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Full-Text Articles in Business

Leading Amidst Competing Technical And Institutional Demands: Revisiting Selznick’S Conception Of Leadership, Marya Besharov, Rakesh Khurana Oct 2012

Leading Amidst Competing Technical And Institutional Demands: Revisiting Selznick’S Conception Of Leadership, Marya Besharov, Rakesh Khurana

Marya Besharov

This chapter explores how Selznick’s approach to leadership can inform contemporary organizational theory and research. Drawing on Selznick’s writing in Leadership in Administration and related works, we characterize organizations as simultaneously technical entities pursuing economic goals and value-laden entities pursuing non-economic goals arising from their members and their role in society. These two aspects of organizations are deeply intertwined and in continual tension with one another, and the essential task of leadership is to uphold both – protecting and promoting values while also meeting technical imperatives. To do so, leaders establish a common purpose that includes values and ideals not …


A Paradoxical Leadership Model For Social Entrepreneurs: Challenges, Leadership Skills, And Pedagogical Tools For Managing Social And Commercial Demands, Wendy K. Smith, Marya Besharov, Anne K. Wessels, Michael Chertok Aug 2012

A Paradoxical Leadership Model For Social Entrepreneurs: Challenges, Leadership Skills, And Pedagogical Tools For Managing Social And Commercial Demands, Wendy K. Smith, Marya Besharov, Anne K. Wessels, Michael Chertok

Marya Besharov

Social enterprises offer the promise of financially sustainable organizations that can respond to the world's most pressing problems. Yet for social enterprises to succeed their leaders must effectively manage conflicting demands that arise from dual commitments to improving social welfare and achieving commercial viability. While existing research highlights distinct skills for enabling social missions or for achieving business outcomes, we draw on paradox research to build theory about the challenges and associated skills for effectively managing the tensions emerging from the juxtaposition of social mission and business outcomes. We then use two exemplary settings for educating social entrepreneurs, one in …


Eat More Chicken And Lead More People: Perceived Measures Of Servant Leadership At Chick-Fil-A, Michael Mishler May 2012

Eat More Chicken And Lead More People: Perceived Measures Of Servant Leadership At Chick-Fil-A, Michael Mishler

Masters Theses

This present study used survey data from 31 employees working at 2 Chick-fil-A locations to assess the supervisor's perceived level of supervisor's level of servant leadership and how the level (a) affects coworker's perceptions of performance, (b) job satisfaction, and (c) relational trust amongst coworkers. The participants ranged in ages from 18-50. The average age for the participants was 26. The data for the study was collected through the distribution of surveys to individuals who currently work at Chick-fil-A. The two selected locations were approximately 300 miles apart in Virginia. The study employed quantitative research methods in order to collect …


Downsized Survivors: Areas Of Loss And Work Behaviors, Cyndi J. Schaeffer Jan 2012

Downsized Survivors: Areas Of Loss And Work Behaviors, Cyndi J. Schaeffer

Antioch University Full-Text Dissertations & Theses

This research design used factor analysis to develop subscales related to areas of loss, and subscales related to work behaviors of survivors following a downsizing. Five loss subscales were revealed as a result of factor analysis. They were loss of sense of justice and supervisory support; loss of security and support; loss of positive outlook; loss of territory; and loss of control and identity. There were two work behavior components identified through factor analysis. They were lack of productivity and sabotage; and intention for flight. The loss components, sense of justice and supervisory support; security and competence; and territory, were …