Education Commons^™

Nonprofit Leader Experiences In Sector-Bending After Lean Six Sigma Training: Tension, Concepts, And Changed Behaviors, Beverly Codallos

Dissertations

Government, business, and nonprofit represent three distinct types of organizations governed by different legal frameworks designed to facilitate collective action (DiMaggio & Anheier, 1990). The emergence of hybrid forms and increasing isomorphic pressures in the nonprofit sector (Bromley & Meyer, 2017; McCambridge, 2014) have challenged the traditional separation of organizational forms. This study explored the phenomenon popularized as sector-bending, “a wide variety of approaches, activities, and relationships that are blurring the distinctions between nonprofit and for-profit organizations, either because they are behaving more similarly, operating in the same realms, or both” (Dees & Anderson, 2003, pg. 16). This qualitative study …

Developing Specialized Master's Programs In Business Schools: The Convergence Of Mission And Markets, Elizabeth Johansson Bristol

Graduate Doctoral Dissertations

Practical problems can emerge when new academic programs are developed. If program development decisions are driven primarily by desires for enrollment growth and revenue generation, new programs may be created without clear connections to institutional missions or organizational core competencies. Additionally, introduction of new academic programs may generate internal conflict and competition for resources diminishing the capacity of both new and existing programs. Misalignment with mission, lack of connection to faculty expertise, and fierce internal competition for resources can create an environment where new academic programs are unlikely to thrive. The purpose of this multi-site case study was to understand …

A Phenomenological Study On The Lived Experience And Leadership Of Project Managers In An Agile Transformation, Randall Hopkins

Doctor of Education Program Dissertations

This study employed a phenomenological methodology to investigate the shared experiences of project managers of corporations in the United States during a transition to agile project management methodologies. The project managers’ transformation was noteworthy because agile introduces a change in work structures, processes, and leadership. This study sought to understand how eight project managers described their lived experience and leadership during the transition to agile methodologies. Interviews with project managers uncovered identity facets that evolved with their understanding of leadership. The traditional project managers’ common-sense approach to work served as both a barrier and enabler of a change. Project managers …

An Investigation Of The Impact Of Entrepreneurship Programs On Student Interest In Entrepreneurship Competitions, Toni Sharp

All Theses

According to a survey by ACNielsen International Research, over half of Americans want to start their own business to build wealth and achieve independence (Bygrave & Zacharakis, 2011). In the research community, most entrepreneurship education research happens in business schools (Matlay, 2006). As a result of continually researching one form of entrepreneurship, less attention has been paid to other forms contributing to the “definitional obscurity with important consequences for the direction of the field” of entrepreneurship (Baker & Welter, 2017). This has created a need for research on entrepreneurship at the college level in fields outside of business.

Clemson University …

The Significance Of Sonic Branding To Strategically Stimulate Consumer Behavior: Content Analysis Of Four Interviews From Jeanna Isham’S “Sound In Marketing” Podcast, Ina Beilina

Student Theses and Dissertations

Purpose:
Sonic branding is not just about composing jingles like McDonald’s “I’m Lovin’ It.” Sonic branding is an industry that strategically designs a cohesive auditory component of a brand’s corporate identity. This paper examines the psychological impact of music and sound on consumer behavior reviewing studies from the past 40 years and investigates the significance of stimulating auditory perception by infusing sound in consumer experience in the modern 2020s.

Design/methodology/approach:
Qualitative content analysis of audio media was used to test two hypotheses. Four archival oral interview recordings from Jeanna Isham’s podcast “Sound in Marketing” featuring the sonic branding experts …

Healing Racial Injustice With Mindfulness Research, Training, & Practice, Danielle "Danae" Laura

Mindfulness Studies Theses

This thesis offers a collection of authors and studies in support of improved research, training, and practice connecting mindfulness with racial justice through intergroup applications. The paper identifies barriers at work (e.g., colorblindness, spiritual bypass, white fragility, and implicit bias) in contemplative science, Western Buddhist communities, and secular mindfulness centers, which block the sizeable contributions possible in studying the intergroup application of mindfulness practice—specifically Lovingkindness Meditation, among others—when used as an intervention with anti-racist aims. Through secondary qualitative research, I reviewed six key works from Black authors on mindfulness and race, as well as six sample studies on the prosocial …

Institutional Satisfaction With Online Program Management (Opm) Providers, Michael Graham

Dissertations

Abstract

The online program management (OPM) industry is a multibillion-dollar business that works with the higher education industry. Once primarily a tuition revenue share model that marketed and enrolled new programs for institutions, the OPM business is evolving. Fee-for-service payments and services such as coaching and instructional design are now part of the OPM landscape. Although higher education institutions are spending billions of dollars, there has been very little academic research into this phenomenon. This study examines the satisfaction of higher education institutions with OPM providers. This quantitative study utilizes Oliver’s expectation confirmation theory to understand why institutions may be …

