Knowledge, Skills, Abilities, and Other Characteristics: An Examination of Managerial Perceptions of Effective Contracting Officers.

Abstract

This study examined the attributes contracting managers perceived to be most critical in effective contracting officers. Questionnaires were used to gather relevant data from managers in the operational, specialized, and systems contracting specialty areas. The resultant data was classified and weighted in accordance with the formula defined in the methodology. Additionally, some respondents provided comments via the follow-up interviews. The resultant data was analyzed qualitatively in order to determine the extent of concurrence in managerial perceptions. In addition, the researchers attempted to seek answers in three additional areas. First, they examined the degree to which critical attributes varied by specialty area. Second, they examined the degree to which managers perceived differences in attribute criticality with respect to the contracting officer's status as military or civil servant; and finally, they examined the extent to which the DAU certification courses address the educational needs of the contracting personnel. Ultimately, the study defined the attributes and determined that they varied little by specialty area. Additionally, the managers perceived the same attributes as critical regardless of duty status, and finally, it appears DAU provides acceptable training in knowledge related attributes, however, training personnel in other attributes may do so more effectively in alternate forums.

Open PDF

Document Details

Document Type
Technical Report
Publication Date
Sep 01, 1998
Accession Number
ADA354326

Entities

People

  • Brian V. Ucciardi
  • Todd S. Joyner

Organizations

  • Air Force Institute of Technology

Tags

Communities of Interest

  • Biomedical
  • Human Systems
  • Weapons Technologies

DTIC Thesaurus Topics

  • Business Administration
  • Contract Administration
  • Contracts
  • Data Analysis
  • Education
  • Employment
  • Engineers
  • Governments
  • Information Processing
  • Law
  • Management Personnel
  • Professional Associations
  • Psychology
  • Risk Analysis
  • Students
  • Training
  • War Colleges

Fields of Study

  • Education

Readers

  • Computational Modeling and Simulation
  • Defense Acquisition Program Management
  • Military Leadership and Professional Education.