Digital Commons Network^™

A Study Of Leadership's Role In Building Relationships Among Virtual Team Members, Danna V. Smith

Doctoral Dissertations and Projects

This research study focused on leadership's role in building relationships among virtual team members. A qualitative case study, the research focused on organizations in the medical device industry within the Charlotte Metropolitan region of North Carolina. The research was formed using 15 open ended questions in an interview of 20 leaders of virtual teams. Each leader was interviewed individually and allowed to elaborate on their answers to help the researcher to thoroughly understand the approach used to help the relationships form among their virtual team members. During the interview, the discussion between the researcher and the leader being interviewed covered …

Strategic Leadership For Managing Diversity, Amdy Diene

Doctoral Dissertations and Projects

The changing workforce in organizations worldwide, including those in Africa, makes managing diversity a critical issue that must be a part of any organizational business strategy. This qualitative case study explored the success and failure of leadership strategies in managing diversity in organizations in the West African region and the adverse effects globalization, and ethnocentrism might have in managing diversity in the workplace. This study took place in Africa, and 15 participants from this West African organization participated in interviews and surveys. The data collection yielded themes the participants in the study thought could improve leaders' capabilities in managing a …

The Dark Side Of Leadership: Mid-Level Managers And Their Experience With Hubristic Behaviors Of Executives, Leili Sadaghiani

Dissertations

Purpose: The purpose of the study is to identify the emotional reactions of mid-level managers to executives’ hubris behaviors in a corporate setting.

Methodology: This leadership study uses qualitative phenomenological methodology was executed to explore the lived experiences of mid-level managers with past executives who practiced hubristic behavior.

Findings: The findings of this research on the lived experiences of mid-level managers with hubristic behaviors of executives suggest that the lack of support lessens the mid-level manager’s confidence; with little support; the mid-level manager was either afraid to fight the executive or gave up trying; the mid-level manager faced stress even …

Decentralization And Centralization In Sociocratic Organizations—Dynamics, Combinations, And Hybrid Solutions, Ted Rau, Phd

Journal of Nonprofit Innovation

The article discusses the interplay between decentralized and centralized aspects of governance in the context of decentralized self-governance and shares learnings from Sociocracy For All’s (SoFA) experience, including that decentralization is an active process that requires preparation, budget, strategy, and information can act as centralizing forces, and decentralization requires different ways of thinking about responsibility and leadership. SoFA is a young membership organization founded in 2016 promoting sociocracy, a governance system with consent-based decision-making in small groups, in nonprofits and other organizations.

Expanding Theoretical Perspectives On Leadership: An Integration Of The Green And Mitchell Model Of Leader Behavior With Leader-Member Exchange Status, Constance R. Campbell, Cathy Owens Swift

Southern Business Review

Constance Campbell is an assistant professor of management in the College of Business Administration at Georgia Southern University.

Cathy Owens Swift is an associate professor of marketing in the College of Business Administration at Georgia Southern University.

Communication As The Mainstay Of Entrepreneurial Leadership: A Conceptual Framework, Roshan Lal Sharma, Manpreet Arora

Management Dynamics

Leadership and entrepreneurship, despite being discrete concepts, have to coalesce for sure success of any venture. Communicative ability, nevertheless, is critically crucial for a leader to build successful enterprise. It thus becomes imperative to understand the symbiotic relationship obtaining within this triumvirate namely commimication, leadership and entrepreneurship. This paper views this relationship as communicative entrepreneurial leadership on the basis of critical survey of studies conducted by scholars concerning these areas. There have only been few and sparse studies available on entrepreneurial leadership with communication as their locus. This paper is conceptual and aims at positing that communication skills are the …

A Text Analysis Of Meaning In Research On Gender, Language, And Leadership, Samantha Faith Weissrock

Walden Dissertations and Doctoral Studies

Focusing on gender and leadership research, the purpose of the study was to examine discursive messages used in research text regarding gendered leadership to explore the phenomenon of word usage and language structure. The study employed critical discourse analysis as the framework and methodology, a specific cross discipline approach to discourse analysis primarily concerned with language’s innate ability to change and take on new meaning over time. Leveraging texts available in scholarly, peer-reviewed publications dedicated to the intersection of gender and leadership in juxtaposition to the final issue of the same publication have previously focused on intersection of women in …

The X-Factor Of C-Suite Executives, Sheila T. Tan

Theses and Dissertations

Organizations rely on C-level executives to make strategic decisions that will impact stakeholders and business performance. These executives are judged based on employee satisfaction, market share, and bottom lines. Some of them perform well at one point but eventually make disastrous decisions. There is still a gap in knowledge on what elements make them decide how they do and what can be done before they are installed to the highest post. This paper investigated common mindsets and belief structures, which will be referred to in this paper as the X-factor, of C-level executives based on the Matrix model as a …

