Social and Behavioral Sciences Commons^™

Road Maintenance Challenges: The Greatest Obstacle To Sustainable Development In South Sudan, Gai Chol Paul

Journal of Sustainable Social Change

Road infrastructure plays a crucial role in the sustainable development of any nation. It connects communities, facilitates trade, and enables essential service delivery. However, road maintenance is one of the most significant challenges hindering sustainable development in South Sudan. The poor roads hinder economic growth, access to essential services, and social cohesion and are in dire need of repair and upkeep. Thus, I developed this qualitative multiple-case study to explore challenges that hinder road maintenance in South Sudan. I collected data through document review and semi-structured interviews with four road engineers, and then thematically analyzed the gathered data. Three themes …

Textbook Tasks For Social Change: Instantiation Of Development Debates And Interposition Of Pedagogical Interventions In Media Literacy Education, John N. Ponsaran

Journal of Sustainable Social Change

As materialization of their discursive stance as instructional communicators and media producers, textbook authors instantiate various development debates as well as interpose a wide range of pedagogical interventions for critical reflection and adoption by learners. This qualitative study sought to situate these development debates and the counterpart pedagogical interventions within the context of textbook task design as an application and embodiment of social justice communication. The development debates serve as the proposed contexts for media text analyses, reflective exercises, case studies, and media production, among others. Correspondingly, the interposition of interventions allows students to make sense of and act upon …

Civilian Oversight Of Police Through The Lens Of Polarities Of Democracy, Joseph A. Mcmillan, Jacqueline D. Smith, William J. Benet

Journal of Sustainable Social Change

Following the murder of George Floyd, the U.S. Congress called upon the National Organization for Black Law Enforcement Executives (NOBLE) to play a role in the reimagining of policing in America, including a transformation of policing from a warrior to a guardian mentality. In turn, NOBLE partnered with the Institute for Polarities of Democracy (the Institute) to conduct an analysis of the 21st Century Policing Report (the Report), which focused on addressing a myriad of issues that challenged the relationship between the police and communities. The Report determined there were six “pillars” necessary for effective policing in America, including (1) …

Talent Management And The Impact Of Dark Triad Personalities In The Workplace, Joseph A. Rosendale, Eliot Mastrovich, Leann Wilkie

International Journal of Applied Management and Technology

This study examines links between the Dark Triad of personality types (Machiavellianism, psychopathy, and narcissism) and workplace behaviors. The research objective seeks to confirm the relationship between the Dark Triad and several negative behaviors while investigating positive externalities that have not been previously explored. A literature review covers the background of the Dark Triad, instruments that have been used to measure it, and ongoing research streams in the field. The Short Dark Triad (SD3) survey was administered to 142 working professionals and data collected were quantitatively examined using a variety of statistical tools in SPSS. Corresponding results provide additional evidence …

Outcomes Of Enterprise Resource Planning System On Organizational Productivity, Tambei Chiawah, William G. Dzekashu, Walter R. Mccollum, Evelyn E. Fomuso

International Journal of Applied Management and Technology

Leaders within local government organizations do not understand how to achieve expected and desired benefits from the implementation of enterprise resource planning (ERP) systems. The lack of alignment between social and technical elements in ERP implementation continues to depress organizational productivity. The prime objective of our quantitative correlational study was to examine whether social and technical elements increase use and productivity in ERP implementation. Sociotechnical systems theory provided the theoretical basis for our study. We examined six dimensional variables relating to ERP implementation. Our key findings indicated positive significant relationships between ERP and information sharing, between ERP system quality and …

How Does A Responsible Leader Win In A Competitive World?, Patricia Macneil, Rocky J. Dwyer, Maggie Matear

International Journal of Applied Management and Technology

Competitiveness demonstrates a firm’s effectiveness in achieving an advantage over others. A leader’s competitiveness can facilitate higher profits and growth. It can also lead to unethical and irresponsible corporate dealings. This paper suggests competitiveness can be responsible.

Responsible Leadership defines two main responsible leaders (RL), integrative and instrumental. Integrators are linked to social responsibility and multiple stakeholders, while Instrumentalists are associated with competitive advantage and shareholders. Missing from extant research frameworks is how the two RLs experience competitiveness.

