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Organizational Structures And State Departments Of Transportation, Candice Y. Wallace

MPA/MPP/MPFM Capstone Projects

No executive summary.

Iso 14001 In India: More Than A Certificate On The Wall?, Samir Aslam Qadir

Dissertations, Master's Theses and Master's Reports - Open

The growth of ISO 14001 certificates worldwide has led to much research on the role of voluntary standards in improving the environmental impacts of industry. Most of this research, however, has focused on industrialized countries, with very little research examining the effects of ISO 14001 and other voluntary initiatives in the developing world. This is especially unfortunate because it is in these very countries that proponents of ISO 14001 claim the largest benefits of the standard will occur, by helping polluting industries improve performance and by assisting environmental regulators in enforcing laws more effectively.

Indian industries have begun adopting ISO …

A Brief Centennial Bibliography Of Resources On The History Of The American Sociological Society/Association, Michael R. Hill, Susan Hoecker-Drysdale, Jack Nusan Porter, Pamela A. Roby, Kathleen Slobin, Roberta Spalter-Roth

Department of Sociology: Faculty Publications

Celebrating the centennial of the American Sociological Association provides the ritual occasion and reinforces the intellectual rationale for collectively exploring our professional and organizational roots. To guide us on our way, we have compiled a brief bibliography of relevant materials and exemplars that explicate the early history of the American Sociological Society and – to some degree – its subsequent evolution (the line separating “history” from “current events” is not always easily drawn). Practicing extreme parsimony, we have intentionally excluded literally thousands of otherwise important and instructive published works that focus primarily on specific departments of sociology, the ideas and …

Securing The Commonwealth: Changing Emergency Preparedness In Kentucky: A Study Of The Efforts Of The Department Of Homeland Security In Changing Emergency Preparedness At The County Level, Christopher Cross

MPA/MPP/MPFM Capstone Projects

Statement of the Problem

During the first 24 to 72 hours following a terrorist attack, local officials and first responders will be responsible for dealing with the initial aftermath. While most officials—federal, state, and local—have all acknowledged that domestic preparedness must occur at the bottom of the governmental structure, it is unclear if any changes to emergency response planning have actually occurred at the local governmental level.

Research Questions

The intention of this capstone is to answer the following questions:

1. Has change in emergency response planning occurred at the county level?

2. Are there regional differences present in terms of organizational …

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Regional Readiness For Intelligence Information Sharing To Support Homeland Security, Christine Genet Kemp

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

The Markle Task Force on National Security in the Information Age was created to produce recommendations on how to best leverage intelligence and information to improve security without compromising existing civil liberties. Their second report proposed that the government set up an information-sharing network using currently available technology to improve our ability to prevent terrorist attacks, while protecting civil liberties. The Markle recommendations have been incorporated into the recent Intelligence Reform and Terrorism Prevention Act of 2004. The proposition is that the Markle task force recommendations are sufficient to achieve the required data integration in the United States. To affirm …

Irony And Organizations: Epistemological Claims And Supporting Field Stories, Ulla Johansson, Ed., Jill Woodilla, Ed.

WCBT Faculty Publications

"Irony, in the writings of these scholars from different parts of the world, demonstrates once again that ""what"" we know is tenuous and at the same time closely intertwined with ""how"" we know and represent that knowledge. And while each chapter approaches irony from a slightly different angle, they share a common assumption - that irony can be used to enhance practice."

Pricing In The New Economy: Lessons From The Period Of The E-Commerce Bubble, Phillip J. Bryson

Faculty Publications

The New Economy increased U.S. productivity sharply after 1995. The latest economics literature on the topic, which generally forecasts a secure future for the information economy, is reviewed. The down side of the New Economy were the strategies, especially the pricing strategies of NASDAQ and virtual firms. The critique of Michael Porter regarding the non-strategic price cutting common to those firms is reviewed. Traditional models by Sweezy and Baumol, which focus on pricing in imperfectly competitive industries, are applied to provide a cogent theory as to why those firms made mistakes that were once viewed as common for neophyte industries.

Western Corporate Forms And The Social Origin Of Chinese Diaspora Entrepreneurial Networks, Wai Keung Chung

Research Collection School of Social Sciences

No abstract provided.

