Digital Commons Network^™

Harnessing The Power Of Cliftonstrengths®: How Multinational Corporations Can Use Deep-Level Diversity To Enhance Organizational Inclusion, Trapper Kay Pace

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

This research explicitly investigated how multinational corporations can enhance workplace inclusion through the novel use of the CliftonStrengths® assessment as a dimension of deep-level diversity. The study gleaned insights from employees’ perspectives, employing a constructivist grounded theory approach to explicate their experiences in rich qualitative narratives. Through open-ended surveys and intensive interviews, participants were selected using purposeful sampling to ensure meaningful data collection from the study organizations’ three global regions. The researcher conducted the analysis systematically through the constant comparison of data utilizing the NVivo14 software to assist in constructing codes, themes, and a theoretical schema. Results highlighted the significance …

Empowering Voices: Exploring The Career Trajectories Of Women Of Color Hr Professionals Amid Disruptive Change, Brandi R. Muñoz

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

This study investigated strategies to enhance diversity, equity, inclusion, and belonging initiatives in organizational leadership, focusing on supporting women of color in the workplace. The specific problem addressed was the underrepresentation and barriers faced by women of color in leadership positions despite their potential contributions to organizational success. The study employed a qualitative approach, combining qualitative interviews with socioeconomic data analysis. Data collection methods included semistructured interviews with women of color and a survey to gather demographic and employment information. The sample consisted of 16 women of color human resource professionals working in various industries and organizational settings across the …

The Impact Of Resilience On A Middle Manager’S Resistance To Organizational Change, April D. Hall

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

Change is never ending in organizations, as it is necessary to maintain a competitive advantage. Although change is needed, research shows most change implementations do not succeed.

Middle managers (MMs) are considered the main facilitators of change. They receive directive for change and are tasked with not only processing and accepting the change but also communicating the directive down into the ranks and executing upon it. This basic qualitative study explored how resilience can aid an MM when implementing change, where resistance is present. The conceptual framework for this study included Lewin’s (1947) three-stage model of change theory and the …

Psychological Safety And Conflict Management Among Nurse Practitioners In Interprofessional Teams, Scott Faust

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

This quantitative correlational study explored the relationships between perceived psychological safety, conflict management styles, and perceived conflict management success among nurse practitioners (NPs) operating in interprofessional acute or critical care teams in the United States. Despite existing literature on conflict management and psychological safety, there is a noticeable gap concerning the interplay of these factors, specifically among NPs. A multi-item survey was developed from validated measures to assess psychological safety, conflict management success, and conflict management style. The final sample included 944 NPs. The findings revealed a statistically significant difference in the scores of perceived psychological safety, depending on the …

The Impact Of Internal And External Influences On Federal Procurement Specialists, Jonathan Page

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

Federal procurement specialists have a unique and powerful role in how the United States government spends money. The purpose of this study was to gain an understanding of the impact internal and external influences have on the decision-making process of federal procurement specialists. A mixed-methods research study was conducted using an electronic survey questionnaire to collect quantitative data and video interviews to collect qualitative data. The sample included individuals who held a Federal Acquisitions Certification in Contracting and worked for non-Department of Defense federal agencies. The quantitative findings found that internal and external influences impact federal procurement specialists, but the …

The Emotional Intelligence And Conflict Management Relationship In Black Women Leaders, Tina Raylyn Jackson

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

This study examined the relationship between emotional intelligence and conflict management styles in Black women leaders in the United States. The lack of literature surrounding Black women leaders' emotional intelligence or conflict management styles presented an opportunity to offer quantitative data connected to these constructs. A cross-sectional survey design was used to administer three surveys the Situational Test of Emotional Management- B, the Kraybill Conflict Style Inventory, and a modified version the Multidimensional Inventory of Black of Identity, that focused on Black female identity. Data from 124 participants were analyzed to learn if identity mediated the relationship between emotional intelligence …

Effective Leader Development Within A Church-Planting Organization For A Changing And Chaotic World, Jeremy Davis

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

A challenge in cross-cultural church planting is developing leaders. Cross-cultural church-planting organizations like Latin American Mission (LAM; pseudonym) that lack a leadership development strategy struggle to form lasting leaders, sending missionaries with Biblical training but not leader development training. Additionally, developing leaders in a volatile, uncertain, complex, and ambiguous (VUCA) environment creates specific challenges that missionaries must address. The purpose of this qualitative, Delphi method study was to investigate the leadership development perceptions and experiences among existing LAM missionaries in the regions of Latin America (Colombia, Cuba, Mexico City, Peru, Brazil, and Ecuador) to provide suggestions for improving effective leadership …

Perceptions Of Organizational Politics And Interpersonal Relationships In Black Women's Organizations And Sororities, Mitzi S. Willis

