Organizational Behavior and Theory Commons^™

The Yin And Yang Of Business Strategy, Edward Dennehy

Irish Business Journal

The purpose of this paper is to provide a ‘grounded’ approach to business strategy formulation on the basis that the generic strategy approach lacks contextual sensitivity. Today’s strategists need to constantly assess the degree to which their businesses are achieving both market effectiveness and organisational efficiency. Drawing on primary and secondary research the paper examines business strategy formulation as a balancing act between achieving organisational effectiveness and efficiency and provides a matrix that can help identify where a business lies in this process.

Impact Of Agreeableness On Virtual Team Performance Through Team Identification And Shared Mental Models, Alexandria Brown

Graduate Research Theses & Dissertations

Virtual teams help organizations efficiently utilize their employees for a task without the requirement of co-location. The literature on team performance suggests that teamwork is integral to a team’s success; however, in virtual teams this is often a challenge. Certain personality characteristics on virtual teams may be particularly important to the development of effective teamwork. An under-investigated factor is the role agreeableness in virtual team processes and how it affects the overall team performance. The main research question of this study is how the degree of agreeableness on a virtual team affects the overall team performance through predicted associations with …

How Fitting In To The Social Context Influences Work-Life Balance Effectiveness And Work Performance, Amanda Lynn Conlin

Graduate Research Theses & Dissertations

This study examines the notion that what may matter most in achieving an authentic feeling of work-life balance is fit within the immediate social context among work teams. Both work-life balance effectiveness and work performance depend on managing and meeting others’ expectations. Thus, the extent to which an individual shares work-life balance values and preferences with others on their team (i.e., a form of person-team fit influences the amount of resources expended or gained from navigating and negotiating others’ expectations. In a field study, 106 full time employees at a commercial real estate company were surveyed measuring the extent to …

A Multimethod Investigation Of Emotional Labor And Sleep Quality: Can Perceptions Of Sleep Quality Influence Health And Emotion Regulation?, Arielle P. Rogers

Graduate Research Theses & Dissertations

Sleep and emotional labor (i.e., emotion regulation at work) are integral to health and job performance. Poor sleep quality has been linked to decreased emotional labor; however, no study has examined the reason for this relationship. This study draws from models of self-regulation to suggest that perceptions of good sleep quality can increase employees’ motivation to exert emotional labor in the absence of display rules (i.e., “display autonomy”), resulting in better emotion performance (i.e., coded affective displays) and health (i.e., decreased emotional exhaustion). College students (N = 205) were randomly assigned to a “display rules” or “display autonomy” condition and …

Competency Development And Implementation Among Direct Support Professionals In New York State, Johanna Loporto

Walden Dissertations and Doctoral Studies

Direct support professionals (DSPs) serve an important function in the daily supervision and care of clients with intellectual and developmental disabilities (ID/DD) through standardization of technical, cognitive, and ethical competencies for all DSPs. It is not clear, however, how these DSPs and managers perceive the implementation process and utility of these competencies or whether implementation results in meeting the desired outcomes for clients. Using Donabedian's quality of care model as the foundation, the purpose of this qualitative case study in New York State to understand how DSPs perceived the implementation of the DSP core competencies under the direction of front-line …

The Effect Of Workplace Characteristics On Millennial Worker Organizational Commitment, Karen Elizabeth Heizman

Walden Dissertations and Doctoral Studies

Existing research on the Millennial generation has focused on identifying the workplace attributions and stereotypes between generations, and the relationship between those attributions and stereotypes, as related to organizational commitment. However, research has not addressed which workplace characteristics influence organizational commitment of the Millennial generation. Herzberg's 2-factor theory was used to investigate the relationship between workplace characteristics and organizational commitment of the Millennial generation. The purpose of this quantitative study was to determine whether workplace characteristics influence organizational commitment in the Millennial generation. This quantitative study used the Minnesota Satisfaction Questionnaire and the Organizational Commitment Questionnaire. A convenience sample of …

Dialogue During Team Problem Solving Using Visual Representation Boundary Objects: A Case Study, Julie Marie Webb

University of the Pacific Theses and Dissertations

Organizations benefit from the knowledge held by individual members as well as knowledge that is shared among those members. In order for knowledge to co-develop between members, and to spread, organizations must provide opportunities for members to collaborate. Organizational teams sometimes require assistance with interpersonal communication, establishing consensus, and sharing knowledge when collaborating. Group facilitators can offer guidance and intervene when teams need support. In addition, teams can find support through the use of visual representation boundary objects (VRBOs) to build trust, improve communication, increase cooperation, and share ideas. This study explores how knowledge is shared between team members and …

