Assessing Organization Culture Readiness for Knowledge Management Implementation: The Case of Aeronautical Systems Center Directorate of Contracting

This is a AIR FORCE INST OF TECH WRIGHT-PATTERSON AFB OH SCHOOL OF ENGINEERING AND MANAGEMENT report procured by the Pentagon and made available for public release. It has been reproduced in the best form available to the Pentagon. It is not spiral-bound, but rather assembled with Velobinding in a soft, white linen cover. The Storming Media report number is A852514. The abstract provided by the Pentagon follows: The DoD is currently pursuing a wholesale transformation that impacts all facets of DoD operations and responsibilities. At the same time, the commercial sector has been experiencing significant changes that drive them to look for new ways of remaining competitive and profitable. Leveraging knowledge (intellectual capital) to increase efficiency and effectiveness within the organization has become a popular management technique that has been successful in many commercial firms. The DoD has noted the commercial sector successes and initiatives to better manage knowledge are being developed and implemented on an enterprise-wide basis as well as on a local- organizational basis. Previous research suggests that an organization's readiness for change is a critical factor in whether or not implementation of knowledge management projects is successful. The previous research also suggests that readiness for change is determined by change content, process, context, and individual variables. This thesis focuses on measuring readiness for change within the Contracting Directorate at Aeronautical Systems Center (ASC/PK) located at Wright-Patterson AFE, Ohio and whether or not there are any demographic correlations to readiness for change within the organization. ASC/PK's readiness for change was measured using a cross- sectional survey methodology and the results suggest that the ASC/PK population is generally ready for change in regard to knowledge management initiatives; however, several areas have been highlighted for improvement to increase overall readiness.