Digital Commons Network^™

Founder-Leader Transitions: The Role Of Succession Planning In Nonprofit Organizations, Joanne V. Kosciolek

Theses and Graduate Projects

There are both opportunities and challenges associated with executive transitions. Succession planning is becoming an increasingly significant topic for many nonprofit organizations in the Twin Cities. The retirement of the large generation of baby-boom leaders during the next decade is likely to have a direct impact on the capacity of organizations to sustain their work. This is especially critical for smaller organizations and those with founders or long-term executive directors who leave. These leaders have shaped their organizations throughout their tenure and are seen as synonymous with their organizations. Founders and long-term executives have a strong presence and vision for …

The Impact Of Gender-Linked Tasks On Female And Male Leaders, Ashley Pyle

Honors Theses

Because gender inequalities still exist, research is needed to better understand the differences in leadership perceptions and preference between genders. This research examines the role of gender, sex role orientation, and gender-linked tasks in shaping leadership efficacy, perceived preference, and leadership persistence. It was predicted that men and women will have higher levels of leadership efficacy, perceive themselves as better leaders, have a stronger desire to attain leadership roles in the future and be more likely to persist in the leadership role for the gender congruent task than the gender incongruent task. I also predicted that sex role orientation will …

Political Leadership In Africa: A Case Study Of Ghana's Presidents Kwame Nkrumah And Jerry John Rawlings, Johnson N. Gwaikolo

Theses and Graduate Projects

The effectiveness of a political leader depends on the leader's ability to formulate a vision, demonstrate genuine concern for the people, and create a constituency or following to translate the vision into concrete actions that produce change. In Ghana, these behavior patterns, which are characteristics of transformational leadership, have been demonstrated by Nkrumah and Rawlings, leading to independence for Ghana and later, the development of more stable and stronger institutions. Nkrumah rallied his colleagues and a majority of the Ghanaian citizens to seek independence. Unfortunately, Nkrumah could not maintain the commitment of his colleagues to remain focused on other aspects …

The Relationship Between Leadership Styles And Labour Disputes In British Columbia's Public Schools, Yanping Wang Edd

Dissertations

For the last decade, adversarial relationships between teachers' associations and district administrators in the British Columbia public school system have been commonplace, frequently resulting in formal grievances and arbitration. Since dealing with these issues imposes enormous costs on both teachers' unions and school boards, this study used hierarchical regression analysis to explain why some schools have fewer grievances filed than other schools in the province. Specifically, this study used data gathered from 160 principals in the British Columbia public school system to examine the extent to which school demographics and principal leadership style helped explain variation in the rate of …

An Evaluation Study Of A Community College Administrative Leadership Development Program, Cristina Chiriboga-Hahn Edd

Dissertations

The general purpose of this study was to examine a model for professional development designed to meet the needs of administrators who work within the community college segment of higher education. Specifically, the research project was structured as a formative evaluation of the California community college administrative development program entitled Administration 101 offered through the state's primary professional association for administrators, the Association of California Community College Administrators (ACCCA). The study employed a mixed research methodology that included qualitative approaches to assess: 1. The usefulness of the concepts presented in Administration 101 based on the perceptions of participants and presenters, …

Using Complexity Theory To Select Between Leaders And Managers, Michael W. Jordan

Theses and Graduate Projects

Several authors have attempted recently to extend Complex Adaptive Systems (CAS) theory to organizations and business management (Wheatley, 1992; Lind, 1994; Beccone, 1998; Zimmerman, Lindberg & Plsek, 1998, Eoyang & Olson, 2001). The theory might be useful for practitioners, but it cannot provide detailed scientific predictions. The following questions are posed for analysis: Could CAS theory be applied to hiring and promoting leaders and managers? Would it be possible, and would it make sense, for organizations to identify emergent leaders as management prospects given Beccone's analysis of the distinction between leaders and managers? How might the procedures and results likely …

Impact Of Transformational Leadership On Follower Development And Performance: A Field Experiment, Taly Dvir, Dov Eden, Bruce Avolio, Boas Shamir

Department of Management: Faculty Publications

In a longitudinal, randomized field experiment, we tested the impact of transformational leadership, enhanced hy training, on follower development and performance. Experimental group leaders received transformational leadership training, and control group leaders, eclectic leadership training. The sample included 54 military leaders, their 90 direct followers, and 724 indirect followers. Results indicated the leaders in the experimental group had a more positive impact on direct followers' development and on indirect followers' performance than did the leaders in the control group.

