Human Resources Management Commons^™

A Closer Look At The Assistant (To The) Regional Manager: Personality Differences Between First And Second In Command Leaders In Organizations, Ross Benes

McNair Scholars Research Journal

Although a great deal of research has established personality differences between leaders and their followers (Lord, de Vader, & Alliger, 1986) there has been little research on how leaders at different levels of organizations may differ from one another. In particular, no research to date has examined whether or not there are personality differences between those who are first in command of their organizations and those second in command. The present study attempts to explore whether or not these differences exist in terms of both lay perceptions and in reality. The researchers in this study asked 401 individuals to contrast …

Supportive Supervision And Resiliency Ohio - Accwic Training Curriculum, Atlantic Coast Child Welfare Implementation Center

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Purpose The International Federation of Coaches (ICF) defines coaching as: “partnering with clients in a thought-provoking and creative process that inspires them to maximize their personal and professional potential.” “Coaching is highly focused on individuals designing their future – and that of their organization – and achieving excellence through setting personally and professionally challenging goals and committing to taking the actions necessary to achieve them” (Byrne, 2007). In the field of child welfare, coaching is being utilized in work situations, at all levels of the system, to focus on specific skills and abilities to reach specific outcomes, enhance performance and …

Supportive Supervision And Resiliency Ohio - Accwic Coaching Curriculum, Atlantic Coast Child Welfare Implementation Center

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Purpose The International Federation of Coaches (ICF) defines coaching as: “partnering with clients in a thought-provoking and creative process that inspires them to maximize their personal and professional potential.” “Coaching is highly focused on individuals designing their future – and that of their organization – and achieving excellence through setting personally and professionally challenging goals and committing to taking the actions necessary to achieve them” (Byrne, 2007). In the field of child welfare, coaching is being utilized in work situations, at all levels of the system, to focus on specific skills and abilities to reach specific outcomes, enhance performance and …

Boots On The Ground: A First-Hand Account Of Conducting Psychological Research In Combat, Peter D. Harms, Paul B. Lester

P. D. Harms Publications

At the height of the surge in Iraq, Captain Paul Lester, an Army research psychologist, embedded himself with the 2nd Battalion, 6th Infantry Regiment in order to study leadership and psychological resilience in combat. Few researchers are ever presented with the opportunities and responsibilities inherent for a psychologist in this situation or with the decisions he faced when agreeing to take on this mission. In his own words, Captain Lester explains the nature of this mission, what makes research in this context so unique, and what lessons he learned.

Addressing Work-Related Traumatic Stress Nebraska - Resilience Alliance Participant Handbook, Asc-Nyu Children's Trauma Institute

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Child welfare staff are first responders; just like police officer and fire fighters, they are asked to respond to emergency situations with very little information, and by doing so often put themselves at risk. In addition to the very real physical risks involved with responding to a report of suspected child abuse or neglect, there are equally real psychological risks involved with taking care of children and families that have experienced abuse, neglect, family and community violence, and other traumas. Unlike police officers and fire fighters, however, child welfare staff get very little public recognition for the hard work they …

Addressing Work-Related Traumatic Stress Nebraska - Resilience Alliance Facilitator Manual, Acs-Nyu Children's Trauma Institute

Other QIC-WD Products

Child welfare staff are first responders; just like police officer and fire fighters, they are asked to respond to emergency situations with very little information, and by doing so often put themselves at risk. In addition to the very real physical risks involved with responding to a report of suspected child abuse or neglect, there are equally real psychological risks involved with taking care of children and families that have experienced abuse, neglect, family and community violence, and other traumas. Unlike police officers and fire fighters, however, child welfare staff get very little public recognition for the hard work they …

A Phenomenological Study Of Millennial Generation Cooperative Extension Educators' Development Of Core Competencies, David L. Varner

Department of Agricultural Leadership, Education and Communication: Dissertations, Theses, and Student Scholarship

The purpose of this qualitative research study was to describe the experiences that contribute to the development of core competencies among Millennial Generation, county-based Extension educators in the University of Nebraska-Lincoln Extension Division. Fourteen educators were randomly purposefully selected to participate in the study. Participants were born in 1977 or later as determined by Tapscott (2009). Educators’ tenure in Cooperative Extension ranged from two months to seven years. Three themes and associated sub-themes emerged from semi-structured interviews: (a) Blindfolded and Scared—educators were confused, overwhelmed and in need of support; (b) Developing the Big Skills: A Daunting Task—focused on discovering competencies …

