Leadership Studies Commons^™

A Qualitative Exploration Into Larry Wilson's Transformational Leadership, Peter D. Engstrom

Theses and Graduate Projects

Larry Wilson was considered by many to be a transformational leader.

This paper explores the intersection of how people associated with Larry experienced him relative to the current research on transformational leadership through an interpretive method of gathering data from former employees, customers, and family. Data was gathered through a series of personal interviews, published text, and a questionnaire. The interviews and questionnaire yielded five main themes. The evidence suggests Larry’s style of leadership is consistent with the Full Range of Transformational Leadership, as posited by Bernard Bass and Bruce Avolio (1994).

Organizational Leading In The Policing Power - Public Trust Relationship: An Exploratory Mixed Methods Case Study, Mark R. Weaver

Organization, Information and Learning Sciences ETDs

ABSTRACT

This mixed methods study employed an instrumental single-bounded case approach to explore how a policing executive develops and sustains an ethically performing organization, given the phenomenological "policing power - public trust" relationship. Policing is foundational to rule of law and ethical performance in policing is fundamental to developing and sustaining a healthy policing power - public trust relationship. A review of relevant policing literature reveals a history of tension and conflict in this complex relationship. The literature review included relevant social contract theory, history of policing and the policing power-public trust relationship, relational leadership, servant leadership, …

Developmental Evaluation: Complexity Leadership Theory In Practice-A Mixed Methods Study, Terrence S. Fernsler

Dissertations, 2014-2019

Networks of organizations frequently operate within complex adaptive systems in which leadership is practiced in uncertain and ambiguous conditions. Background in complexity theories is first provided, along with how they apply to organizations operating in complex adaptive systems. A theory—Complexity Leadership Theory (CLT)—has been derived to model leadership in complex adaptive systems; CLT has been tested very little in practice. Developmental Evaluation (DE) is a practice which helps organizations and their networks adapt within complex adaptive systems. Since both processes are based in complexity, leadership characteristics in each can be expected to be similar.

This exploratory mixed methods study incorporates …

Leader Self-Efficacy In Youth Leader Development: A Mixed Methods Study, Christopher J. Rehm

Dissertations, 2014-2019

Leader self-efficacy (LSE) is a construct studied in adults and college students which is associated with leader emergence, individual performance, and group performance. This mixed methods dissertation examines LSE in an eighth grade student population to determine if it can be impacted by a leader development intervention during this sensitive period of human growth. Both quantitative and qualitative methods demonstrate the effectiveness of the programming in impacting youth LSE. This holds significant implications for future educational practice, research, and the development of the next generation of leaders. A five item youth LSE scale was created which can aid in further …

Turn Off That Device, Kris Iacono

M.A. in Leadership Studies: Capstone Project Papers

This paper offers a look into the effects of screen time on children, best practices for parenting, and a curriculum guide for parents to learn the best ways to help their children have healthy screen habits.

Cluster Approach: Gaps And Shortcomings In Un Coordination Of Humanitarian Actors In Post-Earthquake Haiti And Implications For Policy Concerns Of The New Humanitarian School Of Thought, Naomi Vinbury

Sustainability and Social Justice

This research analyzes the role of the UN OCHA Cluster Approach in the context of Haiti after the 2010 earthquake. Gaps and shortcomings of the current humanitarian model are identified and the Sustainable Livelihoods Approach is considered as a model to be used as an instrument to inform the New Humanitarian school of thought. A recent history of Haiti and the political relationship to the international community will be reviewed as context that outlines the vulnerabilities that created a risk society leading up to the disaster. A brief history of the recent trajectory of humanitarian aid will be reviewed and …

Learning To Pray The Lord’S Prayer For Spiritual Transformation At Tachikawa Church Of Christ, Naoyoshi Fukushima

Doctor of Ministry Theses

ABSTRACT

This thesis describes a project to lead the members of Tachikawa Church of Christ to learn and experience the power and blessings of praying the Lord’s Prayer for spiritual edification and maturity. The program consisted of eight weeks of learning the meaning of the Lord’s Prayer and doing spiritual exercises. To provide a theological foundation for this project, I delivered eight sermons on the Lord’s Prayer with strong emphasis on the relational nature of the prayer.

