Business Commons^™

Proving Yourself: How Top Executives Relate Their Leadership Experience, Ellen S. O'Connor, Denise M. Lucy

Denise Lucy

We asked 30 top executives (CEOs, COOs, and Presidents) to describe their paths to and in office. Our purpose was to explore how executives practice leadership in the way they discuss their experience. We identified three structures that interviewees used: the full proof, a thesis statement backed by evidence; the narrative plot, a trajectory toward a goal; and the signature story, a defining leadership experience. We argue that structuration proves leadership; that is, full proofs and narrative plots communicate dependability and signature stories convey realism. We also constructed paradigmatic narratives or representative experiences of leadership, which suggest an experiential curriculum …

Sex Sells: How Advertising Agencies' Commodification Of Image Affects Older Women In Advertising, Diane Fittipaldi

Diane Fittipaldi

The purpose of this study was to understand how advertising agency culture affects the long-term careers of women account executives as they age. The primary research questions were: 1) How do self-image and cultural stereotypes affect the decision to enter the advertising business; 2) How do women navigate the male-dominated culture of the ad agency; 3) What strategies do women use to get ahead in advertising; 4) How do women survive long term in a culture that favors youth? Qualitative data was collected via unstructured, one-on-one, in-depth interviews with a nationally sourced sample 15 female advertising account executives aged 40 …

Leadership Challenges In The Sustainable Internationalization Of A Medium Scale State University Located In The Usa: A Case Study, Babu George, Jaylen Adams, Jennifer Hopkins

Babu George

Why Do We Learn What We Learn? The Intersection Of Leadership And Learning In Aviation Environments, Kadie Mullins

Kadie Hayward Mullins

Why do we learn what we learn? Teach what we teach? Train how we train? Largely, decisions regarding instruction and training in aviation environments are dictated by leadership. Industry CEOs beliefs on professional development, organization culture inspired by leadership, and the instructors’ personal leadership philosophies create specific learning schema while legislation, credentialing agencies, and public policies provide mandates surrounding licensing and certifications. This paper will explore the contexts and concepts in which learning and leading intersect and the impacts of those intersections on learner outcomes and instructional planning. Exploring pertinent historical, societal, philosophical, and psychological factors that guide instruction and …

The Configuration Of Performance Appraisal: Investigating The Impact Of Leadership And Personality Using A Within- And Between-Supervisory Group Analysis, Steve Markham, W D. Murry, Dow Scott

Dow Scott

The key to improvfrig performance appraisals in organizations may be the leadership exchange processes that occur between managers and subordinates. We suggest two ways in which this might unfold: (a) the direct relationships among leadership attention, tenure with supervisor, and actual performance appraisal rating and (b) the cqnfiguration of these three variables around the organization's structure in which differences between supervisory groups are highlighted. Our findings suggest that all three variables are significantly related. For leadership attention and performance appraisal, an individual-level model best applies. A group model is implied for leaders~ip attention and tenure with supervisor, whereby entire supervisory …

Paradoxical Truths In Heroic Leadership: Implications For Leadership Development And Effectiveness, Scott T. Allison, Jennifer L. Cecilione

Scott T. Allison

In this chapter, we discuss the basic elements of heroic leadership, showing how heroism and exemplary leadership are deeply intertwined. We then describe six paradoxical truths about heroic leadership that are often unrecognized and unappreciated. We believe that ignorance of these counterintuitive truths and paradoxes about heroic leadership can lead to misunderstandings about leaders, leadership, and leadership development. Most of these paradoxes are a central part of the hero’s journey as described by comparative mythologist Joseph Campbell (1949). We will discuss the genesis of these paradoxical truths, and we will suggest ways that an awareness of these principles can engender …

Leader Mistreatment, Employee Hostility, And Deviant Behaviors: Integrating Self-Uncertainty And Thwarted Needs Perspectives On Deviance, David M. Mayer, Stefan Thau, Kristina Workman, Marius Van Dijke, David De Cremer

Kristina Workman

Integrating self-uncertainty management and thwarted needs perspectives on leader mistreatment and workplace deviance, we examine when and why leader mistreatment is associated with workplace deviance. We propose that competence uncertainty strengthens the relationship between leader mistreatment and workplace deviance and that hostility mediates this interactive effect. Four field studies and one experiment support the hypotheses. The first two studies provide evidence for the predicted interaction between leader mistreatment and competence uncertainty, and the next three studies demonstrate that hostility mediates this interactive effect. We discuss an extended social exchange explanation of workplace deviance and highlight the psychological interplay between motives, …

Commentary On ‘Why Compassion Counts!’: Compassion As A Generative Force, Jane E. Dutton, Kristina Workman

Kristina Workman

[Excerpt] Twelve years ago, Peter Frost called upon us to consider why compassion counts. More than a decade later, we can see, feel, and understand why compassion counts both in the field of organizational studies and in our lives as scholars. As he was so many times during his career, Peter was prophetic in identifying and animating a core idea that is central to our field and to our lives. We approach this essay with three goals in mind, all focused on elaborating how compassion is a generative force. By generative, we mean that compassion as an idea opens up …

Leadership And Crisis Management In Modern Organizations, Chris D. Bellamy

Dr. Chris D. Bellamy

Leadership in modern organizations is complex. This research identifies how leaders in modern organizations can effectively deliver results through crisis management, while maintaining organizational culture. The author addresses leadership through organizational culture, the actions leaders must take, corporate policies and practices. In addition, this research directly contributes to leading organizations through crisis management and maintaining organizational culture today.

