Training and Development Commons^™

Personal Development Planning And Vertical Leadership Development In A Vuca World, Kevin Coopersmith

The Journal of Values-Based Leadership

To explore how personal development can be utilized as a tool for leaders to adapt to our VUCA (volatile, uncertain, complex, and ambiguous) world, a qualitative study was conducted on the narrative experiences of eight leaders who had successfully completed personal development plans. The emerging field of vertical leadership development, recognized as a unique developmental approach towards overcoming complexity and uncertainty, was connected to the key themes of personal development planning. Vertical leadership development and personal development planning were united across five conceptual themes: development and application of skills, self-awareness, self-efficacy, self-exploration, and continuous improvement. The experiences of the participants …

The Relationship Between The Protean Career Attitude And Feedback After The Employee Promotion Process, Marcie Overstreet

Dissertations

The deterioration of the traditional organizational career model progressively challenges employees to manage their careers (Briscoe et al., 2006). Increasingly, individuals self-manage their careers, focusing on both professional and personal circumstances throughout a career (Li et al., 2019). Employees continue to pursue career advancement by developing their knowledge, skills, and competencies. While individuals seek career development pursuing more challenging and higher paying jobs, organizations also show interest in career development.

Organizations take an interest in the career growth of employees because career advancement leads to increased morale and productivity and reduced costs associated with employee turnover (Bowness, 2019). Increased morale …

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 …

Hybrid Learning Strategies: Complexity Vs Content Change, Richard D. Busby

Publications & Research

No abstract provided.

Essays On Managerial Attributes And Corporate Finance, Juntai Lu

Graduate Theses and Dissertations

In my dissertation, I explore how managerial attributes affect corporate policies.

In my first essay, I examine the effects of public firm CEOs’ prior private equity (PE) target experiences on corporate policies. Based on difference-in-differences and propensity score matching analyses, public firm CEOs previously serving as CEOs in PE targets reduce investment by about 15 percent while enhancing patent values by over 7 percent after taking office compared to CEOs without such experiences. The effects are stronger if these CEOs (1) worked in targets invested by more reputable PE firms, (2) worked in targets invested by PE firms known for …

Examining The Relationships Between Factors Of Employees’ Perceptions Of Knowledge Worker Productivity, Psychological Well-Being, And Performance, Walter Liu

FIU Electronic Theses and Dissertations

Peter Drucker, known as the “father of modern management”, suggested that the most valuable asset of a 21^st-century institution would be knowledge workers and their productivity. Since then, there has been a steady shift from manual work to knowledge work over the past several decades and with it, an interest in knowledge worker productivity. A 2013 study identified six factors with the highest association regarding the performance of knowledge workers. Drawing on insights of relational cohesion theory, social exchange theory, transactive memory systems theory, goal setting theory, social network theory, and Fredrickson’s (1998, 2001, 2004) broaden-and-build theory, the …

The Effect Of Socialization Practices And Onboarding On Newcomer Adjustment And Turnover Intention, Alex George Vilayil

FIU Electronic Theses and Dissertations

New employee (newcomer) turnover is a severe problem in many organizations and inevitably leads to both operational and financial concerns. The hospitality industry, in particular, faces this challenge and struggles with acquiring and retaining talent. Studies have suggested that many newcomers leave their job due to inadequate socialization efforts on the employer’s part. While several researchers have explored the relationship involving newcomer onboarding and turnover intention, the hospitality domain lacks research investigating the effect of socialization practices on turnover intention. This study attempts to fill this void by exploring the effectiveness of four different socialization practices on onboarding success and …

Gen Z And Millennials In The Workplace: How Are Leaders Adapting To Their Short Attention Span And How Will They Keep Them From Leaving A Qualitative Study, Maribel Rachel Diz

FIU Electronic Theses and Dissertations

There is a new type of employee entering the workforce that is a true digital native with allegedly the shortest attention span known as Generation Z. Coupled with millennials, they will dominate the workforce. The problem investigated is the effects of short attention spans in the workplace and how this is being magnified by the incoming Generation Z cohort and existing millennials. Companies will need to adapt to short attention spans, along with what will engage and retain these two cohorts. The purpose of this qualitative study is to explore both generations as there are no current studies with this …

Leadership Development In Saudi Arabia’S Private Sector: A Mixed Methods Approach, Khaled Hanaky

Dissertations

There is currently a proliferation of business-focused leadership development programs in Saudi Arabia. These programs represent a reaction to the shortage of qualified leaders who can drive and sustain both recent and future advances introduced by Saudi Vision 2030, the national transformation program that is introducing social and economic reforms. Importantly, business leadership development has not been studied in this context of contemporary Saudi Arabia.

