Quality Air Force: Attitudes of managers within an Air Force Air Logistics engine production division

The purpose of this study was to determine if the attitudes of the lower, middle, and upper levels of management in the Engine Production Division of the United States Air Force Air Logistics Center at Kelly Air Force Base differed in respect to Quality Air Force. In order to answer this question, an instrument developed by the Department of the Navy and titled "Total Quality Leadership Climate Survey" was utilized as the primary data collection mechanism. The researcher revised the survey to reflect Air Force terminology and administered it to 143 managers at three target levels.;The findings of this study revealed that the attitudes of the managers were different in some cases, but they were favorable for the time frame within which the study was conducted. The viewpoints by managers toward Quality Air Force seemed to be positive and a strength for the organization in eighty-five percent of the areas covered. The managers had significant differing viewpoints in ten percent of the areas where one or more levels of management displayed negative viewpoints. The managers had similar negative viewpoints in five percent of the areas covered. Therefore, various levels of management needed improvement in fifteen percent of the areas covered. The results of this study confirmed the viability and acceptance of Quality Air Force by management officials within the Engine Production Division.;It was also recommended that the senior leaders advocate a more active participation by all managers on process improvement teams. This in turn may encourage the delegation of various duties downward to subordinates and eliminate excessive management workloads. It was recommended that research be done to determine if training had a positive effect on management attitudes toward Quality Air Force. Recommendations for further study were made to provide comparisons across settings and populations.