“If You Don’T Hear From Me You Know You Are Doing Fine”: The Effects Of Management Nonresponse To Employee Performance, Timothy R. Hinkin, Chester A. Schriesheim

Timothy R. Hinkin

A study of 243 employees of two different hospitality organizations compared the effects of managers’ giving feedback with no comments at all (favorable or unfavorable). The study found that feedback, formally known as contingent reinforcement, improves performance even when that feedback involves negative or corrective comments. Echoing previous studies, this research found a positive relationship between contingent rewards and workers’ effectiveness and satisfaction. Moreover, contingent punishment also had a small positive relationship with effectiveness and satisfaction. Going beyond previous work, however, this study found that managers’ omission of any commentary on good performance has a direct, albeit moderate, negative relationship …

Transformational Leaders In The Hospitality Industry, J. Bruce Tracey, Timothy R. Hinkin

Timothy R. Hinkin

The classic metaphor of the manager as one who fights fires may need to be replaced by that of one who focuses on fire prevention.

Becoming A Leader In The Hospitality Industry, Timothy R. Hinkin

Timothy R. Hinkin

[Excerpt] Leadership has been defined in many ways, but the essence of leadership involves influencing people toward a desired objective. Leaders do not push followers—they pull them. While management is often concerned about stability, efficiency, and control, leadership is focusing on innovation, adaptation, and employee development. Management focuses on coping with the day to day, while a true leader is looking into the future. A manager can develop a brilliant marketing campaign, create an innovative strategy for growth, and design the most efficient work processes, but if the followers don't engage effectively in the implementation of these initiatives, these efforts …

Barriers To International Business, Chris D. Bellamy

Dr. Chris D. Bellamy

There are many barriers that companies face when attempting to expand operations on a global scale. This paper identifies four barriers businesses must overcome, and the strategies they can deploy to overcome these barriers. The author justifies support for these strategies with current research for each barrier. The paper also identifies and applies current research which document the strategic impact for the four barriers.

Work Groups And Teams In Organizations: Review Update, Steve W. J. Kozlowski, Bradford S. Bell

Bradford S Bell

This review chapter examines the literature on work team effectiveness. To begin, we consider their nature, define them, and identify four critical conceptual issues—context, workflow, levels, and time—that serve as review themes and discuss the multitude of forms that teams may assume. We then shift attention to the heart of the review, examining key aspects of the creation, development, operation, and management of work teams. To accomplish objectives of breadth and integration, we adopt a lifecycle perspective to organize the review. Topics involved in the team lifecycle include: (1) team composition; (2) team formation, socialization, and development; (3) …

The Bigman Metaphor For Entrepreneurship: A "Library Tale" With Morals On Alternatives For Further Research, Alex Stewart

Alex Stewart

Melanesian Bigmanship (a meritocratic, enacted career of political-economic leadership) is recounted as an anthropological metaphor for entrepreneurship. This “library tale” has two purposes. The first is a demonstration of conceptual uses of ethnographies for developing grounded theory. Propositions are generated on entrepreneurial orientations and opportunity structures. Opportunities are seen to arise in the creation of linkages between spheres of exchange, or fields in which an object exchanges at different values. Entrepreneurial tactics, such as converting between spheres, call for skills in informal planning, astute use of timing, and networking. These “tactical” skills coexist with “moral” skills, in persuasiveness, the manipulation …

Review Of 'The Dark Side Of Transformational Leadership' By Dennis Tourish, Vaughan S. Roberts

Vaughan S Roberts

Linking Innovation & Creativity With Diversity & Inclusion Using Lean Six Sigma, Robin A. Roberts

Robin A. Roberts

“The SHRM Workplace Diversity Conference & Exposition fosters awareness and appreciation of workplace diversity issues through thought leadership, strategy development, resources, publications and professional development for HR professionals and other business leaders. Making the business case for diversity, helping HR professionals to better articulate its strategic business value, and enabling them to build more diverse and inclusive cultures, are the cornerstones of the initiative.”—Society for Human Resource Management website

A Call To Leadership: The Awakening, Robin A. Roberts

Robin A. Roberts

A presentation given to student leaders at Bethune-Cookman University highlighting the transition from student to young professional.

Gazing Into The Crystal Ball: Using Scenarios For Future Visioning Of A Distance Learning Library Service, Anne Marie Casey, Jon E. Cawthorne, Kathleen Citro

Anne Marie Casey

This article describes the use of scenarios as a tool to assist a large distance learning library service in its strategic planning. Through a description of the scenario process from beginning to end, the authors detail the steps that the library director and the consultant took initially; their missteps; and the successful conclusion. This study of the journey through the scenario process to a new strategic plan should prove useful to library administrators interested in exploring new ways to plan for uncertain futures.

