Organizational Behavior and Theory Commons^™

Culture Wars: Explaining Congressional Partisanship And Organizational Dysfunction Through Moral Foundations Theory, Jessica H. Wilson-Hart

Walden Dissertations and Doctoral Studies

The focus of this study was the organizational working environment and existing partisanship evident in the United States Congress. There has been a reduction in the number of laws passed over the last 30 years from a high of over 1,000 to a low of around 120, with a period of complete government shutdown in 2013. This qualitative research utilized qualitative content analysis to discover the nature of partisan conflict as demonstrated by 6 members of Congress. The conceptual framework for this study was moral foundations theory. Different moral principles held by Democrats and Republicans were studied as a possible …

The Effect Of Target Demographics And Emotional Intelligence On Workplace Bullying, Richard P. Himmer

Walden Dissertations and Doctoral Studies

Workplace bullying has escalated among U.S. workers, and aside from its mental and physical toll, it can affect productivity, absenteeism, and turnover. Researchers have identified the primary causes of workplace bullying as envy, leadership disregard, a permissive climate, organizational culture, and personality traits. This non experimental, quantitative study investigated the predictors of workplace bullying at the target level, and specifically examined if target EI, age, gender, and/or race/ethnicity predicts experienced workplace bullying. Participants (N = 151) 18 years or older with one year of work experience were recruited from the WBI database, a newspaper column, public presentations, and a blog. …

Perceptions Of Leader Emotional Intelligence And Subordinate Turnover Intentions In Substance Abuse Treatment Centers, Suzanne L. Jafferian

Walden Dissertations and Doctoral Studies

Substance abuse is a persistent social problem contributing to family disruption; domestic abuse; school failure; and financial costs relating to criminal prosecution, incarceration, treatment, and lost productivity and wages. Substance abuse is amenable to treatment, including psychotherapy. A client-therapist relationship is broken if the therapist leaves the organization; therefore, employee retention is especially important in treatment centers. Employee retention has been studied, but how it is affected by supervisees' perceptions of their managers' emotional intelligence has been a neglected area. The purpose of this nonexperimental, correlational study was to determine the relationship between employee turnover intention and perceived emotional intelligence …

Predictive Ability Of Emotional Intelligence Scores On Employee Self-Reported Perception Of Comprehensive Organizational Credibility Inventory, Leif Allen Ford

Walden Dissertations and Doctoral Studies

Research has shown that emotional intelligence (EQ) is positively related to beneficial outcomes in organizations. Research has also found that negative perceptions of organizational credibility (OC) can result in adverse economic and social costs for organizations and communities. To date, the existing research has failed to examine whether employee EQ might affect employee perceptions of OC. A quantitative, non-experimental study was conducted using a sample of employees in large health and medical organizations throughout the United States. The variables in the study were measured using the Assessing Emotions Scale and the Comprehensive Organizational Credibility Inventory. Multiple regression analyses and Pearson …

Servant Leadership And Non Servant Leadership Organization Triple Bottom Line Reporting Outcomes, Lydia M. Daniels

Walden Dissertations and Doctoral Studies

The competitive environment of the 21st century, failure of U.S. companies, and the financial crisis of 2008 have moved leadership expectations to the forefront of research. However, there is a lack of empirical research about organizational reporting outcomes of self-identified servant leadership (SL) organizations compared to self-identified nonservant (non-SL) organizations. Guided by Greenleaf's SL theory, the purpose of this study was to compare information on organizational data for triple bottom line (TBL) reporting outcomes in SL organizations and non-SL organizations. Using causal comparative research design and global reporting initiative data with a sample of 12 organization reports, reporting outcomes were …

Job Satisfaction In The National Geospatial Intelligence Agency, Calvin Colbert

Walden Dissertations and Doctoral Studies

Approximately every 20 years, a new generation is born and eventually dominates the workforce; although changes occur with each new generation, the importance of job satisfaction remains constant. Research within the U.S. Intelligence Community is lacking with regard to changing trends of job satisfaction levels. The purpose of this study was to explore job satisfaction levels between Generation X and Generation Y workforce employees at the National Geospatial-Intelligence Agency (NGA). The central research question addressed how job satisfaction differed by generational differences in the workforce. A quantitative method was used to assess survey data. A structural equation modeling technique was …