Leadership In Computer-Mediated Communication: Implications And Research Directions, Gerard George, Randall G. Sleeth

Research Collection Lee Kong Chian School Of Business

Despite the importance of interpersonal influence processes in computer-mediated communication (CMC) environments, the emergence and functioning of leaders in CMC settings remains unstudied. An initial model and propositions address the possible extension of selected leadership models beyond face-to-face (FTF) communications and into the non-face-to-face CMC environment. We (1) model relevant variables for CMC leadership, (2) briefly review the implications of selected leadership models regarding these CMC variables, and (3) extend leadership models into the CMC sphere.

Birth Order And Emergent Leadership : Does One's Birth Order Influence Emergence As A Leader In A Leaderless Group?, Leanna May Bowman

Honors Theses

This study was initiated as an attempt to understand how personalities affect emergence in a group as the leader. What makes other group members accept one person as the leader over another? Because birth order has been discussed as an influential factor in the development of ones personality, this variable was chosen in order to see if perhaps leader emergence from a group is influenced by the personality, which, in turn, has been shaped by something else.

This study proved that firstborns and firstborn by genders emerge from a leaderless group to guide and direct the other members, and shape …

Managers Are Appointed, Leaders Emerge: How New Scientific Paradigms Inform Organizationel Leadership, Lew Beccone

Theses and Graduate Projects

For most of the 20th century the mechanistic, linear world of Newtonian science has functioned both as metaphor for thinking about organizational dynamics and as the mental model around which organizations have developed. Recently, the postclassical sciences have yielded an alternate understanding of the world, one fundamentally different from that of the Newtonian model. This paper explores a world view emerging from complexity studies and quantum physics, contrasts it with the dominant image derived from classical physics, and draws implications for organizational leadership. The lens of postclassical science challenges our fundamental ontology and reframes our views of organizational life in …

Applying Theory To Practice : Virginia's Secondary School Leadership Courses, Kerith D. Dubik

Honors Theses

The purpose of this paper is to explore how the phenomenon of teaching leadership can and is affecting American secondary schools. This involves discussing the problems of our education system as the results of a paradigm shift in America's learning needs.

International Review Of Women And Leadership: Volume 2 Number 2, Leonie V. Still (Ed.)

Research outputs pre 2011

This issue represents the culmination of two years of publishing. In that time we have had a special issue on Women and Politics, and have published contributions from Australia, Canada, Israel, New Zealand, United Kingdom and the United States of America. Each issue has had its own distinct flavour. Each issue has also had a diverse range of contributions. A number of ground-breaking articles have been published, while several reviews have handled different aspects of the status of women in a number of fields. The diversity and depth of the contributions illustrates that the field of women and leadership is …

Uncharted Leadership : A Study Of Leadership In The Judicial Branch, Kevin Donnelly

Honors Theses

This paper is the final product of a research oriented project in which I studied leadership within the federal judicial system, specifically the Supreme Court of the United States. This project was an in depth study of the amount, style, and effect of Leadership in the Judicial branch. Through this study I hoped to explore a major component of government which has somehow been ignored when studying leadership at the national level.

Gender And Leadership: Men And Women's Stories, Barbara A. Karanian

Educational Studies Dissertations

This study investigates gender and leadership.

Art And Leadership, Bridgett Miller

Honors Theses

Art and leadership. Are there any connections? There has been very little research done on the relationship between art and leadership. However, it is about time that we become reflective practitioners and examine the context of art as a manifestation of leadership. Art and leadership are similar and primarily united along the lines of their ability to transcend time and use of the right brain hemisphere.

It should now seem quite apparent how the arts and leadership are connected. Both are multi-faceted fields which lack universal definitions. They pose similar questions to the scholars and practitioners within their respective disciplines. …

Women And Leadership In Contemporary American Society, Amy K. Todd

Honors Theses

The Jepson School of Leadership Studies is founded on the principle of providing educuation for and about leadership, with the hope that students will gain the skills necessary to serve society effectively in leadership roles. The internship experience provides the opportunity to integrate classroom learning with practical experience,insuring that prior to completing undergraduate education each student will have the opportunity to actively exercise leadership. In order to most effectively apply knowledge to a practical situation, whether in an internship or post-graduation, each leader must have a comprehensive understanding of the context in which he or she is operating. One who …

Transforming Leadership In The California Literature Project: Ethnographic Narrative As True Fiction, Jon S. Davies Edd

