Date of Degree

12-2016

Document Type

Dissertation

Degree Name

Doctor of Philosophy (PhD)

Program

Education

Advisor

Norman St. Clair

Advisor

Mark S. Teachout

Advisor

David Fike

Abstract

The Air Force Chaplain Corps is experiencing a period of rapid change that challenges traditional approaches to providing ministry for Air Force personnel. The need for an effective chaplaincy has never been greater; the Air Force’s critical manning shortages and worldwide duty requirements are adding stress and uncertainty to the lives of Airmen (Losey, 2015). To better support these Airmen the Chief of Chaplains directed a change initiative aimed at increasing the effectiveness of unit-based ministry, including aggressive goals for the amount of time spent in direct unit engagement. This study utilized a survey to explore beliefs of Chaplain Corps personnel regarding the change initiative and the relationship of those beliefs to job satisfaction. Items from two existing instruments were used in the survey, the Organizational Change Recipients’ Beliefs Scale (Armenakis, Bernerth, Pitts, & Walker, 2007) and the Job Satisfaction Survey (Spector, 1997). Additionally, open-ended questions gave respondents the opportunity to express their opinions and attitudes in their own words. The study revealed agreement with some aspects of the change initiative and highlighted areas which could be addressed to better facilitate change implementation. Personnel agreed with the importance of increasing the effectiveness of unit ministry, but many at the wing or unit level, expressed a sense of time pressure and difficulty with meeting conflicting demands. Job satisfaction was found to be generally positive and was related to change beliefs.

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