Human Resources Management Commons^™

Moving Forward By Looking Back: How Family Firms Create Competitive Advantage By Embracing Their History, Adam Goldman

Dissertations

Family businesses are the engine that drives the United States economy. While extensive implications have been made in the literature about the advantages or disadvantages of family-owned businesses compared to non-family-owned businesses, the focus of this study was to show how small to medium-sized family-owned firms (FF SMEs) based in the United States can use their unique history to create a competitive advantage. Drawing on imprint theory and the resource-based view (RBV), this history-informed study helped identify the impact that founder imprints, business traditions, and storytelling have on the business performance of FF SMEs. Using quantitative methods, the findings of …

The Impact Of The Covid-19 Pandemic On Employee Engagement And Performance In The Teleworking Context In The U.S. Public Sector: A Phenomenological Case Study, Elizabeth Nesuda

Human Resource Development Theses and Dissertations

The global shift to telework during the COVID-19 pandemic has redefined work environments and created challenges and opportunities for the public sector. This study addressed a significant gap in the existing literature by exploring the relationship between employee engagement and performance in the context of COVID-19. This study explores employee engagement and performance in teleworking environments within the federal public sector. This study adopted a phenomenological case study design focused on understanding the experiences of public sector employees who shifted to telework during the COVID-19 pandemic. Research and interview questions were developed to uncover employee engagement and performance experiences in …

Lean Application: An Assessment Of 5s On Employee Attitudes And Productivity, Nickolaos Dimitrios Karvounis

STEMPS Theses & Dissertations

This study examines the effect of the implementation of 5S on employee attitudes and productivity in an Asian based facility of a global manufacturing company. Utilizing an assessment of the 5S implementation in various areas of the facility and organizational performance data for each of those areas, a non-experimental, causal comparative approach is used to analyze the impact. The study concluded that statistically significant improvements from the implementation of 5S were found both in quality and product cost for this facility; however, the study also found statistical significance where the implementation of 5S led to a decrease in performance and …

Factors That Influence Nonprofit Sector Employees’ Motivation: A Case Study From Egypt, Nada Shaaban Miry

Theses and Dissertations

The issue of employee motivation received much attention in the last few decades. That attention came from its significant practical and theoretical role in the field of management. To understand how motivation influences employees’ behavior, we have to know that every employee is motivated differently based on their preferences and characteristics. Therefore, it is essential to discover individual motivation factors for each employee. This study examines the factors that stimulate employees’ motivation and explain how to use those motivational factors to improve employees’ performance and engagement. It focuses on three non-profit organizations in Egypt and provides empirical evidence of the …

Effective Resource Utilization In Arkansas Public Schools, Ryan Sanders

Industrial Engineering Undergraduate Honors Theses

Teacher pay in Arkansas public schools varies widely from district to district across the state. This pay discrepancy is driven by both the funds available to a district and by how these funds are allocated. There is a standard per student budget given to districts across the state, but this budget can be supplemented by additional property taxes collected on property within a district. This leaves districts with more highly valued property at an advantage. Districts are free to allocate their budget for teacher pay as they see fit, with constraints on number of students per teacher and minimum teacher …

Human Resource Management Practices And Performance: A General Systems Perspective, Duckjung Shin

Electronic Thesis and Dissertation Repository

This thesis consists of three essays on strategic human resource management (SHRM) based on general systems theory. The first essay introduces a systems perspective on SHRM, the second essay applies the feedback concept, and the third essay considers implementing human resource management (HRM) practices as adaptive systems. The three essays suggest that general systems theory extends the SHRM literature by considering antecedents, processes, and consequences of HRM in modern organizations.

In the first essay, I review the SHRM literature and identify four traditions in SHRM studies (economic, psychological, sociological, and critical perspectives). I propose a systems perspective on SHRM as …

A Study Of Academic Performance In Police Basic Training, Robert Ramsey

Online Theses and Dissertations

The purpose of this study was to examine the relationship of formal education and the effect it has on academic performance of the police recruits that attended the Department of Criminal Justice Training (DOCJT) for their basic training academy in Richmond, Ky. This study focused on the academic portion of recruit training only. This study assessed whether education level is a valid predictor of a recruit officers academic performance and will answer if higher education levels give a recruit officer an advantage academically while they are in basic training.

The sample chosen was from recruit classes that attended basic training …

Characteristics Of Successful Minority Female Police Supervisors Within A Large Urban Midwest Police Department, Yasmia G. Dunn

Ed.D. Dissertations

This study explored the leadership characteristics of minority female police supervisors, the actual and perceived barriers to their advancement through the ranks, and the strategies and factors that aided their success and career advancement within the police department participating in the study. Statistical data was gathered regarding the status of high-ranking minority women in the agency, administered participant questionnaires and surveys, and conducted individual semi-structured interviews with the participants. Information obtained from the department's online personnel data system aided in identifying study participants within the agency. The study participants met the criteria of being high-ranking minority female supervisors holding the …

The Relationship Among Training Policy, Knowledge Transfer, And Performance Improvement: A Study Of Private Sector Organizations In The Kingdom Of Saudi Arabia, Fayez M. Shafloot

Dissertations

The purpose of this study was to explore human resource (HR) managers' perceptions of training practices (i.e., needs assessment, trainee preparation, training program review, accountability, management support, knowledge transfer, and performance improvement) in Saudi private sector organizations. The research questions were: (1) How do HR managers perceive the importance and or occurrence of training needs assessment, trainee preparation, training program review, accountability and management support? (2) How do HR managers perceive knowledge transfer and performance improvement as a function of training? and (3) What training factors do HR managers identify as being important to the delivery of training?

