Social and Behavioral Sciences Commons^™

The Trickle-Out Effect Of Prioritizing Well-Being, Kelsey M. Stout

Theses and Dissertations

This research builds upon previous studies of the effects of inequity theory on well-being at work. The purpose of this study was to understand the intersection of equity theory and well-being for US employees in modern corporate organizations. Specifically, the study aims to answer the research question-When one employee prioritizes their well-being, how does it affect their work teammates’ well-being? Twenty full-time corporate employees from various companies and industries each participated in a survey and an interview. Overall, this research found that prioritizing well-being at work generally positively impacts those around them. However, it has a negative impact when the …

Work Life Balance: Organizational Leadership And Best Practices To Overcome Burnout For Female Realtors, Carmen Sarkis

Theses and Dissertations

Women Realtors in residential real estate have a difficult time avoiding burnout and are commonly ineffective in achieving work life balance (WLB). This qualitative, phenomenological research study focused on understanding the issues of WLB and burnout which female Realtors faced, and best strategies in overcoming these issues. There were four main research questions and a total of 12 interview questions which were used as a method to collect data for research purposes. Fifteen participants who met the criteria of inclusion as discussed in Chapter 3 participated in this study, and were located using LinkedIn, and the National Association of Realtors. …

Diversity, Equity, And Inclusion Post George Floyd And Covid-19: Reflections From Global Business Leaders On A Changing Paradigm, Charles Edward Bray Jr.

Theses and Dissertations

This global study of diversity, equity, and inclusion (DEI), encompassing the lenses of sixteen corporate executives with multi-country influence, examines efforts to address marginalization in the workplace based on identity characteristics such as race, gender, religion, ethnicity, sexual orientation, or ability. Othering is a global phenomenon. Corporations were awakened to the magnitude of othering, shocked into reality by the murder of George Floyd and other acts of political and social violence, including femicide, globally. The COVID-19 global pandemic further exposed the impact of marginalization seen through wide health disparities across communities. The Russian invasion of Ukraine further augmented the corporate …

Psychological Safety In Startup Organizations, Jessica Barhydt

Theses and Dissertations

Psychological safety is an individually held belief that a group is safe for interpersonal risk-taking. Scholars have studied the concept primarily as a team-level construct. However, recent studies suggest that climates of psychological safety exist at the organizational level. An examination of the dynamism of the construct at the organizational level is needed: how it grows, changes, and declines. Startups, which grow and change quickly, are an excellent context to study organizational psychological safety. Through interviews, this study explored psychological safety as an organizational-level construct in startup organizations. Specifically, it examined potential commonalities between high and low psychological safety as …

Motivated And Determined & Making A Difference As Executives (Mad & Made) In The Entertainment Industry: A Phenomenological Study Of Black Female Entertainment Industry Executives’ Challenges And Paths To Elevation, Angela M. Killens

Theses and Dissertations

Since the birth of the United States and the enslavement of Africans in America, Black women have had to navigate challenges in various industries to elevate toward, and excel in, positions of power. From grade school to the workplace, Black women have had to contend with racism, discrimination, and inequities that have been impediments despite their level of education and experience. With little literature specifically documenting the experiences of Black women who work on the corporate side of the entertainment industry, the data acquired from this qualitative phenomenological study provides insight into these women’s lives. The study discloses some of …

Exploring Cultural Boundary Spanning Functions That Bridge Across National And Cultural Boundaries In Mncs, Tamara Downs

Theses and Dissertations

In multinational corporations (MNCs), cross-cultural interactions and collaboration are unavoidable. Cultural boundary spanning (CBS) is a behavior that has been shown to reduce conflict and ensure project success. It is a behavior that bridges internal and external organizational boundaries. This study examined if and how CBS functions (behaviors) change across national and cultural boundaries in MNCs. These boundaries were characterized by four demographic groups of people found within MNCs: (a) parent country nationals, (b) host country nationals, (c) third country nationals, and (d) parent country national expats. The findings of this research suggest that any of these demographic groups can …

High Potential Programs In Professional Service Firms, Charlene Robison

Theses and Dissertations

This study examined whether a mixed-cohort of billable and non-billable (e.g., marketing, human resources, accounting, technology) participants in a high-potential development program is beneficial to the organizations that utilize this development approach and to the participants in such programs. This research focused on professional service firms with time-defined and structured high-potential programs. This study utilized a mixed-method design and gathered data in two phases: a survey and a focus group. These methods were used to obtain participant sentiments of participating in their respective high-potential programs. Twenty-five high-potential professionals completed the survey and six participated in the focus group. The study …

Thriving In A Vuca World: A Case Study Exploring Geopolitically- Focused Intelligence Teams In The Private Sector Through A Systems Theory Lens, Angela Lewis

