorded in the pilot study served as a valuable asset in adjusting some questions while eliminating others. Further, an advantage was achieved through this learning process of developing an instrument that would elicit the desired information pertaining to the developed model for transitional leadership.
8
Results and demographic breakdown
The completed responses were examined; the partially completed surveys were discarded and were not included in the analysis. Reasons given for not fully completing surveys were time constraints, lack of knowledge pertaining to questions, or ability and willingness to answer the question(s). The demographic information collected included undergraduate education, graduate education, military education, motivations, roles in the service, and answers to 34questions. Background information relating to leadership and managerial roles was also considered. Over 50 respondents replied to the pilot survey; however, only 14 submitted fully completed surveys. The respondents came from all over the USA, with 57% from the southern region, 29% from the western region, and the remaining 14% from the eastern region. The breakdown included 64% commissioned officers and 36% non-commissioned officers (NCOs). Of the 14 respondents, all were middle-level managers, senior managers, or executive-level managers/officers. Regarding education level, all had attained at least an associate degree. Pertaining to prior undergraduate-level studies, 27% were business majors, 27% were engineering/science/technology majors, 20% were aviation majors, 13% were educated at an associate's level only, 7% were communications majors, and 6% had an educational background in the social sciences. In counting the educational background, some of the
170
M. Dawson and E. Rahim
respondents had more than one degree and thus, were counted individually when performing the statistical analysis of this survey. Figure 4 displays the graphical representation for education percentages at the bachelor and associate level.
Figure 4 Pilot study undergraduate education breakout (see online version for colours)
Out of all the respondents, 78.5% had one or more advanced degrees. The breakout of the types of graduate-level degrees displays 67% in business administration [Masters of Business Administration (MBA)], 9% as engineering/science majors, 8% in social sciences, and 8% in management. The percentages are captured in Figure 5. All respondents' educational degrees were attained from regionally accredited institutions located within the US In looking at all data, 74% of all respondents' undergraduate educational experiences related to business and engineering/technology/sciences, whereas at the graduate level, 84% had degrees relating to business, management, and engineering/science. It appears that at the undergraduate level, the main drivers were engineering and business-related programs; meanwhile, at the graduate level, more than 75% had degrees pertaining to management and business.
Figure 5 Pilot study graduate education background (see online version for colours)
Transitional leadership in the defence and aerospace industry
171
In total, regardless of military service and gender, 100% of the respondents reported being in management and leadership roles. Only 7% were female, but 93% of the total respondents were included in the pilot survey. All individuals had a role within the acquisition process; however, only 50% were acquisition project or program managers to include being branched as part of the Acquisition Corps. Of the total respondents, all managed projects or programs in excess of $1,000,000; however, only 21.4% had profit and loss (P&L) responsibility for $100,000,000 or more. Only 28.5% had projects or programs in excess of $50,000,000, and 64.2% were responsible for projects over $15,000,000.
9
Preliminary findings
To date, preliminary analysis of the data has enabled identification of a number of characteristics among the interviewees' military backgrounds. None of the individuals interviewed went through a direct commission program, which means they had to undergo rigorous officer training: They became commissioned leaders through either Reserve Officer Training Corps (ROTC), which required two to four years of leadership development, or Officer Candidate School (OCS), which included an intensive 14-week leadership course in Fort Benning, GA. Other individuals interviewed went through BCT and Warrant Officer Basic Course (WOBC), which is an intensive five-week course in Fort Rucker, AL. All enlisted soldiers went through advanced management courses that allowed them to continue their career as NCOs. All of these training courses teach the Army values, known as "LDRSHIP: loyalty, duty, respect, selfless service, honour, integrity, and personal courage"; this reflects the values instilled in them since becoming part of the USA military and that prepares them for the stress of performing in an intensive combat zone. Below in Figure 6, specific percentages concerning military education are broken out.
Figure 6 Pilot study military education (see online version for colours)
172
M. Dawson and E. Rahim
All participants engaged in a variety of a formal college studies from business to aviation. However, 100% of the interviewees had at least an associate-level degree. Out of the individuals selected from the entire group for specific correlation to study, all had at least a bachelor-level education. A majority of them pursued graduate degrees and completed certifications/courses within the Acquisition Corps. The researcher expected the comparative analysis to reveal more common characteristics of leadership traits and skills.