Identifying And Managing University Assets: A Campus Study Of Portland State University, John Rueter, Talya N. Bauer

Business Faculty Publications and Presentations

Between 1994 and 1996, Portland State University (PSU) expanded the definition of scholarship used to assess and reward faculty. Three conditions facilitated this change. The first related to PSU's urban history, culture and values. This context allowed faculty to approach their teaching, learning, and community engagement in scholarly ways. The second condition involved external forces, which challenged PSU faculty to identify and use their intangible assets in the scholarship of teaching, integration, and application. The third condition was, and continues to be, university leadership. Leadership at PSU encourages the faculty to engage in institutional reflection and strategic planning from a …

Creating Meaning In Organizational Change: A Case In Higher Education, Kathleen Barnett

LSU Doctoral Dissertations

As change is an inevitable part of organizational life, this study explores one aspect of communication in organizational change: the creation and use of meaning during the change process. The implementation of a new, higher education admissions criteria framework of a state master plan is the specific change under study. University administrators, contracted consultants, and board staff members participated in the study. Framed by symbolic interactionism and a stakeholder perspective, I pose four research questions: RQ1: What meanings were created during the particular process of change under study? RQ2: How were meanings intentionally and unintentionally created among stakeholders during this …

A Case Study Of Unlv Students Enrollment And Financial Services: The Trend To Blend Key Student Services Into A One-Stop Shop, Christina F. Twelves

UNLV Theses, Dissertations, Professional Papers, and Capstones

No abstract provided.

The Wage Effects Of Schooling Under Socialism And In Transition: Evidence From Romania, 1950-2000, Daniela Andrén, John S. Earle, Dana Sapatoru

Upjohn Institute Working Papers

We estimate the impact of schooling on monthly earnings from 1950 to 2000 in Romania. Nearly constant at about 3-4 percent during the socialist period, the coefficient on schooling in a conventional earnings regression rises steadily during the 1990s, reaching 8.5 percent by 2000. Our analysis finds little evidence for either the standard explanations of such an increase in the West (labor supply movements, product demand shifts, technical change) or the transition-specific accounts sometimes offered (wage liberalization, border opening, increased quality of education). But we find some support for institutional and organizational explanations, particularly the high productivity of education in …

The Changing Political Economy Of Party Membership, Riccardo Pelizzo

Research Collection School of Social Sciences

Although few scholars would dispute from an empirical point of view the fact that parties change their electoral strategies, ideological stances and organizational structures over time, there is not much agreement on how these changes, above all party organizational change, have to be understood from a theoretical point of view. This is especially true with regard to the transformations that party organizations have undergone from the early 1970s on. In fact, although party organizational changes in the past three decades have generally been considered to be signs of the so called party crisis, the agreement on this analytical perspective is …

2004 Scholars And Artists Bibliography, Michael Schwartz Library, Cleveland State University, Friends Of The Michael Schwartz Library

Scholars and Artists Bibliographies

This bibliography was created for the annual Friends of the Michael Schwartz Library Scholars and Artists Reception, recognizing scholarly and creative achievements of Cleveland State University faculty, staff and emeriti

An Assessment Of The Factors That Affect The Level Of "Perception Of Office Politics", Charles U. Phillips

Graduate Student Dissertations, Theses, Capstones, and Portfolios

The culture of an organization is often the primary indicator of the expected and accepted employee behavior. Organizations with weak directives, poor communication, and ineffectively managed cultures are breeding grounds for the negative dysfunctional interpersonal dynamics referred as "office politics." Studies indicate that considerable time and energy are lost to solving problematic issues originating from the influences of office politics in organizations with weak cultural expectations. Therefore, it is conceivable that developing a positive organizational culture that facilitates certain values is an important step in eliminating the ill effects of office politics.

The purpose of this quantitative non-experimental study was …

Does The Job Matter? Comparing Correlates Of Stress Among Treatment And Correctional Staff In Prisons, Gaylene Armstrong, Marie L. Griffin

Criminology and Criminal Justice Faculty Publications

The wealth of literature on stress in the correctional workplace focused on correctional officers, frequently ignoring treatment personnel employed in these same institutions. This study advanced the literature on correctional workplace stress by: (1) testing for differences in workplace stress between correctional officers and treatment personnel, (2) examining personal and environmental factors to determine whether distinct precursors to stress existed for these two groups, and (3) utilizing multiple measures of stress. Self-report survey data from 3,794 employees in ten adult prisons in a southwestern state demonstrated that both groups of employees reported moderately high levels of job stress and stress-related …

Work-Family Conflict Among Teleworkers: Demographic Effects And Work-Related Outcomes, Katherine A. Selgrade

Psychology Theses & Dissertations

This study examines the influence of work-family conflict (WFC) on work-related outcomes among teleworkers. Effects of work interfering with family (WIF) and family interfering with work (FIW) on telework satisfaction, affective commitment, and turnover intentions were examined in a secondary data analysis of 167 teleworkers. The effects of several demographic variables (gender, duration of the telework arrangement, number of children, and frequency of teleworking) on WFC were also examined. Structural equation modeling results support the influence of WIF on telework satisfaction and turnover intentions. The influence of FIW on the work outcomes was not supported. Analysis of the demographic variables …

Recent Research Of Note, Tahira M. Probst

Organization Management Journal

No abstract provided.