The Impact Of Organizational Culture On Corporate Performance, Tewodros Bayeh Tedla

Walden Dissertations and Doctoral Studies

Lack of effective organizational culture and poor cultural integration in the corporate group affect organizational performance and decrease shareholders return. The purpose of this exploratory case study was to explore successful strategies that one corporate group used to establish an effective organizational culture to improve performance. The Denison organizational culture model served as the conceptual framework for the study. A purposive sample of 20 senior managers from a corporate group in Ethiopia participated in semistructured face-to-face interviews. The selected participant met the criteria of a minimum 5 years of experience with successful strategies in establishing an effective organizational culture in …

Adoption Of Information And Communication Technology In Nigerian Small- To Medium-Size Enterprises, Kessington Enaye Okundaye

Walden Dissertations and Doctoral Studies

Small- to medium-size enterprises (SMEs) play a vital role in a dynamic economy through job creation, poverty alleviation, and socioeconomic development in developed and developing countries. The purpose of this multiple case study was to explore how SME leaders in Lagos, Nigeria, adopted information and communication technology (ICT) as a business strategy to increase profitability and compete globally. Organizational leaders have adopted ICT so that their organizations can become more efficient, effective, innovative, and globally competitive. This study involved 4 SMEs that had successfully implemented ICT. The participants included 5 SME leaders from each of the SMEs. The data collection …

An Exploration Of Baby Boomer Mass Retirement Effects On Information Systems Organizations, Nithyanandam Mathiyazhagan Mathiyazhagan

Walden Dissertations and Doctoral Studies

The potential knowledge loss from Baby Boomer generation employee retirements can negatively affect information systems organizations. The purpose of this hermeneutic phenomenology study was to explore the lived experiences of the leaders and managers of information systems organizations as they tried to maintain operational continuity after Baby Boomer worker retirements. The impact of this issue was the operational continuity after the Baby Boomer worker retirement. The social impact of this issue was the knowledge loss events that might result in business loss or even bankruptcy. McElroy's knowledge life cycle model was the conceptual framework for this study that included knowledge …

Employee Turnover In Frontline Hospital Staff, Jeanne Lynn Wilson

Walden Dissertations and Doctoral Studies

Employee turnover is costly in service-intensive organizations where employee-customer interactions directly affect the organization's success. The purpose of this multiple case study was to identify strategies community hospital leaders use to reduce frontline support employee turnover. The study population consisted of leaders of a community hospital in southeast Louisiana. The conceptual framework for this study is Kahn's model of employee engagement. Semistructured interviews were conducted with eight hospital leaders in southeast Louisiana who were selected through census sampling. Interview transcripts were analyzed and coded following Yin's case study analysis process. Methodological triangulation allowed for a comparison of the findings of …

Understanding The Influence Of Human Emotions In Organizations: The Emotional Extent Effects, Lambert Ikechi Ofoegbu

Walden Dissertations and Doctoral Studies

Emotional disengagement of employees may cause poor organizational performance, while emotional commitment of employees may enhance organizational performance. Informed by the theory of psychological ownership in organizations, the purpose of this qualitative multiple case study was to explore how employee emotional interactions in the workplace related to organizational performance within 3 multinational companies in Nigeria. The 3 selected companies represented the 3 industrial sectors in Nigeria were financial, construction, and oil and gas. Face-to-face interviews were conducted with 24 participants with a minimum of 5 years' experience in their respective organizations. Data analysis included transcription, coding, and querying, which produced …

The Effects Of Participative Leadership Practices On Job Satisfaction For Highly Skilled Virtual Teams, Funda Sinani

Walden Dissertations and Doctoral Studies

Virtual-team professionals have reported experiencing low job satisfaction due to lack of face-to-face interaction leading to stress, miscommunication, and role-confusion. Dissatisfaction among virtual teams has increased turnover and management costs for organizations. Despite these known associations, there was a gap in the literature investigating efficient leadership practices to improve job satisfaction for highly skilled virtual teams. Participative leadership offers an effective approach to increase job satisfaction among face-to-face teams and innovative teams. This study explored the relationship between participative leadership and job satisfaction among highly skilled virtual teams within the global software industry. A quantitative study with a correlational design …