Those who engaged in the spiritual exercises were given opportunities to experience joy, peace, and correction as they tried to live in harmony …

Toward Unity, Acceptance, And Empowerment: Bridging The Chasm Between Women Laity And Clergy In The A.M.E. Church, Rhonda Yvonne Green Harmon

Doctor of Ministry Projects and Theses

A B S T R A C T

Rhonda Green Harmon

B.S., Texas Southern University, 1980

M.Ed. Texas Southern University, 1989

M.Ed. Principal Certification, University of Houston, 2002

M.Div. Houston Graduate School of Theology, 2012

“Toward Unity, Acceptance, and Empowerment:

Bridging the Chasm between Women Laity and Clergy in the A.M.E. Church”

This Doctor of Ministry project/practicum endeavors to initiate and engage dialogue between clergywomen and laywomen in the African Methodist Episcopal (A.M.E.) Church for the purpose of uniting, empowering, and fostering acceptance among all women. It addresses the ways that internalized patriarchy has hindered relationships between women. The main …

The Influence Of Student Housing And Selected Academic And Personal Demographic Characteristics On The Retention Of Students From The Second To Third Year At A Research University (Ru/Vh), Loren S. Mcintyre

LSU Doctoral Dissertations

The purpose of this study was to determine the influence of participation in a content-based residential college versus non-participation in a content-based residential college on retention in the second year of study at a research university-very high research activity (RU/VH) in the southern portion of the United States. The dependent variable of the study was whether or not the traditional-age, first-time freshman students enrolled at the study institution in their fifth semester, or second to third year, of study. The target population for this study was defined as traditional-age, first-time college freshmen who enrolled in a research university-very high research …

Leveraging The Social Network To Support Engagement In An Academic Environment, Glenn M. Gibeson Iv

LSU Doctoral Dissertations

The primary purpose of this study was to determine the relationship between selected social network characteristics and engagement among faculty at a research university (RU/VH). In 2013, a restructuring initiative targeted seven departments from different colleges at a public research university (RU/VH) located in the Gulf Coast region of the United States with a student population of more than 30,000. These departments were restructured to form a new academic college within the university. The archival sample for this study includes the faculty of the newly formed college who were in attendance at the initial college faculty meeting.

Network data were …

Presidential Job Approval Rating Analysis Through Social Media, Subramanian Venkataraman, Subramanian Venkataraman

Dissertations and Theses

The aim of this study is to identify patterns in President Trump’s approval in the

Twitter universe through Social Media and Sentiment Analysis, and compare

against scientific polling to get meaningful insights on the limitations of Social

Media Analytics. For the purposes for this exercise, results from scientific polling

will be considered the true measure of approval, and will be used as control. In

order to perform sentiment analysis, we have used supervisory learning using

Naive Bayes Classifier algorithm which produced 0.862667 accuracy levels.

Infusing Complex Problem-Solving And Systems Thinking In College Leadership Development Programs, Dionicia Mahler-Rogers

Educational Leadership & Workforce Development Theses & Dissertations

Present day leaders grapple with a dynamic environment of evolving challenges. Prior leadership studies have afforded revisions of leadership theories in an attempt to remain relevant with the prominently shifting environment. The leadership models that underscore college leadership development programs should reflect the updated theories and practices which expose student leaders to solving complex problems they will experience. This study explores the knowledge, skills, and abilities needed for college students to be able to conceptualize and address system’s level leadership challenges. Foremost, the study examined instructional tools and methods that students found impactful for improving conceptualization and achievement of systems-level …

