Business Commons^™

Strategies For Recruiting And Retaining Rural Emergency Department Physicians, Wanda C. Fleming

Walden Dissertations and Doctoral Studies

Recruiting and retaining physicians to work in rural emergency departments (EDs) have reached a crisis level, threatening the availability of services to rural residents. In this study, a case study design was used to explore strategies that rural ED administrators use to recruit and retain physicians to work in their facilities. The study population consisted of 5 rural hospital administrators operating EDs in central Mississippi. These administrators were charged with the responsibility to recruit and retain ED physicians.

The on-going staffing of ED physicians, with no lapses in coverage, was evidence that these administrators successfully recruited and retained ED physicians …

Exploring Frontline Management Strategies Used To Improve Employee Engagement, Michael P. Wise

Walden Dissertations and Doctoral Studies

Managers who foster at least 65% employee engagement, based on employee engagement surveys conducted by Hewitt Associates, Inc., provide a 19% higher return to shareholders than managers who do not foster a 65% or higher employee engagement level. The purpose of this single site case study was to identify strategies that frontline managers used to build employee engagement, leading to higher organizational performance. The transformational leadership theory was used as the conceptual framework for this study. Data were collected through semistructured interviews from a purposeful sample of 3 frontline managers at a beverage manufacturing facility in the Midwest of the …

Reducing Fast Food Employee Turnover With Appealing Working Environments, James Lloyd Forrest

Walden Dissertations and Doctoral Studies

While all business leaders face problems with voluntary employee turnover, fast food business leaders often face turnover rates at twice the national average. Using Weiss and Cropanzano's affective events theory, this exploratory multiple case study detailed the investigation into strategies that fast food business leaders use to establish an appealing working environment that reduces employee turnover. A purposeful sampling process identified 9 fast food business leaders from 3 different fast food organizations within the Omaha, Nebraska metro area who had successfully established a positive working environment that reduced employee turnover. Data collection included semistructured interviews and review of company documents. …

Growth Capital Strategies For Defense Industry Women-Owned Small Businesses, Karen Renee Butler

Walden Dissertations and Doctoral Studies

Access to growth capital, a critical factor for growing a successful, sustainable business, is a challenge for women-owned small businesses. Following the resource based theory, the purpose of this multiple case study was to explore what capital growth strategies 6 small women-owned business leaders in the defense industry in Dayton, Ohio used to ensure business sustainability beyond the initial start-up period of 1 year. Data were collected through semistructured interviews and company documents. Methodological triangulation, member checking, reflexivity, and an audit trail were used to strengthen credibility and trustworthiness. Based on thematic analysis of the data, emergent themes included growth …

Strategies To Improve Corporate Financial Investment In Care Coordination Programs, Shameka Coles

Walden Dissertations and Doctoral Studies

Key drivers for care coordination programs may include reducing inflated health care cost and improving the quality of care for high-risk populations. However, health care leaders lack methods to support financial investment in care coordination programs. The purpose of this single case study was to explore the strategies that health care leaders use to improve corporate financial investment in care coordination programs that include the triple aim of reducing cost, improving population health, and increasing patient satisfaction. The triple aim model provided the conceptual framework for the study in which 6 health care leaders from Southern California with experience garnering …

Qualitative Examination Of Strategies To Overcome Resistance To Change In Lean Manufacturing, Elizabeth Burmester

Walden Dissertations and Doctoral Studies

Approximately 80% of lean manufacturing program initiatives are abandoned in the first year of implementation. Only 2% of organizations that embark on the lean journey complete it with the results and the sustainability they expected. There is a gap in past research regarding, the leadership strategies organizations can use to overcome resistance to change during lean manufacturing program implementations. The problem in this study was that leaders have limited information to overcome resistance to change when implementing these programs. The purpose of this study was to explore how leaders within manufacturing organizations may overcome resistance to change through leadership strategy. …

Exploring Which Leadership Styles Are Effective With Millennial Employees, Samuel Long

