Digital Commons Network^™

Logistics Leader Strategies For Retaining Employees, Sandra Northern

Walden Dissertations and Doctoral Studies

Low employee retention can lead to a lack of the knowledge, skills, and abilities required for sustainable logistics operations. Logistics leaders are concerned with employee retention because turnover increases business costs, reduces operational efficiency, and decreases profitability. Grounded in Herzberg’s two-factor theory, the purpose of this qualitative single case study was to explore strategies logistics leaders use to increase employee retention. The participants were three senior leaders from a logistics organization in the northeast region of the United States who possessed knowledge and experience of the research phenomena. Data were collected through semistructured interviews, company documents, publicly available data, and …

New Leader Mentorship Program Preparing Frontline Nurse Leaders For Success, Melanie S. Smith-Fortney

Walden Dissertations and Doctoral Studies

A new nurse leader often enters their role with minimal training. The absence of a structured orientation leaves new leaders without the advanced knowledge and skills needed to succeed in this complex role, increasing the risk of stress and burnout. This staff education project addressed whether providing the educational framework found within the American Organization for Nurse Leaders (AONL) nurse manager competencies would improve nurses’ knowledge to lead departmental operations and personnel for the new nurse leader. Duchscher’s stages of transition theory focused on the emotional aspects of transitioning into a new role. The AONL Nurse Leader Competency Assessment Tool: …

Logistics Leader Strategies For Retaining Employees, Sandra Northern

Walden Dissertations and Doctoral Studies

Low employee retention can lead to a lack of the knowledge, skills, and abilities required for sustainable logistics operations. Logistics leaders are concerned with employee retention because turnover increases business costs, reduces operational efficiency, and decreases profitability. Grounded in Herzberg’s two-factor theory, the purpose of this qualitative single case study was to explore strategies logistics leaders use to increase employee retention. The participants were three senior leaders from a logistics organization in the northeast region of the United States who possessed knowledge and experience of the research phenomena. Data were collected through semistructured interviews, company documents, publicly available data, and …

Effective Succession Planning And Organizational Development For Behavioral Health Leadership, Amanda Brown

Walden Dissertations and Doctoral Studies

High turnover rates can challenge an organization's ability to provide quality care to clients, maintain a safe environment, and achieve strategic goals. Effective retention strategies can allow the organization to grow and develop to continue to provide services for those in need. The focus of this study was identifying how an organization can improve its retention strategies, create succession plans, and decrease turnover to encourage organizational growth. The Baldrige Excellence Framework was used to guide the study, focusing on leadership, workforce, operations, and management. Data were collected through multiple sources. Semi structured interviews were used to gather data through open-ended …

Impact Of Electricity On Industrial Output In Nigeria: A Systems Perspective, Chidi Vincent Ike

Walden Dissertations and Doctoral Studies

Lack of access to electricity, both in quantity and quality, has been a recurring problem in Nigeria. Scholars have investigated the relationship between electricity consumption and economic development with diverse outcomes, but they have not considered the subsystems that constitute the electricity delivery system. The purpose of this quantitative correlational study was to examine the relationship between monthly industrial output in Nigeria and available monthly power generation capacity, available monthly power transmission capacity, and monthly power distribution capability. Systems theory was the theoretical framework for this study. Data were collected on the monthly industrial output and operational data on electric …

Barriers To Technology Adoption Among Maritime Industry Stakeholders In Nigeria, Nicholas Mmaduabuchi Ikpogu

Walden Dissertations and Doctoral Studies

A literature gap exists regarding why Nigerian maritime industry stakeholders remain slow to accept new technologies to improve the maritime sector’s capacity to drive national sustainable development. The purpose of this qualitative single case study was to explore the barriers to technology acceptance among Nigerian maritime industry stakeholders. A single case study with an embedded unit design was used to address the literature gap, and qualitative data from 12 semi-structured interviews, reflective field notes, and archival data were collected to provide answers to the central research question. This study was framed by Yang’s concept of maritime shipping digitization and Wiafe …