Psychological Net Worth: Finding The Balance Between Psychological Capital And Psychological Debt, Michele L. Millard

Department of Agricultural Leadership, Education and Communication: Dissertations, Theses, and Student Scholarship

This multi-level study examined a proposed framework of psychological net worth that builds on the current psychological capital conceptualization of positive psychological assets provided to an organization by articulating the construct of psychological debt or those psychological liabilities in an organization. By describing psychological debt as a collection of negative attributes that occur at the individual level for individuals that hamper productivity, morale, and effectiveness in organizations, this framework of psychological net worth proposes the need to create a psychological balance sheet of psychological capital and debt. Psychological debt is described using the dimension of emotional labor, job insecurity, job …

A Multilevel Examination Of Proactive Work Behaviors: Contextual And Individual Differences As Antecedents, Travis P. Searle

Department of Agricultural Leadership, Education and Communication: Dissertations, Theses, and Student Scholarship

In this study, the process through which individual differences (i.e., proactive personality, psychological empowerment, and servant leader characteristics at level-1) and contextual differences (i.e., servant leadership characteristics at level-2) are antecedents to proactive work behaviors (i.e., problem prevention, individual innovation, voice, and taking charge) was tested. Results indicated that psychological empowerment partially mediated the relationship between proactive personality and individual innovation. Psychological empowerment fully mediated the relationship between proactive personality and taking charge. Proactive personality was indirectly related to problem prevention, via psychological empowerment. Psychological empowerment was directly related to voice. In addition, servant leader characteristics at level-1 were positively …

Becoming A Firm: An Investigation Of How One-Person Enterprises Construct The Problem Of Becoming An Employer, Ronda M. Smith Nelson

College of Business: Dissertations, Theses, and Student Research

This study draws on Coase’s (1937) Theory of the Firm, that suggests a firm exists only after it has employees and Penrose’s (1959) Theory of the Growth of the Firm which suggests human resources are a critical asset to the firm as a means to better understand the issue of job creation in the United States especially among one-person enterprises (OPEs). From the perspective of entrepreneurial cognition, and in the context of ill-defined problems (Abelson & Levi.1985) a survey was conducted to better understand the Becoming an Employer Problem (BEP) as it is perceived by OPEs. A measure of the …

A Tale Of Two Paradigms: The Impact Of Psychological Capital And Reinforcing Feedback On Problem Solving And Innovation, Fred Luthans, Carolyn M. Youssef, Shannon L. Rawski

Department of Management: Faculty Publications

This study drew from two distinct paradigms: the social cognitively based emerging field of positive organizational behavior or POB and the more established behaviorally based area of organizational behavior modification or OB Mod. The intent was to show that both can contribute to complex challenges facing today’s organizations. Using a quasi-experimental research design (N = 1,526 working adults), in general both the recently recognized core construct of psychological capital (representing POB) and reinforcing feedback (representing OB Mod), especially when partially mediated through a mastery-oriented mindset, were positively related to problem solving performance, reported innovation, and subsequent psychological capital. The implications …

Experimentally Analyzing The Impact Of Leader Positivity On Follower Positivity And Performance, James Avey, Bruce J. Avolio, Fred Luthans

Department of Management: Faculty Publications

This field experimental study examined the role that positive leadership plays in producing effective leader and follower outcomes. Specifically, a sample of engineers (N = 106) from a very large aerospace firm were randomly assigned to four experimental conditions. Two conditions involved assigning these engineers to a low and high problem complexity condition. The other two conditions represented high versus low conveyed leader positivity. The results indicated a positive relationship between the leaders’ positivity and the followers’ positivity and performance, as well as a negative relationship between problem complexity and follower positivity. The study limitations, needed future research, and practical …

Coaching Efficacy With Academic Leaders: A Phenomenological Investigation, Deanna Lee Vansickel-Peterson

College of Education and Human Sciences: Dissertations, Theses, and Student Research

The purpose of this psychological phenomenological research was to understand the efficacy of life coaching from the perspective of academic leaders. To date, not one investigation or attempt has been made towards the above stated purpose. This study includes a theoretical overview and a review of the coaching literature from Socrates (469-399 BC) to current day Humanistic theory presented in part by Roger (1902-1987).