10
Research questions
RQ1 Is there a need for acquisition program management personnel to work as contractors on government-funded programs?
Through the literature review and participation with the DAC companies at a company with its headquarters in the Midwest, it has been revealed that the need and presence of project management have developed to become necessities in many industries (Rahim and Dawson, 2009). In 2008, the two magazines Global Knowledge and Fortune named 'project management' in their top ten careers of choice. This means it is a popular career, yet many personnel are needed to fill the ranks of this profession. Relating to the professional certification and credentials, the Project Management Professional (PMP) certification was listed as the highest paying certification to have in the technology industry, with the Certified Associate in Project Management (CAPM) falling into second place. This survey was conducted by ZDNET's Tech Republic organisation, and further helps prove that this profession is in demand across all industries. The DoD, in cooperation with DAU, has specifically created a career path and military designation relating directly to project management to include methods for retention of these personnel, so as to ensure that the military has appropriate personnel to ensure the successful management of government programs. Even the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) has developed an Acquisition Corps with the United States Coast Guard (USCG) to better manage government programs. The increasing attention on project management has increased the need to educate and further develop project managers and staff in order to provide better services, especially in the defence and aerospace sectors. Multiple postings through http://www.Dice.com, http://www.Careerbuilder.com, and http://www.Securityclearancejobs.com are seeking project managers to supervise their projects with very specific skill sets, military experience, and educational credentials. The screenshot below from http://www.Dice.com has revealed 4,623 job postings that were displayed within a 30-day job period. When the word 'clearance' was typed in addition to the basic search, approximately 1,000 job results appeared. Another job search using the words 'project manager' and 'security' displayed approximately 1,900 jobs in the results field. What the http://www.dice.com search has shown is that there is a need for program or project managers with security clearances; however, a larger need exists in general for individuals who know how to the manage time, scope, and schedule of a project.
Transitional leadership in the defence and aerospace industry
Figure 7 Dice jobs screen shot (see online version for colours)
173
RQ2 What is the common thread of traits and skills amongst individuals in the acquisition community?
Through the conducted research it was revealed that a remarkable portion of the discussions lead into more of a qualitative analysis. Various topics were addressed during the in-person interviews conducted with former service personnel at a defence and aerospace company headquartered in the Midwest. This particular company has brand aircraft electronics installed in the cockpits of nearly every airline in the world, and its airborne and ground-based communication systems transmit nearly 70% of all US and allied military airborne communication. Professional relationships have been built with nearly all individuals chosen to study; to include the majority of them, the researcher has worked directly with a military program. The preliminary interviews and questions have been completed as a result of an earlier study which was not appropriately constructed. However, the result has allowed the researcher to have a large repository of information that shall assist in this research moving forward. Each of the military personnel interviewed: 1 2 3 has a different military background and has served a minimum of four years within the USA armed forces is currently in a leadership role within an organisation that supports the military in either developing a product or providing a service was interviewed separately through an intensive note-taking session for later analysis as well as for constructing themes and checking evolving concepts
174 4
M. Dawson and E. Rahim was compared to the summarised results of all individuals to include some items found in the work completed earlier in the literature study.
The groupings were questions relating to management, values, ethics, leadership, business development, and technical competency. Many of the individuals interviewed had been in some form of leadership role since childhood. That leadership role varied from a position within the church to academic or athletic teams where they said they learned multiple things such as teamwork, leadership, dedication, determination, integrity, and motivation. Additionally, the probe questions revealed that many had a positive role model whose guidance they followed. All of the interviewees come from various social classes; however, of importance are the above traits they have in common. Even the education aspect presents wide variance, from prestigious university alumni to state university alumni. It appeared that neither race, colour, creed, religion, nor social class was common across the board. However, many did admit that due to social class, they did not have as many opportunities but rather made the best out of what they had out of the ambition to better themselves. All the individuals' studies showed they sought continuous growth and learning, for both educational and professional benefit. The information gathered was utilised to further define the research questions by understanding how to develop follow-up questions and narrow down the information with the interviewee. Some of the items learned were how to properly form a follow-up question, understand the differences in responses that may not be complete or accurate, and decomposing and categorising results.
