Digital Commons Network^™

Best Practices Of Organizational Communication In Group Travel Planning, Natalie N. Gilliam

Mahurin Honors College Capstone Experience/Thesis Projects

To succeed in the travel industry, professionals must continuously seek new ways to improve their service. In group travel, clients expect their tour director to meet and exceed all expectations. As I prepare to lead a tour group of high school students to Walt Disney World, I will put my knowledge of four organizational communication practices to the test. These best practices will be utilized in planning for challenges that may arise as well as handling any obstacles throughout the tour. Success will be measured through the thoughts of the clients during and after the trip and future recommendations will …

Nonprofit Leadership: A Study Of Governance Changes Over Time, Daisha M. Merritt

Dissertations, 2014-2019

This is a leadership study understood through board governance in nonprofit organizations. The study sought to discover if there were indicators of coercive institutional isomorphism occurring in human service nonprofit organizations in the United States. IRS 990 tax forms were compiled from 2008- 2012 to determine if there were increasing levels of reported governance practices. Methodology included factor analysis, comparison of means, trend analysis, and regression models. Results indicated that there is an overall trend of increasing reported practices of governance in human service nonprofit organizations. Board size is the most significant indicator associated with changes in reported governance practices. …

Leadership Department Newsletter - May 2015, Andrews University

Leadership Department Newsletter 2015

No abstract provided.

Using Critical Incidents: The Development Of A Behaviorally Based Training Program For Supervisor Citizenship Behavior And Feedback Skills, Jody J. Lecheler

Masters Theses & Specialist Projects

It has been argued (Greer, 2013) that supervisors are a critical component in organizational effectiveness. Supervisors are required to hold many roles within the organization (Evans, 1965). Specifically, employees often see supervisors as representatives of the organization, while the organization depends on supervisors to maintain production (Greer, 2013). Many supervisors also fill a variety of other organizational roles such as mentor, trainer, motivator, disciplinarian, evaluator, and leader (Evans, 1965). For these reasons, effective supervisors are crucial to organizational success. The present study developed a behaviorally based training program for supervisors for a poultry processing organization. The training program content included …

Organizational Change In Volunteer-Based Organizations: Communication Change Strategies In Church Congregations, Daniela Viviana Fuentes Riffo

Masters Theses & Specialist Projects

The current study fills a gap in the communication and management literature by providing additional insight regarding the effective communication strategies used by church leaders during organizational change. The researcher sought to find out how beliefs held by church members predicted their receptivity to change and their intent to leave their organization. Participants from diverse church denominations (N = 208) completed an online survey questionnaire asking them to think about a particular change they had experienced in their current or former church. The results of statistical analysis showed: (a) Church members´ beliefs regarding discrepancy, efficacy, principal support, and valence, positively …

Assessment Of The United States National Security Space Management And Organization, Charles G. Simpson

Theses and Dissertations

This research analyzes the results of the Report of the Commission to Assess the United States National Security Space Management and Organization, dated January 11, 2001 in order to determine which recommendations were beneficial, which recommendations are still in effect and what additional measures should be undertaken to continue, and even advance, our standing as a premier space power. It analyzes the potential managerial and organizational shortcomings of National Security Space within the United States Government, specifically the Department of Defense. Additionally, this paper reviews the various management and organizational force restructuring which occurred as a result of the commission’s …

Examining The Relationship Between Trait Goal Orientation And Behavior In Team Debriefing Sessions, Amanda Woods

HIM 1990-2015

The present study explored the impact of the individual difference, goal orientation, on the team intervention, debriefing, thus contributing insight into a previously unexplored component behind debriefing effectiveness. Three sub-dimensions of goal orientation were examined in terms of their influence on debriefing: learning goal orientation, performance-prove goal orientation and performance-avoid goal orientation. The outcomes investigated included elements of a successful debrief: self-correction, self-promotion and speaking up behavior. A sample (N=69) of undergraduate students at the University of Central Florida individually completed a goal orientation self-report measure and participated in a team debriefing session within their three-person teams. The audio-recorded debriefing …

Mothers Who Choose Traditional Public Education In Times Of Economic Stress, Criticism, And District Reform, Brian W. Davis

Dissertations

As districts attempt to achieve higher accountability for student results while making complex decisions to balance budgets, it has become increasingly more common to restructure or reorganize educational delivery systems in ways that affect children and their families. Understanding how families and, in particular, mothers translate their experiences with structural and other changes enacted by the schools serving their children can assist in defining a new strategic direction of renewal, growth, and revitalization.