We examined the lived experience of a group of Top 100 Leaders in Canada, finding that both RLs practiced responsible competitiveness. A …

Social Media Marketing Adoption Strategies: An Exploratory Multiple Case Study Of Landscape Industry Small Businesses, Crystal Lupo, Jason R. Stroman

Journal of Social, Behavioral, and Health Sciences

Despite research contending that marketing is a pivotal factor in small business success, many small business owners continue to underutilize low-cost marketing options available to them. Of these options, social media marketing is a useful tool to maintain competitiveness in the larger marketplace. However, the adoption of social media best practices in small business remains deficient. The landscape industry is a large and growing field with small businesses making up a large and growing share of the industry. Yet some landscape industry small business owners lack strategies to adopt innovative social media marketing strategies to help ensure business viability. This …

Exploring Diversity Management In Transnational Corporations Through The Lens Of Migration And Expatriation, Kingsley U. Utam, Uduak Archibong, Sean Walton, Cyril Eshareturi

Journal of Sustainable Social Change

In this study, we aim to develop an understanding of the similarity between migration and expatriation, identify both as elements in diversity, and draw attention to the additional layer of ethnic diversity created by the high number of top management expatriates in some Nigerian subsidiaries of transnational corporations. Using the qualitative research design, we thematically analysed data from semistructured interviews with six indigenous managers in four transnational corporations. We found a significant number of expatriate managers in two subsidiaries and a lack of diversity management framework to address the new layer of diversity as reflected in the unequal treatment of …

A Qualitative Case Study Exploring Hand-Hygiene Standards In An Intensive Care Unit, Lyndon Augustine, Walter Mccollum, Richard Brown, Phoenix Mourning-Star

International Journal of Applied Management and Technology

Healthcare-associated infections (HAIs) are infections that occur in patients during their time of care in a hospital. Considerable emphasis is currently placed on reducing HAIs through improving hand-hygiene (HH) compliance among healthcare professionals because HAIs are a critical challenge to public health in the United States. By focusing on meeting Centers for Disease Control and Prevention HH standards, the purpose of this qualitative research was to explore how noncompliance with these standards and lack of technology usage affect HAIs in the intensive care unit. Additionally, the goal of this research was to explore behavioral factors and best practices that influence …

Successful Climate Change Strategies In Corporate Farming, Deann Renee Reaves

Journal of Sustainable Social Change

According to the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration’s National Centers for Environmental Information (2016), climate-related disasters occurring from 2011 to 2015 caused property damages in excess of US$230 billion—and the agriculture sector incurs some of the largest losses (Hoffmann, 2013). The purpose of this case study was to identify, through an in-depth interview and document review, successful climate-change-based sustainability strategies in a publicly held farming operation. The findings indicated that the farm’s climate-change-based sustainability strategy had basic qualities of corporate social responsibility, triple-bottom-line thinking, and systems thinking. Specific approaches identified were mitigation- and adaptation-oriented approaches. Implications for social change include …

Impact Of Ehr Technology Implementation On Physicians' Job Satisfaction, Navneet Kaur Bajwa, Harjot Singh, Kalyan Kumar De

International Journal of Applied Management and Technology

The concept of an electronic health record (EHR) has been the solicitous subject of researchers’ discussion in recent times. The impact that a successful implementation of EHRs can have on physicians cannot be overstated. Factors which are critical to successful implementation of EHR systems are commonly known as crucial technology implementation factors (CTIFs). The present study investigates the CTIFs of EHR systems and also their impact on physicians’ job satisfaction and characteristics in North Indian multispecialty hospitals. The questionnaire has been distributed to physicians of 12 hospitals that have been using EHR technology. It has been concluded that five CTIFs—organizational …

Employee Perceptions Of Well-Being Programs, Alice V. Edwards, Susan Marcus

Journal of Social, Behavioral, and Health Sciences

Measuring the effectiveness of well-being programs in the workplace is important for optimizing the return on investment and selection of programs that meet organizational objectives. A pilot study was performed to assess employee well-being using the Happiness Mini-Survey and a one-sample pre–post study design intended to quickly allow employees to subjectively rate their well-being before and after participating in various classes as part of a well-being program. The findings demonstrated statistical significance in employee subjective ratings; they reported feeling better emotionally, physically, and mentally after participating in the classes. The employees’ self-rating for stress level also had statistically significant improvement …

A Multifaceted View Of Ceo Compensation And Performance: A Case Study, John Nirenberg

Journal of Sustainable Social Change

This case addresses CEO pay, a topic that annually stimulates the question of whether or not executive compensation is based on performance or something else and why it is so high in absolute terms. The societal impact of the new class of executives among the largest companies in the United States set apart from the rest of the world in a cocoon of wealth and privilege inflames resentment among workers, widens an already unfathomable distance between those at the top and the rest of us, and endangers the social amity among citizens of the polity . Positive social change might …

Can Four Generations Create Harmony Within A Public-Sector Environment?, Glenda B. Arrington, Rocky J. Dwyer

