Business Commons^™

01. Evolution Of Leadership, Illinois Mathematics And Science Academy

CORE

This module serves as an introduction to the academic study of leadership and leadership theory, encouraging students to dissect leadership concepts through an objective and subjective lenses. With a general understanding of how leadership has changed through time and how it is classified today, students can explore where they fit into the definition itself.

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.

09. Group Dynamics, Illinois Mathematics And Science Academy

CORE

The Group Dynamics module focuses on informing students about inter/intra group interactions, while also demonstrating the role of an individual within a group. As individuals become a part of a group, they lose a certain distinction between their personal identity and their group personality, or prototype. Individuals become part of a social categorization and comparison, and require the skills of empathy and relations to successfully communicate with not only their ingroup, but also their outgroup. An absence of awareness of the feelings around them can develop the negative effects of groupthink, as individual ideas are unheard. As fitting into the …

05. Leadership And Communication, Illinois Mathematics And Science Academy

CORE

This module covers several topics in communication beyond public speaking. It emphasizes the importance of communication in general and how it relates to leadership. First, students will explore the ideas and applications of negotiation in leadership. To give students the skills to effectively speak and negotiate, the module also allows students to practice concepts of nonverbal communication such as subconscious body language. The module also demonstrates how a leader can use manipulation and persuasion, as well as the distinction between the two topics. Finally, the module has students critically analyze the ethics and necessity of political correctness.

02. Psychodynamics, Illinois Mathematics And Science Academy

CORE

This module will facilitate various psychological models and review the six bases of power. Students will examine conformity to consensus and to authority. Students will gain a clearer understanding of their own psychological preferences and the concept of “acting for the greater good”. The module will also address self-awareness and how it relates to psychodynamics as well as leadership.

04. Leadership In Social Movements, Illinois Mathematics And Science Academy

CORE

This module serves to teach students to think critically and objectively about Social Movements. Social movements have been a prominent piece of history in the United States and several other countries. They are media of expression for people to create change, resist policy, or revolutionize a society. Social movements have been and will continue to be an ongoing activity in human life, making them relevant to students’ lives.

03. Leadership And Religion, Illinois Mathematics And Science Academy

CORE

The purpose of this module is to encourage students to take a step back from their personal lives and their own religion in order to analyze religion as a whole and how it affects leadership, community, an individual’s decision making, etc. The module also focuses on the ways self-discipline is part of religion by tying the skill into the characteristics of religion and analyzing its presence in religious groups.

08. Culture In Leadership, Illinois Mathematics And Science Academy

CORE

This module will be an exploration in cultural theory, practical issues in culture, and many of their implications in leadership. We first give students the necessary vernacular to engage in intelligent discourse on the subject, then move to the higher level content. The module then looks at multiculturalism, pluralism, and assimilation through real world examples. This is followed with a simulation that will make students question their core beliefs through the introduction of cultural relativism. The module will then make explicit leadership connections through empirical evidence with GLOBE studies, and finish with conversation on the highly relevant topic of IMSA …

10. Education, Illinois Mathematics And Science Academy

CORE

As constituents of academia, our students are surrounded by educational systems and models. This module seeks to broaden their horizons regarding educational systems and the process of learning, ranging from individual to societal to global levels. Two leadership theories (transformational and situational) are observed in this module as well as how education and leadership can combine in an effective manner.

Leading Mindfully In Dynamic Times: Can A Mindfulness-Based Leadership Training And Coaching Program Increase Leadership Effectiveness?, Nina Tan

Dissertations and Theses Collection (Open Access)

This research examined the influence of a Mindfulness-based Leadership Training and Coaching Program (MBP), in garnering three aspects of leadership effectiveness; extra employee effort, productive performance and followers’ satisfaction with leadership.

We hypothesized that mindfulness-based leadership training and coaching program can influence leaders’ frequency in adopting authentic, transformational and transactional leadership behaviors to enhance leadership effectiveness.