Oppositional Behavior Parallels In Toddlers And Teens And Parent’S Response, Michele Dimmett

Walden Dissertations and Doctoral Studies

Parents seem to manage oppositional conduct of toddlers but struggle emotionally and physically with oppositional conduct of teenagers, despite similarities in the behaviors. Self-efficacy theory, psychological theory of development, and theory of mind guided the conceptualization of how parents perceive and respond to these two sensitive periods of development. This contrasted group quantitative study pursued measurable similarities in the experience of first-time parents of children aged 18-36 months and 14-15 years of age. Establishing parents’ confidence level in their parenting skills and how they perceive and respond to their child's oppositional behavior was also a factor. One hundred and seventy-five …

Competent Office Staffing For Minority, Women-Owned, And Local Business Enterprise Contractors Via Workforce Development, Ralston C. O'Connor

Walden Dissertations and Doctoral Studies

AbstractConversations about workforce development in the construction industry are centered around improving the construction trade skills of displaced workers or other unskilled or untrained individuals. Rarely will that conversation focus on the administrative skills necessary for contractor success, particularly in public works construction where administrative oversight is a challenge for the minority, women-owned, and local business enterprise (MWLBE) community. Anecdotal data indicated that MWLBE contractors are skilled at their trades and have little or no problem accessing a skilled labor force. Where these contractors tend to fall short is in the administrative requirements of government contracts. The purpose of this …

Falling Angels: A Qualiative Study Exploring Nonprofit's Organizational Practice, Lorraine Coker

Walden Dissertations and Doctoral Studies

Veterans are more susceptible to homelessness as well as to physical and psychological problems than other groups because of their high exposure to combat-related trauma and geographic dislocation due to military deployment. This administrative study addressed struggles that the Falling Angels nonprofit organization faced with implementing its mission to serve all homeless veterans in a midwestern American state while preparing to expand housing services to accommodate homeless women veterans. The study was created to explore and describe how this organization employs homeless or displaced veterans. The research question was used to explore overall organizational performance of management by analyzing participants’ …

Youth Leadership Development Program Evaluation, Loreley Lyn Smith

Walden Dissertations and Doctoral Studies

In competitive youth sports organizations, few organizational leaders focus on leadership development to prepare youth for life situations. Sports organizational leaders are concerned about youth leadership development, as development allows youth to build skills necessary to understand their strengths and weaknesses and recognize ways to overcome fears. Grounded in social learning theory, the purpose of this summative program evaluation was to determine the extent to which a competitive youth sports leadership development program aligned with the organization’s primary objective to provide skilled athletic training while providing lessons to prepare youth for adulthood. The participants comprised 40 key stakeholders, including participants …

Minority Student Growth And Development In A Rural 4-Year College, Aisha Hall

Walden Dissertations and Doctoral Studies

At a Mid-Atlantic, 4-year, rural, higher education institution, the minority student population, 25%, is growing compared to the 9% of minority faculty representation. The purpose of this study was to examine the perceptions of minority faculty and students regarding student learning associated with minority students’ relationships to minority faculty. Critical race theory was used as part of the conceptual framework which provides a narrative on the perspectives of race and dispels myths, racial beliefs, and misrepresentations of the truth. Social learning theory was also used as part of the conceptual framework because it explains how social influences impact the beliefs …

Corporate Trainers’ Intent To Adjust Training Programs For Fostering Employee Self-Efficacy, Peter Cronrath

Walden Dissertations and Doctoral Studies

To stay current on technology trends, trainers are tasked with providing cost-effective training to meet the needs of the organization. It is not known if to develop employee self-efficacy, organizational trainers should consider making changes to their programs in accordance with (a) generational needs of employees, (b) methodology of training, and (c) position levels of employees in an organization. The purpose of this quantitative cross-sectional correlational study was to determine whether there is a correlation between organizational training professionals’ intent to make changes to training programs and if self-efficacy development is considered in generationally different individuals at different position levels …