Data were …

The Look Of The Line: An Empirical Investigation Of The Impacts Of Facial Symmetry On Salary Levels Of Offensive Linemen In The Nfl, Kristen Wampole

Business and Economics Honors Papers

Evaluation of a professional athlete's performance for the purposes of compensation determination is difficult, especially when decision making may not follow the expected "instrumental rationality." This paper will look to examine the factors, both productive and non-productive, impacting an Offensive Lineman's salary in the NFL. The purpose of this study is to determine whether an offensive lineman's salary is based on productive characteristics adhering to instrumental rationality, or whether the influence of non-productive characteristics influence salary as ultimately determined by team management. Results indicate that players within the tackle position with earning salaries in the seventy-fifth percentile gain additional benefits …

The Moderating Effect Of Psychological Empowerment On The Relationship Between Network Centrality And Individual Job Performance, David A. Washington

Theses and Dissertations

The purpose of this research was to identify the effect of psychological empowerment (PE) on social network location and individual performance. This study sought to test three hypotheses, which were introduced through a comprehensive literature review, regarding the relationships between social network centrality and individual job performance. Research has indicated a positive relationship between network centrality and performance; however, other research suggests performance can be better predicted by including motivation in the model. Therefore a moderation model was developed and tested to identify the relationships between network centrality, PE, and three categories of individual job performance: task performance, organizational citizenship …

An Analysis Of Competencies For Managing Science And Technology Programs, Sidney W. Goehring

Theses and Dissertations

The purpose of this research is to analyze competencies needed for successful program management of Research and Development (R&D) programs -- also known as Science and Technology (S&T) programs -- within the Department of Defense (DoD). Current competency models are in development for the DoD Acquisition, Technology, and Logistics (AT&L) functional areas. Using an interim competency model developed for the Program Manager career field comprised of 36 technical competencies and 27 professional competencies, the research compares competencies' criticality scores rated by traditional acquisition program managers (PMs) with those rated by S&T program managers. In 42 out of 63 instances (67%), …

Sensemaking And The Management Of Older Volunteers, Megan Paull

Theses: Doctorates and Masters

This study explores the experiences of older volunteers and their managers in particular when a change in the perfonnance of the volunteer is noticed by the manager. The impetus for this study was an expressed concern of the managers of volunteers which classified the management of 'older volunteers" as being somehow different from their younger counterparts. Conducted within an interpretivist framework this study employed a two-phase methodology comprising a context setting descriptive quantitative study followed by an in-depth qualitative grounded theory approach. The importance of the in-depth examination revealed the importance of context to the management process.

Utility Assessment Of Specificity In Upward Feedback Instruments For Leadership Development, Theresa M. Wardak

Theses and Dissertations

Recently, organizations have been modifying performance appraisal systems to collect data from multiple sources to guide the development of supervisors. Upward feedback programs focus on development rather than appraisal by supplementing traditional downward feedback with subordinate feedback. The utility of two upward feedback instruments was assessed in this study; one is a commercially available instrument, the Leadership Practices Inventory (Posner & Kouzes, 1988) and the other is the recently developed, non-proprietary Upward Feedback Instrument (2002). The Upward Feedback Instrument was designed to measure leadership behaviors at a more specific level. It was thought that greater feedback specificity world lead to …

Establishing A Career Development Plan For The System Support Manager, Noelia Mendoza

Theses and Dissertations

Career development plans are created to assist individuals in establishing their career objectives. The most commonly used career path model is the pyramid career model. It identifies the ideal job experiences, training, and education needed to reach career success. Although the model seems to provide everything needed to succeed, it fails to answer why the experiences identified are important. The answer to that question can be found in the competency model. This thesis looked at how the pyramid career model and competency model can be used to groom individuals. The variables that contribute to overall job performance and the competencies …

Effects Of Situational Factors On The Work Performance Of Aerial Port Technicians, Joseph T. Dougherty

Theses and Dissertations

This research investigated the impact of situational factors on aerial port productivity. Results showed constraints had little impact on performance. However, perceptions of constraints and performance were significantly related to individual differences in temperament.

Identifying Situational Factors Contributing To Combat Performance During Desert Shield And Desert Storm, Gary E. Jandzinski

Theses and Dissertations

Previous research into morale, cohesion, and motivation as determinants of performance during combat concentrates primarily on front-line ground troops. This research focuses on determinants of high performance involving United States Air Force (USAF) aircraft maintenance personnel in rear-echelon contingency bases during Desert Shield and Desert Storm. The significant amount of combat force projected from USAF contingency bases and the likely continued use of such force justifies analysis of determinants of performance for this environment. Basic situational factors (information, food, living conditions, Morale, Welfare, and Recreation (MWR) activities, mail and phone service, and entertainment) are potentially influential in motivating maintenance personnel …

The Relationship Between Recruitment Source And Employee Performance, Colleen Marie Derenia

Theses Digitization Project

Relationships between recruitment referral sources and performance, work skills, inter-personal skills, attendance, retention, gender, ethnicity, age, etc. -- Formal recruiting (radio, tv, newspaper, employment/placement office) -- Informal recruiting (employee referrals, walk-ins, etc.).