This study examined the state of Saudi leadership development programs by employing an explanatory sequential case study design that focused on a particular leadership development program. Through the use of surveys and participant interviews, results …

The Impact On Organization Behavior In A Telecommuting World And The Potential Impacts On The Business, Jerrilynn Dvorak

Dissertations, Theses, and Projects

Local and national COVID-19 restrictions have caused many organizations to transition their employees to working remotely, a practice previously not considered or widely adopted. Global pandemics happen so infrequently that much of the world's population has not lived through or experienced such an event. There were little to no protocols to prepare organizations and individuals mentally, physically, emotionally, and financially for the challenges that the pandemic would bring. The COVID-19 pandemic provided a unique opportunity for more employees who previously did not have that opportunity to work from home. This shift created a much larger sample size to study the …

How The Level Of Job Complexity Impacts The Gender Wage Gap Across Occupations, Zytlaly Magaña Corona

Electronic Theses, Projects, and Dissertations

The present study focused on unpacking the social and structural aspects of job complexity to better understand its effects on the gender wage gap. Previous research on the job complexity-compensation dynamic has primarily focused on cognitive complexity. Job complexity across occupations were examined using work activity data from O*NET and merging it with the Current Population Survey data sponsored by the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics (N=67,003). Results revealed that higher complexity jobs in this study yielded greater wage disparities across different occupations as predicted. Furthermore, physical activities and gaining knowledge from the Generalized Work Activities were the two most …

The Relationship Between Religious Freedom In America And The Current And Future Workplace, Liz Spence

Management Undergraduate Honors Theses

In regards to religious freedom, the current climate in America is ambiguous and sensitive. This has carried over into the workplace and will continue to affect the way that leaders must manage their employees. This study contains a survey that addresses historical cases dealing with religious freedom, personal experiences in the workplace, and finally, questions regarding the ideal workplace and leadership. This study also includes in-depth interviews of current employees in a variety of careers that adhere to a religion. The paper concludes with a summary that explores how managers should react in the future to the findings in this …

Generational Differences & The Millennial Impact On Business, Micah Wittschen

Marketing Undergraduate Honors Theses

Business is the backbone of the United States of America. Often called The American Dream, citizens grow up with the idea that the possibilities are endless living in the land of opportunity. This dream also comes with the desire for a family, thus a good job is needed for financial support. It is often believed and proven that those that work hard can yield financial returns and benefit socially.

Generational differences trickle down to every aspect of life including the different trends and impacts each cohort has on business. Each generation has a different view of work and behaves differently …

Barriers To Succession Planning: A Case Study Of Atlanta Nonprofit Organizations, Adonnis J. Jules

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

Succession planning is not a common practice among nonprofit organizations, despite support for its effectiveness in supporting leadership development and providing organizational stability during a planned or unplanned transition. Nonprofits have acknowledged that their leadership ranks are thin, and a leadership transition tends to bring challenges to the organizations when vacancies need to be filled. Barriers exist that prevent nonprofits from engaging in succession planning, but little research has examined the nature of these barriers. This study focused on nonprofit organizations across four different industry sectors to determine the extent of their succession planning efforts and the barriers that exist …

Independent Study: Understanding The Pharmaceutical Industry, Julie Nelsen, J. Nelsen, Erika Wallace

Business Administration Faculty Scholarship

An undergraduate Healthcare Sales student wanted to understand the pharmaceutical (pharma) industry better to determine if the industry was a good fit. She approached her professor to gain support for an independent study to understand better the history and challenges of selling in the pharma industry. Once completed, the pair recognized this information's value and collaborated in editing the document to share these findings to provide this entry-level salesperson's guide to understanding the pharma industry. Six semi-structured interviews of pharma professionals showed three primary areas of knowledge and ethics required of the entry-level pharma industry salesperson. These suggestions are for …

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 …

Executive Coaching: A Cohesive Conceptual Model And The Qualitative Investigation Of Executive Coaching Styles, David Morelli

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

Executive coaching is a field in search of a conceptual model to tie together disparate studies and theories. While several decades of research validate ‘that’ coaching works (Athanasopoulou & Dopson, 2018), it’s been unclear is to ‘how’ coaching works. For over two decades, the field has been calling out for a conceptual model (Kilburg, 1996; Athanasopoulou & Dopson, 2018) and hasn’t known where to turn. While several attempts have been made, each of them suffered from conflation and lack of specificity, perhaps due to the lack of theoretical grounding amidst coaching’s nascence as a field. Answering this call is important …

Infographic: 4 Ways To Build Better Relationships With Your Volunteers, Samantha Morris

Case Studies

Infographic describing four ways to look after your volunteers.

The Prospective Applicability Of The Strengths-Based Approach To Managing And Developing Employees In Small Businesses, Chamila Kumudunee Wijekuruppu, Alan Coetzer, Pattanee Susomrith

Research outputs 2014 to 2021

Purpose:

The strength-based approach is promulgated as a management practice that improves individual productivity and performance. This study's purpose is to explore the prospective applicability of the strengths-based approach to managing and developing employees in small businesses. The study focuses on four domains of practice: selection, training, performance evaluation and task assignment.

Design/methodology/approach:

The study employed semi-structured, face-to-face interviews to obtain data. The units of analysis were managers and employees of small businesses. Eleven managers and 19 employees were interviewed. Data analysis involved thematic analysis with the NVivo 12 software program.

Findings:

First, the small businesses used a strengths-based approach …