Digital Commons Network^™

The Influence Of Outsourcing On Job Satisfaction And Turnover Intentions Of Air Force Civil Engineer Company Grade Officers, James F. Kennedy

Theses and Dissertations

A survey was distributed to 865 active duty Air Force Civil Engineer company grade officers (CGOs) assigned to locations throughout the world. The survey was designed to assess the CGOs' current job satisfaction and their intentions towards making a career out of the Air Force. Additionally, the survey measured the CGOs' perceptions of outsourcing, and how they feel that it will influence the Civil Engineer career field. Relationships were evaluated between the perceptions of outsourcing and job satisfaction, and between job satisfaction and turnover intentions. Overall, Civil Engineer CGOs reported a slightly positive level of satisfaction and a negative perception …

Relationships Between Leader Characteristics, Planned Change And Organizational Culture In A Dynamic Manufacturing Environment, Matthew Chodkowski

Dissertations

The new economic era has been marked by profound global change. In response, researchers and practitioners have called for a rethinking of the conventional concepts of leadership, change, and organizational culture to improve our competitiveness in this turbulent world market. This study investigated the relationships between leader style, leader behavior, leadership paradigm, leader knowledge of change, organizational culture potency, and planned change efficacy in a manufacturing company implementing a high performance work system change initiative. This study intended to contribute to the reconceptualization of the leadership construct and the explication of the leadership-culture-change linkage.

Six hundred and eighty-nine subjects representing …

Seafarers' Social Life And Its Effect On Maritime Safety With Respect To Egyptian Seafarers, Ahmed Abd El Naiem Hafez

World Maritime University Dissertations

No abstract provided.

Empowerment Of A Uaw Workforce, Paula L. Hughel

Theses

This thesis will investigate whether empowerment of a workforce has a positive correlation on employee job satisfaction.

Research supports that the automotive industry is continuously focusing on the reduction of structural costs. One area that is commonly focused on is the reduction of manpower, specifically management. As the number of managers are reduced some of the work is being redistributed to the employees. Along with the additional work comes decision making responsibilities.

Although research supports that empowerment has a positive correlation on business results and working environments, it is inconclusive that empowerment has a positive correlation relative to job satisfaction. …

An Evaluation Of The Competency Modeling Method Used By A Major Telecommunications Company, Sharon K. Kramer

Theses

This thesis focuses on competency model development methods and evaluating an actual competency model development method used by a consulting company on behalf of its client.

As HRD professionals get down to actually measuring human performance against the model they set forth to specify competency and its associated behaviors, they often find behavioral measurements to be subjective and relative, rather than objective and criterion-based.

The purpose of this study is to review competency model definitions and development methods, as well as the implications for using competency models to improve human performance, business results and competitive advantage.

The competency model development …

The Changing Context Of Practice, Stephen M. Brown

WCBT Faculty Publications

Environmental and organizational changes are putting new demands on training. Training must change to support new organizational structures within a complex and changing business and social environment.

Evaluation of training must be multilevel, customer focused, and support continuous improvement of training.The challenge is to provide meaningful data that enables assessment of customer satisfaction, business impact, and return on investment.

The Organizational Action Research Model, Morton Elfenbein, Stephen M. Brown, Kim H. Knight

WCBT Faculty Publications

This chapter proposes a paradigm, which empowers practitioners to practice research to meet their needs and to advance the profession to which they belong. It proposes the integration of practitioner and researcher role as an alternative to the fragmented model that currently exists. In doing so, it draws much from the past tradition of the action researchers as well as the science approach espoused by others. In this way, the needs of individual managers to evaluate their espoused theories and their theories-in-use can be undertaken so that their organizations can function more realistically and can respond more effectively to the …

A Test Of A Rapid Developer Model: Workplace Factors Associated With Learning And Development, James A. Alexander

Dissertations

The speed at which individuals and organizations learn and develop is a vital contributor to organizational change and organizational effectiveness. This study postulated the notion of "rapid developers”, those persons who learn and acquire job competence more quickly than their peers. The purpose of this study was to identify, define, and differentiate the factors associated with "rapid development."