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

Although much research has addressed the relationships between leaders and followers, none has focused on these relationships between Black women—specifically, in the context of Black women’s social service organizations and sororities—and the impact the leader’s chosen style of leadership has on the followers’ use of voice. Self silencing is a prominent response to the power dynamic in many leader–follower relationships. The purpose of this study was to describe the interactions between leaders and followers in Black women’s social service organizations and sororities and identify the influence leadership style has on follower engagement. This study extends the application of silencing the …

Deliberately Developmental Leadership In Organizational Settings, Glenn Allen Nixon

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

The purpose of this qualitative study was to investigate leadership development strategies in organizations in North Texas needed to create prepared, competent leaders who can become and help create deliberately developmental leaders. Open-ended and semistructured interviews were used to collect data, with questions centered on effective leadership development strategies for creating competent leaders and effective leadership strategies for creating deliberately developmental leaders. The idea was to understand if organization’s leadership focused on the need for leadership development, if organizational members were being identified for leadership, and if systems exist to address future organizational leadership needs. Three types of organizations were …

The Correlation Between Transformational Leadership And Mental Health Clinician Burnout, Rebekah E. Shutter

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

Mental health clinicians working in a hospital setting are at a high risk of experiencing burnout due to the stressful demands of their caseloads, compassion fatigue, limited resources, and unsupportive leadership. While there is ample research regarding the cause and effect of burnout on clinicians there is a gap in the literature when it comes to the impact leadership has on mental heath clinician burnout. The purpose of this quantitative, correlational study is to determine if and to what extent there is a correlation between Transformational Leadership and mental health clinician burnout. Participants for this study consisted of 200 mental …

How An Abusive Supervision Climate Impacts Business-To-Business (B2b) Sales Performance, And The Roles Of Leader–Members Interdependence And Team Psychological Safety, Matthew J. Daniel

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

Sales supervisors can tremendously influence the sales teams they manage, and their behaviors can influence a team’s engagement and sales performance. Because of the supervisor’s influential role, their behavior, positive or negative, can ripple throughout the organization. As a result, a supervisor who role models abusive behavior within their organization also promotes a climate of abuse and incivility that can contribute to a toxic workplace. Abusive supervision (AS) is a significant problem in many business-to-business (B2B) sales organizations that negatively impacts the financial welfare and subjective well-being of organizations and their employees. This quantitative correlational study aimed to examine how …

Call Center Retention: A Correlational Study Of Work Attitudes And Satisfaction Of Training And Development For Customer Service Agents, Jacquelyn Holmes Birocci

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

The focus of this study was the theoretical model of work attitudes that customer service representatives have about their jobs, the level of satisfaction they have with training and development, and the relationship of work attitudes and satisfaction with employee retention within U.S.-based software as a service inbound call centers. The purpose of this quantitative correlational research was to investigate if and to what extent work attitudes and satisfaction of training and development had a relationship with employee retention within U.S.-based inbound call centers. A quantitative methodology was used to explore if work attitudes and satisfaction of training and development …

For-Profit Business Leaders’ Perceptions Of Technology And Conflict Resolution In The Workplace, Sherry Hamilton Latten

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

This dissertation explored for-profit business leaders’ experiences with technology and conflict resolution. With the rise of technology in communications in the workplace and the risk of miscommunications leading to negative impacts on organizational and individual performance, understanding leader experiences is vital to organizational success. The purpose of this basic qualitative study was to understand for-profit business leaders’ (1) perceptions of technology and conflict resolution in the virtual workplace and (2) perceptions of their leadership styles and the impact on conflict resolution in the virtual workplace. Prior literature regarding the impact of technology on communications revealed mixed results with some studies …

Abusive Supervision Within The Military Ranks: A Qualitative Examination Of Positive Emotion-Focused Coping Strategies, Demetrius Mcdew

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

In this study, the researcher examined abusive supervision coping by military members. Based on social exchange theory and the power and influence theory, the researcher investigated whether veterans perceived emotional coping (avoidance, support seeking, and reframing) as strategies that mitigated stress caused by abusive supervision while they were serving in their respective military departments. Past studies have not accounted for junior officers or enlisted members; therefore, the researcher studied this lower ranking tier of personnel and discovered that the hierarchy of the military system affected their reporting of and receiving assistance in dealing with abusive supervision. Therefore, affected service members …

The Understanding Of Risk Culture Among Risk Management Practitioners, William L. Raab

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

The study of risk culture is a recent phenomenon focusing on its impact on risk management programs after organizations continue to experience adverse events when implementing risk management programs. This interpretive phenomenological analysis aims to understand whether risk managers understand the impact of risk culture on their risk management programs through their lived experience. Semi-structured interviews of ten risk managers with at least ten years of experience in the risk management profession provided a rich context to support the findings of this study. Risk managers can identify aspects of risk culture, but they struggle to identify ways to change the …

Millennial Employees In Contact Centers: Leadership Style Preferences Contribution To Job Satisfaction, Dana C. Martin Jr.

