Digital Commons Network^™

Edge Leadership: Using Senior Leadership Perceptions To Explore Organizational Turnarounds, Lynn William Olsen

Antioch University Dissertations & Theses

The researcher developed the concept of an edge leader—that is, one who can mindfully turn around a troubled business to sustain it for the future. In an increasingly turbulent and competitive climate, more edge leaders must be developed to sustain their organizations for the benefit of shareholders, employees, communities, and society. The researcher's review of the classic and contemporary leadership and change literatures suggested that four elements are necessary to develop leaders capable of leading even basic beneficial change. They include: having broad, successful experience; being emotionally and socially aware; having the ability to think differently about priorities and paradoxes …

Strategic Asymmetric Multicultural Alliances In Business, Anthony James Scriffignano

Antioch University Dissertations & Theses

Global economics and other factors make it increasingly difficult for organizations to operate within the boundaries of one country in a rational way (e.g., leveraging best practices, profitable, achieving goals). In this study, I looked at strategic business alliances, transcending simple quid pro quo relationships to deliver ongoing partner value. I refined my study to multicultural relationships, having differing cultural identities (i.e., ideas, heritage, language, or demographics from differing geographies). Finally, I considered asymmetry (i.e., inequity in working relationship). Using a mixed-methodology design, I surveyed alliance participants and interviewed participants from selected alliances. A multi-case study addresses emergent themes of …

The Impact Of A Simulation Based Leader Development Training Program On Transformational And Transactional Leadership Behavior, Robin Louise Mccoy Phd

Dissertations

Organizations devote considerable resources developing employees' capacity for leadership because they believe that "leaders" are essential in the operations of their organizations. Unfortunately, organizations do not have the time or resources to send their employees off for lengthy leader development training programs. This has contributed to the growing popularity of short-term training programs which are relatively inexpensive to conduct. However, researchers are increasingly requesting more empirical studies that examine the impact of these programs, yet these requests have remained largely disregarded. Additionally, there is a lack for developing methodologies to determine whether or not involvement in a short-term program facilitates …

Restoring Confidence: A Qualitative Study Of The Experience Of Interim Commanding Officers In U.S. Navy Operational Units, Shoshana S. Chatfield Edd

Dissertations

Commanding officers in the United States Navy are entrusted by law with absolute authority, responsibility, and accountability. Despite a rigorous selection process, some commanding officers are relieved of command every year. In many cases, these commanding officers are replaced by interim commanding officers, leaders selected to fill the job for short periods of time. There is a gap in leadership literature about the phenomenon of interim command leadership in the Navy. This study investigated interim commanding officers' experiences of taking command following the deliberate removal of the unit's previous commanding officer. A review of current literature on the subjects of …

Campus Internationalization Initiatives: From Policy To Practice In Study Abroad Programming, Kira Mendez Espiritu Phd

Dissertations

As U.S. colleges and universities prepare students to enter an ever-increasing global society, the pressure on higher education institutions to graduate globally competent and culturally sensitive students is growing. To respond to this demand, many colleges and universities are participating in campus internationalization initiatives that are broad-based efforts that create diversity on campus and expose students and faculty to a more global perspective. The presence of campus internationalization initiatives is relatively new, therefore there is little research regarding best practices in the area of campus internationalization. The practice of internationalization initiatives continues to grow and higher-level administrators such as presidents, …

Understanding Arts-Based Methods In Managerial Development, Steven S. Taylor, Donna Ladkin

Faculty Articles

With the rising use of arts-based methods in organizational development and change, scholars have started to inquire into how and why these methods work. We identify four processes that are particular to the way in which arts-based methods contribute to the development of individual organization managers and leaders: through the transference of artistic skills, through projective techniques, through the evocation of "essence," and through creating artifacts such as masks, collages, or sculpture, a process we call "making." We illustrate these processes in detail with two case examples and then discuss the implications for designing the use of arts-based methods for …

Ethics In The Workplace: Tools And Tactics For Organizational Transformation [Review] / Johnson, Craig E., Arne P. Nielsen

Journal of Applied Christian Leadership

No abstract provided.

