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The Right People In The Wrong System: Examining The Tension Between Nonprofit Individuals And Organizational Structure, Erin Vong

Master's Theses

Nonprofit organizations pursue missions of social good while still operating within the confines of systems of oppression, creating a tension between organizational values and operational success. Previous research focuses on the micro-level role of individuals and the macro-level role of ideologies that create these tensions for nonprofit workers in these spaces. Through a qualitative case study, this thesis seeks to uncover the meso-level role of organizational structures in the experiences of nonprofit workers. The research questions that guided this case study were (a) How does one organization present equitable working conditions for its staff? (b) How do staff at this …

Higher Command: An Examination Of African American Leadership In The Vietnam Era, Amanda Abulawi

Master's Theses

Since the founding of the United States, African Americans have sacrificed their lives to uphold the nation’s democratic ideals, all while being denied equal access to voting, education, employment, and housing rights at home. Military service appealed to many African Americans who hoped it would lead to social and economic advancement for themselves and their race. Despite African American military participation throughout the nation’s history, these soldiers were treated as outsiders through segregated units and often relegated to non-combative duties, until the Vietnam War. This was the first major conflict in which African Americans had been deployed in large numbers …

The Relationship Between Trait Mindfulness And Servant Leadership, Harmeet Parmar

Master's Theses

In recent years, servant leadership has become a widely studied leadership style. Literature has focused on the outcomes of servant leadership, and only a few studies have looked at the antecedents of servant leadership. The purpose of this study was to examine trait mindfulness as an antecedent of eight dimensions of servant leader behaviors. It was hypothesized that trait mindfulness would have a positive relationship with the servant leader dimensions humility, authenticity, and standing back. In addition, a research question was posited to see if trait mindfulness would have a relationship with the other dimensions of servant leadership including empowerment, …

Foundations Of Development: Perceptions Of Character And Leadership Development In Collegieate Judo Student Athletes, Hiroshi Yamaguchi

Master's Theses

Sports have been a tool for development within educational institutions for decades. In the United States, around 8 million high school students participate in high school sports. Very few go on to play for University Athletic Departments. Out of the 8 million students, only 495,000 (6.1%) of them will compete at NCAA schools (NCAA, 2020). Though the probability of competing in the NCAA's elite divisions is low, university students have plenty of opportunities to play and compete in sports via club/recreational sports programs, intramurals, and physical education courses. Estimates show that over 2 million higher education students in the United …

The Moderating Effect Of Leadership Adaptability On The Relationship Between Employee Adaptability And Job Performance, Justine Davis

Master's Theses

The purpose of this study was to investigate the potential moderating effect of leadership adaptability on the relationship between employee adaptability and employee job performance. Previous research explored leadership adaptability as a mediator; however, there was a significant gap exploring leadership adaptability as a moderator. Participants were recruited via online social and personal networks. 125 participants completed a self-report survey consisting of items measuring employee adaptability, perceived manager adaptability and job performance. Results did not show perceived manager adaptability as a moderator of the relationship between employee adaptability and job performance. The results indicated that there were significant relationships between …

The Relationship Between Authentic Leadership And Organizational Change Readiness: The Mediating Role Of Psychological Safety, Paulina Christine Manzano

Master's Theses

The purpose of the current study was to examine the mediating effect of psychological safety on the relationship between authentic leadership and organizational change readiness in the workplace. A total of 107 employees participated in the study, which utilized online survey distribution. Results showed that psychological safety partially mediated the relationship between authentic leadership and organizational change readiness. In other words, the more employees perceived their leadership to be authentic, the more likely employees felt safe taking risks at work, which in turn, increased employees’ emotional and cognitive inclination to adopt and embrace organizational change. Based on these findings, organizations …

The Effect Of Imagined Intergroup Contact On Heterosexism, Laurel Mertz

Master's Theses

Heterosexism and other forms of prejudice against the LGBTQ community remain prevalent across the world. Thus, the study of how to reduce heterosexism has become a much more common and necessary domain of research in recent years. Previous research has demonstrated mixed results of the effect of imagined intergroup contact on heterosexism. the current study sought to evaluate various contexts in which imagined intergroup contact would decrease or increase levels of both implicit and explicit heterosexist attitudes. I predicted that individuals who imagined winning a basketball game with a gay teammate would display more positive attitudes toward gay men whereas …

An Experimental Test Of Fiedler's Contingency Model Of Leadership Effectiveness: The Effect Of Gender, Samantha De Souza