Work-Related Outcomes And Organizational Commitment, Mushaun Miller

Honors Program Theses

The modern workplace encompasses a multi-generational and diverse workforce. Now more than ever, workplaces include those of various ages, backgrounds, races, and more. It is important for an organization to manage the differences among its employees in order to influence personal and organizational outcomes. After all, work-related personal outcomes allow the employee to evaluate the organization and find his/her place within it- which influences commitment to an organization. Organizational commitment is a crucial goal due to its ability to reduce various dysfunctional behaviors such as absenteeism or turnover. High organizational commitment also leads to various positive outcomes including stronger customer …

Exploring How Managers Increase Employee Performance Within Organizational Supply Chains, Angela B. Freeman

Walden Dissertations and Doctoral Studies

Leaders and the strategies they employ to enhance employee performance are essential to retaining an organization's competitive advantage. The purpose of this multiple case study was to explore the strategies used by supply chain management managers to improve employee performance in the workplace. The conceptual framework for this study combined elements from Vroom's expectancy theory of motivation, Adams's equity theory of motivation and leadership, and transformational leadership theories. Participants were selected via the purposeful sampling of 6 successful supply chain managers in the District of Columbia's metropolitan area. Data were obtained using semistructured face-to-face interviews, interview notes, transcripts, and a …

Mindspace And Development Of Organizational Culture In Aviation Safety Management, Wilson Gilliam Jr

International Journal of Aviation, Aeronautics, and Aerospace

Abstract

The organization’s role in establishing a culture fertile for safety development, risk management and mitigation is paramount. Barriers to the effectiveness of aviation safety systems may emerge when human biases interfere with the basic processes of safety management systems. Biases come in many forms and can serve as unconscious discriminatory behaviors against a person’s race, gender, sexual orientation, profession, skill level or other characteristic. Biases can also result from instinctive reactions and habitual patterns serving to protect one’s status, sense of belonging, desire to be viewed as normal and other characteristics. Minimizing biases within an organization is a key …

Breaking The Cycle Of Abusive Supervision: How Disidentification And Moral Identity Help The Trickle-Down Change Course, Shannon G. Taylor, Matthew D. Griffith, Abhijeet K. Vadera, Robert Folger, Chaim R. Letwin

Research Collection Lee Kong Chian School Of Business

Studies show that abusive leader behaviors "trickle down" to lower organizational levels, but this research ignores that many abused supervisors do not perpetuate abuse by harming their own subordinates. Drawing on social-cognitive theory and related research, we suggest abused supervisors might defy rather than emulate their managers' abusive behavior. Specifically, we predicted that some abused supervisors-namely, those with strong moral identities-might in effect "change course" by engaging in less abuse or demonstrating ethical leadership with their subordinates to the extent they disidentify with their abusive managers. Across 2 experiments (n = 288 and 462 working adults, respectively) and a field …

Does Having A Bad Boss Make You More Likely To Be One Yourself?, Shannon G. Taylor, Robert Folger, Abhijeet K. Vadera, Matthew D. Griffith, Chaim R. Letwin

Research Collection Lee Kong Chian School Of Business

Toxic bosses harm employees in countless ways — for instance, by lowering morale, diminishing well-being, and increasing work-family conflict. Estimates suggest abusive supervision costs organizations millions in lost productivity, employee turnover, and litigation each year. Although prior research has found that leader behaviors can “trickle down” to affect the actions of employees at lower organizational levels, surely not all abused supervisors abuse their own subordinates. So when do supervisors perpetuate abuse in organizations, when don’t they, and why?

Third Party Employment Branding: What Are Its Signaling Dimensions, Mechanisms, And Sources?, Brian R. Dineen, Greet Van Hoye, Filip Lievens, Lindsay Mechem Rosokha

Research Collection Lee Kong Chian School Of Business

Massive shifts in the recruitment landscape, the continually changing nature of work and workers, and extraordinary technological progress have combined to enable unparalleled advances in how current and prospective employees receive and process information about organizations. Once the domain of internal organizational public relations and human resources (HR) teams, most employment branding has moved beyond organizations’ control. This chapter provides a conceptual framework pertaining to third party employment branding, defined as communications, claims, or status-based classifications generated by parties outside of direct company control that shape, enhance, and differentiate organizations’ images as favorable or unfavorable employers. Specifically, the authors first …

Leadership Influence And Organizational Culture Influence In Private Schools: A Comparative Multiple Case Study On The Relationship Between Organizational Culture And Strategic Leadership, Julia E. Tucker-Lloyd

Theses and Dissertations

The top leader of an organization influences the organizational culture, and the organizational culture influences the leader. Strategic thinking on the part of the leader is a result of organizational culture and/or will impact organizational culture. This qualitative study is a comparative multiple-case study that examines the relationship between leaders and organizational culture and what the leader’s strategic decision-making and organizational changes indicate about the relationship between leadership and organizational culture. The organizational context of private schools is used to better understand the dynamics between leadership and organizational culture.