The Effects Of Social Power Bases Within Varying Organizational Cultures, Ayanna Cummings

Dissertations, Theses, and Capstone Projects

This study focuses on social power in the context of organizational culture and how this relationship impacts outcomes of follower compliance and trust. Power is the ability to direct or influence the behavior of others or a course of events (Handgraaf, et al., 2008). There are six different types of social power, including informational, referent, legitimate, coercive, rewarding, and expert (Fontaine & Beerman, 1977). Each type of social power may lead to varying psychological outcomes, such as compliance, satisfaction, and agreement. To date, the empirical literature has not fully addressed the issue of whether one type of power is more …

Discovering The Leader Within: An Autoethnophenomenographic Study Of Mindfulness In Educational Leadership, Alyssa Fraser

Educational Studies Dissertations

This qualitative study combined autoethnographic and phenomenological methods to examine a researcher-leader’s attempt to cultivate cognitive, relational, and emotional capacities through regular mindfulness practice, and how the cultivation of such capacities aligns with the enactment of leadership. The interrogation of lived experience and self-analysis was entered with the intention to better understand the promise of mindfulness as a resource for the development of educational leaders. This study explored the perceived connections between mindfulness practice and the enactment of educational leadership by examining internal and external perspectives of an individual leader’s practice. Methods of self-observation, including both interval and occurrence recording …

Character In Leadership: Perceptions Of Canadian Intercollegiate Athletics Administrators, William Z. Weese

Electronic Thesis and Dissertation Repository

Despite the importance of administrative leadership in high performance sport, minimal attention has been given to the area of leader character by sport management researchers. The current study examined the prevalence, perceived importance, and value of leader character within Canadian interuniversity athletics programs. Leader character was quantitatively measured using the Leader Character Insight Assessment (LCIA) instrument (Crossan et al., 2013a). Differences between sex, position, and experience were also examined. Overall, Accountability and Integrity were the most prevalent leader character dimensions. Sex of administrators did not yield any significant differences between dimensions. Athletic Directors perceived Transcendence to be more important to …

How Do Educational Leaders In Small, Fragile, And Developing Countries Translate Their Understandings Of Student Learning And Achievement Into Leadership Practices? A Case-Study About Leadership In Haïtian Urban Schools, Carolyne Pierre Marie Verret

Electronic Thesis and Dissertation Repository

Haïti is unique in many respects; full of contradictions and paradoxes. While beautiful in many regards, it is fraught with issues: political, economic, societal, environmental, cultural, health-related, and educational. The latter stands out, however, as education affects the quality of the country’s human capital, determining the quality of life of its citizens. Therefore, having competent people in leadership positions is critical especially within schools where they can impact students’ learning, development, and achievement (SL/A).

Aiming to describe the state of educational leadership in Haïtian schools to inform policy-makers of the lived-experiences of educational leaders (ELs), the objectives of this study …

Merging Cultures: Organizational Behavior, Leadership, And Differentiation In A Health System Merger, Colin G. Chesley

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

Health system mergers and acquisitions (M&As) have increased exponentially in recent years as a result of the Affordable Care Act (Brown, Werling, Walker, Burgdorfer & Shields, 2012). M&As are consummated as a way to control for interdependencies within the market, control costs and leverage debt, and negotiate better rates among health insurers (Bolman & Deal, 2013; Cooper & Finkelstein, 2010; Mirc, 2013). Regardless of the impetus for a merger, the largest predictor of the success or failure of a M&A lies within the organizational culture (Brown, et al., 2012; Cooper & Finkelstein, 2010; Kastor, 2010; Ovseiko, Melham, Fowler & Buchan, …

Adopting Organizational Learning Systems At The Field Level Of International Ngos, Rebecca Beauregard

Capstone Collection

An increased push for accountability in non-governmental organizations (NGOs) has led to the imperative for what was previously an internal management practice widely-utilized in the private sector: organizational learning. Learning initiatives support organizations to utilize resources more effectively and to reach their objectives with adaptive strategies.

