Organizational Behavior and Theory Commons^™

Social Influences, Decision-Making, And Career Retention Of Novice Teachers, Kerstin Anna Stewart

Walden Dissertations and Doctoral Studies

New teachers bring hope, optimism, and excitement for teaching and learning from their individual preparatory programs to their classrooms at the start of every new school year. However, research indicates a large number of those teachers leave the field of teaching within a 5-year timeframe. The consequence of this loss of professionals has a deep-rooted impact on student achievement and learning. This loss also has considerable career and financial implications for the field of education. The reasons for this exodus are varied and somewhat broad in nature and scope. The purpose of this phenomenological study was to describe the lived …

Corporate Social Responsibility And Financial Performance Of U.S. Manufacturing And Service Small- And Medium-Sized Enterprises, Revlon Orlando Williams

Walden Dissertations and Doctoral Studies

Corporate social responsibility (CSR) investment strategies impact the business outcomes of firms of all sizes regardless of investment motives. But for small- and medium-sized enterprises (SME), the consequences of CSR investment are more immediate when compared to larger firms due to the condensed lag time between decisions and their respective outcomes. The purpose of this study was to determine whether the management decisions of social or environmental CSR investments for U.S.-based service and manufacturing SMEs are effective as represented by financial performance in their respective business sectors. The theoretical framework of this study was stakeholder and social capital theories. Five …

Employee Engagement In The Federal Sector: An Exploration Of Communication, Respect, Motivation, And Encouragement, Jody Mcdaniel

Walden Dissertations and Doctoral Studies

The purpose of this qualitative case study was to investigate and deepen the understanding of employee engagement in the multigenerational workforce of a federal agency. Organizational culture in combination with the dispersion of staff across multiple generations presented the opportunity to inform the case study through scientific management theory and the theory of generations as well as concepts regarding organizational change, employee satisfaction, and organizational leadership. Research questions involved investigating factors influencing the reduction in employee satisfaction and engagement, the impact of generational differences, and the role leadership plays in altering employee engagement. Survey questions were developed based on 4 …

Positivity And Intention To Stay Among Pilots In The Royal Malaysian Air Force, Shamsudin Norazrin

Student Works (2020-2029)

The present study looks into the issue of intention to stay among pilots in the Royal Malaysian Air Force (RMAF). Intention to stay is an inverse concept of turnover intention. The psychological effect that requires pilot to serve the organisation over a period of time willingly or by compulsion is the precursor of this study. Taking insight from the positivity approach, the researcher examined the relationship between psychological capital and intention to stay, through work engagement and work happiness as mediators. The data was obtained from 364 pilots working in various RMAF units for a cross sectional approach. The hypotheses …

Emotional Intelligence, Turnover Intention, And Commitment Among Nonprofit Employees, Tabitha Brewster

Walden Dissertations and Doctoral Studies

Employee turnover is a persistent problem contributing to financial issues and declining

productivity in nonprofit organizations. Nonprofits cannot fulfill their core missions of

providing services to people in need when managing staffing disruptions. Measuring

employee turnover intention can determine the probability of employee turnover, and a

potential predictor of turnover intention is emotional intelligence, an area unstudied in the

nonprofit sector. This study was designed to explore this relationship, in addition to the

employee's commitment to the organization. The population consisted of 273 nonprofit

employees older than 18 years, working in a nonsupervisory capacity. They completed an

online survey consisting …

Building Change Agility Within Teams, Tiffany N. Bersos

Theses and Dissertations

Change is necessary for an organization to be successful. However, poorly executed change, with ill-equipped leaders and unprepared teams, often result in failed efforts. Leaders can have a direct impact on their team's change agility and successful change initiatives. This study looked at team leaders and individual contributors across a variety of industries and explored ways that team leaders can build change agility. This study addressed three research questions: how participants defined the role of a leader, what individuals observed about themselves when at their best during a change, and what practices they believed would aid in building change agility …

Contextualizing Performance Of Coordinated Care Network Of Veteran Services In Virginia, Marina Saitgalina, Donta Council

School of Public Service Faculty Publications

Coordinated care network is an approach to human service delivery that is recognized to improve client outcomes at a reduced cost. However, general mixed findings on the effectiveness of coordinated care networks warrant research contextualization. This article seeks to discover factors influencing the performance of a coordinated care network delivering social services to veterans and their families. The study provides a contextual analysis of a coordinated care network launched in 2016 in southeastern Virginia for two samples of 1,512 and 375 veterans and their families. Results of the regression analyses indicate that initial progress has been made both in efficiency …

Rising Above The Adobe Ceiling: A Hermeneutic Phenomenological Study Of Mentoring And Social Capital Influences Among California Latina Nonprofit Leaders, Belinda Hernandez

University of the Pacific Theses and Dissertations

Empirical research studies that focus on the experiences of Latinas in executive leadership are limited. In its entirety, workforce research has overlooked how social and cultural experiences influence this group’s leadership development. This gap in research has failed to uplift the Latina executive voice and their achievements. Addressing this gap has the potential to influence distinctive workforce practices and future scholarship. Utilizing an asset-based perspective, this study presents counter narratives that intentionally focus on exploring Latina leaders’ voices. The importance of intersectional experience and social identities illustrate non-monolithic, yet aligned, experiences among study participants.