A Content Analysis Of Dissertations On Business Topics: A Quantitative Study, Kat Yamamoto

Doctor of Education (EdD)

Many students explore business topics in their dissertations because they are relevant research areas for future scholar-practitioners such as leaders, educators, researchers, and consultants. Nevertheless, there is limited scholarship on the content of dissertations from PhD and practitioner doctoral programs. Dissertation research methodology choices, page lengths, and research topics have not been studied extensively. Few studies have been conducted to explore the differences and similarities between researcher-oriented and practitioner-oriented dissertations. This study examined dissertations written on business topics in the recent ten years using content analysis to address these gaps. A sample of dissertations uploaded in the years 2010, 2015, …

Is Responsible Leadership Possible? Exploring The Experiences Of Business Leaders, Educators, And Scholars, Kanina Blanchard

Electronic Thesis and Dissertation Repository

This study addresses a simple yet complex question: How can leaders come to make more responsible decisions within today’s highly economized context? Using narrative inquiry, I explore the stories which leaders in academia, business, and education tell about their experiences at what I call the point of impingement—the point where, as leaders, they must make decisions while facing conflicting and opposing norms and values. Underpinning the inquiry is Kempster and Carroll’s (2016) conceptualization of responsibility in leadership, and their argument that transformation toward a future in which responsible leaders address societal, ecological, and humanitarian challenges requires exploration of lived experience. …

College Credit Plus Influence On Bgsu College Of Business Students, Amanda Sahloff

Honors Projects

Bowling Green State University College of Business students who have taken over 30 credits of College Credit Plus in high school consistently take longer than the expected four years to graduate with a bachelors’ degree, and experience negative consequences in part due to their missing out on the important aspects and transformations of freshman year.

There are a lot of benefits to College Credit Plus (CCP). It is a standardized, growing program in Ohio schools that allows students to dual enroll in high school and college at the same time. However, due to past research opportunities and personal experiences, research …

Innovation Within Regulations: Gaining Insight On Cultivating Employee-Led Innovation In California Public-Sector Organizations, Rebecca N. Franklin

University of the Pacific Theses and Dissertations

The inquiry concerned gaining insights into environmental elements needed within California public-sector organizations to increase employees’ willingness to share innovative ideas. Although research exists regarding the need for service innovation and employees as fruitful sources of innovative ideas, there have been limited studies concerning public-sector organizations and the best method to solicit employee ideas. The data collection for this qualitative research study consisted of a series of interviews with front-line, non-supervisory civil servants. The results provide insights and information on how public-sector organizations may foster a culture that promotes and encourages employee-led innovation. The themes that emerged were (a) transparency …

Exploring The Perceptions Of Leaders In Investor-Owned Utilities In California On Managing Organizational Change Initiatives, Maria Liza Legaspi

Dissertations

Purpose: The purpose of this qualitative study employing in-depth interviews was to identify the strategies and practices executive leaders and midlevel managers of investor-owned utilities (IOUs) perceive are effective in creating employee acceptance and support of organizational change and to identify the supports and barriers executive leaders and midlevel managers perceive as affecting employee acceptance or resistance to organizational change in IOUs.

Methodology: A qualitative research design enabled the capture of deeper thoughts and insights of executive leaders and midlevel managers of 4 IOUs in California. The study delved into the strategies and practices used by IOUs that are perceived …

Examining The Effects Of Brain Education On Employee Stress Management, Work Performance, Relationships, And Well-Being, Ericka Crawford

Dissertations

Purpose: The purpose of this study was to identify, examine, and describe the lived experience of employees who received Brain Education training in the areas of stress management, work performance, relationships, and well-being.

Methodology: This qualitative phenomenological study utilized semi-structured interviews to collect data from employees trained in Brain Education. Employees were purposefully chosen based on specific criteria, including those trained in Brain Education for at least three months, worked for organizations that employee more than 20 people, and were located in California.

