Abstract
The Department of Defense is in the formative stage of implementing Total Quality Management to ensure effective leadership, reduced costs, customer satisfaction, and enhanced productivity. Interviews were conducted with 36 key implementors of six representative United States Air Force organizations and archival data was collected in this formative evaluation of the implementation process. Formative evaluation is a powerful research tool which seeks out discrepancies between the plan and reality. It keeps an intervention true to its design by recommending modifications where appropriate. The data collected show that the necessary cultural transformation is beginning to occur but is meeting with resistance in the more operationally oriented commands. The acquisition and logistics communities, as expected, demonstrate the greatest affinity for and effectiveness in implementing Total Quality Management. Senior leadership is evidencing tentative commitment as it is yet unclear if this is but another in a series of pet management initiatives. Adequate implementation resources are lacking in all units. A summative evaluation (five to seven years hence) is recommended as Total Quality Management reaches a more mature implementation stage.