This process included data collection from five academic leaders who have been coached for at least two years. Levels of analysis of 365 statements, quote and/or comments produced finding of efficacy in life coaching with academic …

Antecedents Of Servant Leadership: A Mixed Methods Study, Curtis D. Beck

Department of Agricultural Leadership, Education and Communication: Dissertations, Theses, and Student Scholarship

The purpose of this mixed methods study was to explore the antecedents of servant leadership. The sequential explanatory research design consisted of two distinct phases: quantitative followed by qualitative.

The Phase One quantitative survey collected data from 499 leaders and 630 raters from community leadership programs in the United States using the Servant Leadership Questionnaire (Barbuto & Wheeler, 2006).

During Phase Two, selected leaders from phase one (N = 12) were interviewed to explain those results in more depth. The data were coded and analyzed for possible themes. Triangulation was used to analyze the quantitative and qualitative data to validate …

Determining The Relationship And Influence Organizational Culture Has On Organizational Trust, Mindy S. Genetzky-Haugen

Department of Agricultural Leadership, Education and Communication: Dissertations, Theses, and Student Scholarship

The present research examines the influence of organizational culture on organizational trust. Leaders in the present and future will try to create a culture of trust, but leaders who do not examine and understand their current culture will not be successful in changing their organizational culture. The study shows constructive behavioral norms are both predictors and influencers of trust. The results suggest that companies that want to create a culture of trust need to instill into their culture achievement, self-actualizing, humanistic-encouraging and affiliative behavioral norms. Leadership needs to make sure avoidance behaviors are reduced in order to create and instill …

An Experimental Study Of The Impact Of Psychological Capital On Performance, Engagement, And The Contagion Effect, Timothy Daniel Hodges

College of Business: Dissertations, Theses, and Student Research

Psychological Capital, or PsyCap, is a core construct consisting of the positive psychological resources of efficacy, hope, optimism, and resilience. Previous research has consistently linked PsyCap to workplace outcomes including employee attitudes, behaviors, and performance. Further research has explored the ways in which PsyCap can be developed through relatively brief workplace interventions. The present study focuses on PsyCap development and the relationship to employee engagement and performance. In an experimental design with random assignment of subjects to control group (n = 52 managers and 152 associates) and treatment group (n = 58 managers and 239 employees), a field sample of …

The Use Of Personality Test Norms In Work Settings: Effects Of Sample Size And Relevance, Robert P. Tett, Jenna R. (Fitzke) Pieper, Patrick L. Wadlington, Scott A. Davies, Michael G. Anderson, Jeff Foster

Department of Management: Faculty Publications

The value of personality test norms for use in work settings depends on norm sample size (N) and relevance, yet research on these criteria is scant and corresponding standards are vague. Using basic statistical principles and Hogan Personality Inventory (HPI) data from 5 sales and 4 trucking samples (N range = 394–6,200), we show that (a) N >100 has little practical impact on the reliability of norm-based standard scores (max=±10 percentile points in 99% of samples) and (b) personality profiles vary more from using different norm samples, between as well as within job families. Averaging across scales, T-scores based on …

Healers And Helpers, Unifying The People: A Qualitative Study Of Lakota Leadership., Kem M. Gambrell

Department of Agricultural Leadership, Education and Communication: Dissertations, Theses, and Student Scholarship

The purpose of this critical grounded theory qualitative study was to explore Lakota Leadership from a Native perspective. Interviews were conducted with enrolled members of a Lakota tribe in an urban setting as well as on the Rosebud reservation to gain better awareness of leadership through a non-mainstream viewpoint. Previously, in order to understand leaders and followers, research limited its scope of discernment to dominant society, implying that non-mainstream individuals will acquiesce, or that differences found are inconsequential. Leadership scholars also have implied that leadership theory is “universal enough”, and can be applied globally regardless of influences such as race, …

Learning 2.0: A Tool For Staff Training At The University Of Alaska Fairbanks Rasmuson Library, Ilana Kingsley, Karen Jensen

E-JASL 1999-2009 (Volumes 1-10)

Abstract

This paper describes a Learning 2.0 library staff training project completed in September 2007 at the University of Alaska Fairbanks Rasmuson Library. The project planning process, curriculum creation, implementation, incentives, and outcomes are included, along with a summary of survey results from program participants. Recommendations for implementing this free and useful staff training tool by other academic libraries are included, as well as a link to the Library’s Learning 2.0 blog.

