Kenneth Euske

Research Article

Keenan Yoho, LT Christopher Kelley, LT Justin M. Bummara, 

MAJ William J. Clark, and RADM James B. Greene, Jr

Research Article

Spring 2010 Peer-Reviewed Articles and Books:

Aruna Apte

“HSI Practices in Program Management: Case Studies of Aegis.” The Economics of Human Systems Integration. Rouse, W. Ed. John Wiley & Sons, Hoboken, NJ.

Summary: The study provides descriptive case studies that chronicle the operational and engineering processes used to reduce total ownership cost for microwave tubes and radar phase shifters, components of the AEGIS Combat System, while dramatically improving   their operational availability. They capture the program management practices, especially the Integrated Product Teams, used in these processes. The processes used to achieve these results are important to understand in light of the current reductions in various acquisition support resources including financial support, manpower, and in-house technical expertise. In particular, the cases highlight the role that Naval Warfare Centers and their resident technical staff can and do play in the acquisition process and their supporting engineering disciplines. 

Aruna Apte, Uday Apte, and Rene Rendon

“Contracting for the Services in the U.S. Army: Empirical Study of the Current Management Practices,” Journal of Contract Management. (Best Paper Award (Professional Category) in 2010 W. Gregor Macfarlan Excellence in Contract Management Research and Writing Program)

Summary: This article presents the results of an empirical study of current management practices in services acquisition in the U.S. Army. The authors developed and used a web-based survey to collect primary data on the acquisition strategy, procurement methods, and contract types used at army installations. For the most part, the authors found that the services contracts awarded and administered conformed to their expectations, however, the survey respondents indicated that the number of authorized staff positions in the army       for services acquisition was inadequate and that the existing billets were inadequately filled. Another surprising finding was that the project teams were often led by the contracting officer as opposed to a formally-designated project manager responsible for the overall service project success.

Uday Apte, Nicholas Dew, and Geraldo Ferrer

“When Is RFID Right for Your Service?” International Journal of Production Economics, 124: 414–425.       

Summary: Radio Frequency Identification (RFID) is a technology that is being applied increasingly to services. The authors study several different RFID applications in services to discover how this technology can be used to enhance various aspects of service delivery, and what costs and benefits arise from it. The authors use a well-known conceptual framework that has been used to explain the evolution of services to show how RFID generally impacts service operations in a variety of scenarios.     

Frank Barrett

“Toward High Involvement Strategy Formation: Conversations and Decisions That Matter.” With S. Romme. Journal of Corporate Citizenship.

Summary: A major deficiency of traditional strategy making is that most minds within the organization are not brought into the process. This paper provides a framework for understanding and designing high involvement processes for generating and implementing strategic change. The authors summarize and compare the two high involvement approaches that have been extensively tested in a variety of organizations: Appreciative Inquiry and Circular Organizing.

Mark Eitelberg          

Review of “I Want You! The Evolution of the All-Volunteer Force.” Armed Forces & Society, 36, 571-575.         

Summary: This is a book review of Bernard Rostker’s I Want You! The Evolution of the All-Volunteer Force that was published by the RAND Corporation in 2006. The book describes in considerable detail one the boldest government experiments of our time, creating and maintaining a “superpower” military force without resorting to conscription. 

Deborah Gibbons    

“Dynamics of friendship reciprocity among professional adults.” With P. Olk. Journal of Applied

Social Psychology, 40(5), 1146-1171.

Summary: Friendship is generally a reciprocal relation, yet many enduring ties are not symmetrical. Sometimes, only one member of a      dyad considers the other a friend, or may see their relation as a close friendship while the other does not. Existing theories imply that  personal and social attributes may influence the likelihood of reciprocity in friendship. In this longitudinal study, the authors found that demographic and educational attributes had little effect, but relative gregariousness and popularity consistently influenced development and persistence of unequally reciprocated friendships in 2 cohorts of executive MBA students.

Tim Hawkins

“Exploring the Application of Electronic Reverse Auctions in Federal Procurement:  Removing     Barriers to Unleash Savings.” With A.      Coyne and B. Hudgens. Air Force Journal of Logistics.

Summary: This case study explores the first and only electronic reverse auction (e-RA) conducted by the United States Air Force in Kuwait and addresses gaps in application within the Department of Defense.  Qualitative research based on a single case study explored procedures DoD contracting officers could follow to use e-RAs for stateside and contingency procurements. A spend analysis of FY07–08 USAF procurement transactions, extrapolated across the DoD, suggests the DoD is leaving billions of dollars on the table by not using e-RAs. 

Larry Jones

“Performance Budgeting in the U. S. Federal Government: History, Status and Future Implications.” With J. McCaffery. Public Finance and Management, 10(3), 510-532.