Theses and Dissertations

For several decades, business executives have been faced with increasing complexity in the global environment, including disruptions, rapid changes, and heightened global pressures. In an effort to maintain a strategic advantage, business leaders are increasingly leveraging geopolitically-focused strategic intelligence teams to accurately and concisely synthesize large quantities of data to support high-level business decision making. However, limited research has been conducted on the organizational development of these teams, the context in which they exist, and how they can most effectively support differing and evolving decision-maker needs. As these teams have the potential to have an outsized impact on global business …

Scandinavian Work-Life Balance Experience: Its Implementation In The United Arab Emirates (Uae) Happiness Context, Maktoom Al Mazrouei

Theses and Dissertations

Employee happiness and satisfaction are unanimously correlated to enhanced levels of productivity and efficiency, making them important for employees and employers. Scandinavian countries consistently rank highly on the world happiness index and correspondingly possess comparatively happier employees in their workplaces. Aside from the structural setting, internal components, and atmosphere of the workplace, it is primarily understood that the initiatives undertaken by Scandinavian countries in relation to the concept of work life balance are significantly important. The concept of work-life balance is cognizant of an employee’s struggle in maintaining equilibrium between work and personal life. This study could aid the United …

Impact Of Leadership Skills On Entrepreneurs’ Business Success In Saudi Arabia, Omar Alaqeel

Theses and Dissertations

Most entrepreneurial businesses fail within the first 5 years of establishment. One of the major causes is the lack of leadership skills by the entrepreneurs. The aim of this quantitative study was to define the leadership skills that were required by entrepreneurs in Saudi Arabia in creating and sustaining entrepreneurial business successfully beyond 5 years and to identify the environmental factors affecting entrepreneurship ecosystem in Saudi Arabia. The population of interest in this study was entrepreneurs from Tasamy in Saudi Arabia. Tasamy is a non-profit organization that focuses on supporting entrepreneurship in Saudi Arabia. To answer the research questions for …

The Impact Of A Mindfulness Practice On The Effects Of Emotional Labor, Lauren Dainko

Theses and Dissertations

Mindfulness meditation has become a staple practice for those looking to improve the self and become connected to the present moment. With the growing number of tools available, mindfulness base practices have stretched beyond the areas of self-improvement and have entered into the workplace. Companies are leveraging the benefits that come from a mindfulness- based practice, having their leadership teams take part to help improve the lives of their employees and their businesses.

This study takes an in-depth look at how a daily mindfulness practice influences customer service professionals. Specifically narrowing in on the ways a mindfulness practice impacts the …

The X-Factor Of C-Suite Executives, Sheila T. Tan

Theses and Dissertations

Organizations rely on C-level executives to make strategic decisions that will impact stakeholders and business performance. These executives are judged based on employee satisfaction, market share, and bottom lines. Some of them perform well at one point but eventually make disastrous decisions. There is still a gap in knowledge on what elements make them decide how they do and what can be done before they are installed to the highest post. This paper investigated common mindsets and belief structures, which will be referred to in this paper as the X-factor, of C-level executives based on the Matrix model as a …

Developing Psychological Safety In Technical Teams, Susan Ellen Clayton Nakashima

Theses and Dissertations

Being promoted from an individual contributor to a supervisor brings new challenges and opportunities. One challenge new supervisors face is creating and fostering a psychologically safe environment to encourage teams’ interpersonal risk taking. This research introduces the antecedent of first level technical leaders perceived transformational leadership training on team members psychological safety. A study of 92 technical teams (400 participants across nine companies, three industries, and four US regions) measured the impact of four hypotheses related to psychological safety. A positive relationship between leaders training and team psychological safety was discovered. The highly correlated variables, training and emotional intelligence, led …

Corporate Activism Best Practices In The Age Of Social Media, Fransisco Flores

Theses and Dissertations

Corporate activism, or the act of corporations speaking out on sociopolitical issues, has become more common with technological advances and social media access. Corporations’ role in society has evolved to include non-economic functions that aim to improve societal conditions. Despite corporations fulfilling additional societal roles, they face increased scrutiny from shareholders and stakeholders alike. Speaking out on social issues or staying silent causes ripple effects amongst their internal and external networks. Speaking out on social media while working for a private or publicly traded corporation can be challenging as it entails weighing a wide array of conditions, stakeholder desires, and …

Impact Of Internal Corporate Social Responsibility Factors On The Employee’S Innovation Climate In The Medical Diagnostics Industry, Sofia M. Beglari

