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Doing More With Less At Ariens: A Leadership And Transformation Case Study, Jennifer K. Hartwell, George Roth

Organization Management Journal

Ariens is a family-owned manufacturer of lawn and snow equipment that designs, manufactures, sells, distributes, and supports its products in the United States, and more recently, internationally. Ariens faced and overcame a number of difficult challenges over the last decade by adopting and sustaining lean production principles throughout the organization, as well as with its suppliers and customers. This case study describes earlier business challenges, the changes that were made, how they were led, and the response of the workforce. The case study focuses on the period from 1998 to 2005, and a post-script updates what has happened up through …

Comments By George Roth And Jennifer Hartwell On “Off The Rails: Understanding The Derailment Of A Lean Manufacturing Initiative” By Turesky And Connell, Jennifer K. Hartwell, George Roth

Organization Management Journal

No abstract provided.

Innovation In The Early Church: Strengthening The Thesis, Michael E. Cafferky

Faculty Works

In his response to Oster’s article, Cafferky offers commendations for the points that Oster presents when considering the events described in Acts 10-11. Cafferky also explores what he believes is an implicit assumption in Oster’s article regarding applying organizational theory from the for-profit sector straight across into the nonprofit sector. Oster’s thesis might be strengthened if the literature from the world of organization theory applicable to nonprofits is considered. Finally, Cafferky attempts to strengthen Oster’s thesis by exploring the complexity of the identity and purpose that he believes the first century Jewish Christians carried with them as they evaluated the …

Organic Restaurant Business Plan, Jesse Adam Godsey

Agribusiness

This study was undertaken to determine if it is feasible to open an organic restaurant in San Luis Obispo, CA.

All collected data went into the development of a bare bones business plan for the organic restaurant. The report utilizes two techniques for analysis of this data. A strategic analysis was used to determine if the restaurant could be a legitimate competitor among the many local restaurants of San Luis Obispo. Strengths, weaknesses, opportunities, and threats were outlined, given weights according to their impact, and used to develop a SWOT matrix. Strategic goals were set after reviewing the matrix and …

Spirituality At Work And Organizational Citizenship Behavior: A Replication Study In Taiwan, Gilbert Tan, Christine Kuo, Eugene Zhen Yao Geh

Research Collection Lee Kong Chian School Of Business

Interest in Management, Spirituality and Religion (MSR) research has surged over the last decade. However, most of the studies are done in the Western context. Tan and Geh’s (2009) is an exception. In Tan and Geh’s study, they provided a theoretical model linking spirituality at work with organizational citizenship behavior (OCB) through organizational commitment as the mediator and tested it empirically. The findings of the study, though exploratory, were interesting. They affirmed the effectiveness of affective commitment as a mediator between spirituality at work and OCB. Normative commitment, however, was not as effective. Their findings also show that continuance commitment …

Using Critical & Creative Thinking To Enhance Productivity In Integrated Marketing Communications Meetings And Procedures, Ashley N. Smith

Critical and Creative Thinking Capstones Collection

This paper provides a teaching model for how to effectively incorporate Critical and Creative Thinking (CCT) methods into a business setting to initiate organizational change. I developed a workshop on workplace meetings based on the imperfections of the marketing team at “ICS.” The workshop touches on CCT methods that are needed in order for organizations to change. I also integrated CCT methods into the Integrated Marketing Communications (IMC) Procedure to enhance productivity and produce results. Integrated marketing is made up of many pieces of the media field, but often the participants in IMC are searching for the same end result. …

A Student Manual For Venture Consulting, Julianna Ferri

Honors Scholar Theses

This manual is written to provide students taking the venture consulting class a better understanding of how to consult a small or medium sized business. It covers topics such as how to find a client, how to determine the business problem, how to collect data from customers as well as managers and employees, and how to come up with solution recommendations. By reading the manual, students will gain a better understanding of the consulting industry and will have a guide to help them through the project.