Findings: Analysis of the data showed 10 major findings across 29 major themes and 76 associated codes. …

Did Hollywood Take Theatre "By Hook Or By Crook?", Catherine S. Wright

MSU Graduate Theses

Hollywood and Theatre have been partners in producing entertainment for over 100 years. The relationship was fruitful for both parties, but Hollywood moguls and playwrights battled over ownership of the work and crafting of its creative nucleus, story and character. Theatre was the dominant entertainment right before the rise of motion pictures. Once Hollywood’s talkies closed the curtain on silent films, playwrights had a high creative worth to movie makers. In the cinema, story and dialogue were essential for its survival and growth. Playwrights were courted by the Hollywood studio heads but were not offered equal partnership as they were …

Examining The Mediating Influence Of Occupational Self-Efficacy And Perceived Organizational Support On The Relationship Between Perceived Managerial Coaching Behaviors And Employee Engagement Among Higher Education Enrollment Management Professionals, William S. Carrell

Human Resource Development Theses and Dissertations

The U.S. higher education environment is characterized by significant governmental/regulatory scrutiny, increasing competition, decreasing State funding, and demands for professionals to do more with less. In this environment, managers are increasingly expected to take on functions typically associated with traditional human resource roles, in particular the training, development, and retention of employees, often with limited or no access to formalized training resources.

This study predicted that a relationship exists between the perceived managerial coaching behaviors enacted by a direct supervisor and employee engagement among manager-level employees in strategic enrollment management divisions within higher education institutions. The hypotheses predicted this relationship …

A Study Of Delays And Cost Overruns In Construction Projects, Ibekwe Francis Chibuikem

Morehead State Theses and Dissertations

A thesis presented to the faculty of the College of Science and Technology at Morehead State University in partial fulfillment of the requirements for the degree of Master of Science by Ibekwe Francis Chibuikem on April 21, 2018.

Financial Literacy In South Carolina, Connor Pestovich, Matthew Travis

Senior Theses

Being wise with finances is a skill that many people tend to overlook as important. There are days when an individual can avoid using certain subjects learned in high school, but very rarely, if ever, is there a day when topics of finance are not used. This could be anything from purchasing food, driving to work, working on a computer, or receiving a paycheck. While most would agree that the ability to handle money wisely is very important, these concepts do not have a high priority of being taught in high schools in South Carolina. More than that, many parents …

Improving The Education Of Leaders: An Exploratory Case Study In An Undergraduate Business Leadership Course Focused On Gender, Kanina Blanchard

Electronic Thesis and Dissertation Repository

This exploratory case study is conducted in an undergraduate leadership course at a business school in Ontario. The research develops an understanding of how former students value and are influenced by leadership education that teaches a breadth of knowledges (instrumental, hermeneutic and emancipatory) and focuses on participants’ perspectives of how gender and inequality continue to impact the practice of leadership in Canada. By using document analysis and semi-structured interviews, findings emerge which provide insights into how changes in curricula and pedagogy may better prepare students of leadership to navigate the ethical and social complexities in today’s workplace.

How Variances In Business School Rankings Affect Enrollment Trends And Practices, Guillermo A. De Veyga

Seton Hall University Dissertations and Theses (ETDs)

This study examined the effect that variances in the U.S News and World Report rankings have on enrollment trends and practices in both top and not top-25 business schools. The purpose of this study was to determine whether mobility in the rankings was met with a statistically significant response to the research questions presented. While this was not the first study to look at business school rankings and their effect on enrollment trends, it was the first one to look at recent data associated with this phenomena, as well as, the first study to utilize panel data in order to …

Giving A Voice To The Powerless: Participatory Monitoring & Evaluation As A Tool For Inclusive Development Through Microfinance, Evan T. Burke

Capstone Collection

The greatest experts on the situation of the marginalized peoples of the world are the marginalized communities themselves. This paper explores how participatory monitoring & evaluation can be a powerful tool for giving voices to marginalized communities, ensuring that the voices of beneficiaries and local stakeholders are heard and inform sustainable project design. It analyzes a participatory monitoring and evaluation methodology implemented for women’s credit cooperatives in Gujarat, India by the Human Development & Research Centre, and examines lessons to be learned to design evaluations facilitating inclusive development.

Strategies for the monitoring and evaluation of microfinance have evolved along with …

Creative Collaboration On A Creativity Book, Jane Harvey

Creativity and Change Leadership Graduate Student Master's Projects

Based on existing roles as writer and designer, two Master’s students partnered on one project. This project was dually about the creative product and creative process. The final product result is a book on creativity, but much of the project learning was about collaboration during the creative process itself. The project included the creation of written and visual content and a production-ready book layout on the subject of creativity. This paper describes the process followed to create a fast reading, jargon-free book with a special academic end section.

