Cost/Schedule Control System Criteria: An Analysis of Managerial Utility.

Abstract

The Cost/Schedule Control System Criteria (C/SCSC) is imposed on a contractor's management information system during the performance of a contract for a major weapon system. Previous studies on C/SCSC had identified managerial resistance to the criteria. Data, gathered through structured interviews with military and contractor managers, was analyzed to find if a predetermined set of attitudes affected the perceived utility of C/SCSC. The selected variables of acceptance of quantitative techniques, cost consciousness, knowledge of quantitative techniques, and hierarchical position were studied as major factors influencing the perceived utility of the criteria. Relationships between the selected variables were not supportive of all five stated hypotheses; however, the study provided detailed data on the selected variables and on C/SCSC as a management tool. After a review of the managers' opinions and the available data, a conclusion was reached showing that the criteria in its present form is not sufficiently productive for the project goals. The study also indicates that a significant difference exists between military and civilian managers. The contractor manager exhibited a high correlation between perceived utility and each of four variables while the military manager shows this relationship between perceived utility and only one of the four variables.

Document Details

Document Type
Technical Report
Publication Date
Aug 01, 1975
Accession Number
ADA016270

Entities

People

  • Marion A. Ostdiek
  • Richard T. Estes

Organizations

  • Air Force Institute of Technology

Tags

Communities of Interest

  • Weapons Technologies

DTIC Thesaurus Topics

  • Consciousness
  • Contractors
  • Contracts
  • Control Systems
  • Hypotheses
  • Information Systems
  • Management Information Systems
  • Resistance
  • Weapon Systems
  • Weapons

Readers

  • Military Leadership and Professional Education.
  • Regression Analysis.
  • Software Engineering.