The author constructed a rapid developer model based upon the review of the disciplines of training, performance technology, total quality, organization learning, and organization culture. The model identified and defined the contextual factors that could be expected, based on an understanding of …

Empowerment As An Organizational Tool For Increasing Competitiveness: A Case Study, Carl D. Sweet

Theses and Dissertations

This thesis explores the use of employee empowerment as a means of improving organizational competitiveness in the marketplace. The methodology used is a case study of a small, private-sector company that used this strategy to improve its productivity, product quality and profitability. The results of this research were then examined to determine whether the successful practices identified in this organization can be applied to Air Force attempts to adopt employee empowerment. The paper summarizes the organizational characteristics generally present where employee empowerment has been successfully implemented, as reported in current management literature, including the following: (1) company culture conducive to …

Women And Leadership Working Paper Series: Paper No. 9: The Dual-Career Phenomenon: Employer Awareness And Responses, Catherine R. Smith

Research outputs pre 2011

Over the past thirty years, Western industrialised nations have witnessed major changes in their labour force characteristics. Of particular significance has been the steady increase of women in the paid workforce. Equal employment opportunity legislation, higher educational achievements and increasing numbers of female role models have fuelled women's career possibilities and aspirations. Consequently, growing numbers of women are pursuing longer-term careers, often through the ranks of management. A career implies a longer term developmental occupation or profession, with a sequence of connections and networks over time, although this does not preclude lateral or downward moves or temporary withdrawals, in response …

Women And Leadership Working Paper Series: Paper No. 8: Career Transitions Of Dual-Career Couples: An Empirical Study, Catherine R. Smith

Research outputs pre 2011

No abstract provided.

Concepts Of Career Planning, Stephanie G. Venable

Theses

This thesis study consists of general information and historical perspectives on vocational guidance. Vocational guidance is researched and the problems of managing one's own career. This study introduces major writers and summarizes their contributions of work in vocational guidance. Specifically the research of what organizations and schools are doing to help individuals manage their careers. The most important research to this focus is job hunting and in-depth discussion on various topics related to this focus.

Strategic Planning For Downsizing And The Human Resource Factor, Kathleen M. Kaiser

Theses

This thesis will focus on the study of downsizing , the importance of a strategic plan for downsizing and the effect the on human resource factor .

Businesses experienced unprecedented growth throughout the 1960 1 s and early 1970 ' s ; in the 1980 1 s the recession slowed this growth and downsizing became a necessary economic device for businesses to remain competitive . Some of the reasons stated for downsizing are : to safeguard profit mar gins , stagnant growth , poor earnings , market driven cuts , foreign competition , advancing technology , and a last ditch …

A Center For Training And Development, Mendy L. Warman

Theses Digitization Project

No abstract provided.

An Analysis Of The Extent To Which Humor Is Accepted And Employed In The Workplace For The Enhancement Of Productivity And Creativity, Jonathan R. Specht, Paul D. Tobin

Theses and Dissertations

Today's business literature is filled with discussions of the many benefits humor can bring to the work environment. Two of these purported benefits, namely, the enhancement of workplace productivity and the enhancement of workplace creativity, have attracted the attention of modern managers challenged with keeping their organizations competitive despite dwindling financial and human resources. Unfortunately, little research has been done to date which actually demonstrates a link between the existence of workplace humor and improved levels of productivity and creativity. Without this demonstration of causality, most managers are reluctant to invest corporate resources in pursuit of workplace humor despite its …

A Maintenance Manpower Study Of The Composite Wing At Mountain Home Afb, Stella T. Smith, Cristina C. Vilella

Theses and Dissertations

In response to changes in threats, the Air Force has reorganized several flying units into composite wings. They are intended to provide a flexible, rapid deployment force. This study focused on the impact of the composite wing organizational structure on the determination of maintenance manpower authorizations at Mountain Home AFB, the Air Forces first air intervention wing. An opinion survey of maintenance and manpower experts was used to identify factors that are important in the determination of maintenance manpower authorization levels. Statistical analysis identified important-factors and indicated differences in opinion between maintenance and manpower specialists. Factors specific to the composite …

Managing The Diverse Workforce, Kevin W. Williamson

Theses

This thesis will focus on the changes that are occurring in the composition of the population of the U.S. - how diverse it has become - and diversity's impact on the U.S. business entity.

Research has indicated that the largest percentage of new growth in the labor market will minorities and women. By the year 2000 the workforce will become more heterogeneous from a race, skill and experience standpoint. With the population of the U.S. shrinking, the pool from which employers have to select prospective employees from is also shrinking. The issue is employer demand. Companies that strive to remain …

Home To Stay: An Empirical Evaluation Of Repatriation Turnover, Ralph Beidelman

Master's Theses

No abstract provided.