The purpose of this phenomenological study was to describe the experiences of 18 mothers, and their children, who were participants in multiple school reform initiatives in an …

Nonprofit Leadership: A Study Of Governance Changes Over Time, Daisha M. Merritt

Publications

This is a leadership study understood through board governance in nonprofit organizations. The study sought to discover if there were indicators of coercive institutional isomorphism occurring in human service nonprofit organizations in the United States. IRS 990 tax forms were compiled from 2008- 2012 to determine if there were increasing levels of reported governance practices. Methodology included factor analysis, comparison of means, trend analysis, and regression models. Results indicated that there is an overall trend of increasing reported practices of governance in human service nonprofit organizations. Board size is the most significant indicator associated with changes in reported governance practices. …

Faculty Parental Status: An Investigation Of Network Homophily, Marginalization, And Supportive Work–Family Academic Culture, Megumi Watanabe

Department of Sociology: Dissertations, Theses, and Student Research

Serious incompatibility between work and family life among faculty is well known, and various work-family policies have become available to faculty. Due to the traditional academic work culture (e.g., the ideal worker norms and the individualism norms), however, these policies tend to be underused. Therefore, it is necessary to develop an academic work culture that is more supportive of faculty’s work-family needs. Using data collected on tenure-line faculty at a research-intensive Midwestern university, this dissertation pursues three complementary research objectives that provide new insight into the culture of academic work environments. First, based on social identity theory and homophily theory, …

Playful Aggression And The Situational Contexts That Affect Perceptions, Jennifer Hart

UNLV Theses, Dissertations, Professional Papers, and Capstones

Play is considered a fundamental tool for early childhood education practices as it provides numerous developmental benefits for young children. However, not all play is viewed by children, parents, and early childhood educators the same, especially playful aggression. For example, rough-and-tumble play, risky play, superhero play, “bad guy” play, active pretend play, play fighting, big body play, war play, gun play, and physically active and imaginative play are types of playful aggression that benefits young children’s development; but are often viewed negatively by the adults who observe it. The contextual factors that influence the development of these conflicting perceptions—the motivation …

A Case Study Of Professional Coach-Client Communication., Scott Shank

Honors Theses

Organizations increasingly embrace coaching as a core process to improve employee learning, increase overall performance, and develop leaders. Extant research on coaching is increasing, yet communication-based theories are underrepresented in the literature despite the fact that coaching is fundamentally discursive in nature. Further, although the coaching literature suggests that coaching conversations contribute to client identity growth and potential transformation, studies that specifically explore such activities are underrepresented in existing scholarship. Further, there lacks sufficient research examining how coaching contributes to the ongoing identity development of the coaches themselves. To fill this gap, this qualitative study explored the role coaching plays …

Creating And Integrating A New Patient Experience Leadership Role: A Consultative Approach For Partnering With Executive And Clinical Leaders, Denise M. Kennedy

Patient Experience Journal

Many healthcare organizations are creating new leadership roles to add subject matter expertise and structure to their patient experience improvement efforts. The patient experience field is emerging, however, so there are many questions about this role’s function and how best to structure it in the organization for maximal effectiveness.

This article explores the benefits of a consultative approach for improving the patient experience. Previous research on management consulting and the integration of new roles in established organizations is briefly reviewed. Mayo Clinic Arizona’s (MCA) comprehensive, "7-prong" service model is revisited. Developed and implemented in 2008, the model is predicated on …

Patient Partnership In Quality Improvement Of Healthcare Services: Patients’ Inputs And Challenges Faced, Marie-Pascale Pomey, Hassiba Hihat, May Khalifa, Paule Lebel, André Néron, Vincent Dumez

Patient Experience Journal

This research focuses on the perception of patients who participated in Continuous Quality Improvement Committees (CIC) regarding their contribution, lessons learned, and challenges encountered. The committees are engaged in a care partnership approach where patients are recognized for their experiential knowledge and treated as full members of the clinical team. Based on patient interviews, we conclude that they bring a structured and thoughtful vision of their experience. They identify themselves as real partners in the care process and are grateful for the opportunity to improve the care provided to other patients by using their own experience and by bringing changes …

The Sword In The Stone: The Arts As Harbingers Of Social Change, Raymond L. Forbes

All Faculty and Staff Scholarship

Artists have been often been criticized by their scientific brethren for a lack of perceived current utility in their work. One potentially useful response to the issue of present value is through the use of historical analysis of art as a means for anticipating major social transformations. The thesis of this article is that Art, besides being representative of the Zeitgeist or spirit of its time, may well be an effective progenitor of coming significant social upheavals. The paper employs as a methodology comparison of historical waves of social change with pre-period artistic expression. Additionally, the legend of King Arthur’s …

Strategies For Leaders To Counter Social Loafing Through The Use Of Organizational Citizenship Behavior: A Literature Review, Richard Hildreth