When Knowing Is Not Enough: A Narrative Exploration Of How K-12 Teachers Make Decisions About The Transfer Of Critical Competencies From Professional Learning To Daily Practice, Nell E. Ballard-Jones

Antioch University Dissertations & Theses

School districts spend millions of dollars each year to provide training and learning to staff working in direct and indirect service to students (National Council on Teacher Quality, 2021). This financial commitment says nothing about what is even more important: the need for school employees and the systems in which we work to serve students more effectively. Despite vast allocations of time and money and presumably best intentions for better social and academic outcomes for students, very little data exist that reflect regular transfer and application of training/learning into professional practice (Nittler et al., 2015). By and large, schools and …

How Leaders And Employees Experience, Make Sense Of, And Find Meaning In Humility, David Perryman

Theses & Dissertations

By just about any measure, organizations today are more dynamic, diverse, and interdependent than at any other time in history. This environment puts unprecedented pressure on the human capacity to lead. And still, we demand more from our leaders—even as employees experience rising stress levels, declining loyalty, and deteriorating trust in their employers, and organizations face historically high rates of employee turnover along with the resulting financial and emotional costs. Clinging to romanticized notions of the larger-than-life leader blinds us to the paradoxical promise of humility; namely, that a leader’s greatest strength may lie, ironically, in the ability …

An Examination Of Optimal Level Of Ceo Narcissism: Why, How, And When Narcissism Impacts Firm Performance, Scott Boswell

Dissertations

Chief Executive Officers (CEOs) may have narcissistic tendencies that impact the firm and its performance. We explore the definition of narcissism, how it is measured, and when it might be optimal or harmful to the firm’s performance. Leaders exhibiting higher scores on one or more Dark Triad traits often are viewed negatively both inside and outside the firm. Should such negative perceptions disqualify a leader who displays a measure of a Dark Triad trait? This research answers the primary question, is there an optimal level of CEO narcissistic traits and if so, are there moderating factors that impact the level? …

Motivating Language And Employee Outcomes: A Multinational Investigation, Cau Ngoc Nguyen, Wei Ning, Albi Alikaj, Quoc Nam Tran

Research, Publications & Creative Work

Purpose – This study aims to examine the impact of managerial use of motivating language on employee absenteeism, turnover intention, job satisfaction and job performance for employees from three nations: India, the USA and Vietnam.

Design/methodology/approach – Data is collected from 614 employees working in India, the USA and Vietnam. A variance-based partial least squares structural equation modeling technique is used to test the hypotheses. In addition, a statistical test is used to examine the statistical differences in the results across the three nations.

Findings – The findings are consistent with the motivating language theory, in that managerial use of …

Metacritiques Of Upper Echelons Theory: Verdicts And Recommendations For Future Research, Brett H. Neely Jr., Jeffrey B. Lovelace, Amanda P. Cowen, Nathan J. Hiller

Department of Management: Faculty Publications

After more than 35 years, Hambrick and Mason’s upper echelons theory (UET) stands as one of the most influential perspectives in management research. However, as the literature and its attendant reviews have become more numerous and specialized, discussion of the fundamental conceptual and methodological critiques leveled against research utilizing the UET perspective has grown fragmented. As such, the first aim of the present review is to identify and synthesize a set of common critiques levied against UET research. In doing so, we unpack important nuance within each critique while establishing a common vocabulary to facilitate greater consistency in how these …

Leadership Adapted: Towards An Understanding Of How Western-Developed Leadership Theories Are Translated And Practiced In The Modern Arab Middle East, Derek R. Olson

Dissertations

The purpose of this study is to understand how western-developed leadership theories are translated and practiced in the Modern Arab Middle East (MAME). Over the past century the notion of leadership has progressed through phases of understanding, definition, and practice. This evolution continues today and is no longer contained to the academic and practice-oriented institutions of North America and Europe. Through western-styled educational institutions and professional industries, western-developed leadership theories have stretched around the globe, including the MAME. While this is known, what is much less understood is how these theories are adopted and adapted. This study’s objective is to …

Developing Ei: Leadership Journeys In Emotional Intelligence, Erin Bric

Theses and Dissertations

Emotional intelligence (EI) has been deemed a critical competency for leaders in today's world. However, there is little information to help OD practitioners, leaders, and organizations understand how leaders can develop these skills in ways that meaningfully and positively impact their teams and organizations. This study examined the journeys of senior leaders as they developed their emotional intelligence. The study addressed two research questions: how leaders perceive they have developed their emotional intelligence throughout their lifetimes and how leaders are continuing to develop their emotional intelligence in their lives and careers. Key themes emerged out of leader interviews and were …