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

Millennials account for the largest generational cohort in the workforce. Their propensity for turnover is costly to organizations, not just monetary impact, but skill development and sustainability as well. This study attempted to understand if leadership and the preferred leadership style of Millennial employees contribute to job satisfaction. This mixed-methods sequential explanatory study examined how leadership and the preferred leadership style of Millennial employees, from the perspectives of Millennial employees and those who manage them, contribute to job satisfaction. The Job Satisfaction Survey (JSS) was used as the survey tool for the qualitative study (see Appendix A). A questionnaire was …

The Impact Of Disruptive Physician Behavior On Support Staff And Patients: A Quantitative Secondary Analysis, Michael C. Marino

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

In this quantitative secondary analysis, the purpose was to examine the nature of disruptive physician behavior (DPB) from the support staff and patient perspectives. Healthcare staffing shortages existed prior to the global pandemic and have increased, creating importance for employee retention and recruitment. I wanted to understand the impact of physician behavior on staff turnover rates in a private oncology practice, its effect on patient satisfaction rates, and to compare these rates of physicians that display DPB with physicians that do not display this behavior in a private hematology oncology community outpatient setting in the Southwest United States. To answer …

Hazy Team Composition Processes: Shared Team Leadership, A Strategy To Team Excellence In Higher Education, Pervaiz Masih

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

Teamwork is an emergent property of efficacious organizations. Team-based and result-oriented organizational structures are gaining momentum, increasing 6% each year. Over 80% of organizations globally deploy teams by putting ordinary people to work together for extraordinary performance. The Defense Language Institute Foreign Language Center is a unique institute that teaches foreign languages in an immersive and team-based environment. This mixed-methods research study investigated (a) the teaching team composition processes, (b) the applicability of trust and diversity in team composition, and (c) the impact of shared team leadership in the Defense Language Institute Foreign Language Center. Data were collected from 82 …

Exploring The Experiences And Effectiveness Of Student Loan Entrance Counseling, Manoj Thekkadathu Oommen

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

Student loan debt is one of the most pressing issues in the United States today. The rate of student loan debt in the United States continues to rise year after year, and the country is experiencing a crisis of increased student loan debt. A program that started with a budget of $15 million in 1965 to expand access to higher education has increased exponentially to over $1.5 trillion in student loan debt today. Students are ushered into the college experience often without possessing a firm grasp of basic financial literacy skills. Federal legislation mandates borrowers to take a 30-minute counseling …

Servant Leadership And Conflict Adaptivity In Local Government Leaders, June F. Mighty

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

Government organizations’ focus on public service provides a fertile ground for conflict due to competing interests and goals. Conflicts exist and persist because of workplace pressures such as unstable political climates, budget restrictions, technological advances, a diverse workforce, disruptive change, and organizational transformation. Although typically risk-averse, these organizations need flexible and adaptive leaders who exhibit the appropriate behaviors in the best interests of the organization and the community. Servant-leaders seem likely to demonstrate conflict adaptivity due to their focus on serving the needs of followers and other stakeholders, which may require different conflict styles at different times and in different …

An Organization’S Ability To Improve Outsourcing Outcomes In Information Technology Outsourcing Initiatives By Increasing Organizational Knowledge: A Case Study, John Michael Mello

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

The problem addressed in this study was the literature gap regarding how internal organizational knowledge can be increased effectively within outsourcing projects. The study was a qualitative social constructionist case study composed of senior technology leaders. The purpose this study addressed was to understand the current structure of technical outsourcing contracts and how future contracts could be structured to address the problem of this study. The research incorporated how a reconceptualized absorptive capacity model, sociocognitive theory, and digital leadership mindsets could improve knowledge transfer outcomes between a vendor and client. Research shows that increasing an organization’s knowledge during an outsourcing …

Barriers To Succession Planning: A Case Study Of Atlanta Nonprofit Organizations, Adonnis J. Jules

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

Succession planning is not a common practice among nonprofit organizations, despite support for its effectiveness in supporting leadership development and providing organizational stability during a planned or unplanned transition. Nonprofits have acknowledged that their leadership ranks are thin, and a leadership transition tends to bring challenges to the organizations when vacancies need to be filled. Barriers exist that prevent nonprofits from engaging in succession planning, but little research has examined the nature of these barriers. This study focused on nonprofit organizations across four different industry sectors to determine the extent of their succession planning efforts and the barriers that exist …

The Effect Of Servant Leadership On Nonprofit Workplace Conflict, Lorena M. Freeborough