Master's Theses

The present study is an experimental test of Fiedler's (1967) Contingency Model of Leadership Effectiveness across genders, as Fiedler's Contingency Model has been tested largely with male participants. The model predicts group performance based on four key variables: leadership style, as indexed by the Least-Preferred Coworker (LPC) Scale, and three situational variables, leader-member relations, task structure, and position power. In situations characterized by high leader-member relations, and low position power, Fiedler predicts a negative correlation between the leader's LPC score and group performance when groups perform a structured task (Octant II), and a positive correlation when groups perform an unstructured …

Hope For Struggling School Districts, Mary D. Travis

Master's Theses

Education improves the opportunities and life-chance outcomes of our children, and is a key factory in both economic and community development. Although high school graduation rates have shown improvement nationwide in recent years, public education is suffering from increasing inequality between different school districts and within the same school districts. Such inequalities widen academic outcome gaps and can result in entire school districts being branded as academic failures. However, there is also encouraging evidence of struggling schools and school districts moving toward improvement. Innovative leaders who are committed to inclusive and rigorous academics, shared leadership, and an in-depth understanding of …

The Moderating Role Of Transformational Leadership And Perceived Organizational Support In The Relationship Between Openness To Experience And Creativity, Monica Luu

Master's Theses

Although openness to experience has been found to be a consistent and important determinant of creativity, organizations have been interested in ways in which they could alter the environment in order to increase creativity. Woodman, Sawyer, and Griffin (1993) argue that organizational creativity is a function of the interaction between an individual’s personality and environment. Using Woodman’s theory, the present study was conducted to test whether two organizational factors, transformational leadership and perceived organizational support (POS), would moderate the relationship between openness to experience and creativity. Data were collected from 114 fulltime and parttime employees from various organizations through use …

Lideranca Servidora: Um Estudo De Saude Organizacional, Dos Estilos E Praticas Da Lideranca E Da Satisfacao Do Trabalho Segundo A Percepcao Do Ministerio Pastoral Da Associacao Mineira Sul Da Igreja Adventista Do Setimo Dia, Luis Gustavo Cava Sa

Master's Theses

Problem

Considering that Southern Minas Conference (AMS) growth rate is lower than other fields within the Brazilian Southeast Union (USEB) an investigation was conducted regarding the organizational health, the practices and styles of leadership, as well as the job satisfaction level among AMS pastors.

Method

The study was conducted among 46 pastors who represent three levels of leadership: Top Leadership, Management and Work Force as established by the research instrument Organizational Leadership Assessment (OLA) that analyses the perception of the participants regarding six key areas of leadership, six levels of organizational health, and job satisfaction level of the Work Force, …

Evaluating The Predictive Validity Of The Global Competencies Inventory For Determining Global Leadership Outcomes, Emily Tuyet Le

Master's Theses

Due to trends in globalization, there has been an accelerated growth in the number of global organizations. This has caused the demand for global leaders to far exceed the number of qualified individuals, leading organizations to search for ways to identify individuals who will be successful global leaders. The purpose of this study was to evaluate the predictive value of one of the few validated tools for measuring global leadership, the Global Competencies Inventory (GCI). The sample consisted of 433 undergraduate and graduate students at a large public university, who were measured across three major global leadership dimensions. Correlations were …

Leadership Development Programs: Exploring The Real Impact Upon Communities And Organizations, Brandon Steinert

Master's Theses

Leadership development programs are a popular tool utilized by communities and organizations to influence culture, challenge status quo and develop individuals. Research targeting the effectiveness of these programs is voluminous, but much of the work done thus far measures program effectiveness by one of two methods: either by the change in the attitudes and behavior of participants, or by the opinions participants held regarding the content and curriculum of the program. This study sought measure program effectiveness by looking at the real impact upon communities and organizations. This study explored the potential relationship between health and vibrancy of communities and …

A Study Regarding Organizational Health, Leadership Styles And Practices And Job Satisfaction Within The West Central Brazil Union Mission Of Seventh-Day Adventist Church According To The Perception Of The Employees Of The Administrative Office, Alijofran Lima Brandao

Master's Theses

Problem

Evaluations done at the West Central Brazil Union Mission office in 2015 found that the items related to proactive attitude and job satisfaction of the employees had the lowest score. Both the general evaluation and the self-evaluation revealed that creativity, conflict resolution, praises and rebuke, and self-development were the least developed items. It was assumed that the above described situation may reflect leadership practices and styles within UCOB.