Strategic Information Systems Alignment: A Longitudinal Investigation, Chowa Kachaka Charles

Dissertations

The alignment between business and information systems’ strategies (strategic IS alignment) has occupied researchers’ and practitioners’ interest over the past two decades. This is due to the belief that strategic IS alignment positively affects business performance. However, despite the concerted effort in seeking to understand the alignment phenomenon, executives in organizations continue to complain of the difficulty in achieving and sustaining alignment. This may be due to a lack of a comprehensive model of alignment that takes into account its dynamic nature and the factors that affect it over time. Therefore, this study seeks to add to our accumulated knowledge …

Nonlinear Politics Perceptions–Work Outcomes Relationships: A Three-Study, Five-Sample Investigation, Vickie C. Gallagher, Wayne A. Hochwarter, Gerald R. Ferris, Mary D. Laird

Business Faculty Publications

This research reports the findings of three studies (involving a total of five samples) developed to explore the nonlinear relationships of organizational politics perceptions with practically and theoretically relevant work outcomes. Study 1 hypothesized a nonlinear relationship between organizational politics perceptions and job satisfaction. In Sample 1 of this study, a nonlinear relationship was identified, best depicted as an inverted-U form, and Sample 2 replicated this finding. Study 2 hypothesized a U-shaped relationship between politics perceptions and job tension, which was identified in Sample 3 and corroborated in Sample 4. In a single-sample investigation (i.e., Sample 5), Study 3 extended …

Employee Theft: Determinants Of Motive And Proactive Solutions, David Langner

UNLV Theses, Dissertations, Professional Papers, and Capstones

Theft in the workplace, specifically performed by the employees, is a daunting situation for American business - both corporate and small proprietorships. This paper calls upon available literature to provide an in-depth analysis that focuses on employee's motive to steal from their employer and the potential proactive solutions organizations can implement to deter theft by improving morale and trust in the workplace. The topic will be examined from a linear fashion that looks at the concept of employee theft and common motivational determinants such as employer resentment, animosity, and the perception of fairness. Next, numerous organizations have adopted theft detection …

Emotion Management In Radical Change: A Preliminary Study Of Earthquake Power Restoration, Taieb Hafsi, Xu Liang, Wenjing Lin, Kangxiong Yu, Li Yan

Research Collection Lee Kong Chian School Of Business

This paper studies leaders’ emotion capacity as a strategic response to unexpected radical changes, forced by a social and natural crisis. We propose that empathy is a critical strategic management tool enhancing management effectiveness. We also provide insights of the dynamics between decision making process and emotion management.

Structural And Informal Knowledge Acquisition And Dissemination In Organisational Learning: An Exploratory Analysis, Siu Loon Hoe

Research Collection School Of Computing and Information Systems

PurposeThe topic of organizational learning is populated with many theories and models; many relate to the enduring organizational learning framework consisting of knowledge acquisition, knowledge dissemination, and knowledge use. However, most of the research either emphasizes structural knowledge acquisition and dissemination as a composite construct, or focuses solely on the structural aspect of knowledge acquisition and dissemination. The primary objective of this study is to develop and test a model of organizational learning that incorporates both structural and informal knowledge acquisition and dissemination and as separate processes. The predictors of these processes are also proposedDesign/methodology/approachA model of organizational learning that …

“Brick & Mortar” Education And “Real World” Experience: Assessing Hrm Alumni Perceptions Of Their Early Professional Development, Jennifer Mencl, Scott W. Lester, Kristina A. Bourne, Cheryl Maranto

Management Faculty Research and Publications

In this research we examined the extent to which three distinct human resource management (HRM) undergraduate programs provide coverage of the 13 core content areas specified by the Society for Human Resource Management (SHRM) and explored the usefulness of various ways of learning including their undergraduate coursework, an internship, and previous work experience as related to early professional development. Based on perceptions of HRM alumni, the findings reveal that the three curricula provided significant differences in levels of proficiency in seven of the core areas and in perceived usefulness of the learning methods. Implications for HRM curriculum development and students’ …

Testing The Impact Of Global Mindset On Positive Organizational Outcomes: A Multi-Level Analysis, Joana S. Story

Department of Agricultural Leadership, Education, and Communication: Dissertations, Theses, and Student Research

This multi-level study examined the relationship between leaders’ global mindset with followers’ rating of trust in leader, quality of the leader-member relationship (LMX), and organizational commitment. Complexity of global role and leader distance were also examined as moderating variables. Data were collected from 78 leader participants and 240 raters from one Fortune 100 multinational organization. A multilevel data analysis was conducted using Hierarchical Linear Modeling. No significant relationships were found between global mindset and ratings of follower trust in leader and quality of the leader-member-relationship. A significant negative relationship was found between global mindset of leaders and follower organizational commitment. …