This study uses an interview protocol with CEOs of private schools, …

The Effect Of Music Characteristics On The Novelty And Usefulness Of Creative Ideas., Kathleen Keeler

Theses and Dissertations

This study explores the relationship between music and creativity. Prior research has conflicting results with some finding that music does influence creativity and some reporting no relationship and others finding that music is harmful to creativity. All of these studies, however, have largely focused on the presence vs. absence of music without consideration for the characteristics (i.e., musical key, tempo, etc.) that make up the sound we identify as music and their unique effects on us emotionally, physically, and cognitively. This dissertation contends that different characteristics of music influence different components of creativity (i.e., novelty and usefulness) through their effects …

A Sociopolitical Perspective To Understand When And Why Supervisors Endorse And Implement Employees’ Suggested Changes, Huaizhong Chen

Graduate Theses, Dissertations, and Problem Reports (ETD)

When employees make suggestions for changes to their supervisors, they are providing raw materials potentially critical to the organization’s continuous improvement and adaptation. However, research suggests that supervisors do not always react favorably to employee voice behavior. The purpose of this study is to unravel the mediating and moderating mechanisms that can explain when and why employee voice behavior leads to supervisor endorsement and implementation. Specifically, taking a sociopolitical perspective, I argued that supervisor motive attributions for employee voice behavior can explain the extent to which supervisors endorse and subsequently implement employee voice. Furthermore, I argued that the mediating effects …

Exploring The Effectiveness Of Social And Digital Media Communications On Organization-Public Relationship Building With Employees, Iris Cumberbatch

Antioch University Dissertations & Theses

More than a decade after the emergence of social and digital media, professional communicators increasingly use these channels to interact with a wide array of stakeholders. Simultaneously, public relations (PR) and communications leaders seek to understand whether their efforts to communicate and engage with stakeholders through these channels are effective in establishing and building relationships, as well as to measure “effectiveness” in the new technology-driven communications landscape. With this study, I addressed a gap in the academic research with regard to understanding the effectiveness of social and digital media as a communications tool by assessing employees’ perceptions of their organization …

Servant Leadership Characteristics And Empathic Care: Developing A Culture Of Empathy In The Healthcare Setting, Mark Anthony Martin

Antioch University Dissertations & Theses

The purpose of this study was to assess the degree to which servant leadership characteristics are exhibited in medical group practices, and the degree to which servant leadership characteristics correlated with measures of empathic care. This study featured an explanatory mixed methods research design embedded in appreciative inquiry. A total of 189 mid-level practitioners consisting of nurse practitioners, physician assistants, and practice mangers responded to a 32-item scale survey that featured a six-point Likert scale to measure servant leadership items and a 10-point continuous scale to assess measures of empathic care. The servant leadership items were based on the seven …

The Role Of The Black Church In Addressing Collateral Damage From The U.S. War On Drugs, Donald L. Perryman

Antioch University Dissertations & Theses

This research is a qualitative examination of African American pastors from urban communities who address the needs of congregants and/or local communities affected directly, or indirectly by mass incarceration. The Black Church, because of its unique sociocultural location and historic role as resource for Black social and economic problems, must help supply the answers to the devastating collateral damage of mass incarceration that primarily affect children and families. The study sets out to understand urban pastors’ perceptions of the role of the Church in the post mass incarceration era. Specifically, the study examines the unique contributions of the African American …

United I Stand: An Investigation Of Power Distance Value And Endorsement Of The Great Man Theory Through American Social Identities, Jeffrey M. Girton

Antioch University Dissertations & Theses

Four decades of research on power distance have been applied to cross-cultural leadership studies on an inter-national level. A quantitative investigation was conducted to analyze a uniquely American narrative of power distance, which was developed through a post-structural epistemology. Using ANTi-History theory, endorsement of the Great Man Theory was argued to be a leadership ethos that is related to American power distance value. The GLOBE project’s Power Distance Subscale, Trompenaars and Hampden-Turner’s Achievement Versus Ascription Scale, and an author-developed scale for self-reported endorsement of the Great Man Theory was deployed to investigate culturally contingent leadership ethos on an intra-national level …