In this paper, I explore the many components belonging to the organizational learning umbrella term from multiple disciplines, grounding my inquiry in the context of international NGOs. The findings from my qualitative research highlight aspects of learning and knowledge management in addition to organizational change and culture; to provide a comprehensive understanding of organizational …

Local Workforce Development Boards: Alignment With Operational Indicators And Behavioral Characteristics, Sharon Humphreys Johnson

Dissertations

The ability of a region to remain competitively viable is dependent upon attracting new business and retaining existing businesses (Good & Strong, 2015). In many instances, regional growth depends on the workforce and the region’s ability to develop a talent pipeline of existing or accessible workers (Blakely & Leigh, 2010). The passage of the Workforce Innovation and Opportunity Act (WIOA) increases the expectations of local workforce board leadership. The WIOA vision for Local Workforce Development Boards (LWDB) is to serve as strategic leaders and act as conveners of regional workforce system partners, stakeholders, and businesses to develop new structures for …

The Transformative Power Of Deliberate Creativity: Reflections Of A Priest Creativity Practitioner, Felix-Kingsley Nnamdi Obialo

Creativity and Change Leadership Graduate Student Master's Projects

The idea of creativity continues to gain global currency as the tool for growth and development, especially in our contemporary world. There is an emerging universal paradigm shift that promotes creativity as something that could be structured and deliberate as against the erstwhile belief that it is restricted and by chance. Nevertheless, some individuals, groups, and climes are yet to fully embrace creativity in all its ramifications. Creativity practice is one of the means to foster and sustain creativity in persons and groups. Consequently, nurturing creativity continues to impact people and contexts. Through four case studies, this project presents a …

When I See My Face: Painting The Portrait Of Black Women Leaders In The U.S. Federal Government, Antoinette Lavawn Allen

STEMPS Theses & Dissertations

Many Black women have chosen the federal government as their employer; a review of literature provides few studies on the Black women leaders in the federal government. Similarly, there is limited research about these women in academic settings. The purpose of this qualitative portraiture study is to explore the lived experiences of Black female leaders and the (a) challenges they face in leadership and (b) resilience strategies they use to overcome those challenges. The researcher used the portraiture methodology, which embraces traditional qualitative data sources, such as interviews and documents as well as creative expressions to include poetry, music, and …

The Impact Of The Total Leadership Model On Financial Performance For Health Center Administrators, Patrick Shuler

Graduate Dissertations and Theses

The purpose of this study is to examine the extent to which a leadership model impacts the financial performance of one organization. The organization has multiple centers, each with its own leader. A survey is used to gauge the value alignment of the selected leadership model on each center leader within this organization. The model used for this study is the Total Leadership model which has the main goal of improving performance in four domains of life: work, home, community and self by creating mutual value within each therefore creating value alignment.

Leadership Style And Employee Turnover A Mythical Relationship Or Reality?, Arwa Alkhawaja

M.A. in Leadership Studies: Capstone Project Papers

Abstract

Employee turnover is one of the most challenging dilemmas organizations have to deal with. A considerable amount of research indicates that turnover is mainly a result of a negative relationship between the leaders and managers in the workplace and their followers. However, seemingly conflicting studies seem to show that employees leave bosses they consider to be good at nearly the same rate as bosses they consider to be bad. If the relationship between the leadership and followers is not the sole factor in an employee’s decision to quit working, what other factors could be the main causes for employee’s …

A Glimpse At Teaching Leadership In America: Case Studies Illuminate The Problems, Margaret Girton

Honors Theses

Leadership is everywhere in America. The concept of leadership is nearly impossible to define and means many different things to many different people, yet it permeates American society at all levels. Moreover, the American people seem to be obsessed with the notion of leadership and within their obsession have projected a value on the concept, making it a quality desired by many. The obsession of leadership is exemplified by the proliferation of the leadership industry and an increased emphasis on leadership development in the corporate world. Furthermore higher education has been similarly affected by the leadership phenomenon and often aims …