How To Improve Project Management For Agile Federation Development, Priyanka Kotikalpudi

Engineering Management & Systems Engineering Theses & Dissertations

Developing a simulation federation out of a variety of heterogeneous simulation solutions is a complex task requiring very effective project management support in order to accomplish the common objectives and goals of this M&S federation. This thesis study conducts a detailed survey of available literature to identify the project management methods that can be extended to be applied to manage the development of simulation systems. The literature review led to the following two main results: (a) in general, there is insufficient literature dealing with M&S challenges for project management, (b) in particular, the two challenges of often changing requirements leading …

The Effects Of Opinion Leaders And Change Messages On Organization Member Change Attitudes: A Field Experiment, Ryan L. Leblanc

Theses and Dissertations

The extent to which three change introduction strategies (i.e., opinion leadership, edict, and change message) influenced readiness for change were tested at four locations as part of a quasi-field experiment with three groups receiving an enriched change message and one control group. Readiness was measured before and after change implementation where it was hypothesized that change readiness would be most improved within the groups that heard the most persuasive and rich change messages. These hypotheses were not supported and data indicated that the differing treatments were never received by the majority of the change recipients, rendering the results of the …

Optimizing Aircraft Availability: Where To Spend Your Next O&M Dollar, Frederick G. Fry

Theses and Dissertations

In the current fiscally constrained environment, the Air Force must allocate resources where they are most needed and will be most effectively used. For aircraft, this means spending money on weapon systems in a manner that optimizes aircraft availability rates, thereby maximizing the warfighting capability of the Air Force. With that in mind, this thesis endeavors to improve the analytical capability of the Air Force by demonstrating a definitive link between operations and maintenance (O&M) spending and aircraft availability rates. In order to do that, explanatory regression models are developed that show the relationship between O&M spending and AA rates, …

Validation Of The Organizational Culture Assessment Instrument: An Application Of The Korean Version, Yun Seok Choi, Minhee Seo, David Scott, Jeffrey J. Martin

Kinesiology, Health and Sport Studies

The purpose of this study was to examine the psychometric properties of the Korean version of the Organizational Culture Assessment Instrument (OCAI) based on the Competing Values Framework (CVF). More specially, cultural equivalence between the Korean version and the original English version of the OCAI was evaluated using 39 bilingual Koreans. Next, a field test was conducted to examine scale reliability and construct validity of the Korean version of the OCAI using 133 organizational members from the Korean Professional Baseball League (KPBL). The findings indicate that the Korean version was successfully translated, items maintained the same meaning of the original …

Measure For Measure? Navigating Judgment And Taboos In Teaching And Research, Sally Riad, Michael Elmes

Organization Management Journal

No abstract provided.

Our Biggest Issue Yet, William P. Ferris

Organization Management Journal

No abstract provided.

Negative Judgments: Reflections On Teaching Reflective Practice, Steven S. Taylor

Organization Management Journal

Teaching reflective practice places difficult demands on the teacher as it seems to inevitably highlight the teacher’s own ability, or lack thereof, to be a reflective practitioner. In this article, I reflect upon a time when I was teaching reflective practice online and a student and I made negative judgments about each other. I found that my negative judgments were primarily based in a tacit assumption that I am right (and the student was wrong) and a fear of failing as a teacher. By being tacit, they are hidden from possible inquiry. An important aspect of my own defensive behavior …

Two To The Power Of Three: An Exploration Of Metaphor For Sense Making In (Women’S) Collaborative Inquiry, Louise Grisoni, Margaret Page

Organization Management Journal

This paper explores how working with metaphors provides a way to explore under the surface dynamics embedded in the practice and processes of collaborative inquiry. We argue that metaphors are a form of presentational knowing and provide a bridge between experiential knowing and propositional knowing. We have surfaced an exploration of horizontal (sibling) and vertical relations using retrospective inquiry. This paper demonstrates the reality, messiness and politics of collaborative research inquiry processes, which tend to be understudied and under-theorized. We are concerned to affirm the value of collaborative inquiry, and at the same time, break some taboos and myths concerning …

Integrated Conflict Management Systems As Cure And Cause: How Leaders Address Cultural Change And Conflict In Their Organizations, Brian S. Beck

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

Organizations experience the bottom line impact of internal conflicts daily. Conflicts between employees simply drain organizational resources. The idea of Integrated Conflict Management Systems (ICMS) has been introduced to help minimize the impact of these conflicts. ICMS, through the development of policies and procedures to address conflicts, are actually attempting to change the organization's culture, and when organizations attempt cultural changes, conflicts are likely to occur. The primary component of cultural change is the organizational leader.