We tested these predictions separately on two control and intervention groups. Results suggested that the combined training and coaching mindfulness-based intervention program had predictive effects between the practice of mindful attunement of leaders’ behaviors and enhancement in leadership effectiveness, even in a short span …

Harmonies And Dissonances: The Relationship Between Values Taught And Values Experienced In Three Values-Oriented High Schools, Barbara Merson

Educational Studies Dissertations

This qualitative study examined the relationship between values taught and values experienced in three values-oriented high schools, i.e., high schools whose educational philosophy and objectives include an emphasis on specific values. The research questions focused on description of values taught and experienced within the schools, the perception of leaders and teachers about this relationship, and the theories of action developed by school leaders and teachers to enhance the relationship. Primary data sources included interviews with leaders and teachers, observations of classrooms and public spaces, and document reviews in each school. Data were analyzed both within each school and across the …

Morality In Organizations: Ethics, Meaning, And God At Work, Elizabeth Ann Luckman

Arts & Sciences Electronic Theses and Dissertations

This dissertation explores morality in organizations through three distinct research projects. In Chapter 1, I begin to examine a century of business ethics research conducted across business functions in order to bridge the silos of research and teaching that have evolved over time. Preliminary findings suggest that the field of management has produced comparatively more business ethics research than other functions, and that marketing and accounting have examined the ethical implications of their professional responsibilities. Chapter 2 examines the effect of meaning at work on unethical behavior. Through three studies, I find evidence to suggest that individuals with a stronger …

Leading In The Real World: Operationalizing A Power-Based Model Of Collaboration For Leadership Experiential Learning, Mariana J. Lebron, Filiz Tabak

Organization Management Journal

Using a power-based conceptual framework, we present a collaboration model to guide faculty and student affairs (SA) staff in working together to develop experiential learning assignments that help students apply leadership concepts to on-campus organizational problems. The PowerBased Student-Centered Collaboration Model (PSCM) consists of four stages through which faculty, SA staff, leadership course students, and student organization leaders operationalize their legitimate, coercive, expert, reward, and informational power in sharing resources for mutually beneficial student-centered learning experiences. Power structures provide coordinating mechanisms for information-exchange, decision-making, and role clarification in team-based collaborations. Using the PSCM, we developed a 6-week assignment Leading in …

Picking Up The Pieces: Managing People During And After A Reorganization, Catherine B. Soehner

Library Philosophy and Practice (e-journal)

Libraries need to change rapidly in response to advances in technology, expectations of users, funding, and other pressures from both inside and outside the library. Often library administration/management reorganizes personnel, duties, and departments to accomplish new goals and to shift focus of library services. Both during and after a reorganization, employees respond to the changes in a wide variety of ways, ranging from acceptance and positivity to anger and resistance. Fortunately, administrators and managers have a variety of tools available to help employees deal with change and to move them toward success. There are many books and articles on the …

Positive Organizational Leadership: Some Recent Findings In Positive Organizational Scholarship, Lawrence Chan

M.A. in Leadership Studies: Capstone Project Papers

The study of positivity is multifaceted, with roots across psychology, philosophy, and more recently organizational behavior (Csikszentmihalyi, 1997; 2014). This review article highlights the framework from which the study of positivity originates, and then explores positive behaviors in the workplace that have correlated to increases in fulfillment, productivity, engagement, and leadership capacity (Cameron & Dutton, 2003). This essay reveals core components of positive organizational scholarship (POS), notably the interaction of positivity within job demands and job resources, positive employee engagement, and positive deviance, and uncovers some recent findings of these POS components in empirical research and application within human resource …

An Analysis Of The Relationship Between Leadership Style And Lean Expressed Through Respect, Proactivity, And Innovative Work Behavior, Reiner Martens

Organization, Information and Learning Sciences ETDs

This dissertation is based on the idea that a leadership style is necessary to implement a lean culture within an organization. This research study employed a systematic literature review, from which a lean leadership model was developed. Based on the two principles of a lean organizational culture, 1. respect for people and 2. continuous improvement, three measurable variables were identified, respect, proactivity, and innovative work behavior. These three variables were connected to the lean leadership model. Leadership styles based on the full range model of leadership were used as independent variable(s). The overarching results of this study were: (1) transformational …

