Introduction (required)

The Naval Supply Systems Command Weapon Systems Support- Philadelphia’s Code-OF: International Programs Division, commonly known as Foreign Military Sales (FMS) or NAVSUP WSS-OF, is one of the codes or divisions that make-up the Naval Supply Systems Command Weapon Systems Support- Philadelphia (NAVSUP WSS- Philadelphia or NAVSUP WSS). The primary focus of all NAVSUP WSS- Philadelphia divisions, except for Foreign Military Sales (Code-OF), is to provide fleet support to the aviation activities of both the United States Navy and United States Marine Corps; while the focus of the International Programs Division or FMS is to provide logistical support to the Joint and Allied Forces or foreign militaries (https:// www.navsup.navy.mil/navsup/ourteam/navsupwss). The Foreign Military Sales as a program is the transfer or sale of weapons, training, information, parts and services to foreign militaries that are allies of the United States. “FMS falls under the umbrella of United States Security Assistance, authorized by the Foreign Assistance Act (FAA) of 1961, and the Arms Export control Act (AECA) of 1976 (Yoo, Mallicoat & Simpson, 2009).

The clear difference between Code-OF’s and the other NAVSUP WSS codes’ focus puts the former in a situation where its support needs from various activities within the organization are constantly delayed and even ignored. The root of this problem stems from the negative perception of many seasoned NAVSUP WSS- Philadelphia employees towards supporting non-U.S. war fighters (T. Bickel, personal communication, December 9, 2010). Many have reservations about arms sales to United States allies due to various personal reasons. Many question the activity and its existence; and because the majority of NAVSUP WSS-Philadelphia employees have never directly been involved with Foreign Military Sales the lack of knowledge about the program have others question their actions when fulfilling or passing a Foreign Military Sales requisition or sales order and contracts. The said employees are located in several NAVSUP WSS divisions in which Foreign Military Sales activities are dependent on. The negative perceptions have been noticeable via delayed action on Foreign Military Sales requisitions or sales orders and initiation of contracts. It is a topic that is hard to confront due to the lack of supporting documents regarding the reasons on why FMS requisitions are delayed since metrics are solely measured by number of sales orders passed and not why they were delayed. Although the perception about FMS is not a secret, it has never been documented or put in record. This is the reason why it is imperative that all questions, misconceptions and perception in supporting the Allied Forces should be answered so that current issues that the FMS program has been experiencing are properly addressed.

Problem Statement (required)

The Naval Supply Systems Command Weapon Systems Support (NAVSUP WSS)- International Programs (Code-OF), or Foreign Military Sales (FMS), became a part of the NAVSUP Command when its predecessor organization Navy International Logistics Control Office (NAVILCO) was absorbed by with the Naval Supply System Command Security Assistance Division (NAVSUP 07) and the foreign support units of NAVSUP WSS’s Integrated Weapon Support Teams (IWST) in Philadelphia (Aviation Code P037) and Mechanicsburg (Surface Code M102) in October 1, 1996 to form a separate division housed within the Naval Inventory Control Point (now called Naval Supply Systems Command Weapon Systems Support) (Bennis, 1996). Since then, the various problems regarding aviation parts requisition or sales order delays, cancellations and the long waiting period for contract initiation and contract release have been the major issues both internally (within NAVSUP WSS) and externally (by the foreign military officers and liaisons) (E. McCants, personal communication, December 9, 2010).

The removal of Code P037, which is in charge of foreign military logistics support and parts repair, from the rest of the Integrated Weapon Support Teams (IWST or NAVSUP WSS Code-03) and its integration with the new International Programs Division at NAVSUP WSS contributed to the program’s loss of connection with its original parent IWST and the contract specialists or buyers that are located in NAVSUP WSS Code-02 Contracts. It is important to note that the transfer of Code P037 to the new NAVSUP WSS division and its Code change to three separate Codes within Code-OF (Code P751, Code P7512 and Code P7513) became a major blow to the Foreign Military Sales program in terms of support prioritization because foreign military logistics support is assigned a lower priority than the U.S. counterparts. Having FMS Logistics Management Specialists physically located within the Integrated Weapon Support Team branches unofficially gave P037 some of the benefits and direct access to the Integrated Weapon Systems Team’s insider support status by working next to and having rapport with the Item Managers within Code 03. Also, the removal of the former Code P037 team from NAVSUP WSS Code 03 lead to an outsider effect that the Logistics Management Specialists from Foreign Military Sales are still experiencing today; and as the gap grew wider from the time of separation and more of the original Code P037 personnel retired, or transferred to other U.S. Government agencies, the more pronounced the severed ties between the new NAVSUP WSS-OF logistics divisions and the IWST and Contracts branches became (S. Tucker, personal communication, December 2, 2010). The negative perception about Foreign Military Sales has always existed, but when an FMS Logistics Management Specialist is embedded within the Integrated Weapon Systems Teams, which is paired with their own Contracts Specialists, questions about the FMS programs were readily available and can be discussed immediately, unlike today.