Leadership Styles And Learning For Performance Within Commercial Banks In Kenya, Teckie Michelle Karoki

Walden Dissertations and Doctoral Studies

The literature indicates that leaders influence the establishment of organizational learning culture (OLC) by the application of transformational (TFO), transactional (TAC), and passive-avoidant (PAV) styles. Further, the literature links OLC to the financial performance of organizations by leadership involvement in establishing learning organizations. However, the manner in which the practice of OLC occurs and the relationship of OLC with TFO, TAC, and PAV is unclear, as is the link between OLC and financial performance (ROA); especially for growing economies outside North America. The purpose of this study was to address this gap in the literature through a quantitative study of …

Labor Relations At A Major Airline: Exploring Employee Performance Strategies, Christian Popp

Walden Dissertations and Doctoral Studies

Globally, the aviation industry supports 58.1 million jobs in related industries and U.S. airlines alone generated 11.8 million jobs. Airline performance, productivity, and profitability depend on employees. The purpose of this single case study was to explore the strategies that U.S. airline leaders use to improve employee performance. The study was grounded with the Harvard model of human resource management. A stratified purposeful sample of 14 managers and 10 frontline staff from a Florida airline participated in semistructured individual interviews and a focus group, respectively. The data from these interviews were analyzed using Moustakas's modified van Kaam method. The themes …

Strategies For Increasing Employee Engagement In The Service Industry, Tonia Ann Walker

Walden Dissertations and Doctoral Studies

The annual loss to U.S. organizations consequential to a lack of employee engagement was approximately $300 billion in 2013. Employee engagement is vital to the business sustainability of an organization. The purpose of this qualitative single case study was to explore successful strategies that business leaders of a service organization used to increase employee engagement. The conceptual framework guiding this study was the behavior engineering model theory developed by Gilbert. A purposeful sample of 6 engineering managers was selected based on their success in creating strategies resulting in increased employee workplace engagement in a monopoly service organization in Connecticut. Semistructured …

Examining Employee Motivation, Environmental Systems, And Corporate Social Responsibility In Proenvironmental Behavior, Brian Warrick

Walden Dissertations and Doctoral Studies

The World Health Organization has pointed to climate change as the most significant issue in the 21st century as a result of greenhouse gas emissions and environmental pollution. Organizations are leaning toward corporate social responsibility (CSR) and environmental management systems (EMS) to reverse the current trend; however, these efforts are often ineffective or pooly implemented. The purpose of this quantitative study was to determine the extent to which employees' proenvironmental behavior relates to their protection motivation and organizational identification, as well as their perception and knowledge of the organization's CSR and EMS, respectively. Using social identity as the theoretical framework, …

Examining Alignment Between Canadian Municipal Police Performance Evaluation Policies And Officer Perceptions, Birdella Wilson

Walden Dissertations and Doctoral Studies

A lack of alignment between police performance evaluation policy purposes and officer performance evaluation perceptions has implications for the organizations' resource management, officer morale, and public safety. A literature review points towards a gap existing between policy purpose statements and employee perceptions. The purpose of this study was to investigate the relationship between the policy purposes of police performance evaluations and the officers' perceptions of those evaluation experiences in 4 Ontario municipal police services. DiMaggio and Powell's (1983) Institutional theory was the foundation for this study. Data for this study were collected from 4 police services in Ontario, Canada. The …

Absenteeism In An International Custom Software Engineering Company, Jennifer M. Mudek

Walden Dissertations and Doctoral Studies

Absenteeism has a negative impact on organizational output in the form of lost productivity and profit reduction for software engineering companies. The purpose of this qualitative descriptive case study was to explore the strategies that software engineering managers utilize for reducing absenteeism. The theory of planned behavior formed the conceptual framework for this study. Data were collected through semistructured interviews from a purposeful sample of 11 managers at an international custom software engineering company. Data collection also included organizational data on employee absences for the past 5 years (2011-2015), e-mail memos, newsletters, employee handbook, and employee performance reviews. Based on …