Walden Dissertations and Doctoral Studies

Managers struggle with how to motivate the Millennial generation employee. Research that explores which leadership styles are effective with Millennial generation employees is limited. The purpose of this study was to explore what leadership styles are effective with Millennial employees, which led to a key research question: Which leadership styles facilitate employee motivation for the Millennial generation? The theoretical framework was based on the social learning, transformational leadership, and servant leadership theories, which were used to identify effective leadership styles. In the theoretical framework, different motivation theories were presented to establish the context in which motivation was discussed. This quantitative …

Trust In Union Leaders And Decline In Union Membership, Seth Ellery Francois

Walden Dissertations and Doctoral Studies

As of 2015, public opinion of the ethical and honesty standards of labor union leaders was low, with 36% of the public reporting a low or very low rating, and only 18% reporting high or very high ratings. Grounded in leadership behavioral theory, the purpose of this correlation study was to examine the relationship between union members' perceptions of union leadership consideration, union members' perceptions of leadership initiation of structure, and union members' perceptions of leadership trust. Forty-four union members completed a brief demographic survey, the Leader Behavior Description Questionnaire XII, and the Trust and Employee Satisfaction Survey. The results …

Perceptions Of Ingratiation From The Perspective Of Retired Air Force Leaders, Kevin C. Dunn

Walden Dissertations and Doctoral Studies

Ingratiation is a deceptive, psychological tactic subordinates use to convince their supervisors to treat them better than other subordinates. Subordinate ingratiation is relatively well-known, but the concept of a manager promoting and encouraging ingratiative behaviors to subordinates is less common and seen as uncommonly deceptive. Little is known about how managers feel about ingratiation why any manager would encourage it. The purpose of this study was to explore how people in management positions percieve manager-encouraged ingratiation. Research questions addressed how people in management positions might respond to a scenario wherein a manager encouraged a subordinate employee to act out ingratiation. …

Small To Medium Sized Enterprise Sustainability Through Green Supply Chain Management, Leslie Jones

Walden Dissertations and Doctoral Studies

Small to medium sized enterprises (SMEs) make up between 95%-99% of private businesses worldwide, employ 60%-70% of the workforce in most countries and generate 33% of the GDP. SMEs account for a high percentage of the world's pollution because of the significant numbers of SMEs, and their accumulative impact. The purpose of this multiple case study was to explore strategies SME supply chain leaders used to implement green supply chain management (GSCM) policies that increase productivity and decrease losses. The origin of GSCM originates from the research of Ayres and Kneese. A purposeful sample of 3 SME construction companies was …

Utilizing Corporate Governance In Strategy Formulation And Execution, Oladayo Ojo

Walden Dissertations and Doctoral Studies

Ineffective corporate governance is a leading cause of financial crises. Ineffectual corporate governance is mainly due to the lack of prudential and efficient supervision, which is symptomatic of board composition and the selection criteria of board members. The purpose of this single case study was to explore the strategies that banking leaders used to identify board selection criteria that ensures effective governance. The sample consisted of 4 business leaders at a bank located in California that remained profitable and did not have losses during the recent recession. The conceptual framework used for the study was agency theory. The data sources …

Information & Communications Technologies Investment Decisions And Organizational Performance In Major Nonprofits In Kenya, Sylvester Musyoki Kisonzo

Walden Dissertations and Doctoral Studies

The levels of organizational performance (OP) achievable from a dollar investment in information and communications technologies (ICT) remains elusive. A consensus exits among scholars and organizational leaders that effective use of ICT improves OP yet managers continue to struggle to justify investments in ICT. The purpose of this quantitative study was to explore and explain how investments in ICT related with OP. The study built on the resource-based view of the firm theoretical framework. A key question in the study was whether there existed a consistent, positive correlation between ICT investments, decision-making performance, and OP, and if so, explain the …

