An Investigation of the Process by Which Air Force Officers View and Evaluate Their Perceived Availability of Job Alternatives.
Abstract
Retention of United States Air Force (USAF) officers in engineering and scientific career fields has been and will continue to be a significant problem faced by the service. Competition for these personnel resources is projected to increase significantly through the 1990s. This thesis sought to determine how individuals perceive and evaluate their options for alternative employment in light of external economic conditions and job demand. Four occupational career areas (Engineering, Computer Science, Personnel, and Administration) were classified by high demand, and low or normal demand groups for study. Data collection was accomplished through the administration of an Air Force wide survey during the spring of 1983. Results indicated differing, although highly similar, models were in operation for the high, and low or normal demand groups. The three common predictors variables for intention to search and intention to remain were intrinsic benefits--sense of accomplishment, information search--frequency of looking at job recruiting information, and time invested--willingness to leave the service given time already invested toward retirement. Limitations of these results are discussed. Recommendations for further research, use of these results, and contributions to formal turnover theory are also discussed. (Author)
Document Details
- Document Type
- Technical Report
- Publication Date
- Sep 28, 1983
- Accession Number
- ADA134489
Entities
People
- Carrie L. Koechel
- James Meola
Organizations
- Air Force Institute of Technology