Evaluating A Project-Based Learning Approach To The Bgsu Business Curriculum, Kara Harmeyer

Honors Projects

Inspiration for my honors project came from an assignment that I completed in a previous marketing course. This assignment is the only experience that I have had with project-based learning, but it certainly made an impact on me. My honors project presented the perfect opportunity for learning more about project-based learning and the way it is used in educational settings. In addition to the benefits and challenges associated with project-based learning, I also researched the characteristics and learning styles of millennial students to understand whether project based-learning is compatible. In conclusion, I evaluated how project-based learning could be utilized in …

A Movement Tool Kit For The Divergent And Convergent Cps Guidelines: Instruction Cards And Activity Floor Mats, Adela Vangelisti

Creativity and Change Leadership Graduate Student Master's Projects

A Movement Tool Kit for the Divergent and Convergent CPS Guidelines:

Instruction Cards and Activity Floor Mats

Movement is as natural to humans as breathing is, and, yet, passivity starts early in schools. We are taught to sit still and in silence for long periods of time. By the time we reach adulthood and enter the workforce, we have almost forgotten our sense of embodiment. This lack of movement is counter-productive, not only to learning but to the development of creativity as well. For this project, I designed a tool to recapture the joy and playfulness of movement. Furthermore, the …

Seeking Further Education: A Rubric For Evaluating Organizational Behavior Phd Programs, Douglas M. Quist

UNLV Theses, Dissertations, Professional Papers, and Capstones

Statement of Objective

The objective of this study is to first understand the origins and history of organizational behavior. In addition, this study will analyze five organizational behavior programs at the following schools: Harvard, Stanford, Purdue, Cornell, and University of Utah. These schools have highly publicized marketing programs and range in their business school rankings. The rubric will serve many functions but will primarily use as a guide for acquiring a greater understanding of said programs. There is a plethora of information available and this study will organize and simplify such information from five universities. Looking at programs side by …

Exploring The Effectiveness Of Environmentally Sustainable Practices In Municipal Government: A Case Study Of The City Of Knoxville’S Department Of Parks And Recreation, Anthony Michael Brown

Masters Theses

Sustainability practices produce programs and services that meet current needs while preserving the environment and natural resources for the future. City parks and recreation departments are facing budget shortfalls and increasing expectations from customers. Governments are now embracing sustainability practices to create financial savings while also fostering relations with customers.

The purpose of this single case study was twofold: (1) to examine the effectiveness of one city department’s strategies in outsourcing its environmental sustainability program through a performance contract with Ameresco; and (2) to examine the perceptions of key department employees about the effectiveness of the sustainability initiative. A …

The Application Of Creative Leadership Skills In The Education And Mentoring Of Social Entrepreneurs: A Graduate Level Course, Maria J. Rivera

Creativity and Change Leadership Graduate Student Master's Projects

The purpose of this project is to fully comprehend the state of social entrepreneurship education through research, and consequently, to design a course on how to apply creative leadership skills to educate and mentor social entrepreneurs and to enhance their problem solving skills. The outcome of the project is a course proposal to build inter-disciplinary knowledge and skills.

Promoting The Ethical Development Of Undergraduate Business Students Through A Deliberate Psychological Education-Based Classroom Intervention, Christopher Drees Schmidt

Dissertations, Theses, and Masters Projects

No abstract provided.

Variations In Dropout Rates Across Virginia, Joshua K. Bowser

Undergraduate Theses and Capstone Projects

Using Ordinary Least Squares (OLS) regression analysis, this study attempts to capture variation in dropout rates across Virginia counties and cities. With the respective dropout rates as the dependent variable, seven independent variables are used accordingly in order to provide as much explanatory power as possible. At the 10 percent significance level, four of seven variables are statistically significant with an adjusted R2 of .374. Important policy implications can be derived from the model and its statistically significant variables. The model finds that the percentage of blacks in the population, university access, the unemployment rate and single female-headed households to …

Housing Price Determinants In The Lynchburg, Virginia Area, Benjamin L. Ferguson

Undergraduate Theses and Capstone Projects

The effect of certain variables on the price of a house is a subject that has been very widely studied. This paper attempts to generate a pricing model for houses in the Lynchburg VA, area using the physical characteristics of a home and other locational variables. The model will attempt to create a representation of the housing price equation for the market in the area. The results of the equation will allow the ability to predict future housing prices in the market, given certain physical and locational values that are similar for the area. 3

The Professional Development School : A Descriptive Case Study Of Its History And Development, Denise G. Michaelis

Dissertations

Problem. The development o f school/university partnerships is not a simple process. It requires collaboration between two groups o f professionals who come from different cultures, have developed different forms o f expertise, and operate under different organizational conditions and reward structures (Goodlad, 1990; Stoddart, Winitzky & O ’Keefe, 1992). Throughout much o f the last century, collaboration between schools and universities have often been unsuccessful. In order for Professional Development Schools to be successful in educational reform, it is necessary to focus on defining and delineating the essential characteristics of Professional Development Schools and the process o f their …