Doctor of Business Administration (D.B.A.), Franklin University, 2024, Business Administration

The United States Air Force (USAF) purchases billions in arms, equipment, and services to support the Department of Defense and its mission to defend the public from all enemies, foreign and domestic. Program Managers (PM) are the leaders appointed to develop, deliver, and sustain a solution for the capability gaps identified by operational leaders. PMs oversee programs of all sizes across many domains. A substantial proportion of programs fail to meet the triple constraint of cost, schedule, and performance. It is in the interest of the public who funds these purchases to identify the skills that can help PMs deliver programs within the triple constraint. PMs require skills to lead an effective program. The researcher used Katz's (1955) framework to identify the technical, human, and conceptual skills PMs need. The researcher interviewed nine retired USAF acquisition members and identified seventeen PM skills required to deliver programs within the triple constraint alongside other observations about the acquisition field. The seventeen skills include (1) General Military Knowledge, (2) Programmatic Knowledge, (3) Functional Knowledge, (4) Program-specific Knowledge, (5) Technological Proficiency, (6) Leadership, (7) Mentorship, (8) Communication, (9) Relationship Management, (10) Emotional Intelligence, (11) Political Skills, (12) Stakeholder Management, (13) Requirement Management, (14) Problem-solving, (15) Critical Thinking, (16) Outlook, and (17) Continuity. PMs can use the seventeen skills from this study as possible competencies to identify where they excel and need improvement and create a plan of action to improve performance at their current job and prepare for the next. Career managers can use the skill set as criteria to consider in selecting, developing, and retaining PMs to meet today's and tomorrow's needs. Additionally, the USAF should incorporate the seventeen skills into professional development, education, and training. The study further se (open full item for complete abstract)

Committee: Leo Sedlmeyer (Committee Chair); Charles Fenner (Committee Member); David McCurry (Committee Member) Subjects: Business Administration

Doctor of Philosophy, Case Western Reserve University, 2004, Organizational Behavior

Virtual teaming has become one of the most common interventions for organizations seeking to reduce costs and time to market, pool knowledge, and leverage skills. Previous research on individual behaviors contributing to virtual project team effectiveness has focused on contributions made by team leaders. The present study expands existing knowledge on individual competencies impacting virtual project team performances by looking at behaviors exhibited by both project managers and the team members who support them. Study findings were based upon semi-structured interviews of 23 project managers within one organization. Interviews yielded a total of 145 narratives describing salient situations where project managers felt virtual project team outcomes were either effective (n= 77) or ineffective (n=68). Narrative analysis was then enlisted to determine project manager and team member KSAs associated with differences in the achievement of task interdependent objectives. Three broad behavioral competencies were attributed to differences in virtual project team performance outcomes. They were discovery and preparation, leadership and team potency. Discovery and preparation behaviors refer to those project manager KSAs (pre-work, planning, understanding objectives and understanding action) associated with exerting sufficient effort and establishing clear and engaging directions. Leadership behaviors refer to project manager KSAs (client partnering, managing expectations, delegating, escalating, seeking approval and guidance, and determining team member resources) deemed central to building expert teams. And finally, team potency behaviors refer to those project manager and team member KSAs (confidence, competence, empathy, facilitation, and social presence) associated with the teams' overall belief in their ability to perform. Results suggest increasing virtual project team effectiveness by bolstering team member responsiveness and facilitation, increasing project manager (open full item for complete abstract)

Committee: David Kolb (Advisor) Subjects: Business Administration, Management