An issue that is very common during an aircraft’s parts procurement at Code-OF is when a requisition or sales order is stuck at the Item Manager’s queue because it is ignored. Logistics Management Specialists from the Foreign Military Sales side are aware that foreign military requisitions take a lower priority (priority 3 or higher) than that of the Marine Corps and the U.S. Navy’s (priority 1). A common practice for Item Managers of the IWST branches is to ignore Foreign Military Sales requisitions for months and eventually delete them to lower their pending requisition status count. One Item Manager from the Common Avionics Branch of Code 03 has stated that FMS sales orders are just not a priority since these are not Navy Fleet orders so it is more than often ignored. A more troubling statement from another colleague from the same branch describes on how the management of the branch just do not put FMS as a priority. A more serious problem is the practice of deleting Foreign Military Sales requisitions as soon as it passes to the Item Manager’s queue. This practice became a serious issue in meetings between sections of FMS, the IWSTs and Contracts to address the issue that have become a common occurrence, especially before NAVSUP WSS- Philadelphia transitioned to SAP’s Enterprise Resource Planning (ERP) System. Unfortunately the effectiveness of these discussions proved to be minimal to convince the more seasoned and experienced staff of the two divisions on the importance of also supporting the Allied Forces due to the widespread negative perception paired with political views and indifference by seasoned Item Mangers and Contract Specialists toward Foreign Military Sales. Despite of the actions that were put in place, delays due to the lack of interest in processing FMS requisitions is still a problem. What is worse is that these perceptions have leaked outside of the seasoned employees’ age demographics that it has started to influence some of the new Code 03 and Code 02 trainees and interns. In order to motivate non-Foreign Military Sales employees, it is important to address their need for more knowledge of the importance of Foreign Military Sales as an integral part of NAVSUP WSS, the role of foreign fighters in the efforts in Iraq and Afghanistan theaters, as well as the benefits of supporting the Joint Allied Forces. By taking this action it is hoped that non-FMS employees will cooperate with and answer the needs of the International Programs Division.

Description of the Program Inputs (optional)

In December of 2009, the Director of Foreign Military Sales –Aviation Logistics (Code OF-P751) has informed the section’s FMS team of its formal schedule to transition to SAP’s Enterprise Resource Planning (ERP) System. Code OF-P751 is a part of the first wave of divisions, departments and sections to be transitioned to the new Navy-wide system and there is a serious concern that ERP will magnify the current delay problems. The meeting produced three possible solutions which one was to add more manual and desk guides. The other two were Green Belt Projects which were to be coordinated by the Continuous Process Improvement (CPI) Division between Codes 02, 03 and OF. One Green Belt Project was to address requisition processing while the other was for contracts. The three solutions were to find ways to prevent further delays and to make sure that the Foreign Military Sales activities were kept in mind within the other two divisions during the data transfer and transition to ERP.

Description of Program Activities (optional)

The team that was formed to create more procedural manuals and process desk guides concerning FMS and the new ERP was successful and a separate FMS section was eventually added to the entire ERP manual book given to all employees of NAVSUP WSS – Philadelphia which served as the bible for the system. Separate trainings on FMS sales order processing in ERP were also conducted which helped lessen errors and delays as the system eventually became available to all divisions, sections and Codes at the Philadelphia Naval Facility. On the other hand, the two Green Belt projects stalled due to the length and manpower required to properly execute and complete a Lean Six Sigma Project. Both projects are still pending completion, but the charters were changed several times and eventually the resources originally given to the projects were shifted to more important issues concerning the growing pains of stabilizing and fixing the failed data in the ERP systems.