Rethinking Young Adults’ Entrepreneurial Program Policies And Barriers On Enterprise Performance In Nigeria, Olorunyomi Akinboyo

Walden Dissertations and Doctoral Studies

One of the primary goals of government policies globally is to improve the standard of living of its citizenry through effective utilization of available resources. With the number of students that graduate from Nigerian tertiary institutions on yearly basis, without a commensurate increase in job creation, youths in Nigeria without entrepreneurial skills and resilience, tend to face greater challenges entering into the labor market. Existing policies have not made remarkable achievement in addressing youth unemployment due largely to absence of research on the causal factors. The main research question that guided this study was how government policies by the Federal …

Predicting Outcomes Of American Youths' Shift Toward E-Cigarette Use, D J. Resendez

Walden Dissertations and Doctoral Studies

There has been a shift toward e-cigarette use and away from tobacco smoking among American youth. Despite effects of ongoing public health campaigns that bring attention to the harmful effects of tobacco and nicotine use generally, youths might not perceive e-cigarette use to be unhealthful in terms of psychological functioning. This study was an investigation of the impact of the method of tobacco use (cigarette or e-cigarette), past cessation attempts, cravings or needs to use tobacco, and serious cognitive difficulties, upon youths' intentions concerning future tobacco usage. The conceptual framework was based upon the self-medication hypothesis, biopsychosocial model, and social …

Retention Strategies To Prepare And Maintain Talent For Future Leadership Roles, Shagranda M. Traveler

Walden Dissertations and Doctoral Studies

Retaining qualified talent is essential to organizational leaders' ability to maintain a

competitive advantage. The purpose of this multiple case study was to explore the

retention strategies that financial managers used to prepare and maintain talent to assume

future leadership roles. The conceptual framework that grounded this study was the

transformational leadership theory. The research participants were financial managers

from 5 financial services businesses located in the southern region of the United States

with a minimum of 5 years of management experience and at least 3 direct reports. Data

were collected from semistructured interviews, observations, and review of annual

reports, …

Nursing Staff Development For Novice Nurse Practitioners In Acute Care, Carolyn Berglund

Walden Dissertations and Doctoral Studies

An acute care practice site reported 75% turnover of novice nurse practitioners (NPs),

which indicated a gap in the transition from student to practitioner within the first year of

clinical practice. This gap can leave novice NPs unprepared to manage patients

effectively and contribute to high turnover. The practice-focused question addressed

whether an evidence-based staff development program for novice NPs at an acute care

site could be developed. The purpose of this project was to create a framework based on

evidence to transition novice NPs successfully into practice. Benner's skill-acquisition

in-nursing theory informed this project. Evidence was obtained by searching …

Contributors To The Development Of Intercultural Competence In Nursing Students, Esther Zazzi

Walden Dissertations and Doctoral Studies

Nurses deal more effectively with cultural diversity when they have an ethnorelative orientation toward cultural difference and commonality on the Intercultural Development Continuum, which was the theoretical framework of this study. Scholarly literature shows limited knowledge on what fosters nurses' intercultural development. Thus, this quantitative, retrospective study was the first investigation in health care in Switzerland conducted on nursing students' orientation on the Intercultural Development Inventory (IDI) and the relationship to student demographic variables. The sample for this secondary data analysis consisted of the IDI results from nursing students enrolled between 2010 and 2016 at the largest nursing college in …

Management Strategies For Adopting Agile Methods Of Software Development In Distributed Teams, Igor A. Schtein

Walden Dissertations and Doctoral Studies

Between 2003 and 2015, more than 61% of U.S. software development teams failed to satisfy project requirements, budgets, or timelines. Failed projects cost the software industry an estimated 60 billion dollars. Lost opportunities and misused resources are often the result of software development leaders failing to implement appropriate methods for managing software projects. The purpose of this qualitative multiple case study was to explore strategies software development managers use in adopting Agile methodology in the context of distributed teams. The tenets of Agile approach are individual interaction over tools, working software over documentation, and collaboration over a contract. The conceptual …