The Management Development Legacy Of Robert Greenleaf, Jeff Mccollum, Joel Moses

International Journal of Servant-Leadership

Robert Greenleaf's writings have inspired considerable thought and have been well documented. Robert Greenleaf's name will forever, and appropriately so, be linked with "servant-leadership"-something he wrote extensively about in his second career as author and consultant. Greenleaf's first career, the 38 years he spent with AT&T, left a legacy of rich innovation. At that time, the official name of the company was American Telephone and Telegraph. We will use AT & T, the contemporary identification, throughout this article. In Greenleaf's work there, we can find the antecedents to contemporary development endeavors such as coaching, "action learning," and assessment centers. Although …

Email Overload: The Implications Of Virtual Communication At The Office, Matthew John Hearne

Theses and Graduate Projects

This investigation focuses on the implications of email overload on worker productivity, stress, and privacy in the workplace. This research attempts to confirm the affects of email overload at the office by comparing case study results with the review of related literature and subsequently offering a conclusion based upon this comparison.

How Effective Leaders Learn From Life: A Grounded Theory Study Of The Impact Of Significant Life Experiences Upon Leadership Development, Ryan P. Meers

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

Fifteen effective leaders from diverse organizational backgrounds described their significant life experiences and the impact upon their development as leaders. Using grounded theory methodology, a theoretical model emerged for assisting leaders absorb greater learning from their various life experiences. Related to the central phenomenon of how effective leaders learn from significant life experiences, four causal conditions of types of experiences were identified as influencing how leaders learn: (1) experiences of adversity or loss; (2) experiences of “stretch assignments”; (3) inspirational experiences; and (4) experiences with conflict. Strategies used by the leaders to absorb learning from their significant experiences were active …

Holographic Leadership: Leading As A Way Of Being, Janet L. Byars

Antioch University Dissertations & Theses

Holographic Leadership integrates values-based leadership into an understanding of an energetic holographic world. It is a world where the unseen is the primary influencer, where the smaller is more powerful (Bohm, 1994). I will synthesize many diverse ideas into an exploratory theory that will suggest new insights into sustainable leadership. I will propose a new model of practice from which to work. I suggest that it is through an internal state of physiological coherence and psychological balance that a leader can truly learn to “hold steady” (Heifetz, 1994), creating an intentional holding environment, a coherent group dynamic, which draws forth …

Making The Value Of Development Visible: A Sequential Mixed Methodology Study Of The Integral Impact Of Post-Classroom Leader And Leadership Development, Laura Curnutt Santana

Antioch University Dissertations & Theses

In a time of increasing complexity, many organizations invest in leadership development programs to prepare those who will assume the role of leader. Although many studies have evaluated programs’ impact, the questions remain: does development happen in leadership development program? If so, what kind of development? And what is the participant’s experience of personal or organizational impact? The purpose of this sequential mixed methodology study is to address these three questions utilizing an online follow-through platform as a lens on 248 participants in the Center for Creative Leadership’s Leadership Development Program (LDP) who reported completing their LDP goals. Those who …

Servant-Leadership As A Predictor Of Job Satisfaction And Organizational Commitment With The Moderating Effects Of Organizational Support And Role Clarity Among Filipino Engineering, Manufacturing, And Technology Workers, G.R. Bud West, Mihai Bocarnea, Dioscoro Maranon

International Journal of Servant-Leadership

Over the past decade, some popular press writers in the Philippines have pointed out the lack of transparency and stability in both public and private sectors throughout their country. Some have further offered that certain high-profile people in positions of authority have demonstrated relatively unmitigated ambition and lust for power, which has reportedly caused some members of their society to question the integrity and commitment of these organizational authorities in regard to their fellow citizens, as well as to question their collective ability to provide effective leadership (Fernandez, 2003; Limon, 2003). Still others have suggested that a crisis of leadership …

Receiving The Gift Of Servant-Leadership, Paul M. Nakai

International Journal of Servant-Leadership

Editor's note: This article is the first in a two-part series by Paul Nakai. Look for the second installment in the 2010 International Journal of Servant-Leadership.

Young Professionals And Philanthropy, Patricia Neilson

Emerging Leaders Program Team Projects

Seven teams of young professionals presented what they learned from their projects with 7 organizations from the nonprofit and donor sector over the past year. Their experiences and insights address two related questions:

• What is the role of philanthropy in retaining young professionals in the Boston region?

• How can young professionals leverage their leadership skills, and their organization’s resources, to create successful partnerships in philanthropy to serve the Boston region?