Relationship Between Emotional Intelligence And Servant Leadership In Banking, Curtis J. Gregory

Walden Dissertations and Doctoral Studies

U.S.-based financial institutions have experienced significant failure rates since the mid-1980s. The problem within the U.S.-based banking industry is that the focus of leadership development has been primarily on cognitive abilities, whereas interpersonal skills, such as emotional intelligence, have been neglected. Research has focused on U.S. bank failures from a risk mitigation, economic, or legislative perspective, creating a gap in research on leadership behavior. The purpose of this correlation study was to determine whether a significant relationship exists between emotional intelligence and servant leadership among leaders in the U.S. small business banking industry. The theoretical framework compared intelligence types to …

Generational Differences Among Social Security Administration Employees And Their Perception Of Value, Joyce Moses Jones

Walden Dissertations and Doctoral Studies

Social Security Administration (SSA) managers and leaders are facing an unprecedented challenge to understand 3 to 5 generations of employees, and value the diversity of each group (Glass, 2007). Perceived lack of recognition has resulted in low morale and job satisfaction, leaving employees not feeling valued. The purpose of this qualitative, phenomenological research study was to explore, identify, and examine the lived experiences and perceptions of SSA employees to determine how managers and leaders can contribute to employee valuation. The central question and subquestions were designed to determine whether generational theory accurately described the lived experiences and perceptions of the …

A Qualitative Study Comparing Proposals Used To Evaluate Airport Concessionaires, Raymond John Kayal, Sr.

Walden Dissertations and Doctoral Studies

This qualitative case study was used to examine the Request for Proposal (RFP) evaluation process used by airports for selecting concessions business operators, including retail and duty-free gift shops, restaurants, newsstands, and public parking. The case consisted of 42 purposefully selected RFPs from 35 airports representing 92% of all U.S. commercial airline passenger traffic compared against guidelines found in Airport Cooperative Research Program (ACRP) Report 54. A problem occurs when evaluation outcomes are challenged because of perceptions of bias, and formal protests and legal claims create delays that disproportionately affect small and minority-owned businesses. The purpose of this study was …

The Relationship Between Hospital Leadership Activities And Clinical Quality Outcomes In Iowa, Sarah Pavelka

Walden Dissertations and Doctoral Studies

The Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services have been working with hospital networks across the United States to improve health care through education and training on clinical best practices and leadership frameworks. Some organizations have failed to reach the high-quality standards of care expected and have adverse patient care outcomes. The purpose of the study was to determine the relationship between leadership actions, funding type, and clinical care outcomes in participating Partners for Patients hospital programs in Iowa. The secondary variable data were provided from a Partnership for Patients contractor, through the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services Organizational Assessment …

Successful Enterprise Resource Planning System Implementation: A Higher Education Managerial Perspective, Elizabeth A. Arthur

Walden Dissertations and Doctoral Studies

The overall success rate of implementing enterprise resource planning systems is about 30%. Guided by systems theory, the purpose of this qualitative single case study was to explore the strategies used to ensure a successful implementation by information technology managers working in higher education settings. The data were derived from semistructured interviews of 6 managers and documentation from a higher education institution in the northeastern United States that successfully implemented an ERP system. Data analysis consisted of reviewing interview transcripts, from which themes and patterns were identified and coded. Three recurring factors arose throughout the analysis involved commitment, communication, and …

Exploring Generation Y Leaders' Motivation And Retention Within The Service Industry, Jason Earl Wiggins

Walden Dissertations and Doctoral Studies

The retention of millennial leaders continues to be a concern for executive leadership. The problem addressed in this study was the gap in research regarding how the motivation of Generation Y leaders affects employee satisfaction and retention factors. The purpose of this phenomenological inquiry was to explore the retention rate for 20 Generation Y service leaders in the southwestern United States to illuminate patterns of satisfied millennial leaders by drawing from employers' role in motivating and retaining millennial leaders in the service industry. Herzberg's 2-factor theory, Vroom's expectancy theory, Adams's equity theory, and Maslow's hierarchy of needs comprised the conceptual …

