Date of Award

3-2008

Document Type

Thesis

Degree Name

Master of Science in Engineering Management

Department

Department of Systems Engineering and Management

First Advisor

Alexander J. Barelka, PhD

Abstract

Perceived organizational support (POS), defined as how much employees feel the organization they work for cares for them and assists them in their needs, has been traditionally characterized in a single dimension. This study examines the implications of a multidimensional view of POS. POS was separated into three different dimensions based on the organizational level from which support can be viewed to originate: corporate headquarters, the home office, or the training environment. These dimensions of POS were tested to discover their effect on the self-efficacy and task understanding of individuals training for boundary-spanning tasks. These tasks are those that place the employee in an environment, culture, and/or duties outside of their organization. For this study, the perceptions of United States Air Force Airmen deploying overseas to perform Army duties were researched. Results of the study showed that home office POS had a direct positive effect on both the self-efficacy and task understanding of these boundary-spanning individuals.

AFIT Designator

AFIT-GEM-ENV-08-M21

DTIC Accession Number

ADA480745

Download

Share

COinS