A Formula For Picking The Best, Most Well-Rounded Candidate For A Health Care Administrative Office, Ronald Dearinger

Ronald L Dearinger

One approach to selecting the best candidate for an administrative position

Front Line Hospitality Leaders: Knowledge, Knowledge Acquisition, And Ability To Effectively Lead, Gregory Scott Krawiec

Gregory Scott Krawiec

The successful practice of leadership involves a considerable amount of time, effort, and knowledge. The hospitality industry is service intensive and requires leadership effectiveness. Understanding the front line leader's knowledge and its source, ability to apply the knowledge, and time allotted in the work environment to utilize this knowledge is of great importance to future hospitality leadership research. Although leaders exhibited negligible knowledge about leadership and indicated very little familiarity with leadership theory and concepts, all communicated standard thoughts about leadership traits and characteristics. However, hospitality leaders do not model the behaviors and skills they list as being characteristic of …

Narcissism And Accounting Majors, Jill C. Brown, Michael D. Akers, Don Giacomino

Michael D. Akers

Narcissism is a personality trait that varies in individuals much like other characteristics. Accordingly, narcissism can positively or negatively impact the leadership style and career of business leaders. While personality research has examined the level of narcissism in college-aged students over the past 30 years, only recently has limited research examined narcissism in business students. Prior research has not examined accounting students. Using the Narcissistic Personality Inventory (NPI), we assess the level of narcissism in accounting students at a public and private institution in the Midwest. Our findings show accounting students have a lower level of narcissism than other business …

Dispersed Leadership, Power And Change: An Empirical Study Using A Critical Management Framework, Ray Gordon

Ray Gordon

Using a critical management framework I provide a genealogical account of a police organization's attempt to implement what senior officers in its behavioural change division described as a dispersed leadership (Bryman, 1996; Gordon, 2002) strategy. I describe the organization and provide a detailed account of the dynamics that emerge as groups and individuals who historically held positions of power found themselves reporting to one of many designated leaders. The account depicts how the organization's dispersion of leadership, while on the surface represents a new and successful endeavour, is rendered problematic by the organization's historical constitution of power.

Teaching Hrm And Managerial Skills With The 'Living Case' Exercise: An Evaluation, Cynthia D. Fisher, Carol A. Dickenson, James B. Shaw, Gregory N. Southey

Cynthia D. Fisher

Extract:The purpose of this paper is to describe and evaluate an innovative approach to teaching human resource management. The approach involves students working in small groups on a semester-long project in the form of an on-going case study (here after called the 'living case'). After setting up a simulated organisation complete with identification of strategies, structure and culture, students are required to make and defend a series of HR decisions in which they apply theory and classroom learning about HRM to their "real" organisation. The approach emphasises the context of HRM decisions and helps to develop a range of both …

The Effects Of Leadership Style And Employee’S Participation On Perceived Justice, Wai Kwan (Elaine) Lau

Wai Kwan (Elaine) Lau

The present study proposes and tests a model that examines the relationship between leadership style, employee’s participation, and justice perceptions. Results indicate that transactional, transformational, and dynamic leadership have positive impact on distributive, procedural, and interactional justice. Moreover, the effect of leadership style on organizational justice was indirect through employee’s participation. There are also some interesting differences across different types of leadership style and justice.

Social Innovation Through Spiritual Leadership, Lauren Klaus, Mario Fernando

Mario Fernando

Abstract presented at the 2nd International Conference on Social Responsibility, Ethics, and Sustainable Business Bournemouth, UK, September 5 & 6, 2013.

Leading Mindfully: Two Studies Of The Influence Of Supervisor Trait Mindfulness On Employee Well-Being And Performance, Jochen Matthias Reb, J. Narayanan, S. Chaturvedi

Jochen Reb

This research examines the influence of leaders’ mindfulness on employee well-being and performance. We hypothesized that supervisors’ trait mindfulness is positively associated with different facets of employee well-being, such as job satisfaction and need satisfaction, and different dimensions of employee performance, such as in-role performance and organizational citizenship behaviors. We also explored whether one measure of employee well-being, psychological need satisfaction, plays a mediating role in the relation between supervisor mindfulness and employee performance. We tested these predictions in two studies using data from both supervisors and their subordinates. Results were consistent with our hypotheses. Overall, this research contributes to …

Conscientious Conservation: Global Collaboration, Leadership Development, And 21st Century Fundraising, Maria Gonzalez

Maria E Gonzalez

No abstract provided.

On Knees, Breasts And Being Fully Human In Leadership, Amanda Sinclair

Amanda Sinclair

No abstract provided.

How Union Leaders View Job Training Programs, John E. Drotning, David B. Lipsky

David B Lipsky

How do local union leaders view manpower training programs for hard-core-disadvantaged blacks? How do they perceive their members' attitudes towards these training programs? Do unions block the implementation of job training, or do they support it? What are the union leaders' views on special treatment and double work standards for the hard-core-disadvantaged black trainees? How difficult do union leaders think it will be for these trainees to achieve the educational standards set by the firms? We, along with Myron D. Fottler, explored some aspects of these questions in fairly intensive interviews with 51 local and regional union leaders in western …