Summary: Performance budgets emphasize activities performed and their costs, and include various performance measures in the            budget to document what is gained from what is spent. This article notes the long period of experimentation with performance budgeting in the U.S. and identifies some of the lessons learned from this initiative. It also addresses reforms including the Office of Management and Budget (OMB) Program Assessment Rating Tool (PART) as they relate to incentives for budgeting based on performance.

Uday Apte, Michael Boudreau, Ken Doerr, Keebom Kang

“A Decision Support Model for Valuing Proposed Improvements in Component Reliability,” Military Operations Research.

Summary: The U.S. Department of Defense is engaged in a number of management initiatives (related to weapon system logistics and support) intended to provide reduced life cycle costs while simultaneously improving operational availability (Ao). Performance-based Logistics (PBL) is one such program that entails the establishment of a particular kind of contractual vendor-client relationship between a logistic-service provider and a weapon-system manager. This paper will examines how best to value the desired outcomes of a PBL contract. Developing a methodology and a tool for estimating the Ao of a weapon system based on component-level reliability and maintainability data is the goal of this research.

Jim Suchan

“The role of management and leadership in complex, turbulent organizational environments,” Drastamat Kanayan Institute for National Defense Strategic Studies Academic Journal, 4(62), 73-85.

 Summary: The roles and responsibilities of leadership and the relationship between management, leadership, and communication are often misunderstood in military and government organizations. Consequently, this article has three purposes: (1) to describe fundamental differences between management and leadership in evolving democracies, (2) to explain how management and leadership thinking must complement each other, (3) and to discuss several of the key communication competencies leaders must develop.

Other Spring 2010 Faculty Publications:

Apte, A., Apte, U., Rendon, R. “Services Supply Chain in the Department of Defense: Comparison and Analysis of Acquisition Management in the Army, Navy, and Air Force.” Acquisition Research Program, April 1, 2010.

Apte, A., Ferrer, G. “Lifecycle Information of Aircraft Engine Maintenance.” Acquisition Research Program, April 1, 2010.

Bergey, J., Jones, L. “Exploring Acquisition Strategies for Adopting a Software Product Line.” Acquisition Research Program, April 1, 2010.

Dillard, J., Ford, D., Housel, T. “Integrating System Dynamics Modeling and Knowledge Value Added for Improved Analysis of Alternatives: A Proof of Concept Study.” Acquisition Research Program, April 1, 2010.

Franck, R., Lewis, I., Udis, B. “Global Cooperation and Competition in the Defense and Aerospace Industries.” Acquisition Research Program, April 1, 2010.

Huynh, T., Osmundson, J., Rendon, R. “Research on Systems-of-Systems Acquisition.” Acquisition Research Program, April 1, 2010.

Mehay, S., Pema, E., and McLaughlin, J. “Analysis of the Tuition Assistance Program: Does the Method of Instruction Matter in TA Classes?” NPS Technical Report, April 15, 2010.

Angelis, D., Benishek, P., Kidalov, M., Sheinman, B. “Better Acquisition Management Through ADR and Other Best Practices for Preventing and Resolving Bid Protests.” Acquisition Research Program, May 1, 2010.

Arkes, J., Coughlan, P., Gates, B., Myung, N. “Prediction Markets for Defense Acquisition: The Devil is in the Details.” Acquisition Research Program, May 1, 2010.

Bergey, J., Jones, L. “Exploring Acquisition Strategies for a Software Product Line.” Acquisition Research Program, May 1, 2010.

Coughlan, P., Gates, B. “Split Awards and Bid Protests in Acquisition.” Acquisition Research Program, May 1, 2010.

Dillard, J. “Panel 21: Innovations in DoD Acquisition Policy.” Acquisition Research Program, May 1, 2010.

Dillard, J., Ford, D., Housel, T. “System Dynamics Modeling for Improved Knowledge Value Assessment: A Proof of Concept Study.” Acquisition Research Program, May 1, 2010.

Ferrer, G. “The Remanufacturing Process of Defense Assets with Stochastic Yield.” Acquisition Research Program, May 1, 2010.

Hensel, N. “The Impact of Globalization and Shifting Defense Priorities on the Defense Industrial Base.” Acquisition Research Program, May 1, 2010.

Brinkley, D. “Classroom Computing Using On Demand Desktop Streaming.” NPS Technical Report, May 20, 2010.

Apte, A., Apte, U., Hegde, G., Rendon, R. 17th International Annual EurOMA Conference 6-9 June 2010, Porto, Portugal.  “Managing the Services Supply Chain in the U.S. Department of Defense: Empirical Study of the Current Management Practices in the Army.”