Research Objective (required)

The goal of this research is to change the negative perceptions that non-Foreign Military Sales employees of the Naval Supply Systems Command Weapon Systems Support – Philadelphia have about the FMS program and its activities. The lack of knowledge and available resources to educate employees outside of NAVSUP WSS – Philadelphia are major contributors to the non-FMS employees’ negative perceptions, which resulted to aircraft parts requisition delays and deletion at the Integrated Weapon Support Teams as well as delays in the contracting initiation at the Contracts Division of the Command. By finding ways to transfer knowledge effectively and giving the non-FMS workforce the access to information regarding FMS, both the Item Managers and Contract Specialists will have the adequate knowledge about the importance and benefits of supporting a strong and competitive Foreign Military Sales program. The study will create another vehicle to compliment the procedural manuals and instructional desk guides that were put in place with facts and background about the Foreign Military Sales program to enhance its effectiveness.

Research Questions (required) (3-5 questions)

The study will try to tackle questions regarding how to solve the byproduct of the main issue which are delayed requisitions and contracts; and the root problem which is the lack of information and educational resources available to non-FMS personnel regarding Foreign Military Sales and its activities. In order to find the proper solution to the root issue, it isthe intention of this study to use the answers to the following questions:

What kind of information should the International Programs Division (FMS) provide non-FMS personnel in the Integrated Weapon Support Teams and Contracts Division to motivate both Item Managers and Contract Specialists to properly process his or her Foreign Military Sales workload?
How should the International Programs Division deliver the information on Foreign Military Sales to ensure that the desired goal is reached?
Will the availability of information regarding FMS and its delivery enough to change the perception of Item Managers and Contract Specialists about the FMS program?

Operational Indictors (required)

The indicators of the study’s impact would be the gradual improvement of turnaround time in passing FMS requisitions or sales orders by Code 03 Item Managers and the initiation of FMS contracts by the Code 02 Contract Specialists which would eventually lead to the elimination of delays and deletion of FMS workload by the said non-FMS employees.

Rationale and Theoretical Framework (optional)

This study will reference Victor Vroom’s Expectancy Theory and Douglas McGregor’s Theory of X and Y. The rationale behind the selection of the two is based on a study by Lambright (2010) of Binghamton University; which states that “federal employees are managed differently than their counterparts in the private sector due to the often indirect subordination of public sector staff to management.” Although her study is focused on government sector management and its relationship with contractor subordinates, it can also be applied to the situation of the Foreign Military Sales division within the Naval Supply Systems Command Weapon Systems Support in which two of its important processes (requisition processing and contracts) is done by non-Foreign Military Sales employees. Although non-FMS employees are government workers themselves, this arrangement mimics a government supervisor/management and non-government contractor relationship because in reality, Foreign Military Sales outsources these functions to other departments to accomplish its logistical cycle. Due to the current FMS management – non-FMS employee relationship, supervisors of the Foreign Military Sales programs do not have the direct authority to implement FMS rules and regulations and cannot impose disciplinary action against a Code 03 Item Manager or a Code 02 Contract Specialist that is not performing his or her job. Foreign Military Sales management can only rely on his or her relationship with the management of both the Integrated Weapon Systems Teams and Contracts Division to relay what he or she is dissatisfied about in regards to any unacceptable performance in working an FMS requisition or contract. FMS management can only motivate Item Managers and Contracts Specialists and secure a good relationship with the two divisions to avoid delays in any Foreign Military logistical lifecycle.

Motivation, as described by Vroom’s Expectancy Theory, depends on three factors:

Expectancy- an individual’s expectation to complete his or her job based on the amount of effort he or she puts into the task at hand (Tyagi, 2010).
Instrumentality- “the linkage between performance and outcomes” (Lambright, 2010).
Value- the importance of the outcome of his or her performance (Tyagi, 2010).
McGregor’s X and Y theory states that human motivation by nature fall in two categories. Theory X states that workers are lazy, unsatisfied and are not motivated to work and should be dealt with fear in order for things to get done; while theory Y states the opposite and believes that workers can be motivated to do their job and enjoy productivity and eventually become independent and responsible member of an organization (Kopelman, Prottas, & Falk, 2010). The latter theory will help Foreign Military Sales management and Logistics Management Specialists give more trust to the Item Managers and Contract Specialists instead of the current practice of constantly threatening their supervisors if an FMS task is not done after several notices.

Summry

Summary of chapter-1( 2-3 sentences)

Definition of Terms ( if it is nedded)

Please see Terminology and Definitions section.

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