Leading In The Midst Of Change: A Theologically Grounded, Theoretically Informed Hermeneutic Of Change, Terri L. Elton

Faculty Publications

This essay proposes a hermeneutic of change, grounded in theology and theory, which can inform church leaders’ strategic actions in the midst of change. Drawing from the work of practical theology, it looks at four vantage points proposed by Don Browning: descriptive, historical, systematic, and strategic. The descriptive view offers two insights: God is active and present in the midst of change and God’s people are simultaneously saints and sinners. The historical perspective points out that God has always been in the midst of change, but God’s love and promises for the world have not changed. Systematic theology fuses the …

Gender Difference In Transformational Leadership: A Comparison Of Liberian Male And Female Leadership Styles From 1986 Through 2006, Anthony Ansumana Kanneh

Theses and Graduate Projects

The goal of this study was to investigate the leadership styles of Liberian male and female leaders by examining five hypotheses, as measured by the Multifactor Leadership Questionnaire (MLQ: Form 5X; Bass & Avolio, 1999) administered to 119 leaders and 360 raters. The samples investigated were selected from Liberian male and female leaders in the State of Minnesota and the Republic of Liberia. Few of the transformational leadership dimensions as measured by MLQ were found to be positively and significantly correlated with leadership behavior of both genders of Liberians. Overall, the results revealed no significant differences between the genders, in …

Internal Executive Coaching Program: Exploring The Experiences, Benefits, And Recommendations For Participants And Organizations, Susan D. Poulos

Theses and Graduate Projects

Organizations are searching for ways to enhance leadership skills to meet strategic goals. Executive coaching is one method used by organizations to improve communication, job satisfaction, staff retention and overall productivity. While external coaching programs have been used for years, internal coaching programs are a more recent development and little research has been conducted to examine their effectiveness. The purpose of this study is to examine the experience of managers who participated in an internal executive coaching program in order to explore the benefits and recommendations for participants and organizations. A case study of one organization's Internal Executive Coaching Program …

Evaluating The Effectiveness Of Provosts In Building A Student Learning Assessment-Supportive Organizational Culture: A Multiple-Site Evaluation Within The California State University System, Chris Procello Phd

Dissertations

Although research on cultivating support for student learning assessment at the institutional level points to the necessary involvement of all campus stakeholders, researchers have commented on the particularly important role of institutional administrators. Most research on the role of administrators in building support for assessment to date has not, however, focused on provosts, even though they are critical because of their power to determine the internal allocation of institutional resources. To address this issue, this study used a 27-question, Likert-scale survey to estimate the extent to which provosts in the California State University system have been successful in building an …

The Nonprofit Ethics Survey: A Contextual Approach, Audrey Dawn Barrett Phd

Dissertations

Organizational ethics require the attention of nonprofit leaders as regulatory trends and accountability measures increase. In spite of this interest, little empirical research has been conducted on ethics assessment within the nonprofit sector and more importantly, no survey instrument currently exists exclusively designed for nonprofit organizations to assess the perceptions of ethics within their organization. This lack of tools and information prohibits comprehensive self-assessment, and forces a reactive, single-loop approach to ethical issues, rather than a feedback system based on actual data. To address this need, the Nonprofit Ethics Survey provides a practioner-friendly survey designed to assess the perceptions of …

Leadership, Bonnie M. Jennings, Joanne Disch, Laura Senn

Faculty Research, Scholarly, and Creative Activity

No abstract provided.

Developing Persons In Christian Organizations: A Case Study Of Omf International, Shelley G. Trebesch

Journal of Applied Christian Leadership

No abstract provided.

Energy-Flow – A New Perspective On James Macgregor Burns’ Transforming Leadership: A New Pursuit Of Happiness, Pi-Jern Caroline Fu

Antioch University Dissertations & Theses

This theoretical dissertation documents a personal transforming leadership experience; during which, I explored my Leadership as Energy-Flow model by having a virtual dialogue with the polymathic works of theorists and thinkers to corroborate and refine it. The model consists of a theory and a conceptual scheme. The energy-flow theory, based on the laws of physics and Chinese philosophy and cosmological science, fashions the energy-flow conceptual scheme. Using the conceptual scheme, I delve into the Premise of the Dialogue, “In what ways and to what extent would using the energy-flow frame of reference describe and stimulate new meanings in Transforming Leadership: …