Developing Spiritual Maturity In Ministry Leaders Through A Whole-Bible Thematic Instruction, Eric John Palmu

Doctor of Ministry (DMin)

The purpose of this dissertation is to describe the development of an instructional program to teach and instruct ministry leaders in spiritual formation. The research reveals that current ministry leaders either lack a level of comfort in discipling team members or lack the capacity to teach and instruct volunteers in spiritual formation. If current ministry leaders do not disciple well, then future leaders will lack necessary leadership skills—an ominous outcome. Consequently, the purpose of the project is to develop a whole-Bible thematic instruction that will improve the discipleship skills of ministry leaders. The curriculum project is designed to develop in …

Leadership And Community In The Arts: A Case Study Of Legend And Culture In Chiusdino, Italy, Amanda Svetlak

Arts Administration Masters Theses

The complexity of culture goes beyond artistic expression, nationality, race, and religion. Culture shapes our communications, interactions, and our perceptions of the world around us (Hall, 1989). Studies show that self-awareness of our own culture through exposure to the unfamiliar leads to intercultural competences (Herlo, 2015; Crossman, 2011; Hermond 2018; Hall 1989). As technology, travel, and community diversity continues to shrink our world and diversify our workplaces, these intercultural competences support modern processes of marketing, community engagement, and organizational leadership. This thesis is a case study of the community culture, organizational culture, and structure of arts institutions in Chiusdino, Italy. …

Communication As Constitutive Of Organization: Practicing Collaboration In And English Language Program, Ariadne Miranda

USF Tampa Graduate Theses and Dissertations

This dissertation is about collaboration as an organizational practice that is communicatively constituted. Specifically, I examine how members of a team in an English language program located in a large southeastern university in the United States make sense of what they define as a collaborative work environment and materialize it in their meetings in spoken and written discourse, and in their mention and use of organizational artifacts. Though the study examines the practices of one organizational setting, the insights generated illuminate broader organizational and discourse dynamics and speak to important issues in the discipline of communication such as authority, leadership, …

Technology And Organizational Decision-Making: A Qualitative Case Study Approach, Brad Marcus Mcrae

Walden Dissertations and Doctoral Studies

Technology and communication skills simultaneously increase organizational productivity and decision-making. However, excessive use of technology to make decisions can diminish the added benefits that nonverbal communication can bring. The interpersonal sensitivity effects on perception of service quality model, face-to-face communication versus teleconferencing, the technology acceptance model, and decision-making were the conceptual framework of the study. The research questions examined how excessive use of technology to make decisions can diminish the added benefits that nonverbal communication can bring to organizational leadership decision-making. Employing an exploratory multiple case study design, organizational leaders from the Southern California region, ranging in seniority from team-leader …

When Silence Is Golden: The Use Of Strategic Silence In Crisis Management, Phuong D. Le, Hui Xun Teo, Augustine Pang, Yuling Li, Cai-Qin Goh

Research Collection Lee Kong Chian School Of Business

Purpose: Scholars have discouraged using silence in crises as it magnifies the information vacuum (see Pang, 2013). The purpose of this paper is to argue for its viability and explore the type of silence that can be used. Design/methodology/approach: Eight international cases were analyzed to examine how silence was adopted, sustained and broken. Findings: The findings uncovered three intention-based typologies of strategic silence: delaying, avoiding and hiding silences. Among such, avoiding/hiding silence intensified crises and adversely affected post-silence organizational image when forcefully broken, while delaying silence helped preserve/restore image with primary stakeholders if successfully sustained and broken as planned. Research …

Leadership Challenges In The Sustainable Internationalization Of A Medium Scale State University Located In The Usa: A Case Study, Babu George, Jaylen Adams, Jennifer Hopkins

Babu George

Examining Emergent Systems Management Strategies In Overseas Operations, Kristofer Hawbaker

Doctoral Dissertations and Projects

Stadler, Mayer, and Hautz (2015) believed that most global companies did not possess the right management capabilities to make overseas movement profitable. Businesses must manage a bevy of internal and external organizational and process interdependencies to achieve success globally (Dynes, 2008), and these organizational processes have become increasingly more complex and adaptive (Anderson, 1999; McKelvey, 2001; Stacey, 1992; Wheatley, 1999). Today’s business leaders still develop reductionist solutions to solve complex problems despite this type of thinking's practical limitations (Menkes, 2011). Comstock (2016) foresaw emergent management as a necessity in the current era, which requires organizations to unify around information flows …

07. Gender In Leadership, Illinois Mathematics And Science Academy

CORE

This module encompasses the controversy and broadness of gender. Students begin with recognizing their subconscious gender biases, followed by a providing them with a vernacular of culture to help students better understand and differentiate terms. Then the students will explore the fluidity of gender through discussion on gender X and transgender. Furthermore, there will be an activity about the origin of gender roles, and how that shaped gender roles today. The students will also be able to apply their learnings to the real world by learning how to resolve conflict regarding gender and sexuality.