The study interviews organizational leaders about the conflicts that occur when organizations change cultures and the methods that leaders use to work through those …

Introduction To Linking Theory & Practice Section, Alvin Hwang

Organization Management Journal

No abstract provided.

Strategic Transformation Process: Toward Purpose, People, Process And Power, Elizabeth B. Davis, James Kee, Kathryn Newcomer

Organization Management Journal

Across the world, public and non-profit sector leaders face an extremely turbulent socio-political-economic environment. This environment creates additional risks and uncertainties for organizations and may hinder a leader’s ability to act strategically. Addressing these complex, constantly evolving conditions requires leaders to develop processes that involve the organization’s stakeholders and that create organizational conditions for self-generation, creativity, resilience and action planning. In this paper we provide an organizational-level, integrative framework for the strategic transformation of public and non-profit organizations to assist leaders who are committed to effective stewardship of their organizations. The Strategic Transformation Process involves an intense dialogue among organizational …

A Review Of Research On Online And Blended Learning In The Management Disciplines: 1994–2009, Jb Arbaugh, Ashay Desai, Barbara Rau, Balakuntalam S. Sridhar

Organization Management Journal

This paper reviews studies of online and blended learning in managementoriented disciplines and management-related topics. The review shows that over the last decade, this emerging field has seen dramatic conceptual, methodological, and analytical advances. However, these advances have progressed within the particular disciplines at uneven rates. Studies examining courses in Organizational Behavior and Strategic Management have seen the most progress, with courses in Human Resources, Operations Management, and International Management receiving lesser attention. To date, studies of courses in Entrepreneurship are next to non-existent. Our review suggests that although several multi-course studies have been published, there is ample opportunity for …

How Many Minds Does A Team Have? Contextual Ambidexterity And Goal Harmony In Healthcare, Sridhar Belavadi Seshadri

Student Scholarship

"Ambidexterity: Noun: 1. ambidextrous ease, skill, or facility; 2. unusual cleverness; 3.duplicity; deceitfulness." Retrieved March 21, 2010, from Dictionary.com website: http://dictionary.reference.com/browse/ambidexterity Despite their research and educational prowess, Academic Medical Centers are in a crisis. Public reporting of quality and patient satisfaction data, increasing costs, stiffer competition, and anticipated tightening of budgets have created new levels of urgency among medical school deans and hospital CEOs to increase the effectiveness of the clinical enterprise on multiple fronts. This study models an AMC as a loosely coupled system and examines how interdisciplinary teams--comprising administrators, physicians, and nurses--work to harmonize seemingly disparate quality improvement …

The Outsourcing Of Creative Work And The Limits Of Capability: The Case Of The Philippines Animation Industry, Feichin Ted Tschang, Andrea Goldstein

Research Collection Lee Kong Chian School Of Business

The animation industry, like many information-technology-enabled services sectors, has been of interest to many developing countries interested in developing services outsourcing industries. We analyze the case of the Philippines' animation industry. This paper investigates the outsourcing process in animation and the nature of capabilities within that, with the goal of contributing to a more general understanding of services outsourcing. We examine the industry's history, interview data with industry participants, and secondary data. We find that strong labor force skills have been central to capabilities rather than organizational abilities. Outsourcing of production takes place only so far as the work is …

2010-01-07 General Education Council Meeting Minutes, Morehead State University. Faculty Senate., General Education Council.

Faculty Senate Records

General Education Council meeting minutes from January 7, 2010.

Organizational And Leadership Implications For Transformational Development, John Gorlorwulu, Tim Rahschulte

Faculty Publications - College of Business

Transformational development is a concept of change that originated in the Christian context but has now become generally used in the work of both secular and faith-based organizations. The growing use of the concept by organizations that are fundamentally different has naturally led to some confusion about what the concept means and what it takes to effectively implement it. In this article, we describe the key features of the concept and how they are important in determining the organizational requirements for its effective implementation. Drawing on a few cases, the paper highlights the centrality of faith in transformational development work.