Initial And Long-Term Homeless Shelter Volunteerism: An Interpretative Phenomenological Analysis Study, Jonathon Andrew Wade

Walden Dissertations and Doctoral Studies

This interpretative phenomenological analysis (IPA) study was implemented to explore

and describe the initial and long-term motivations of community volunteers within a selected homeless shelter in central Indiana. The settlement house movement of human service delivery was the conceptual framework, which provided guidance and understanding concerning why and how community members provide human services through volunteerism. The research question examined the ways in which long-term volunteers thought about and made sense of their motivations to volunteer initially and over the long term at a homeless shelter. To answer the research question, the IPA methodology was implemented with 6 long-term community …

The Effect Of Workspace Layout On Individual Perceptions Of Creativity Across Generational Cohorts, Leslie Estelle Barrett

Walden Dissertations and Doctoral Studies

Organizations strategically design the physical work environment to enhance employees' creativity. Understanding the impact of workspace layout on individual perceptions of creativity across generational cohorts can be vital to sustaining organizational competitiveness. Researchers have theorized that workspace layout affects employees' perceptions of creativity; however, few studies have looked at the effect of generational cohort on this relationship. A quantitative study was conducted to examine the effect of workspace layout on individual perceptions of creativity across generational cohorts. A sample of 162 participants completed an online demographics questionnaire as well as aKEYS, a modified version of the KEYS to Creativity and …

Exploring Leader-Initiated Change Management For Adopting Cloud Services, Nancy Marie Landreville

Walden Dissertations and Doctoral Studies

Cloud technology requires a virtualized ubiquitous and scalable environment with shared resources. The general problem in cloud adoption is the absence of standardization across organizations. A standardized approach remained elusive since the inception of the Cloud First mandate. The purpose of this study was to explore leader-initiated change management (LICM) practices in cloud adoption within organizations. The theoretical framework included the classical theories of Kurt Lewin's organization change management, leader-member exchange, intentional change, and appreciative inquiry. A multiple case study design approach facilitated the exploration of LICM-value added practices to identify standardization in cloud adoption practices. Data collection included semistructured …

Extending Two-Dimensional Knowledge Management System Theory With Organizational Activity Systems' Workflow Dynamics, Dana Forrest Ladd

Walden Dissertations and Doctoral Studies

Between 2005 and 2010 and across 48 countries, including the United States, an increasing positive correlation emerged between national intellectual capital and gross domestic product per capita. The problem remains organizations operating with increasingly complex knowledge networks often lose intellectual capital resulting from ineffective knowledge management practices. The purpose of this study was to provide management opportunities to reduce intellectual capital loss. The first research question addressed how an enhanced intelligent, complex, and adaptive system (ICAS) model could clarify management's understanding of organizational knowledge transfer. The second research question addressed how interdisciplinary theory could become more meaningfully infused to enhance …

Validation Of Parsons' Structural Functionalism Theory Within A Multicultural Human, Sandra Simone Minott

Walden Dissertations and Doctoral Studies

Shared values and norms are at the core for unifying different cultures socializing or working to fulfill the goals and mission of organizations. Researchers have not examined how employees representing different cultures socialize via shared norms and values in human service companies. The purpose of this ethnography study was to explore the process of 8 culturally different employees working together at a human service organization. Using purposeful sampling, multicultural employees were selected from 4 departments within the human service company. Face-to-face interviews, field notes, questionnaire, and participant observation were the tools for collecting the data. Descriptive coding, value coding, and …

Work Breaks, Employee Morale, And Satisfaction In The Restaurant Industry, Laura A. Oliver

Walden Dissertations and Doctoral Studies

Work breaks during an individual's shift can be a powerful motivational tool for management; however, not all individuals receive breaks during their shifts. The purpose of this phenomenological, qualitative study was to explore how work breaks affect employee morale and satisfaction in the casual and fine dining restaurant industry. The questions explored in this study were related to the breaks effect employee satisfaction and morale in the casual and fine dining restaurant industry. Thirteen participants with a minimum of 5 years' experience as wait staff who worked more than 6 hours per day were interviewed using semi structured interviews. The …