Strategies Female Small Business Owners Use To Succeed In Business, Mere Sovick

Walden Dissertations and Doctoral Studies

Small businesses owned by women cease operations 11% more often than businesses owned by men. Women, who own over 37% of all businesses in the United States, contribute significantly to the 50% small business failure rate. The purpose of this multiple-case study was to explore strategies 5 women who own small businesses use to succeed in business beyond 5 years on Bainbridge Island, Washington. The theory of constraints was the conceptual framework. Data were collected through semistructured face-to-face interviews, websites, company documents, and archival records. Transcript review of interview response data was used to strengthen the credibility of the interview …

A Survey Comparison Of Virtual And In Situ Leadership Competencies, Christopher Wesley Wells

Walden Dissertations and Doctoral Studies

Leaders support many workplace configurations that do not rely on the collocation of leaders and followers and may exhibit different interaction competencies with employees. There was limited understanding about these leadership competencies required in virtual work environments. The purpose of this nonexperimental study was to examine the relationship between the percentages of time spent weekly as a virtual leader (IV) and 6 leadership competencies (DVs), such as a leader's vision and values. The theoretical framework was based on Sandstrom and Smith's legacy leadership model. Study participants were randomly selected from LinkedIn.com forums (N = 93). Data were collected using the …

The Effect Of Volunteer Demographics On Nonprofit Volunteer Retention, Keri Vanoverschelde

Walden Dissertations and Doctoral Studies

Nonprofit organizations rely upon volunteers to assist in achieving their mission and reaching strategic operational goals. As the volunteer population in the United States has decreased, nonprofit organizations are challenged to recruit and retain volunteers. To improve operational efficiencies in nonprofit volunteer management, organizations need to implement more effective strategies to assign roles to volunteers and develop a better understanding of how those roles fit into volunteers' lives and the value systems of individual volunteers. The functional theory of volunteer behavior characterizes the values, understanding, social, career, protective, and enhancement functions as they relate to an individual's motivation for volunteering. …

Innovation Strategies Of Independently Owned, Nonfranchise Restaurants, Kurt W. Winter

Walden Dissertations and Doctoral Studies

The restaurant industry is the second largest employee workforce in the United States. However, less than 35% of independently owned restaurants succeed beyond the first three years of operation. Some restaurant managers do not use innovation strategies to succeed beyond three years. The purpose of this multiple case study was to explore innovation strategies that some independent nonfranchise restaurant owners in Omaha, Nebraska used to succeed beyond 3 years. The conceptual framework utilized in this study was dynamic capabilities. Dynamic capabilities create avenues of innovation to restaurant owners who do not have quick access to resources, such as an innovation …

Strategies For Improving The Effectiveness Of Customer Relationship Management Systems, Sathish Thejaswarup

Walden Dissertations and Doctoral Studies

Many banks invest heavily in customer relationship management (CRM) system implementation and expect to increase their profitability. However, the failure rates of CRM projects are significant. The purpose of this multiple case study was to explore the strategies implemented by CRM managers in the banking industry to achieve CRM system effectiveness. CRM implementers from 1 medium and 2 large banks in Minnesota who successfully implemented CRM systems were selected. Data were collected primarily from participant interviews, websites, and social media pages. Bertalanffy's general systems theory was the underlying conceptual framework for this study. Data triangulation and member checking were used …

Organizational Strategies For Developing New Stem Talent, Keri Allen

Walden Dissertations and Doctoral Studies

U.S. business leaders are experiencing a deficiency within STEM skill sets in newly hired employees, resulting in challenges to business sustainability. The purpose of this case study was to identify strategies used to develop new STEM employees for business sustainability. Participants included 5 IT business leaders who had experience developing new STEM employees in a technology organization in New York. The 3-part theory of knowledge management, knowledge creation, and knowledge transfer was the conceptual framework for this study. Data collection included face-to-face interviews and analyses of company training plans, videos, and internal websites. Methodological triangulation of the analysis technique included …

Strategic Cyber-Risk Implications Of Cloud Technology Adoption In The U.S. Financial Services Sector, Olatunji Mujib Arowolo

