Business Administration, Management, and Operations Commons^™

Psychosocial Work Influences On Adaptive Performance, Eli Alvin Dickinson

Masters Theses & Specialist Projects

The present study sought to understand why some employees may be more or less able to adapt to the changing work environment. Adaptive performance can help employees to be resilient to technological advances, economic factors, and/or cultural shifts, making it an important form of extra-role performance. According to conservation of resources (COR) theory, one reason employees may fail to adapt is because they lack resources that are required in order to be adaptive. I proposed that the resources needed for adaptive performance aggregate in a resource caravan. Job embeddedness is a proposed resource caravan that may facilitate more adaptive performance …

The Kentucky Cabinet For Health And Family Services’ Response To The Hepatitis A Virus Outbreak In Kentucky: An Idea Model Analysis, Rachel Leigh Cato

Masters Theses & Specialist Projects

The hepatitis A crisis in Kentucky is unprecedented compared to other states. With thousands of hospitalizations and over 60 deaths in the state of Kentucky alone, there is a need to evaluate the government’s response to the hepatitis A virus (HAV) epidemic. Therefore, the instructional risk communication messages that are being conveyed by the Kentucky Cabinet for Health and Family Services (KCHFS) are instrumental in the education and action plans of Kentuckians who are at risk of contracting HAV.

This study utilizes the IDEA Model Thematic Analysis Codebook as a guide to analyze the KCHFS’ risk communication regarding the hepatitis …

Intercollegiate Athlete Perceptions Of Justice In Team Disciplinary Decisions, Jared M. Diaz

Masters Theses & Specialist Projects

The present study examined justice perceptions of an intercollegiate athlete who was punished for a team rule violation outside of competition. This scenario study is a modified replication of Severs’ (2009) study on justice perceptions of intercollegiate athletes; one additional factor, importance of the next competition, was examined in the current study. Perceptions of fairness and perceptions of likelihood of deterring future misconduct were examined using a factorial design with two levels of punishment severity (severe and moderate), two levels of misconduct severity (severe and moderate), two types of punishment distribution (consistent and conditional), and two types of game importance …

Management And Leadership Style: Is Style Influenced By Engineering Education?, Arsalan Khan

Masters Theses & Specialist Projects

Leadership Development Programs (LDPs) programs are employed by firms globally in different multiple manners that are aimed at accelerating the development and growth of highly capable candidates. Among these candidates, depending on the particular LDP, may be those possess engineering skills typically afforded through engineering education as measured by completion of an engineering degree. Infrastructure reductions might be afforded corporations if multiple LDPs could be supplanted with one program such as an Engineering Leadership Development Program. In practice, however, economic constraints limited the total sample population of this category to 67 (48 with engineering degrees and 15 without). Employing SPSS …

Developing A Measure Assessing Virtual Organizational Citizenship Behaviors, Samuel Louis Galbraith

Masters Theses & Specialist Projects

In a time when technology is an integral part of life, virtual workplaces are becoming more of a staple in organizations and will likely continue to do so as technology use increases (Cascio, 2000). Due to the rise in virtual workplaces, employees are interacting face-to-face less, and organizations are requiring more from them. Employees must perform behaviors that are outside of their formal job description. These positive behaviors are considered to be organizational citizenship behaviors (OCBs), which are employee behaviors that promote organizational effectiveness that are not part of an employee’s formal job description and are therefore not formally recognized …

Implementation Of A New Enterprise Resource Planning System, Lacy Payne

Masters Theses & Specialist Projects

The objective of this thesis was to upgrade an Enterprise Resource planning system that was outdated into a new age Enterprise resource planning system based centered on a scheduling algorithm. This was a key change that needed to be made to transform the company from old thinking to new. Primarily the testing of this implementation was done through mapping of processes, followed by trial and error, and finally improving and sustaining the processes it took to use the system correctly. The mapping of the processes was completed by the Process Manager as well as the Lead, Supervisor, or Manager of …

The Perceived Relevance Of Training In Industrial/Organizational Psychology At The Terminal Master's Level, Seth A. Kline

Masters Theses & Specialist Projects

The purpose of this study was to replicate and expand upon the survey research by Erffmeyer and Mendel (1990) on the perceived relevance of graduate training in industrial-organizational (I-O) psychology at the terminal master’s level. A review of the literature discussed core competencies, as well as the advantages of internship experiences and thesis requirements. Results indicated that graduates view their training as well targeted towards knowledge and skills they regard as useful at their internship, first job, and current position. Results also indicated that graduates viewed their internship experiences as highly beneficial and worthwhile experiences, regardless of their supervisor. Results …

From Authoritarian To Participative Management & Back Again: A Field Study Of The Effects Of Employee Participation In A Manufacturing Setting, William Pierce

Masters Theses & Specialist Projects

This study consists of two surveys administered sixteen months apart in a large (1000 employee) Fortune 100 organization which was sold to a Japanese company during the period under study and underwent several other chaotic changes. The purpose of the study was to assess the perceived differences brought about by training and participation. Six factors that were assessed for differences were: productivity, communication, employee participation, work teams, management leadership, and mergers/acquisitions.

Results were compared from the two time periods across all six factors. Productivity and communication proved statistically significant at p(.05, while employee participation and work teams prove statistically significant …

A Comparison Of Perceived Employee Satisfaction With Downward Communication Within Department Stores In Cities Of Varying Size, Karen Attig

Masters Theses & Specialist Projects

Three retail department stores of varying size were compared to determine if store size affected employee attitudes toward downward communication. Chi-square and multivariate analyses were used to determine results based on a questionnaire administered to employees within three department stores. Employees within the small department store were found to be less satisfied with the communication received from their store manager than were employees in the medium size and large department stores. Employees within the large department store were found to be more satisfied with downward communication than subjects from other stores.

Wisconsin Railroad Planning: A State's Perspective Of Abandonments, Barbara Busse

Masters Theses & Specialist Projects

Federal legislation enacted in January 1974 created federal agencies to produce a rail plan process for the Northeast United States and to monitor and evaluate the programs. A a result of the federal enactment, many states are producing rail plans. Wisconsin is presently preparing one such plan which included the elements of freight operations. The State also has produced a Manual for State Railroad Planning. Both documents have included railroad abandonment as topic of discussion. The present planning process in the State is not sufficient to determine future courses of action concerning abandonments. A case study is presented to determine …