Method

The study was conducted among 48 UCOB’s administrative office employees divided in three categories as described by the OLA research instrument (Top Leadership, Management and Work Force), which analyses the …

A Study Regarding Organizational Health, Leadership Styles And Practices And Job Satisfaction In The Associacao Central Amazonas Of The Seventh-Day Adventist Church According To The Perception Of The Pastoral Ministry, Sergio Alan Alves Caxeta

Master's Theses

Problem

Due to the perceived partial insatisfaction on the part of the district pastors and local church leaders in the Associação Central Amazonas (ACeAm) based on the amount of work added to the annual planning and the Organization activities calendar, it was decided to investigate the health organization, the leadership practices and styles, as well as the job satisfaction accrding to the perception of the ACeAm pastoral ministry which may be at the basis of the problem

Method

The study was conducted among AceAm 59 pastors divided in three leadership categories described as Top Leadership, Management and Work Force according …

“How Do You Define Yourself?” Mobilizing Leadership In The Graduate Employee Union Movement, Kathleen Ragon

Master's Theses

Social movement scholars agree that leadership plays a crucial role in the emergence, structure, and outcomes of social movement organizations (SMOs) and is thus an indispensable area of research. The vast majority of theories of leadership to date have been developed in contexts where participants’ movement identities are relatively stable (e.g., gender, sexual, or occupational) and engagement in the site of contestation will be long-term (e.g., workplace or nation state). However, the recent proliferation of graduate student employee unions poses a challenge to this literature because graduate students’ employment is by its very nature temporary and variable; graduate assistantship appointments …

A Percepcao Sobre A Influencia Que O Lider Exerce Nais Igrejas Adventistas De Vitoria Da Conquista, Helio Sousa Marques

Master's Theses

Proposal

This study addressed the perception of the influence that leaders exerts in Vitória da Conquista`s Adventist churches, located in the southwestern region of the state of Bahia, Brazil. It encompasses concepts, theories, styles, and reflections of leadership pertaining to this population, in order to know the profile of the leaders that followers admire, thereby providing information so that leaders can become increasingly more influential and admired by their subordinates.

Method

The methodology used in this research is qualitative, being guided in a semi-structured interview, on authors dealing with this topic, and on analysis of the historical context of servant …

Centralized For Protection: George I. Butler And His Philosophy Of One-Person Leadership, Kevin M. Burton

Master's Theses

Statement of the Problem

On November 17, 1873, the General Conference adopted George I. Butler’s leadership philosophy, which officially centralized ecclesiastical authority within one person. This statement on leadership and authority was deemed highly important and several resolutions, as well as a covenantal pledge, were voted and signed in promise that this new policy would be strictly followed. What led the Adventist Church to adopt such a policy and bind itself to it in this manner? What were the philosophical and theological tenets that the policy espoused? Since this position on leadership is no longer accepted in the Adventist Church …

Women In Leadership And The Politics Of Power, Caitlin Maeve Kendall

Master's Theses

With the use of intimate interviews, this qualitative research study employed an experiential, story-telling approach to gather a more thorough understanding of individual female experiences in leadership positions in the field of education in relation to the literature on female leadership in a gendered workforce. Although this study only included the experiences of several women leaders in the field of education in the Chicago area, the preexisting research on the topic guided the interview questions and divulged the nexus between a culture of systematic gendered hierarchy in the workplace and the strategies and characteristics of success employed by female leaders …

Relationship Between Cultural Intelligence And Leadership, Lu Yang

Master's Theses

The study investigates the prediction that the higher cultural intelligence competencies, the more effective leadership. Multiple regression analysis of data from 14 managers in the United States and 71 managers in China report several relationships between the cultural intelligence competencies and effective leadership. The study focused on the relationships of each dimension of the Cultural Intelligence Scale (CQS), Metacognitive (ME), Cognitive (C), Motivational (MO) and Behavioral (B), to each dimension of the Leadership Behavior Inventory: Visualizing Greatness (VG), Empowering the ―We‖ (WE), Communicating for Meaning (CM), Managing Oneself (MOS), and Care and Recognition (CR). Analysis indicated that there are significant …

Leadership And Innovative Environment In Organizations, Xiaojuan Xia

Master's Theses

This article examines the relationship between leader-follower friendships and the innovative environment in organizations. The results of the study reveal that leader-follower friendships are positively related to the measurements of innovative environment. Organizations with an innovative environment exhibit strong overall leader-follower friendships. Measures of leader-follower friendships are obtained from Boyd and Taylor's developmental approach to the examination of friendships between leaders and followers. In order to find out the determinations of an innovative environment, this paper reviews the work of Van der Sluis, Baldridge, Burnham, Bharadwaj, Menon, McLean, and others. The article synthesizes the literature, and lists the factors that …

Modern Leadership Compared To Historical Leadership Shown Biblically, Forrest Jones

Master's Theses

Modern Leadership Compared to Historical Leadership Shown Biblically

Forrest Jones

This thesis is a comparison between modern leadership and historical leadership. Modern leadership has been differentiated from management since the early 1980’s. Historical leadership is shown by Jesus Christ through the Bible, used as a historical text. Historical leadership was found to have two separate tools used by Jesus Christ which would be useful additions to what leadership today is. The first tool is submission to authority. Most people in positions that would be considered leadership positions do not feel that they need to follow anyone else. Often times they …

Leaders Of The Future : Differentiating Leaders Among High School Seniors, Richard S. Mohn Jr.