An Evaluation Of Individual Empowerment And Self-Efficacy On Sexual Harrassment In The Work Environment, Rebecca A. Gebhard, Edgar J. Labenne

Theses and Dissertations

The purpose of this thesis was to develop an instrument that would measure an individual's ability to define sexual harassment and address gender discrimination. In addition, the thesis determines the relationship of empowerment, self-efficacy, and training as it affects the awareness of harassment. Extensive statistical analysis was performed on the instrument and sample data. The importance of developing this instrument is evident in its ability to create regression models to predict the existence of empowerment and self-efficacy which could be useful to improve morale and productivity. This thesis provides a history of sexual harassment from the difficulty in defining terminology, …

A Cipp Evaluation Of The Administrative Associate Training Program Through Sentara, Patricia A. Criswell

Community & Environmental Health Theses & Dissertations

Hospitals are facing change in today's environment. In order to meet these growing challenges, they are responding by providing value added services. Value added services have been defined as reducing inefficiencies and improving quality and service. Operational restructuring in the form of a new concept called patient-focused care has become the paradigm shift and structural revamping at several hospitals across the nation. Sentara Hospitals have adopted this program to improve the clinical and service quality delivered to the patient. An integral component of this new approach is the multiskilling of staff to reduce duplication, inefficiencies, and improve the quality provided …

A Study Of Individual And Group Incentives In Total Quality Management Organizations, Nina Leigh Moll

Master's Theses

No abstract provided.

An Examination Of The Compressed Work Week In A Continuous Operation, Mark Tippins

Master's Theses

No abstract provided.

Challenges To United States Tactical Air Force Aircraft Maintenance Personnel: Past, Present And Future, Barbara L. Harris

Theses and Dissertations

This study assessed the challenges Tactical Air Force (TAF) aircraft maintenance personnel face as a result of the TAF reorganization. The goal was to provide aircraft maintenance managers a basis for evaluating and meeting those challenges. To accomplish this, emphasis was placed on documenting the concepts, events, and conditions which led to changes in military aircraft maintenance from the birth of aviation to the present. Current issues such as the proposed move to two-level maintenance and the formation of the TAF composite and Objective Wings were also addressed. Research was conducted through the review of available historical documents, complemented by …

Employers' Views On The Value Of Older Workers : Final Report, Edmund S. Muskie Institute Of Public Affairs

Maine Collection

Employers' Views on the Value of Older Workers : Final Report

Submitted to: The AARP Andrus Foundation

Prepared by: Human Services Development Institute, Edmund S. Muskie Institute of Public Affairs, University of Southern Maine, 96 Falmouth St., Portland, Maine 04103 (August 1991).

Contents: Acknowledgements / Executive Summary / Abstract / I. Introduction and Background / II. Project Methodology / III. Findings / IV. Conclusions and Recommendations / References

Managing Total Quality Training, Earl E. Frischkorn

Master's Theses

No abstract provided.

The Importance Of Management Philosophy To The Success Of Pay-For-Knowledge Systems: An Empirical Test, Timothy P. Schweizer

Graduate Theses and Dissertations

In recent years, pay-for-knowledge compensation systems have received serious attention from practitioners and organizational researchers. Some have hypothesized that the specific mechanics of pay-for-knowledge systems are critical to success while others have suggested that contextual factors determine whether or not these systems will be successful. Empirical research has not been very supportive of these hypotheses, however.

Another hypothesis is that management philosophy is important to the success of pay-for-knowledge systems. The purpose of this study is to test this hypothesis by addressing three questions: 1) Are the components that make up management philosophy related to the successes experienced by companies …

Quality Circle Participation: Influences On Quality Of Work Life, Job Satisfation And Self-Esteem, Lawrence Scott Blair

Theses Digitization Project

No abstract provided.

An Evaluation Of The Orientation And Training Programs Of A Fast Food Franchise, Cheryl M. Donahey

Retrospective Theses and Dissertations

Very few attempts have been made to adequately evaluate training programs. The research reported here is an attempt to evaluate the effects of the revised orientation and training programs of a fast food franchise. Subjects consisted of 676 hourly employees of a Central Florida fast food franchise who completed questionnaires soliciting measures of the following perceptions: managements' consideration and structure levels and the effectiveness of the revised orientation and training programs. Modest support was found for the prediction that the revised programs would increase the employees' perception of managements' consideration. No evidence was found to support the hypotheses that employees …

An Exploratory Study Of Organizational Trust & Its Multiple Dimensions: A Case Study Of General Motors, Kerry Hart

Masters Theses & Specialist Projects

Over 1700 employees of the General Motors Corporation defined trust and described personal work experiences that affected their trust toward the organization. These employee comments were factor analyzed to determine the dimensions of organizational trust. An instrument was developed from employee comments to measure the level of trust in a GM location. With the level of trust quantified, the demographic effects on trust and the relationship between trust and management's communication effectiveness were investigated.

This approach provided new knowledge of trust in an industrial environment. Three dimensions of organizational trust were identified: Openness/Congruity, Shared Values, and Autonomy/Feedback. Age, length of …