Neurodevelopmental Basis Of Autism Spectrum Disorder Based On Age And Gender, Sursatie Chetram

Walden Dissertations and Doctoral Studies

Autism Spectrum Disorder (ASD) is a neurodevelopmental disorder that affects communication, socialization, and restricted/repetitive behaviors. In 2012, one out of every 55 children (1 in 42 boys and 1 in 189 girls) have been diagnosed with ASD in the United States. Only 30-40% of ASD has a known etiology (e.g., genetic predisposition) and the other 60-70% is unknown. Prior to this study, there was no known literature on age and gender differences related to neuro-developmental functioning of ASD. The purpose of this study was to examine how the differences in age and gender of people with ASD were related to …

Video Game Development Strategies For Creating Successful Cognitively Challenging Games, Walter K. Williams

Walden Dissertations and Doctoral Studies

The video game industry is a global multibillion dollar industry with millions of players. The process of developing video games is essential for the continued growth of the industry, and developers need to employ effective strategies that will help them to create successful games. The purpose of this explorative qualitative single case study was to investigate the design strategies of video game developers who have successfully created video games that are challenging, entertaining, and successful. The technology acceptance model served as a conceptual framework. The entire population for this study was members of a video game development team from a …

African American Charitable Giving In Charlotte, North Carolina: Engagement Strategies, Keith Eric Cradle

Walden Dissertations and Doctoral Studies

Nonprofit agencies are instrumental in U.S. society and local communities. While there is significant outreach targeted for wealthy and middle-class Caucasian families, there is a lack of targeted effort for African Americans. The purpose of this case study was to explore the strategies development directors use to engage and retain African American donors. The focus of the research questions was what factors lead to successful engagement campaigns for African Americans. The qualitative case study was suitable for gathering data from multiple sources of information, including an interview questionnaire and existing literature. A purposeful sampling strategy was appropriate for choosing 5 …

A Case Study Of Rural Community Colleges' Transition To Entrepreneurship, James D. Genandt

Walden Dissertations and Doctoral Studies

The traditional role of workforce training by community colleges in support of regional economic development is insufficient to help rural areas survive in a global economy. Rural community colleges are uniquely positioned to provide enhanced economic development support through entrepreneurship and small business development programs. Using Woolcock and Narayan's conceptualization of social capital, the purpose of this case study of 4 community colleges in a midwest state was to identify specific entrepreneurship strategies rural community colleges use relative to economic development. The data were collected via email and telephone interviews with 11 employees connected to leadership and/or economic development from …

Leadership Development For The Formal Nurse Leader, Lori Neu

Walden Dissertations and Doctoral Studies

Nurse leaders are essential to the advancement of healthcare because of their ability to bridge the gap of knowledge between clinical practice and the business of healthcare. Developing nurse managers is imperative to the future of nursing given their influential role in healthcare. The central topic of exploration in the project was how nurse managers use the American Organization of Nurse Executives (AONE) Nurse Manger Inventory Tool to assess their management skills after exposure to the leadership development program currently available to them. In this project, the novice to expert theory was used to evaluate the existing leadership development program …

Socioeconomic Challenges In The Household And The Prevalence Of Comorbidity Among Children With Attention-Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder, Randy Lee Perrin

Walden Dissertations and Doctoral Studies

Attention-deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD), the most commonly diagnosed childhood neurobehavioral disorder, is increasing annually at about 5% per year. ADHD has been diagnosed in approximately 6.4 billion children in the U.S., and it is estimated that 66% of those afflicted have 1 or more comorbid conditions. Children with ADHD are often from socioeconomically challenged households. What is unclear from the literature is the relationship between socioeconomic status (SES), defined as education, employment, and income and the reporting of comorbidities with ADHD. The problem is that children with ADHD from low SES households may be reporting a higher prevalence of comorbid …