Figure 8 Grouping 1 (see online version for colours)
As displayed in Figure 8, according to the survey respondents, the vast majority stated that they could control a meeting as it relates to the questions asked in Grouping 1: controlling the meeting. The only response that had a large variation was a question regarding to skipping meetings with more than about 12 people. Otherwise, the rest answered 'almost never,' with one person responding with 'sometimes'.
Transitional leadership in the defence and aerospace industry
175
In Figure 9, according to the survey respondents, the vast majority stated that they could effectively communicate and manage a task as it relates to the questions asked in Grouping 2: effective communication and task management. In this particular grouping the variations were not large. At any one time, no less than 62.5% felt that they performed or conducted a particular task 'almost always.' Thus, all of these items should be considered key skills in terms of program management. Questions 8 and 9 were the same to ensure the integrity of the survey process was maintained; noted in Figure 9, both questions have the same answers by the same respondents.
Figure 9 Grouping 2 (see online version for colours)
According to survey respondents in Figure 10, the vast majority responded similarly in Grouping 3: managing personnel. Here, the variations were noticeable on question 15, which probes the belief that a good employee sometimes may not fit into the corporate culture. With this question, 50% felt they believe this 'somewhat,' while the remaining 50% were divided in between variations of 'never' and 'always'. As a whole, the majority did not feel strongly toward one or the other. This question was divided in multiple ways, but for the most part, the respondents felt that they could judge between 'great' and 'no good'. In all other items, the respondents felt as if they could handle and make the appropriate choices as they saw fit.
176
M. Dawson and E. Rahim
Figure 10 Grouping 3 (see online version for colours)
Figure 11 Grouping 4 (see online version for colours)
Transitional leadership in the defence and aerospace industry
177
According to the survey respondents portrayed in Figure 11, a good percentage did not train employees as replacements; nevertheless, they felt they could pick winners, ensure long-term survival of the project or organisation, and look for a average employee rather than one who excels. Further clarifying on the last point, 'a good average' refers to an employee who comes in, does the job, and performs it as expected. Someone who hits the home run is far from expected, but 25% were indeed looking for that superstar employee. In this particular grouping, the variations occurred in questions 16, 17, and 18.
Figure 12 Grouping 5 (see online version for colours)
As Figure 12 displays, according to survey respondents, the vast majority indicated that they could transfer their military skills to the civilian sector in Grouping 5: process and transfer. Process is pivotal, as the goal is to create a framework that allows for this to occur. The response received for question 25 was that approximately 75% of the respondents did not have a strong answer regarding whether an individual should be a technical expert to manage the program. Nonetheless, it does appear that one must have knowledge of the business market if seeking growth. Also included is that an organisation cannot always expand beyond a certain size. As shown in Figure 13, the vast majority of survey respondents acknowledged that continuing education is important, and 87.5% of the respondents felt that the military trained them for leadership. Another important finding within Grouping 6: training and
178
M. Dawson and E. Rahim
education is the consensus that having either an MBA or a business degree was not of high importance. It appears the majority felt that the degree overall, as it relates to business or management, is unimportant. In the earlier survey, it was brought to light that a large percentage had business undergraduate and graduate degrees, albeit there seemed to be mixed messages regarding civilian sector leadership training and one's understanding of the acquisition process.
Figure 13 Grouping 6 (see online version for colours)
RQ3
Can random non-acquisition personnel in program management fit in the model or be a rejection of the model?
By conducting qualitative in-depth interviews, the final results revealed that the individuals did not possess all traits necessary to be an Acquisition Program Manager. Interviewees had very specific skill sets within their domain, such as information assurance (IA), systems engineering, contract management, and test. It should be notedthat they did not possess all these skills, but there was a large variation amongst all interviewees: some of the individuals lacked experience in program management and did not understand the acquisition process at all. Many of the interviewees admitted that they may not be good for a program management experience, while others stated that they
Transitional leadership in the defence and aerospace industry
179
could be successful starting off at a small program. One of the interviewees appeared to dodge the questions completely; outside the interview in private discussion, it was apparent that many of the needed skill sets and qualities were not present. In comparing the answers captured in the initial survey and according to how they were answered, they proved inadequate as program managers.