The Compass

Social loafing (SL) is a counterintuitive phenomenon that describes a decrease of efficiency observed in both small groups and large organizations. Research over the past century has increased our understanding of SL and identified antecedent factors that appear to reduce or exacerbate its effect. Subsequent organizational models have beenconceived and evolved, starting with organizational citizenship behavior (OCB), which led toward contextualperformance (CP), and recently to contextual and citizenship performance (CCP). Each type of model can provide valuable insight explaining employee behavior and under which contexts SL occurs. Research shows that OCB has improves organizational productivity and competitiveness, due to organizational …

A Breakthrough Series Collaborative To Support Trauma-Informed Practice In Early Care & Education Programs, Anne Douglass, Leigh Perreault, Lucas Dangler, Rachel Chickerella

Office of Community Partnerships Posters

The Breakthrough Series Collaborative to supports trauma-informed practice in early care & education programs and aims to close the gap between theory and practice by creating collaborative learning opportunities that use emerging science to address barriers and promote quality improvements in focus area.

Designing Together With The World Café: Inviting Community Ideas For An Idea Zone In A Science Center, William Travis Thompson

USF Tampa Graduate Theses and Dissertations

This dissertation brings attention to the communication processes taking place during design of an Idea Zone at a science center. It focuses on the conceptual phase of design, during which designers seek to integrate the ideas and needs of stakeholders into design processes through such frameworks as Participatory Design (PD). In bringing a focus on communication process to conceptual design frameworks such as PD, I explore the assumed roles behind participatory design processes and the contexts created through those processes during actual design work. As these Idea Zone design efforts took place in a museum and also within the context …

Vocational Narratives Of Senior Executive Retirees In A Technical Agency And Their Sense Of Safety In The Workplace, Sarah Bender

Seaver College Research And Scholarly Achievement Symposium

While research has been conducted on safety and risk management in technical agencies as well as vocational histories of senior executives, little research has been done to determine how a senior executive's vocational narrative helps him or her develop a safety mindset. The goal of this study is guided by the following research question: How does the vocational history of a senior government executive in a technical agency help contribute to his or her sense of safety and risk management? Through the use of in-depth, vocational narrative interviews with retired nuclear executives and thematic analysis, this study found reoccurring themes …

Taking Nothing For Granted In Management Education: A Systemic Perspective On The Role Of Reflective Questioning, A. Georges L. Romme, Inge C. M. Van Seggelen-Damen

Organization Management Journal

Questioning is one of the most critical behaviors in management education and learning. In this article we explore the antecedents, processes, and outcomes of reflective questioning, as a key element of management learning and education. Reflective questioning involves raising tentative, nonrhetorical questions. By reviewing and synthesizing the literature, we develop a model of reflective questioning in the form of a causal loop diagram. This model implies that reflective questioning can be taught through particular forms of management education, but is also contingent on the psychological safety of the group setting, the individual need for cognition, and challenging tasks and experiences.

Scholars’ Mine: Policies And Guidelines, James Roger Weaver

Scholars' Mine - Policies, Procedures and Guidelines

Scholars’ Mine is the institutional repository for the Missouri University of Science and Technology (Missouri S&T). Scholars' Mine provides access to the digital scholarly and cultural resources created by the university community. This includes faculty papers, departmental publications, conference proceedings, graduate student works, and other scholarly material as well as campus cultural and historical works.

The document contains policies and guidelines outlining various aspects of depositing and managing content in Scholars’ Mine. These policies and guidelines are subject to internal review and modification.

Attachment To God And Psychological Well-Being: Shame, Guilt, And Self-Compassion As Mediators, Mary Elizabeth Varghese

Open Access Dissertations

In this study, I used attachment theory to examine individual differences in people's relationships with God or their Higher Power and the influence of these relationships on shame, guilt, self-compassion, and overall psychological well-being. H1 was that shame, guilt, and self-compassion fully mediate the relatedness of anxious attachment to God and psychological well-being. H2 was that shame, guilt, and self-compassion fully mediate the relatedness of avoidant attachment to God and psychological well-being. Young adults (N = 163) of diverse religious backgrounds from a large Midwestern university completed demographic questions and four scales: (a) The Attachment to God Inventory (AGI; Beck …

The Untapped Potential Of Introvert Leaders, Marina A. Pawlaczyk

Selected Honors Theses

Academic research shows that extroverts are generally seen as more productive and

effective leaders than their introvert counterparts because they possess the characteristics our society has so often revered (Grant, Gino, & Hofmann, 2009). With the rise of the “extrovert ideal” throughout our society, introverts are left wondering what role they play when it comes to leadership (Cain, 2013). Through examples of four successful introvert leaders (Susan Cain, Warren Buffett, Laura Bush, and Bill Gates), it can be derived that it is not the personality that makes the leader but, rather, the passion, drive, and self-actualization of the individual. With …

An Analysis Of The Relationship Between Military Leaders' Operational Adaptability And Knowledge Transfer, Vahap Kavaker

Engineering Management & Systems Engineering Theses & Dissertations

A variety of research underlines the increasing need for adaptable leaders in the military and enhancing operational adaptability is accepted as one of the crucial factors for achieving success in future military operations. In general terms, operational adaptability is the ability to successfully respond to unforeseen changing situations during military operations. However, this study reveals that operational adaptability is not clearly conceptualized and supporting factors are not investigated in detail in the literature. Among possible factors, knowledge transfer is claimed to be an important practice that increases personal performance and effectiveness.