Master's Theses

The present study investigated high school leadership at two independent high schools using a peer nomination technique. Seniors nominate classmates who best fit each of 20 items indexing attributes of business world leaders. The seniors also nominated students they liked most and liked least. The leadership attributes were conceptualized to fit into four constructs: Other oriented, Inner oriented, Situationally oriented, and Derailment characteristics. The like most and like least items were used for measuring social impact and social preference and for classifying students into the sociometric groups of popular, controversial, rejected, neglected, and average. Test-retest correlations at a one month …

Effectiveness Of Computer-Based, Modified Computer-Based And Workshop Training In The Learning/Application Of Leadership Skills, Karen E. Chappell

Master's Theses

This study examined the effectiveness of training methods in effective leadership principles. Forty-two male and female Introductory Psychology students were randomly assigned to one of three conditions: computer-based training (CBT), computer-based training with videotaped vignettes (CBTV), or group-based workshop training with videotaped vignettes (GBW). Training effectiveness was assessed on two dependent variables, pretest/posttest scores in conceptual knowledge and pretest/posttest scores in applied knowledge. Only partial support was found for the hypothesis that there would be significant differences in mean pretest and mean posttest scores on both conceptual and applied knowledge as a result of training method. Method of training was …

The Influence Of The Perceived Emotions Anger And Fear On Leadership Ratings, Helen M. Mcfalls

Master's Theses

No abstract provided.

Leader, Follower, And Nonleader Patterns In Emergent Leadership, Catherine Mae Holmes

Master's Theses

In the present research 82 freshmen at the University of Richmond who had previously been administered the Omnibus Personality Inventory (OPI) volunteered for a short discussion session after which each student completed a 9 item leadership scale on each of the other group members. A multiple regression analysis revealed a significant correlation between the Social Extroversion scale of the UPI and ratings of group participation (r=.38, <.01). A post hoc multiple discriminant analysis identified 7 OPI scales which discriminated 64.4% of the cases into correct leadership groups. These findings support a leader-follower-nonleader paradigm for small croup participation, identifying unique personality configurations for each group -- leaders who participate actively and who organize the group process, followers who offer suggestions congeniality and nonreaders who either refuse to interact or become antagonistic to group goals. Suggestions for future research include a need for observer ratings of group interactions as well as more extensive personality measures of social variables such as dominance and social desirability.

Predicting Leader Emergence Within Fielder's Contingency Model Of Leadership Effectiveness, Helen Ferguson Daniel

Master's Theses

Eighteen fourman groups consisting of female undergraduates at the University of Richmond participated in problem-solving tasks within the restrictions of an all-channel communication network. Each subject was chosen by her scores on Fiedler' s (1967) Least-preferred co-worker (LPC) scale. The hypothesis that low LPC Ss would emerge as group leaders under the conditions of Octant II of Fiedler's contingency model was not supported by the nominations of twelve groups. Two-factor ANOV s showed non­ significant time differences over time for the four leadership conditions. These results are consistent with the Rice and Chemers (1973) findings which indicate that Fiedler' s …

A Partial Test Of The Contingency Model On Adult-Led Groups Of Children, Jeffrey Wayne Jones

Master's Theses

The problem was to test the applicability of Fiedler's contingency model on 15 adult-led groups of children in a field situation. The effectiveness of high and low least preferred co-worker (LPC) leaders on structured and unstructured group tasks was investigated when leader­ member relations were good and leaders had strong power. The data were analyzed in a 2 x 2 factorial design using the analysis of variance. None of the F tests reached statistical significance, thus the model was not supported. Several possible reasons for the findings were given as well as suggestions for future research.

Emergent Leadership As A Function Of The Leaders Social Distance And The Task Situation, George Stephen Goldstein

Master's Theses

The present study attempts to investigate the phenomena of social distance of the leader as a function of group effectiveness on different tasks. A number of hypotheses will be studied.

A Study Of Leadership As A Function Of The Situation, Kathryne Creighton Bentley

Master's Theses

Frequently, someone has remarked of another, "He is a born leader." Such a statement has been a prevailing sentiment or many past generations rather than a fact supported by established proof. Scientists have long recognized the importance of environment as well as heredity in shaping the individual personality. However, environment has more frequently than not been considered to consist of the influence of personalities on an individual to the exclusion of other important factors which, until very recently were given little consideration.

Earlier studies of leadership have been concerned with qualities inherent in certain individuals. Scientists have been able, by …