Winning On And Off The Court: An Interpretive Case Study Of A Leader’S Effectual Power And Influence, Eugene Smith

Dissertations

The purpose of this research is to study the leadership profile of a leader’s effectual power and influence. A qualitative research design is preferred to capture rich, thick personal responses from the interview participants. Semi-structured interviews were utilized with open-ended questions, which enabled the respondents to provide unique insights and reflections of their direct and indirect experiences with the research subject. Additionally, document inquiry and direct observations were used and, as an outcome, triangulation was achieved.

Effective use of power is studied in the context of a leader’s ability to influence others to induce a desired outcome. The subject’s influence …

A Phenomenological Exploration Of Women Entrepreneurs' Attitudes And Views On Establishing A Mentoring Relationship, John Rollins

Doctoral Dissertations and Projects

This qualitative phenomenological study explored the attitudes and views of women entrepreneurs on establishing a mentoring relationship. Despite the stated advantages of establishing a mentoring relationship, including improving entrepreneurs’ chances of business success, organizational growth, and leadership development, over 50% of novice women entrepreneurs do not establish a mentoring relationship. The researcher conducted 22 face-to-face semi-structured interviews with women entrepreneurs in the wedding industry. All participants had a positive attitude towards establishing a mentoring relationship and stated that mentoring would increase novice women entrepreneurs’ chance of business success, organizational growth, and leadership development. Most participants believed a mentor would enhance …

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 …

Understanding How Generation X And Millennial Entrepreneurs Manage Organizational Conflict, Sidjae T. Price

Department of Conflict Resolution Studies Theses and Dissertations

As the United States prepares for a generational shift in leaders, there is a lack of literature adequately examining how Generation X and Millennial entrepreneurs manage organizational conflict about leadership and change management. The scope of this problem should concern individuals who are stakeholders in any organization. In preparation for the coming shift in generational leaders, the subject study explored the management of organizational conflict regarding leadership and change management for Generation X and Millennial entrepreneurs. Supported by a theoretical foundation built on theory of generations and realistic group conflict theory, this qualitative study analyzed the interviews and narratives of …

Transformational Leadership Behaviors Of Public Sector Leaders In Barbados, Shantal Maxine Munro-Knight

Walden Dissertations and Doctoral Studies

Senior officials in the public service in Barbados, who are charged with the responsibility of leading and managing government ministries and departments, play a critical role in fostering reform initiatives. Few empirical studies have examined specific leadership behaviors in the context of managing change in Barbados. The purpose of this qualitative case study was to identify the specific leadership behaviors of senior officials in public service and to explore the use of transformative leadership by public sector administrators to effect reform initiatives. With Bass and Avolio's full-range leadership theory (FRLT) as the theoretical framework, the research question for this study …

Leadership Satisfaction And Turnover Intention Among Public Sector Employees, Marcia Bennett

Walden Dissertations and Doctoral Studies

The changing demographics of the federal workforce require managers to understand generational differences in experiences, values, and leadership preferences that can negatively impact an agency's ability to fulfill its mission. There is a gap in the literature regarding generational cohort perceptions of employee satisfaction with leadership and turnover intention in the Small Business Administration (SBA). The purpose of this quantitative, cross-sectional study was to examine the generational perceptions of SBA employees regarding leadership satisfaction and intent to leave the organization within the next year. Strauss and Howe's generational theory served as the theoretical framework. This non-experimental quantitative study used the …

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 …

Industrial Voluntary Consensus Standards – A Process Under Threat, Joel Blumenthal

Walden Dissertations and Doctoral Studies

The world relies heavily on industrial voluntary consensus standards to serve public interests through the development of uniform and harmonized social and economic procedures. The research problem focused on generating suggestions for improving collaborative practices between U.S.-based accredited and unaccredited standards development organizations that create voluntary consensus standards. The research centered on assessing the level of consensus among experts regarding what actions may be conducive to improving collaborative practices through the lenses of stakeholder and institutional theory. This modified 3-round qualitative Delphi study began with open-ended questions in Round 1 and progressed towards consensus in Rounds 2 and 3 using …