This research conceptualized operational adaptability and investigated the relationship …

Effect Of Psychological Capital On Elementary Teacher Stress And Workplace Affect, Scott Stephen Casad

STEMPS Theses & Dissertations

Calling upon principles of positive psychology, the quantitative study used structural equation modeling (SEM) to explore the relationships between teacher psychological capital (PsyCap), role ambiguity, role conflict, role overload, workplace stress, job satisfaction, job commitment, and intention to quit. Valid and reliable instruments from the literature were incorporated into a 64-item survey and distributed to 830 third through fifth grade teachers at seven northern Virginia school districts. In total, 225 complete responses were received. SEM testing rejected the exact-fit hypotheses and revealed insufficient overall fit between the study data and hypothesized models; thereby, providing no support for the proposed causal …

Historians As Rooted Cosmopolitans: Their Potentials And Limitations, Hiro Saito

Research Collection School of Social Sciences

In the 1990s, the so-called 'history problem' began to escalate in East Asia as the result of mutually reinforcing nationalist commemorations in Japan, South Korea and China. In response, historians from the three countries organized joint historical research and textbook projects. In this article, I examine the extent to which these joint projects succeeded in promoting the cosmopolitan logic of historiography that challenged nationalist commemorations. Specifically, I compare governmental and non-governmental projects and illustrate structural and dispositional mechanisms that facilitated the cosmopolitan logic of historiography. However, at the same time, I show that the joint projects have had only a …

Key Factors Driving Personnel Downsizing In Multinational Military Organizations, Ilksen Gorkem

Engineering Management & Systems Engineering Theses & Dissertations

Although downsizing has long been a topic of research in traditional organizations, there are very few studies of this phenomenon in military contexts. As a result, we have little understanding of the key factors that drive personnel downsizing in military settings. This study contributes to our understanding of key factors that drive personnel downsizing in military organizations and whether those factors may differ across NATO nations' cultural clusters. The theoretical framework for this study was built from studies in non-military contexts and adapted to fit the military environment.

This research relies on historical data from one of the largest multinational …

Understanding Philanthropy Consulting: A Tool To Identify The Roles And Capabilities Needed From External Support, Brian Leslie, Kelsey Noonan, Clint Nohavec

The Foundation Review

This article categorizes the distinct roles played by philanthropy consultants and presents a tool and framework for charitable foundations to identify and evaluate the roles and capabilities they need from those consultants.

The article categorizes seven capability areas, from strategy setting to talent development, that are core to all foundations. Then, it identifies trigger points within these capability areas that lead foundations to undertake projects that may require outside support. Third, the article maps the capabilities that foundations consider in determining whether and how to engage philanthropy consultants.

The resulting tool is scalable and broadly applicable, providing foundation staff and …

Balancing Content And Process Expertise In The Practice Of Foundation Consulting, Chris Cardona

The Foundation Review

Despite foundations’ frequent recourse to consultants, little, if anything, has been written on the expertise required of foundation consultants and how they cultivate it. This article looks at the types of expertise that these consultants bring to their work and for which their clients hire them.

This expertise falls into three categories: process expertise, or what the consultant does with the client; content expertise, or what the grantmaker does; and hybrid expertise, consultant processes that are their own subject areas.

This article also offers examples of how content, process, and/or hybrid expertise might combine to address particular foundation needs, and …

Most Americans Are Now Opposed To Laws Against Interracial Marriage, But Their Behavior Does Not Yet Reflect These Attitudes, Ginny Garcia-Alexander, Richard Lewis Jr., Joanne Foed-Robertson

Sociology Faculty Publications and Presentations

Recent decades have seen a dramatic fall in the number of people that support laws which prohibit interracial marriages, and an increase in the number of these marriages. But why does the rate of interracial marriages remain so low, when compared to same-race marriages? Using national data from the past three decades, Ginny E. Garcia, Richard Lewis Jr., and Joanne Ford-Robertson show that while attitudes towards interracial marriages have changed, many groups still have negative attitudes towards Black-White unions. They find that those who perceive social and economic competition with Blacks, such as those with lower levels of education, were …