Adult Development Of Positive Personality Traits Through Character Formation Mentoring, Robert Mark Colborn

Walden Dissertations and Doctoral Studies

Positive psychologists have published hundreds of empirical studies correlating positive personality traits with improved outcomes in mental health, physical health, academic and career success, resilience, relationships, and personal happiness. But there remains a dearth of research on the emergence and development of positive personality traits. This grounded theory, qualitative research sought to discover whether positive personality traits can be developed in adult mentoring relationships. Sixteen participants responded in structured interviews about the benefits of their mentoring experiences, and in addition to performing coding analysis as described by Strauss and Corbin (1990), the researcher also compared the answers to Peterson and …

Strategies To Control Internal Factors Affecting Information Systems Projects In Puerto Rico, Annie Luz Roman Acevedo

Walden Dissertations and Doctoral Studies

Many project managers and business leaders lack effective strategies to control internal factors that affect information systems (IS) projects, which may impede leadership's ability to respond to market changes. The purpose of this multiple case study was to explore strategies used by 6 purposefully selected project managers who successfully implemented information system development (ISD) projects by controlling the internal factors that affected different ISD project phases in Puerto Rico's telecommunication service industry. The framework that guided this study was coordination theory. The data collection process included semistructured interviews and project documentation including business requirements, project charters, project plans, and lessons …

The Influence Of Power Distance On Csr Programs In Hainan China, Carol Ann Hoshiko

Walden Dissertations and Doctoral Studies

As China emerges as one of the world's top 5 economies, it attracts more multinational corporations (MNCs) that want to expand there and implement corporate social responsibility (CSR) programs. Despite this emergence, since China entered the World Trade Organization, it has not perceived or welcomed MNCs in the same manner as in the 1970s to 1990s. Further, MNCs have had challenges adapting Western-style CSR programs in China's local communities. There is no widely-accepted multidisciplinary theory that integrates CSR, organizational culture, and culture. Hofstede's theory of cultural relativism classified China as a high power distance country where the population has a …

Succession Planning In A Global Electronics Company, Andrew Cook

Walden Dissertations and Doctoral Studies

Leaders of U.S. companies are unprepared to address a shortage of qualified leaders caused by changing workforce demographics. Despite organizational leaders realizing the importance of talent management to company strategy, there still exists a gap in knowledge regarding its application in practice. The purpose of this case study was to explore what succession planning organizational leaders use to adequately replace departing leaders with qualified new leaders. The findings demonstrated support for Shields' practical ideal type conceptual framework adapted to succession planning, which holds that succession planning requires various elements working together to achieve succession goals. Data were obtained through semistructured …

Strategies Healthcare Leaders Use For Leadership Development, Julie Hunt

Walden Dissertations and Doctoral Studies

Education and training of potential leaders are essential, and chief executive officers (CEOs) need to identify effective leadership development (LD) programs that foster successful leaders within the healthcare industry. The purpose of this multiple, exploratory case study was to explore LD strategies used by CEOs in hospitals in Central Florida, United States. The overarching research question investigated what executable LD strategies healthcare leaders needed to ensure sustainable growth and successful leaders. The human capital theory and the concepts of emotional intelligence and spiritual leadership guided this study. A purposive sample of 8 CEOs participated in semistructured face-to-face interviews to elicit …

Social Disorder And Level Of Engagement Of Small Business Owners In The Virgin Islands, Saul Santiago

Walden Dissertations and Doctoral Studies

The U.S. Virgin Islands is experiencing an economic recession, manifested through social disorders such as abandoned and vandalized houses. Research points to social disorders and lack of community engagement as key factors inhibiting community development efforts. In order to strengthen these struggling communities, research has highlighted the need for public-private partnerships. Guided by Ajzen's theory of planned behavior, which posits that attitudes can predict behaviors, this study examined the relationship between social disorder and engagement of small business owners in community development. Small business owners in the U.S. Virgin Islands received an Internet or paper survey; a total of 79 …