Dissertations

With rare exception leadership scholars and practitioners focus on individuals as leaders. However, to investigate leadership only through the activities of individual leaders is to miss its essential feature, namely, that leadership is a particular kind of relationship in which leaders and followers create changes. Relationships are difficult to describe because researchers cannot observe them directly; instead, they must infer them indirectly. This study investigated leadership relationships in the California Literature Project. An exploration of leadership relationships required that I implement research methods that would support the construction of detailed descriptions of transforming leadership processes. These methods developed in part …

Empowerment As A Dynamic Of The Leadership Relationship: A Study Of Two Local Governmental Organizations, Danell Scarborough Gavares Edd

Dissertations

The purpose of this study is to develop a better understanding of the empowerment processes operating within organizations and to theorize about the relationship between empowerment and leadership. The study focuses on empowerment in two local governmental organizations--the City of Carlsbad, California and the City of Scottsdale, Arizona. The research design combined the key characteristics of naturalistic inquiry with the analytical approach of grounded theory methodology. The researcher interviewed the members of both management teams and spent time as a participant observer. The data were synthesized into a conceptual model--a picture of the empowerment practices within these two organizations. The …

Leadership In A Different Voice: An Ethnographic Study Of A Latina Chief Executive Officer In A California Community College, Lois Margaret Knowlton Edd

Dissertations

The purpose of this ethnographic research was to discover the influence of President Judith Valles' gender and ethnicity on her leadership behavior at Golden West College in Huntington Beach, California, and to determine if similar influences existed among the other eight Hispanic women presidents of community colleges in the U.S. A composite profile of the nine presidents was developed. More than 100 interviews were conducted from a broad spectrum of participants, including seven of the nine Hispanic women presidents. The researcher became a participant observer at Golden West College for the fall of 1991. All the presidents were strongly influenced …

California Pioneers In Speech Pathology: 1915 Through 1951, Looking Back For The Future, Sandra L. Singleton Edd

Dissertations

Speech pathologists are the only professionals educated and trained to treat human communication disorders. They work in a variety of settings such as schools, hospitals, and private practice. Despite the essential and integrated role speech pathology holds in society, it is continually threatened by internal concerns and external pressures. Regardless of the issues, those who cannot find resolve often call for leadership. When current situations do not yield solutions readily, an historical perspective may serve to provide answers or guidance. Historical documentation was available in detail regarding the foundation of speech pathology in Iowa and Wisconsin, in addition to published …

Evaluation Of The Junior Leader Organization In Southwestern Indian, Amy Manning

Masters Theses & Specialist Projects

Samples from three groups--Junior Leaders, 4-H members, and Non-4-H members--were compared to determine the effectiveness of the Junior Leader organization in Southwestern Indiana. Each sample in the three groups was given the Michigan Leadership Scale and a background information sheet. Comparisons were made between the groups and within each group. The study indicated that the Junior Leader group did not show a significant difference on enough of the variables in the study to conclude the members' skills could be directly attributed to the organization. The Junior Leader group was found to be significantly higher on some of the variables and …

Emergent Leadership In A Classroom Situation: As Affected By Birth Order, Gender, Age, And Parental Marital Status, Mary Christine Foley

Masters Theses

This thesis studied leadership with the variables of birth order, parental marital status, age, and gender in mind. Four hypotheses were developed around each of those variables. Other areas that were developed included a review of the literature concerning birth order and birth order characteristic tendencies; parental marital status and its effect of children; and general leadership principles. The results obtained from the experiment proved nonsignificant in all four hypotheses. A survey was also given to the subjects to assess their attitudes on leadership characteristics.

Miracosta College: The First Fifty Years, Sharalee Cressaty Jorgensen Edd

Dissertations

The objectives of this study were to record the history of the college and to describe and interpret the leadership behavior of various people in the college in order to determine where the leadership, power, and authority resided at various times throughout the history; record and interpret the marker events that punctuated the birth, growth, and development of the college during its 50-year history; analyze the interrelationship of marker events and leadership behavior in the growth and development of the college; and, describe the distinguishing characteristics that make MiraCosta College MiraCosta College. An historical research design, focusing of local history, …

The Politics Of Aging And Rural Social Services, Roger A. Lohmann

Faculty & Staff Scholarship

Circumstances in the development of rural aging services in the 1960s and 1970s produced four distinct community leadership styles in the aging network. These are described and labeled the pre-organizational, the grantsman or leadership planner style, the organizational or managerial style and the organized advocacy style.