This foundational dissertation explored mentoring phenomena …

Special Operations Forces Culture And Implications For Interagency Collaboration, Bradley Rhinelander

Walden Dissertations and Doctoral Studies

The Horn of Africa exemplifies maritime instability due to regional climate, environmental, economic, food, and security issues. Future global challenges require collaborative approaches between U.S. government and military organizations to span organizational boundaries and leverage the strengths and insights of diverse organizations. The purpose of this research was to examine organizational culture and identity, as manifested in organizational literature, to identify opportunities and challenges to interagency networks and collaboration in the realm of confronting wicked problems around the globe. The research questions focus on the cultural and normative elements of organizational identity as manifest in the context of organizational literature. …

Impacting Nonprofit Financial Sustainability And Mission, Jarhal Duncan

Walden Dissertations and Doctoral Studies

Nonprofits in the United States have been struggling to maintain financial sustainability and create new pathways to accomplish its mission. The research problem was that there was limited research on leadership strategies for nonprofits to facilitate the balance of achieving the organizational mission and financial sustainability. The purpose of this study was to increase the understanding of how current leaders of niche-based nonprofit organizations use strategies to impact financial sustainability and maintain the mission of the nonprofit organization. Building on this understanding can help address this issue. Theoretical frameworks such as Resource Dependence Theory and General Systems Theory help develop …

Awareness, Empathy, And Intention: Creating Constructive + Responsive Structures Of Diversity, Equity, And Inclusion, Safa Arshadullah

Scripps Senior Theses

Diversity, equity, and inclusion (DE&I) are three concepts widely understood as integral to positive organizational development. In a capitalist world, these notions are purposefully ignored or superficially discussed for financial and social gain. Prioritizing empathy, compassion, equity, and inclusion as worthwhile endeavours resist those tokenizing and disingenuous systems. This thesis explores the current perfunctory treatment of DE&I in organizations and examines how to incorporate intentional and human-centered values into organizational culture through intersectional thinking, applied empathy, and organizational storytelling. Recognizing lived experiences and personal narratives as equally valuable to quantitative data, this study entrusts both the individual and the organization …

“They F*Cking Own This Sh*T. They're Running It”: Are Music Fandoms Organizations?, Jacqueline Haughton

Scripps Senior Theses

Organizational Studies as a field typically focuses on organizations such as workplaces, large businesses, corporations, or governments. While organizational theorists often recognize in their definitions of organization that other forms of human groups and communities can be considered organizations, they don’t often include non-traditional organizations as examples in literature. In this thesis, I argue that music fandoms are a form of organization by examining multiple definitions, power relations, culture, influence on identity, and lasting impacts of fandom.

The Gender Wage Gap In Research Libraries, Heather A. Howard, Meara Habashi, Jason B. Reed

Libraries Faculty and Staff Scholarship and Research

The gender wage gap impacts millions of women throughout the US and world, with women in the US making on average 82% of men’s salaries (US Census Bureau, 2018). In research libraries, a field dominated by women, this has historically been true as well, with men rising to top positions at a higher rate and making more money than women in the same positions. Over the decades following the implementation of Affirmative Action, the number of women in administrative positions in research libraries has increased dramatically. This article explores the issue of women’s salaries in research libraries in five job …

An Exploration Of Strategic Alignment In Higher Education, Linda Jimenez

Wayne State University Dissertations

The aim of this study is to explore the faculty’s experience and perspective of the alignment between their research, teaching, and service to the institutional priorities. Presently, higher education faces institutional issues that are unique with varying contexts and where strategic alignment has a vital influence on organizational performance. Although faculty’s core activities are service, teaching, and research, the enduring and prevailing challenges in higher education require faculty to expand their roles of core activities and engage in broader strategic initiatives of institutions. The need for this study is driven by a shortage of evidence about whether and how faculty …

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 …

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 …

Developing Ei: Leadership Journeys In Emotional Intelligence, Erin Bric

Theses and Dissertations

Emotional intelligence (EI) has been deemed a critical competency for leaders in today's world. However, there is little information to help OD practitioners, leaders, and organizations understand how leaders can develop these skills in ways that meaningfully and positively impact their teams and organizations. This study examined the journeys of senior leaders as they developed their emotional intelligence. The study addressed two research questions: how leaders perceive they have developed their emotional intelligence throughout their lifetimes and how leaders are continuing to develop their emotional intelligence in their lives and careers. Key themes emerged out of leader interviews and were …

Mutual Accountability And Its Impacts On Cross-Functional Teams, Lori E. Simms

Theses and Dissertations

The intent of cross-functional teams is to bring together diverse individuals of relevant functional expertise from across an organization to solve problems rapidly and efficiently. The difficulty with cross-functional teams is in establishing and maintaining mutual accountability because individuals come with their respective individual accountabilities and the methods for which those accountabilities were established. This qualitative study explored mutual accountability, how it is established, and its impact on cross-functional teams. Nine individuals participated in semi-structured interviews to explore how mutual accountability is established, barriers to establishing and maintaining it, and the impact of its presence or lack thereof on the …

An Investigation Into Educational Employee Practices For Finding And Maintaining A Sense Of Meaning In Their Work, Elizabeth P. Taylor

Theses and Dissertations

This mixed method study examined how educational employees in 3 public school districts in southeast Michigan make and/or create a sense of meaning in their work and sought to understand how relationships influence employee's sense of meaningfulness. Quantitative data collection came from a survey combining the Job Crafting Questionnaire (JCQ) and the Work and Meaning Index (WAMI). 266 employees completed the survey. Qualitative data collection included interviewing 17 employees with representation from each role category and each school district. This study found personnel working in the field of education in southeast Michigan find their work highly meaningful; and that relationships …

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 …