Walden Dissertations and Doctoral Studies

According to research, the risks of adopting new technology and the technological and organizational factors that influence adopting it are not clear. Thus, many financial institutions have hesitated to adopt cloud-computing. The purpose of this quantitative, cross-sectional study was to evaluate the cyber-risk implications of cloud-computing adoption in the U.S. financial services sector. The study examined 6 technological and organizational factors: organization size, relative advantage, compliance, security, compatibility, and complexity within the context of cyber-risk. Using a combination of diffusion of innovation theory and technology-organization-environment framework as the foundation, a predictive cybersecurity model was developed to determine the factors that …

Management Strategies And Intervention Program Readiness For Paroled Offenders And Ex-Offenders, Sylvia Jean Bell

Walden Dissertations and Doctoral Studies

Paroled offenders and ex-offenders' retention and completion for 3 small-sized prisoner-

release intervention programs in Columbus, Ohio, continue to decline. Prisoner-release

intervention programs aid paroled offenders and ex-offenders with societal reentry.

Influenced by the conceptual framework of the social control theory, this exploratory

multiple case study was designed to contribute to the common understanding of the

paroled offenders and ex-offenders' retention and completion in the small-sized prisoner

release intervention programs. The 18 participants included stakeholders from the

criminal justice system, prisoner-release intervention programs, community advocacy

organizations, and drug and alcohol rehabilitation centers. Analysis of data collected

from interviews and telephone …

Relationship Between Budget And Project Success Factors In The Ghanaian Building Construction Sector, Kenneth Kwame Aggor

Walden Dissertations and Doctoral Studies

In developing countries, 60% of project management professionals appear to lack knowledge that timely completion, budget fidelity, and high quality are critical success factors for completion of construction initiatives. Based on the theories of iron triangle, accident causation, scientific management, and strategic management, the purpose of this correlational study was to examine the relationship between project budget and the independent variables of time, quality, safety, environmental impact, and site disputes in the Greater Accra Region of Ghana. One hundred and sixteen project managers, randomly selected from the population of construction professionals in the Greater Accra Region of Ghana, completed the …

Aluminum Production Costs: A Comparative Case Study Of Production Strategy, Joseph Nloga Ndjebayi

Walden Dissertations and Doctoral Studies

Slumping world aluminum prices have energized some aluminum producers to institute strategies to reduce product costs. This multiple comparative case study explored the strategies used by 4 aluminum producers in Western Europe: 2 companies that have successfully reduced production costs and 2 companies that have not. Wicksteed's economic theory of production and production costs was the conceptual framework for this research. Data from the companies' strategic and industry reports and from interviews with 32 senior managers were analyzed using pattern finding and clustering, a recursive approach to data gathering and analysis established by Miles, Huberman, and Saldana. Six themes emerged: …

Strategies Microbusiness Owners In Ghana Use For Managing Microloans, Stephen Ekow Edusah

Walden Dissertations and Doctoral Studies

High interest rates, many mortgage defaults, and availability of capital are challenges for microbusiness owners. The purpose of this phenomenological study was to explore the strategies used by Ghana's microbusiness owners to manage microloans for sustainable businesses in Cape Coast, Ghana. Putnam's social capital theory was the conceptual framework for the study. A purposive and snowball sample of 10 participants completed semistructured interviews and described their perceptions and experiences of the phenomena. Data were analyzed using Moustakas' modified van Kaam method to catalog, group, and code information into themes. The study findings indicated there are high-interest rates and many mortgage …

The Relationship Between A Cfo's Financial Expertise And Firm Profitability, Scott Jeremy Rubin

Walden Dissertations and Doctoral Studies

More than 50% of small businesses fail by the 5th year of operation because of lack of economic sustainability. Organizations without a chief financial officer (CFO) with financial expertise may have suboptimal fiscal performance. The purpose of this correlational study was to examine whether there was a relationship between CFO licensure status, CFO age, and firm earnings per share. A sample of 403 small businesses in the United States, taken from the Russell 2000 Index, was used in the study. The theoretical framework for the study was Penrose's resource-based view of the firm. CFO names and firm earnings per share …

Clergy Academic Management Training In Non-Denominational Faith-Based Organizations, Patricia Anne Jenks-Greene