Iranian Leadership Ideals: A Culturally-Based Leadership Approach, Azadeh Davari

Dissertations

In light of many current financial and ethical crises, scholars have called for looking beyond our existing Western-based approaches for innovative leadership practices. Recent research about the success and unique management practices of Indian corporations (Cappelli et al., 2010) shows a unique style based on both people and profit and one that blends capitalist profit-based structures with caring for people and community. That research has been the basis for suggestions for the existence of a distinct Indo-European leadership (IEL) style (Nahavandi, 2012a; Nahavandi & Krishnan, 2017) with philosophical roots in Iran and India and provides impetus for looking beyond Western …

Testing Matching And Mirroring With Homophily In Onboarding Leadership Socialization, Manuel Almendarez

Walden Dissertations and Doctoral Studies

This study was designed to test the relationship between matching and mirroring (MM) and homophilous perceptions (PHM) in leadership socialization. Elevated PHM levels were hypothesized to affect workplace acceptance levels. The need for testing leadership socialization skills was magnified with the current demographic shift known as the leadership succession crisis, creating problems with onboarding strategies. The theoretical foundations of the study were based on the social identity theory, the social presence theory, the leader-member exchange theory, and the similarity-attraction paradigm. The study conducted at Workforce Solutions North Texas in Wichita Falls, Texas was sampled based on the calculated strength of …

Virtual Leadership In Complex Multiorganizational Research And Development Programs, Gariann Marie Gelston

Walden Dissertations and Doctoral Studies

A 2002 congressional mandate initiated the U.S. Department of Homeland Security's (DHS) Centers of Excellence programs with a requirement to conduct cross-organizational research and development. The resulting complex multiorganizational programs required more effective virtual leadership and management strategies. Fifteen years later, the presidential budget showed that 61% of the DHS budget was targeted for such research and development. The complex management strategies and virtual leadership skills required to lead the programs were lacking, as top scientific researchers are drawn upon to manage programs. The purpose of this study was to understand followers' perspectives regarding virtual leadership and collaboration within complex …

Career Challenges Faced By Professional Black Women In Sweden, Herta Boakye-Yiadom Dahl

Walden Dissertations and Doctoral Studies

Academically and professionally qualified Black women who immigrated to Sweden from the United States and the continent of Africa encounter barriers that may hinder their career opportunities. The unstable labor market position of foreigners required efforts by the Swedish government to address the problem. Little is known about the unique and specific challenges that qualified Black immigrant women experience when integrating into the Swedish labor market with foreign qualifications and professional experience. Guided by Durkheim's social integration theory, the purpose of this phenomenological study was to evaluate the lived experiences of Black immigrant women as they integrated into the Swedish …

2017 The Role Of Books And Reading In Stem: An Overview Of The Benefits For Children And The Opportunities To Enhance The Field, Vitaliy Popov, Tessa Tinkler

Youth, Education, and Literacy

In April 2017, STEM Next, in partnership with the Hoag Foundation and the Molina Foundation, commissioned the Institute for Entrepreneurship in Education (IEE) and the Caster Family Center for Nonprofit and Philanthropic Research at the University of San Diego to provide an overview of literacy learning within the disciplinary context of Science, Technology, Engineering, and Math (STEM). This overview includes (1) a literature review on the benefits of integrating literacy and STEM for elementary and middle-school-aged children, (2) an environmental scan of reading programs, organizations, and materials that focus on Literacy in STEM, and (3) a set of criteria for …

Women In Leadership: A Comparative Case Study On Successful Leadership, Christine Newcomb

Honors College Theses

The purpose of this report is to understand what makes a successful female leader. Since there are so few women in executive level positions, especially chief executive officer positions, I became interested in analyzing how successful leaders act in contrast with how unsuccessful leaders act. To analyze, I will focus on the leadership of two prominent businesswomen, one who has been successful in their tenure, and one who has been unsuccessful. Mary Barra, CEO of General Motors, Inc. has been successful throughout her tenure, while Marissa Mayer, CEO of Yahoo has been unsuccessful in turning the company around. I will …

Cultivating Empathy: New Perspectives On Educating Business Leaders, Svetlana Holt, Joan Marques, Jianli Hu, Adam Wood

The Journal of Values-Based Leadership

Beyond rules, procedures, and manuals lie relationships. Jettisoning a formal hierarchical company structure allows all levels of management and employees to positively interact – this is where the key driver of “empathy” is so critical to continue building these relationships and molding a common organizational purpose.