Student Censorship In The Social Work Classrooms, Lisa Kozlowski

Electronic Theses, Projects, and Dissertations

Through the evolution of the field of social work, a divide in its ideologies has emerged and certain political and ideological groups such as the religious and conservatives have become underrepresented. As a result, over the years the liberal philosophies have emerged as the dominant group. This has led to a decrease in diversity within the field. Recognition of biases in the field of social work is difficult. Through a qualitative analysis method, this study was meant to explore if social work students feel they are free to share openly in the classroom, and if they are accepting of all …

Health Budget Tracking At Local Levels: A Training Manual For Uganda’S Youth Leaders And Advocates, Rehema Z. Namukose Ms.

Capstone Collection

Uganda’s decentralization policy was introduced in 1997 under the Local Government Act to transfer power from central government to local government levels. The main purpose was to promote participation of all citizens in decision making processes to enhance responsibility and accountable monitoring of services delivered to citizens at all levels. The policy “aimed to achieve efficiency and effectiveness” in services delivered and managed at lower levels (Kebba & Ntanda, 2005). But how were citizens at local levels going to participate in accountability processes? How would they monitor the quality of services delivered under this policy framework? In what ways were …

Towards Soulful And Sustainable Service: The Role Of Ethics In Global Service-Learning Programs Within Faith-Based Tertiary Institutions, Corrie Johnson

Capstone Collection

This research evaluates the practices of specified faith-based institutions within the field of undergraduate global service learning through the lens of each of the major themes in the Fair Trade Learning framework. These themes include equal partnership, mutual learning, cooperative and positive social change, economic equity, transparency, and sustainability. Initial survey outcomes present an overall picture of where these particular universities are at in regards to balancing student and community outcomes. Interview outcomes provide a more in-depth perspective of how mutual benefit for student participants and host communities is being considered within the global service-learning programs these programs facilitate. Some …

Is Restorative Justice Doing Enough To Address The Power Imbalances Caused By Systems Of Privilege And Oppression, Matthew Furnell

Capstone Collection

Restorative justice is an ever growing philosophy which is causing a paradigm shift in the way society understands and responds to crime, punishment and victimization. The State of Vermont has become a pioneer and an example of how to implement restorative practices into the official criminal justice system, developing an alternative process to traditional punitive approaches. However, it is now more important than ever to ensure that there is not a false sense of success or a level of complacency in the further development of restorative practices. It is time to critically analyse the current restorative process and explore the …

The Heart Of Experience: The Education Of A Practitioner's Journey, Tai Mesches

Capstone Collection

This Capstone, The Heart of Experience: The Education of a Practitioner’s Journey, is an illustrative reflection of myself experiencing my learning cycle, taking the reader through my own journey of growth as an experiential education practitioner. To engage the reader, I first shine light on the context of what role experience played in my life as a form of education, specifically reflecting on my time living abroad in China and my cross-cultural work with Chinese youth in Manhattan, New York, emphasizing basketball’s involvement as a tool for engagement. I describe how such experiences helped me return to school. To portray …

The Relationship Between Administrator Leadership Style And Job Experience Of School Counselors, Lacey Ducote

University of New Orleans Theses and Dissertations

Since the inception of the school counseling profession, the role of school counselors has evolved in response to the social, political, and economic needs of society (Ergüner-Tekinalp, Leuwerke, & Terzi, 2009). Currently, the role of school counselors is to address the personal, social, academic, and career needs of students through a comprehensive development program (American School Counseling Association, ASCA, 2005). In school settings, counselors who are satisfied with their work are more effective in caring for clients and students (DeMato & Curcio, 2004). In recent years, administrators, including those working in school settings, have been called on to reassess the …