International Journal of Applied Management and Technology

The purpose of this quantitative study was to examine the relationship between generational cohort and cohort perceptions of managerial effectiveness within the context of the federal public service. Data in this study were derived from the Federal Employee Viewpoint Survey, which included 421,748 full-time, part-time, and nonseasonal federal government employees geographically dispersed across the United States and overseas. The results of the study indicated that ratings of managerial effectiveness by all four generational cohorts for all three levels of managers studied were relatively high with correlation coefficients ranging from .96 to .99. However, the only cohort association that consistently had …

Social Change Through Entrepreneurship: Utilizing Portable Sawmill Based Small Businesses To Promote Community Development, Crystal Lupo

Journal of Sustainable Social Change

Reduced demand for wood and wood products resulting from the economic crisis in the first decade of the 2000s severely impacted the forest industry throughout the world, causing large forest-based organizations to close (CBC News, 2008; Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations, 2009; Pepke, 2009). The result was a dramatic increase in unemployment and worker displacement among forest product workers between 2011 and 2013 (Bureau of Labor Statistics, 2014). Forested rural communities often depended on the large-scale forest industry for their livelihood, and as a result, decreased reliance on large-scale industry became increasingly important (Lupo, 2015). This article …

A Case Study Exploration Of Strategies To Improve First-Line Supervisor Problem-Solving Abilities In The Retail Supermarket Industry, John E. Jarvis, Irene A. Williams

International Journal of Applied Management and Technology

First-line supervisors in U.S. retail organizations are unable to resolve nearly 34% of typical daily customer problems for their organizations. The purpose of this single-case study was to explore the strategies retail supermarket managers have used to improve first-line supervisor problem solving abilities within a retail supermarket company in Winston-Salem, North Carolina. Data were collected from semistructured interviews with four retail store manager participants with a successful record of improving first-line supervisor problem solving abilities. Based on inductive data analysis and methodological triangulation of the data collected, four themes emerged after the data analysis: (a) the importance of communicating expectations …

Internal Strategies For Assessing Organizational Communication Channel Effectiveness, Melvin E. Murphy, Douglas G. Campbell

International Journal of Applied Management and Technology

Evolving communication technology, the increased volume of information needed by businesses and the intensified competitive environment have made internal company communication more critical to business success. The purpose of this multiple case study was to explore strategies for assessing the effectiveness of internal communication channels used by managers and leaders of three law firms in the Commonwealth of Virginia. The participating firms were recognized by their peers as being exceptionally well managed. Data from interviews and company documents were analyzed through the conceptual lens of channel expansion theory and the use of software coding to identify patterns and themes. Three …

Successful Implementation Of Pharmacy Retail Store Loyalty Reward Programs, Cristina D. Reinert, Jill A. Murray

International Journal of Applied Management and Technology

Loyalty reward programs are utilized within various industries as a key marketing strategy. A successfully implemented loyalty reward program benefits both the consumer and the company. The purpose of this multicase study was to explore strategies that pharmacy retail managers use to deliver loyalty reward programs. The theory of planned behavior was used as the conceptual framework to guide the study. Mobile technology, customer involvement, brand management, and tier-based rewards were the themes that emerged during data analysis. The findings are of interest to pharmacy retail managers and marketers because they are instrumental in implementing a successful loyalty reward program.

The Ethical Implications Of Plagiarism And Ghostwriting In An Open Society, Patricia I. Fusch, Lawrence R. Ness, Janet M. Booker, Gene E. Fusch

Journal of Sustainable Social Change

Plagiarism is the theft of intellectual property. Plagiarism has been a problem in academic settings and appears to be on the increase, now moving into areas including the medical and scientific fields as well as industry, manufacturing, military, and legal briefs. The ethical implications can have serious consequences for organizations, individuals, and society, resulting in harm being done to others in favor of expediency. In this scholarly essay, the authors explore and discuss the ethical implications of plagiarism and the increase of ghostwriting in a free society through the writings of Kant, Popper, Kostenbaum, Plato, Whedbee, and others. The conclusion …

Food Policy: Urban Farming As A Supplemental Food Source, Bessie Didomenica, Mark Gordon

Journal of Sustainable Social Change

Food policy has a unique role for public, nonprofit, private, and academic stakeholders. Growing food in the city is a challenge worldwide. Food systems can be destroyed by external (weather extremes) and internal (zoning regulations) forces. This study explores urban farms as a secondary food source and their common themes across four sectors. A Northeastern U.S. city was the case study to examine how it implemented its formal urban agriculture program. The positive social change implications of urban farms include greater food visibility and food access in low-income areas and more consumer awareness about growing fresh food. This study contributes …