RQ4
What would a framework look like that could be utilised by the Human Resources group for selecting personnel?
The framework that could be utilised for selecting personnel should encompass a twostep process. The first step is similar to the original framework created, although this framework is based on the demographics and results taken from the pilot and initial survey. This model would select individuals with the all following properties: 1 2 3 4 leadership roles within military P&L responsibility of at least $15 million undergraduate education in business, engineering, or aviation graduate education in management.
The second step is to take the individuals who have the required credentials and experiences that relate and measure them once again, but against more criteria. These criteria should be base on the initial survey. The individuals shall be measured against the six groupings as follows: 1 2 3 4 5 6 controlling the meeting effective communication and task management managing personnel choosing employees process training and education.
Grouping 1 shall provide information on how they control a meeting, including meeting preparation. Grouping 2 shall provide how well an individual can communicate to the team and handle task management. For a program manager, task management is essential as detailed by PMI (2004). With the global nature of work in business, one must also be able to transition across cultural boundaries internally in the workplace as well as externally to customers. As a project manager, it is essential to communicate upward to senior leadership and downward to the project team. Grouping 3 shall provide information on personnel management. This shall give insight on judgments, assignment of tasks, and rewards for performance. Grouping 4 provides information on choosing employees, training replacements, and ensuring long-term survival of project or organisation. This grouping shows the traits and skills needed essentially for choosing key players and displaying aspects of 360-degree leadership (Yukl, 2001). Grouping 5
180
M. Dawson and E. Rahim
shall provide information relating to the knowledge of processes and transfer. Specifically, this grouping point to skills of various systematic processes of waste elimination and business development, as well as validates self-view of skill transfer. Grouping 6 shall provide information relating to training and education, which will allow the variety of items ranging from continuing education to importance of an education to be evaluated. This new two-step process is created from the majority answers given during each grouping. These answers serve as the standard against which individuals will be evaluated.
11
Interesting findings
The interesting findings revolved around the variety of leadership experiences and the ways in which some individuals were shaped into their current role. The entire process for conducting this research led the researcher to discover additional developmental facets behind leadership qualities. Acquiring these details facilitated the insertion of more frequent, probing questions for gaining more information that is related to the research topic. Many interviewees that participated in the research were open and honest in disclosing their strengths and weaknesses. This enhanced the capturing of questions for building the pilot survey. During the pilot survey, many provided critical feedback, particularly via contacting the originator of the survey/questionnaire if there were items that were misunderstood. A key factor that influences the acceptance of organisational decisions is trust in the leadership. When trust is high, an organisation's internal atmosphere is positive, which increases the potential for positive outcomes. Likewise, the opposite is true; a low level of trust generates a negative internal environment that impedes organisational success. To create an effective leadership transition plan for program managers, it is recommended that the defence and aerospace industry evaluate their recruitment practices and organisational culture and examine its blind spots and to create best practices. Hurley (2006) proposes a model to develop trust for leaders and for decisions made, and suggestions for practical ways to manage trust, which influences recruitment practices and success for the DoD sector, specifically in the defence and aerospace.
12
Future research
The finalised process selecting program managers shall encompass two steps. The first step is similar to the original transitional leadership framework created however this framework is based off the demographics and results taken from the pilot and initial survey. This model would select program managers who have the minimum of all following numbered items below: 1 2 3 4 leadership roles within military P&L responsibility of at least $15 million undergraduate education in business, engineering, or aviation graduate education in management.
Transitional leadership in the defence and aerospace industry
181
The next step within this newly created process is to take the selected program manager have acquired the common credentials and experience. These criteria shall be based of the initial survey. The individuals shall be measured against the six groupings which are the following: 1 2 3 4 5 6 controlling the meeting effective communication and task management managing personnel choosing employees process training and education.
13
Importance of research
The importance of this research is that the process utilised can be applied to multiple disciplines such as PM, enterprise information systems (EIS), human resources, and knowledge management (KM). This research has touched multiple disciplines in a manner that can ultimately shape the way organisations select employees. For example, a Chief Executive Officer (CEO) must select their organisation thus, they could utilise this selection process for employment. This process could be applied to healthcare, education, non-profit organisations and even political groups. This research allows multiple groups to truly interface and experience the systems development life cycle (SDLC) from start to end. For example, the human resource team must map out the personnel traits and the EIS team would develop a system that would interpret the information. The management team would use this developed system to select and/or manage employees. The SDLC would also require testing of the system, requirement development, fielding of the systems, and maintenance that would continuously engage all parities throughout. This research could be utilised to properly profile terrorists and criminals eliminating issues today that are widely known to the greater public.