Theses and Dissertations

This study examined the relationship between employee-driven corporate social responsibility (CSR) factors and employee innovation in U.S. medical diagnostic companies during the respiratory syndrome coronavirus (COVID) pandemic. This study examined what employee-driven CSR factors affect such motivation of employees toward innovation. The research population was employees who have worked in operation, quality control, research, technical, and management departments of medical diagnostics companies in the United States of America. The investigator used a survey questionnaire for this correlation design study. Employees’ responses were analyzed based on education level, gender, and job function using descriptive analysis, t-test, and ANOVA-test. The theoretical framework …

A Contemporary Study On The Impact Of Regulations On Business Performance, Brian C. Mulligan

Theses and Dissertations

This dissertation examines Nobel Prize Laureate Hayek's ominous warning that economic liberty in the U.S. is at risk, due to regulations, of becoming an unplanned administrative state. The research seeks to understand the effects of regulations on business performance and how to right-size them for a healthy business environment. These objectives are accomplished with two papers: (1) a macro cross-discipline literature review and call for research on the impact of regulations on business performance, and (2) a qualitative grounded theory study from interviews from elite business executives on their perspectives on the impact of regulations on business performance. The findings …

Organizational Dissonance In The Context Of Organizational Decline And Turnaround Of A Security Printer: A Quantitative Case Study, Tina Marie Ramirez-Dominguez

Theses and Dissertations

The purpose of this non-experimental, quantitative study was to examine organizational identity dissonance experienced by an organization's social actors in the context of organizational decline and turnaround utilizing factor structures from five years of pre-existing, employee surveys to determine whether differences in factor scores occurred over the 5-year time frame. Organizational identity dissonance is the psychological stress or discomfort experienced by an organization's social actors from holding two or more contradictory attitudes, beliefs, or behaviors (McLead, 2008) in relation to the organization's identity. A social actor is an individual participating in a communal environment (Whetten & Mackey, 2002). A communal …

Talent Investment And Nonprofit Pay: A Study In The Arts Community, Sally E. Loftis

Theses and Dissertations

The purpose of this study is to explore employee perceptions of pay as part of a talent investment strategy at Penland School of Craft, the largest non-academic craft school in the United States. The study outlines action research completed when funds from a transformational endowment gift were used for employee needs. Study data reflected that structural and pay changes increased employee engagement. Study findings also informed recommendations for a nonprofit strategy to pay living wages connected to costs of living and a pay raise framework that supports different levels of employee development.

The Effect Of Participative Management On Workplace Belonging, Hannah Nichols

Theses and Dissertations

The purpose of this research was to examine how participation affects employee perceptions of belonging within nonprofit organizations. A mixed-methods design was utilized that included a survey of 24 employees' perception of participation, belonging, and relationship with their supervisor, and 10 semi-structured interviews. A regression analysis showed that participation had a strong positive relationship to workplace belonging and that generally interviewees felt invested in and supported because of their participation. There was also a strong positive correlation between perceived participation and the quality of the supervisor-employee relationship. The main conclusions of the study were participative management affects workplace belonging and …

Assessing The Impacts Of Work-Related Applications Of Improvisation Training On Psychological Safety In Teams, Marne Maykowskyj Nordean

Theses and Dissertations

This paper discusses improvisational training (IMPT) and psychological safety and seeks to find if the former impacts the latter. For this study, improvisation has four main tenets: ensemble / co-creating, 'yes, and' / accept and heighten, authenticity / celebrating failure, and listening and communication skills. Psychological safety is defined as the shared belief held by members of a team that the team is safe for interpersonal risk-taking and a sense of confidence that the team will not embarrass, reject or punish someone for speaking up. This confidence stems from mutual respect and trust among team members. It is described as …

Team Building Challenges And Opportunities After A Public Agency Merger, Andrea A. Severson

Theses and Dissertations

This study used a mixed-method design to gather data about team building after a public agency merger. This study found that teamwork, role clarity, and clear decision processes were the most important factors impacting goal accomplishment post-merger. Prioritizing team building before, during, and after a public agency merger can address some of the most common challenges presented by a merger or acquisition.

Multi-Generation Family Business Succession At Mondial Printing Services In Nigeria: A Case Study, Titus Oyeladun

Theses and Dissertations

This qualitative single case study examined the factors that contributed to the successful transition of Mondial Printing Services (MPS)—a family business in Nigeria—to the second generation. Secondly, this study investigated to what extent, if any, did formal succession planning impact the transfer of Mondial Printing Services from founder to second generation in Nigeria. And lastly this study investigated to what extent, if any, does succession experience of a second-generation family business leaders at MPS influence their approach to continuity and succession planning. This study analyzed qualitative data in the form of interviews from a sample population of five employees at …

Assessing Best Practices For The Virtual Onboarding Of New Hires In The Technology Industry, Kaitlyn Pavlina