Open Innovation In Small And Medium-Sized Enterprises: Executive And Employee Perception Of Processes And Receptiveness, Bethany A. Davidson

Antioch University Dissertations & Theses

This study explored open innovation activities in small and medium-sized enterprises. Most open innovation research to date has focused on large organizations; however, how large organizations engage in open innovation is very different from that of small and medium-size enterprises. The embedded design, mixed methods study utilized a survey delivered to owners or other organizational executives and employees of small and medium-size enterprises to solicit information regarding whether small and medium-size enterprises are actively engaging in inbound open innovation activities, their motivation for engaging in open innovation, and the sources they are utilizing to obtain new ideas for products and …

Professional Development In Libraries: One Size Does Not Fit All, Patricia D. Sobczak, Agnes K. Bradshaw

VCU Libraries Faculty and Staff Publications

With the constantly changing landscape in 21st century libraries, it would seem that professional development would be more important than ever. However, research indicates that few libraries have formal professional development programs and there are mixed messages from library leaders regarding the necessity and importance of professional development. It is no secret that libraries always seem to be facing budget cuts and funding for professional development is often seen as a low priority. We were curious to understand how professional development is viewed and executed in other academic libraries.

Professional development means different things to different people. To some, professional …

Leader Self-Perceptions Of Ethics In And Out Of The Workplace And Personal Trustworthiness, Marcia W. Vanderwood

Walden Dissertations and Doctoral Studies

Ethical breaches in many organizations can be traced to failures in ethical leadership, which undermine trust. If a leader's ethical behavior in their private life and settings is perceived as influencing workplace ethics, it may in turn affect organizational trust levels and the development of trust. A quantitative study based on the social learning and moral theory was conducted to determine whether a difference exists between a leader's self-perceptions of their ethical behaviors inside and outside of the workplace, and whether it affects their perceived personal trustworthiness. Participants' (N = 94) scores on work and nonwork versions of the ethical …

Nonprofit Fundraising Strategies To Provide Quality Sustainable Services, Karen Cobb Love

Walden Dissertations and Doctoral Studies

Nonprofit organizations are essential in providing goods and services to the under-resourced in the community. Nonprofits have experienced a growth rate of 47% in 2014 and yet 53% of nonprofits reported less than 3 months cash on hand needed to meet the demands of their clients. This explorative and descriptive study analyzed nonprofit fundraising strategies for providing sustainable quality services. The purpose of this study was to determine what strategies successful nonprofits used to increase funding as it relates to the delivery of quality sustainable service and what conditions influenced fundraising effectiveness. The methodology consisted of a qualitative, thematic research …

Leadership, Organizational Turnarounds, And Gil Hodges's 1969 New York Mets, John Rebecchi

Walden Dissertations and Doctoral Studies

The impact of the 2008 global financial crisis, shifting market demands, and prolonged underperformance has forced organizations to devise and implement turnaround strategies or risk business failure. Researchers have pointed to the importance of leadership in the turnaround process, yet there are a limited number of research studies identifying characteristics of successful turnaround leaders. Using the full range leadership model, the purpose of this nonexperimental, ex post facto study was to examine the leadership style of Gil Hodges, manager during the 1969 New York Mets successful turnaround season and explore the organization's culture and climate. Data were collected using the …

Effects Of Income Level On The Relationship Between Leadership And Employee Behavior, Andrew James Sherman

Walden Dissertations and Doctoral Studies

Previous research has indicated that leadership affects employee behavior, but additional research could explain how this relationship is mediated. The purpose of this correlational, quantitative design study was to test the mediating effects of employee income level on the relationship between leadership and employee behavior within the United States. The general problem for leaders is the lack of a comprehensive understanding regarding the relationship between their leadership and employee behavioral outcomes. The specific management problem is that unintended employee behavioral outcomes may be due to leadership decisions made without consideration given to the mediating effects of employee income level. Based …