14
Recommendations
This research has answered four questions but reveals opportunities for other interesting research into the further development of human resource decision support systems (DSS) and selecting future APMs. Because the literature indicates that individual factors are strongly correlated to education, ethics, leadership, this study did not consider many demographic factors. However, if a future revised model were to be developed for transitional leadership, other individual factors must be considered. A limitation of this study is that the vast majority of these interviewees in the sample did not communicate with international offices. Though the organisations varied in size and industry, a commonality among all but one of the organisations was that work with international program offices was very limited. Through the interviewees it has been demonstrated thatthe military had a significant part in the development as a leader, and manager. Though the results of the present study showed no statistical relationship between working with
182
M. Dawson and E. Rahim
program managers with military experience and managers from the commercial sector, further research could explore this potential correlation with a different sample of program management workers.
15
Areas of potential research
There are many ways that this research can be utilised for near and long term areas of future research. For areas of near term research it would be beneficial to the program management community to compare program managers with military program experience with those who have only commercial experience As the surveys were distributed to individuals who have served in the multiple branches representing the majority of the participating organisations in this study, many of the participants expressed their thoughts of leadership, management, and other related items pertaining to program management verbally to the researcher. The similarities in atmospheres and military leadership training were often similar. However a quantitative or qualitative study examining the differences and correlations between the program managers of military and non-military experience backgrounds might also be conducted to ensure that program managers of military background provide the organisation the best value. For areas of long-term research it would be beneficial to all communities to understand key traits across all disciplines. This would allow the proper selection of employees in multiple areas to be properly selected thus, reducing the overall program risk. Other areas would be in KM by utilising the DSS to act as a key decision maker on the program. Essentially the selected PM would be emulated by the DSS to make key decisions or act as a mentor to younger managers. Another area of future research is to understand how this knowledge could be utilised for executive training and knowledge transfer.
16
Conclusions
The findings of this study implicate organisational politics as a correlate of the building blocks of program management and transitional leadership. If human resource managers or corporate level managers are concerned about recruiting the best and brightest from the military sector preparing to leave they might want to consider a model for selection with steps built into place to weed out the low potential employees. The findings of this study also strongly implicate the problem of not having selected the proper individual for the task of managing program significant. Nearly all of the respondents felt that education was unimportant. Workers may be interrupted with tasks they deem menial and then receive conflicting or ambiguous messages about what work is has highest priority or how they should be spending their time at work, and this uncertainty and feelings of inefficacy could certainly lead to emotional exhaustion. To avoid incorrectly placing, practitioners must be diligent in prioritising the weights for the tasks and qualities that become the foundation for the model of transitional leadership. This research is beneficial to multiple communities as this can ultimately affect the way all organisations select all employees and develop KM systems to transfer key skills/traits.
Transitional leadership in the defence and aerospace industry
183
References
Creech, G.W.L. (2004) 'Organizational and leadership principles for senior leaders', AU-24 Concepts for Air Force Leadership. Creswell, J.W. (2003) Research Design: Qualitative, Quantitative, and Mixed Methods Approaches, Sage, Thousand Oaks, CA. Hurley, R.F. (2006) 'The Decision to Trust', Harvard Business Review, Vol. 84, No. 9, pp.55-62. PMI (2004) A Guide to the Project Management Body of Knowledge, Project Management Institute, Newton Square, PA. Rahim, E. and Dawson, M. (2009) 'Emerging trends: IT project management in a global market', Journal of Information Systems Technology and Planning. Stevens, J.A. (2003) The Motivations-Attributes-Skills-Knowledge Competency Cluster Validation Model: An Empirical Study, August, Doctoral dissertation, Texas A&M University, available electronically at http://handle.tamu.edu/1969.1/339. Yukl, G. (2001) Leadership in Organizations, Prentice Hall, Jersey City, NJ.
doc_319847381.docx