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

Workplace conflict depletes nonprofit organizations of valuable time and energy. Organizations spend millions of dollars because of the financial and human cost of unresolved interpersonal conflict in the workplace that stem from ineffective leadership behaviors. A leader’s ineffective behaviors have been linked to the organizational pressures that can cause and spread counterproductive workplace behavior, which results in interpersonal conflict and great financial cost. The purpose of this quantitative correlational study was to determine the relationship between servant leadership behaviors and interpersonal workplace conflict in nonprofit organizational settings in the United States. Specifically, the intended goal of this research was to …

Identifying Competencies And Outputs Of Sss Role In Stem Bridge Programs In The Silicon Valley, Alexandra C. Duran

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

This study identified the competencies and outputs associated with the role of student support specialists (SSS) in science, technology, engineering, or mathematics (STEM) bridge programs in the community colleges of Silicon Valley. The growth of STEM education, coupled with the increasing diversity of student population in community colleges, has made the work of SSS professionals in the region challenging. While the SSS professionals are often positioned as comprehensive, nonacademic support for STEM students, not enough has been documented on the competencies and outputs associated with SSS role in STEM bridge programs. In addition, most studies on student affairs professionals primarily …

Perceptions And Challenges Of Female Workplace Mediators And How They Overcome Them, Gaedria B. Goodwin

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

This holistic case study with embedded units was conducted to understand and describe the perceptions of female workplace mediators and if they encounter stereotypes, bias, and other challenges as mediators in the state of Texas. Ten female workplace mediators in Texas participated with in-depth, semistructured interviews and an open-ended survey response describing a unique experience they had while mediating workplace disputes. A cross-case synthesis analysis of the results was then conducted with journal notes, literature on gender inequality, mediation, alternative dispute resolution, and Goffman’s theory of stigma. The results of this qualitative research can provide additional alternative dispute resolution techniques …

A Look At Vision: Perspectives Throughout The Organizational Hierarchy Of The Christian University Context, William Kyle Brantley

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

Research supports vision as a central tenet to leadership. Just as important as the content of vision is how it is communicated. However, once a vision is cast, far less is known about how it is communicated throughout the organization and how it influences members throughout the organizational hierarchy. For faith-based organizations like Christian colleges and universities, vision is particularly important as it serves to steer the institution toward a greater realization of its faith-based identity. This study contributes to the empirical research on vision, its communication, and its effect, as both the nature and impact of vision communication within …

Organizational Conditions That Promote And Impede Research Engagement: The Principal’S Perspective, Renee Treat

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

The researcher explored perceptions of the research-practice gap in education, the process through which central actors make decisions related to teacher retention and development, and the organizational conditions that promote and impede research-engagement in this qualitative study. The researcher limited the study to the role of the campus principal and used purposive sampling to select participants from 3 diverse districts in the state of Texas. Because there may be discrepancies between leaders’ perceptions and behaviors, the researcher conducted interview sessions with principals and principal supervisors and conducted observation sessions in principals’ natural work environments. The study results showed that good …

Using Behavior Economic Nudges To Facilitate Client Follow-Through In Financial Coaching, Charlene Hurst

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

While benevolence-based programs have been a large part of meeting immediate financial needs of the poor, they lack the relational aspect needed to facilitate long-term behavior change. Recently many social service organizations have adopted financial coaching as a promising replacement for benevolence programming. The field of coaching has dealt with its own challenges. Most coaching practitioners surveyed in 2016 and 2019 acknowledged lack of client follow-through as their number one challenge. Behavior economics offered nudges as a solution. Nudges are cues placed within the physical environment to prod clients toward behavior change. A quantitative field study was conducted to evaluate …

A Narrative Inquiry With Three Formerly Abrasive Leaders: Stories Of Disruption, Awakening, And Equipping, Lori J. Tucker

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

Psychological aggression in the workplace is known to be destructive. Most commonly, knowledge of this workplace dynamic is through the literature of workplace bullying or abusive supervision and from the perspective of the accuser. Very little is known of the perspective of the accused. Moreover, unknown in the literature is the valued perspective of the leader who (a) acknowledged his or her behavior was inappropriate and (b) significantly improved his or her interpersonal behavior and management strategies. The purpose of this study was to inquire into the experience and meaning making of three formerly abrasive leaders who were positively influenced …

The Convergence Of Engagement Leadership And Leader-Driven Retrenchment Business Strategies: A Phenomenological Approach, Larry Mitchel Hill

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

Scholars and practitioners have studied employee engagement extensively since the late 1990s. Because engaged employees can create a competitive advantage for business enterprises, academics and practitioners have emphasized the need for further research into the relationship between leadership, context, and engagement. There is a gap between knowledge of employee engagement and leaders’ ability to directly engage employees through decisions, actions, and behaviors. Researchers have suggested that employees’ situational assessment also influences their engagement. The purpose of this study was to explore how leader-driven retrenchment strategies during a severe and protracted economic downturn interacted with business leaders’ ability to engage their …