Employee Development Using Webct Vista, Jennifer Link Jones

E-JASL 1999-2009 (Volumes 1-10)

Abstract

In an effort to make required training easily available to academic library employees, the author used the campus course management system (CMS), WebCT Vista, to create online learning modules for the library. Also discussed are general benefits of online learning, the technology competencies that prompted the development of the learning modules, and the design and components of the learning modules.

Measuring Work Preferences: A Multidimensional Tool To Enhance Career Self Management, G. Ronald Gilbert, Ravipreet S. Sohi, Adriana G. Mceachern

Department of Marketing: Faculty Publications

Purpose: The purpose of this paper is to introduce a multidimensional work preference research instrument, and to relate scores on these dimensions with subjects' real world work choices.

Design/methodology/approach: Repeated samples of 1,002 and 975 adult subjects were used to identify 17 empirically derived constructs, using both EFA and CFA statistical applications. The CFA revealed measurement invariance among the predicted and measured constructs. The 17 validated constructs were culled from career development-related psychology that has variously been identified with learning styles, work interests, work values, and temperament. Using a third sample of 590 subjects, MANOVA analyses of work preference scores …

Impact Of Behavioral Performance Management In A Korean Application, Fred Luthans, Shanggeun Rhee, Brett C. Luthans, James B. Avey

Department of Management: Faculty Publications

Purpose – The purpose of this study is to examine whether the use of money, social recognition, and feedback have a similar impact on employee performance in the context of a modern Korean broadband internet service firm.

Design/methodology/approach – The study design was a quasi-field experiment (with control group). First, the leaders of this Korean firm were trained in behavioral performance management. Following the steps of organisational behavior modification (O.B. Mod.) they identified, measured, and analyzed critical performance behaviors and then intervened with the following reward incentives: money (n = 38), social recognition and caring attention (n = 41), and …

Reinforce For Performance: The Need To Go Beyond Pay And Even Rewards, Fred Luthans, Alexander D. Stajkovic

Department of Management: Faculty Publications

Perhaps the most talked about, if not actually implemented. practical solution for making human resources more productive is pay for performance. Yet many researchers and practitioners doubt the true effectiveness of this approach. To help solve this controversy. we suggest drawing from reinforcement theory and behavioral management. This approach can be used to explain the simple statements: You get what you reinforce. but you do not necessarily get what you pay for. We first critically review the traditional pay for performance practices and address the question of whether rewards. not reinforcers. do more harm than good. Next, we discuss the …

The Effects Of Environment Dynamism And Heterogeneity On Salespeople's Role Perceptions, Performance And Job Satisfaction, Ravipreet S. Sohi

Department of Marketing: Faculty Publications

This article develops a structural equations model which examines the effects of environmental dynamism and heterogeneity on salespeople’s role conflict, role ambiguity, performance and job satisfaction. The model is tested with EQS, using data collected from 230 salespeople in multiple companies and industries. Indicates that environmental dynamism reduces satisfaction and performance, and increases role conflict and ambiguity. Notes that environmental heterogeneity also reduces performance and increases role conflict, but does not have a significant effect on role ambiguity.

Salespersons’ Perceptions About Sales Contests: Towards A Greater Understanding, William H. Murphy, Ravipreet S. Sohi

Department of Marketing: Faculty Publications

Aims to improve understanding of an important and widely used management tool for motivating the salesforce – sales contests. Begins by introducing the question: what factors are associated with salespeople's feelings towards a sales contest? Several potentially relevant characteristics that are expected to be associated with various feelings towards contests are discussed. To test the hypotheses, data were collected through verbal protocols and surveys from salespeople belonging to a division of a Fortune 100 firm. Results indicate that salespeople's self-esteem, commitment level, and career stage play a role in influencing feelings towards the sales contest.

The impetus for this research …

Parallel Evaluation And Promotion Programs For Staff Specialists, Gerald L. Schapman

Open Access Master's Theses (through 2010)

The primary purpose of this thesis is analyze objectively present methods of evaluation and promotion based on the findings of a questionnaire, which was sent to various selected companies in the nation with the cooperation of the Bureau of Business Research of the University of Nebraska. These companies represent different fields of business and were randomly selected from the various industry classifications from Moody’s Handbook of Widely Held Common Stocks.After reviewing the results, there will a further discussion of need and feasibility for changed and improved methods of evaluating and promoting staff specialists.

Advisor: Keith Broman