Dimensions Of Mentoring Relationships In The Workplace: A Holistic Perspective, Miriam Grace-Rowland

Antioch University Dissertations & Theses

This was an exploratory study to understand the lived experience of those involved in mentoring relationships within a formal mentoring program in a corporate context. The researcher looked for rich detail about the nature of the relationship from the perspective of the mentor and mentee. To achieve a holistic perspective, the experience of organizational managers was deliberately included in the research. Exploration of this triadic relationship of mentor, mentee, and organizational manager has been neglected in the empirical literature. An exploration of where meaning intersected and diverged among the triad relationship members gave depth to the dimensional frame. Findings suggested …

Evolving Learning: Educators’ Inner Experiences Of Engaging In Service-Learning With Undergraduates, Cara Meixner

Antioch University Dissertations & Theses

Evolving Learning: Educators’ Inner Experiences of Engaging in Service-Learning with Undergraduates is an exploratory, qualitative study of faculty members’ learning, growth, and development in service-learning contexts. Through two, interwoven forms of constructivist grounded theory – situational mapping and dimensional analysis – this dissertation brought voice to a once ‘private’ perspective, making explicit what all is happening as participants make meaning of their experiences engaging in service-learning with college students. A three-phased series of recursive, comparative interviews and concurrent analysis resulted in the development of a grounded theory best captured by a core, organizing perspective – evolving learning. This perspective is …

How Are Nasa Engineers Motivated? An Analysis Of Factors That Influence Nasa Goddard Engineers’ Level Of Motivation, Howard Eric Kea

Antioch University Dissertations & Theses

NASA is an organization known for pushing the envelope of engineering and scientific achievement. It can be argued that engineers working for NASA are intrinsically highly motivated due to the nature of the work and the mission of NASA. This study explores how supervisor behaviors, both intrinsic and extrinsic and demographic factors influence motivation of NASA Goddard engineers in their current environment. Recent Congressional and Office of Management and Budget (OMB) policies, such as full cost accounting, levy strict oversight of project spending. As a result of these policies, NASA engineers must now focus their attention on getting assigned work …

Fostering Sustainability In Higher Education: A Mixed-Methods Study Of Transformative Leadership And Change Strategies, Kim H. Mcnamara

Antioch University Dissertations & Theses

As evidence of the earth’s limited capacity to sustain human life mounts, institutions of higher education are being looked to for leadership in the effort to educate students about environmental concerns and support the development of sustainable innovations. Colleges and universities are responding to this call for leadership by starting and/or expanding environmental research programs, integrating sustainability issues throughout the curriculum, adopting sustainable operations, and building green facilities. Reflecting upon the sustainability efforts of these institutions, this research study explores the following questions: What factors are essential for initiating and leading a successful change effort to foster sustainability in higher …

A Kenyan On Servant-Leadership: Harambee And Service, Jeremiah Ole Koshal, Kathleen Patterson

International Journal of Servant-Leadership

Robert K. Greenleaf (1977) offers a foundational understanding of servant-leadership with this statement: The servant-leader is servant first. .. It begins with the natural feeling that one wants to serve first. . . Then, conscious choice brings one to aspire to lead... The difference manifests itself in the care taken by the servant-first to make sure that other people's highest-priority needs are being served. The best test, and the most difficult to administer, is: Do those served grow as persons? Do they, while being served, become healthier, wiser, freer, more autonomous, and more likely themselves to become servants? And what …

The Emergence, Expansion, And Critique Of Servant-Leadership As A Leadership Philosophy, Jeffrey Mcclellan

International Journal of Servant-Leadership

Editor's note: This article is the first in a three-part series that will give a comprehensive literature review ofthe extant theory and research currently available on servant-leadership. In this first installment, scholar Jeff McClellan reveals the evocative depths of Greenleaf's thought and lifework that led to Greenleaf's subtle, profound articulation of the concept of the servant-leader.

Practical Application Of Five Leadership Theories On A U.S. Naval Vessel, Matthew P. Earnhardt

Publications

On a United States naval vessel, task accomplishment and leadership decisions are vital to personnel survival and mission success (Phillips, 2007). The United States Navy relies on leadership decisions made from admiral to seaman, and as a result, invests heavily in leadership development.