Theses and Dissertations

This qualitative study explored the recent virtual onboarding experiences of new hires at companies in the technology industry. The present study sought to answer two research questions: to identify the current practices of technology companies for virtually onboarding new hires and to understanding the self-identified needs of recent new hires in this industry around virtual onboarding. The study found that tech companies focus most heavily on formal orientation sessions, one-on-one meetings, and group meetings when virtually onboarding new hires. Additionally, four key themes emerged when exploring what new hires find most important during virtual onboarding. This study details each of …

Love As An Organizational Norm: An Exploration At A Values-Centered Organization, Vangie Marie Bogaty-Rodríguez

Theses and Dissertations

This study investigated to what extent, if any, developing a norm of love might be accepted, incorporated, sustained, and beneficial to an organization. Participants included 18 directors, manager, and supervisors of a 24-year-old telecommunications company located in Puerto Rico. Data were collected through individual interviews where interviewees shared their perspectives on the possibility of adopting the norm of love, their acceptance of it, and how they would implement it. Findings indicated that a majority (83.33%) of the participants acknowledged that love is part of the human essence and whole selves, and that such a norm would be beneficial to employees …

Career Trajectory And Leadership: The Role Of Personal Adversity, Kristina E. Kovacs

Theses and Dissertations

Adversity is part of life and certainly contributes to human development. This study seeks to explore the impact of personal adversity on career trajectory and leadership. A qualitative study based on 12 interviews with a narrative approach is presented. Key themes were identified among high-level executives around career evolution, perception of leadership, and how those experiences impacted their way of leading. The study concludes with a brief discussion of limitations and the findings that raise questions for additional research and provide some support for leadership and career development, counseling, and training.

The Impact Of Manager Appreciative Communication On Employee Psychological Well-Being Being, Matthew Bowman

Theses and Dissertations

Communication and leadership are both important components of a successful organization and can play a role in an employee's psychological well-being. This study looks at managers communication and the real-life impact on an employee's experience at work and how it affects their happiness. This study uses a mixed methodology to build a foundation of data, each from the managers and employees' point of view to build context and generate a direction a manager can take when communicating with their staff. The manager and employee reactions showed a correlation between a manager's ability to communicate their appreciation to their employee. A …

Manager Development In Younger, Growing Organizations, Christine Parcells

Theses and Dissertations

This study explored manager development needs in younger, growing organizations related to challenges with uncertainty, ambiguity, and a rapid pace of change. This research examined two companies: one that had not gone through IPO or acquisition and one that was acquired twice. The primary themes in the findings included adaptive behaviors and communication capabilities, the impact and influence of a company's culture and a changing organization structure on development, as well the need for building relationships and networks to help managers cope with the challenges of a growing organization. By implementing manager development programs early, companies can build inclusion, foster …

A Phenomenological Study Of Flourishing In Mid-Career Professionals, Sohyun Lee

Theses and Dissertations

Prior research shows that mid-career professionals experience more negative emotions such as regret, confusion, disappointment, frustration and anger than positive feelings. Yet, many mid-career professionals are flourishing in their careers and not experiencing such negativity. The purpose of this qualitative, phenomenological study was to explore the lived experiences of five professionals who self-identify as flourishing in mid-career. This study also addressed the literature gap concerning mid-career professionals who are flourishing. Prior studies did not utilize the up-to-date model of flourishing and specifically, Seligman's well-being theory and its PERMA-H (positive emotions, engagement, positive relationships, meaning, achievement, and positive physical health) model, …

An Evaluation Of A Transorganizational Development Process Promoting Positive Social Change, Erin Hall

Theses and Dissertations

Humanity's largest and most complex social problems are not going to be adequately addressed by one organization working alone. This study addressed two research questions: (1) what ingredients enable successful transorganization collaboration seeking positive social change? and (2) what roles does trust play? Using a case study methodology, participants and observers were interviewed. The data was analyzed using Ainsworth and Feyerhem's diagnostic model of transorganzational systems and Vangen and Huxham's trust-building and trust-sustaining theory. The findings emphasize the interdependence of transorganizational system (TS) design components and, in particular, of trust with each of the components.

Systemic Barriers And Facilitators Of Help-Seeking And Highly Performing Individuals In Business And Sports, Jonathan N. Weller

Theses and Dissertations

The mental health and wellbeing of highly performing individuals in business and sport demands attention due to the high costs (personal and financial) that disruptions can create for these individuals and their organizations or teams. Utilizing 13 interviews with support professionals (e.g., executive coaches, psychologists), this study explored factors affecting help-seeking and wellbeing amongst high-performing athletes and executives, consequences of not seeking help, and similarities present in business and elite sports environments. Themes including stigma, career consequences, logistics, culture, and isolation of leadership were identified as factors inhibiting help-seeking and wellbeing. Service delivery factors, organizational resources and policies, and leadership …