Walden Dissertations and Doctoral Studies

There is little research about how clerics manage and lead small to midsized non-denominational nonprofit organizations. The rate of clergy failures in non-denominational organizations has left many questions about what is needed to create organizational success. The purpose of this qualitative phenomenological study was to explore the lived experiences and perceptions of clergy manager-leaders' management training in non-denominational organizations. Fourteen full-time clerics from Bloomingdale, Georgia, Rincon, Georgia, and Savannah, Georgia participated in face-to-face semi-structured interviews. The data analysis process involved the use of Edward and Welch's extension of Colaizzi's data analysis procedures, which resulted in the emergence of 4 themes. …

Strategies For Reducing Employee Stress And Increasing Employee Engagement, Kumar G. Subramaniam

Walden Dissertations and Doctoral Studies

Stress inside and outside of work affects employee productivity. In 2013, the estimated impact of employee absenteeism on U.S. businesses was $225 billion per year through reduced efficiency, overtime wages, fixed fringe benefits, and the cost of replacement employees. Based on the social exchange theory and the theory of planned behavior, the purpose of this qualitative single case study was to explore the strategies that HR leaders in a single organization used to reduce employee disengagement caused by stress. Using semistructured interviews, data were collected from 12 HR leaders and line managers within a single healthcare organization in eastern Tennessee. …

A Complex Systems Simulation Study For Increasing Adaptive-Capacity, Kadambari Ram

Walden Dissertations and Doctoral Studies

Examination of empirical research confirmed that climate change is a complex problem of anthropological origin and revealed the need for a management framework to facilitate strategic decisions aimed at mitigating a rise in global temperatures of 2-°C linked to irresponsible and unsustainable business practices. The purpose of this simulation study was to develop a management framework of resilience, robustness, sustainability, and adaptive-capacity (RRSA) for organizations viewed as complex systems to address the current unsustainable state. As such, the evolutionary-RRSA prisoner's dilemma (PD) simulation was developed using an evolutionary game theory approach to agent based modeling and simulation, to generate data. …

Social Responsibility Strategies To Improve Firm Performance, Dennis Vincent Reade

Walden Dissertations and Doctoral Studies

Historical research on corporate social responsibility (CSR) and its influence on corporate financial and social results arrived at contradictory findings. Although 95% of the world's 250 largest corporations reported investing in CSR activities in 2011, some managers lack strategies to evaluate CSR effectiveness. This multiple case study explored strategies that 6 CSR managers with CSR oversight in privately owned companies in Brazil used to effectively enact CSR. The stakeholder theory was the conceptual framework for this study. Data were collected through individual interviews and supplemented with company annual reports to explore the strategies managers employed to evaluate CSR effectiveness. Member …

An Inquiry Into Factors Of Leadership And Cohesion In Complex Teams, Jeffrey White

Walden Dissertations and Doctoral Studies

The external competitive environments and internal group dynamics of organizations are increasing in complexity resulting in new challenges for organizational leaders to improve performance in underperforming teams. The purpose of this phenomenological study was to address what factors led to high-innovation outcomes in complex adaptive systems using a framework constructed from elements of complexity leadership theory and group dynamics research. An in-depth interviewing approach was used to collect data on the lived experience and meaning the participants attributed to their experiences regarding improved team performance. A total of 21 participants were selected from multiple business settings where their team experienced …

Strategies For Mitigating Low-Cost Airlines' Passenger Complaints, Michael Jay Price

Walden Dissertations and Doctoral Studies

Representatives of the U.S. Department of Transportation's Bureau of Transportation Statistics reported that passenger complaints filed for the first quarter of 2015 were up 14.4% over the same period of the previous year. The purpose of this single case study was to explore strategies for mitigating low-cost airlines' passenger complaints. Porter's generic strategies provided the conceptual framework for this research study. Data were collected from 3 ground service managers employed by a low-cost airline in Florida using semistructured interview questions, direct observation, field notes, and review of the airline's website and public documents filed with the U.S. Securities and Exchange …