Book Review: Reinventing Organizations: A Guide To Creating Organizations Inspired By The Next Stage In Human Consciousness By Frederic Laloux, David K. Banner

Journal of Sustainable Social Change

Reinventing Organizations: A Guide to Creating Organizations Inspired by the Next Stage of Human Consciousness is a terrific book for anyone interesting in learning about democratizing and debureaucratizing organizations while increasing profits and employee satisfaction, engagement, and well-being. Though this sounds unrealistic and perhaps a bit Utopian, author Frederic Laloux’s thorough research and in-depth reportage of various exemplar organizations around the world, demonstrate that it can be done—but not by anybody. Like any evolutionary system, the forefront of enlightened organizational change begins with a few who become the models and create the systems and conditions for others to follow—when they …

A Phenomenological Investigation Of Leader Development And Mindfulness Meditation, Denise A. Frizzell, Stephanie Hoon, David K. Banner

Journal of Sustainable Social Change

Regardless of the gap between the demands of the global work environment and the maturity of leaders, minimal research exists on the trend of the practice of mindfulness meditation and the developmental experiences of leaders. Consequently, scholars have little understanding of how an increasing number of leaders experience mindfulness meditation. The purpose of this study was to understand the perceived impact mindfulness meditation had on leader development for 20 manager-leaders who had a regular (at least 3 days a week) mindfulness meditation practice. The primary recruitment strategy included outreach to potential participants affiliated with professionally oriented mindfulness groups on LinkedIn. …

Bella Abzug, Queer Rights, And Disrupting The Status Quo, Trevor G. Gates, Margery C. Saunders

Journal of Sustainable Social Change

Workers who are lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender, and queer (LGBTQ)-identified have always been a part of the workplace in the United States, yet there has been a lack of awareness about how to advocate for the needs of these people. This lack of awareness was challenged by Congresswoman Bella Abzug. Abzug’s campaign for creating an equal working environment for sexual minorities initiated gradual changes in the public discourse concerning workplace and other broad equality measures for these communities. To frame these gradual transformations within a historical context, we use Lewin’s force field analysis framework to examine the change efforts of …

Adoption Of Innovation In Small-Scale Forestry: The Case Of Portable-Sawmill-Based Microenterprises, Crystal V. Lupo

Journal of Sustainable Social Change

Microenterprise development can be a valuable societal component not only in terms of filling important niche markets, but also by enhancing a society's wellbeing through creating opportunities available to people who are marginalized by the labor force for one reason or another. Forest microenterprises, in particular, can enhance rural community development efforts, as well as forest conservation goals, by empowering local people to successfully manage their resources as well as offer the possibility of income enhancement (Salafsky, Cordes, Leighton, Henderson, Watt, & Cherry, 1997; Lupo, 2012). This paper explores the adoption of portable-sawmill-based forest microenterprises. Key findings include common factors …

Book Review: New Age Globalization: Meaning And Metaphor By Aqueil Ahmad, Susan H. Jespersen

Journal of Sustainable Social Change

New Age Globalization examines interdependent and interconnected global society in terms of its structure, including both functional and process characteristics, with an underlying concern for global consciousness resulting in global social change for human welfare. The theoretical framework provides for analysis of history, culture, economics, demographics, political systems, conflicts, knowledge, and religions of regions throughout the world. This is a well-researched book with information on complex topics for the global researcher, corporate planning executive, human resource manager, and educator, among others seeking to understand social and organizational systems in our global world.

Ethics And Market Economic System: A General Review And A Survey, Reza G. Hamzaee

International Journal of Applied Management and Technology

Recent global recession has motivated this predominantly historical and exploratory research of thoughts and perceptions. A continuous planning of governmental correction of any market failure, such as various types of externalities and information asymmetry, has been strongly recommended by the pioneers of free enterprise systems. Capitalism—in which private ownership of means of production, physical capital, human capital, financial capital, brand-name capital, social capital, land, and mineral deposits are all protected by law without implementation of a series of certain evolving ethical standards and principles—may not continue to be the same efficient system as implied to be by the cost-benefit balancing …

Managing The Polarities Of Democracy: A Theoretical Framework For Positive Social Change, William J. Benet

Journal of Sustainable Social Change

People around the globe have embraced democracy to bring about positive social change to address our environmental, economic, and militaristic challenges. Yet, there is no agreement on a definition of democracy that can guide social change efforts. The Polarities of Democracy model is a unifying theory of democracy to guide healthy, sustainable, and just social change efforts. The Polarities of Democracy model consists of ten elements, organized as five polarity pairs: freedom & authority, justice & due process, diversity & equality, human-rights & communal-obligations, and participation & representation. In this model each element has positive aspects and negative aspects and …