Recent Research Of Note, Tahira M. Probst

Organization Management Journal

No abstract provided.

Complexity Theory As A Practical Management Tool: A Critical Evaluation, Aaron C.T. Smith

Organization Management Journal

Complexity theory is receiving increasing attention in both academic and popular literature as a potential management tool. As momentum gathers surrounding its popularity in practical management, complexity theory is poised to become a management ‘fad’, and potentially an influential paradigm for the future. However, much of the literature concerning complexity theory contains inconsistent terminology and a lack of operationally empirical definitions. This has made it difficult for researchers to specify empirical questions in order to frame complexity research, and for practitioners to acquire the key principles for implementation. It has also opened a Pandora’s Box of commentaries which proclaim that …

Complexity Theory As A Practical Management Tool: A Critical Evaluation, Aaron C.T. Smith

Organization Management Journal

Complexity theory is receiving increasing attention in both academic and popular literature as a potential management tool. As momentum gathers surrounding its popularity in practical management, complexity theory is poised to become a management ‘fad’, and potentially an influential paradigm for the future. However, much of the literature concerning complexity theory contains inconsistent terminology and a lack of operationally empirical definitions. This has made it difficult for researchers to specify empirical questions in order to frame complexity research, and for practitioners to acquire the key principles for implementation. It has also opened a Pandora’s Box of commentaries which proclaim that …

Modular Production Networks In Electronics: The Nexus Between Management And Economics Research, Byron Gangnes, Ari Van Assche

Research Collection School Of Economics

In the last two decades, the electronics industry has evolved from a vertically integrated industry to a vertically segmented one. This transformation has often been attributed to the modularization of electronic products. In this paper, we argue that the degree of modularity is an active choice variable for a firm. As a result, it is necessary to focus on the underlying factors that drive both modularity and the organization of production. This provides insights into the transformation taking place in global electronics production, with vertical fragmentation, horizontal consolidation, and the growth of Asian electronics production.

Losing The "Eyes In The Back Of Our Heads": Social Service Skills, Lean Caring, And Violence, Donna Baines

The Journal of Sociology & Social Welfare

Violence in the social services work place in general, and the developmental services in particular,h as increased in the last several years. Findingsf rom an ethnographic study suggests that new, lean forms of work organization remove opportunities to use or learn many of the tacit or practice skills workers previously used to keep themselves and their clients safer in the work place. This article describes many of these skills and the new management schemes that remove the possibility to develop or transmit these praxis skills. The article concludes by analyzing the convergence between the new labour processes and the competency …

Public Sector Transition In Post-Communist Economies: The Struggle For Fiscal Decentralization In The Czech And Slovak Republics, Phillip J. Bryson, Gary C. Cornia

Faculty Publications

Transition studies have often been studies of transitioning private sectors. How centralist governments withdraw from the business of micromanaging a nation's enterprises is a fascinating story indeed. The other side of the coin, how the public sector is to be brought to decentralization and democracy, is likewise of great moment for the peoples of the transitioning countries. Under central planning the tradition was to provide all public goods and services under the direction of the central government and its ministries. There were no genuine subnational governments, since all policy decisions pertaining to taxation and the distribution of public services were …

The Professional Development Of Academic Librarians: How Should Institutions Contribute To The Process?, Gregory A. Smith

Faculty Publications and Presentations

Professional development is universally recognized in education and librarianship as imperative for ongoing effectiveness. Most—though not all—academic libraries support professional development through financial assistance and release time. However, while funding and release time are necessary to professional growth, they are not sufficient. The role of the leader as a steward of organizational culture suggests that academic library administrators should concern themselves with fostering an environment conducive to their subordinates’ professional development. Innovative professional development programs in place at a number of academic libraries stand as a corrective to the seemingly haphazard practices of many libraries and librarians. Further research on …

Revitalizing The Subaru Difference: A Communications Audit To Determine Effectiveness At Subaru Of America, Inc., Thomas Paolella

Theses and Dissertations

The purpose of this study was multifaceted. The first purpose was to examine the Subaru Difference Initiative campaign of several years ago and see what aspects succeeded and what areas needed change. The second purpose was to evaluate the effectiveness of the Subaru Difference and the role it currently plays within the Subaru of America Corporation. The third purpose was to perform research to obtain a better understanding of how employees would like to be communicated with in the future regarding the Difference and also what future steps can be taken to improve the overall clarity and effectiveness of this …

Enhancing The Rural South's Quality Of Life: Leveraging Development Through Educational Institutions, Glenn D. Israel

Journal of Rural Social Sciences

2004 SRSA Presidential address presented February 16, 2004, at the annual meeting of the Southern Rural Sociological Association, Tulsa, Oklahoma

Overcoming Resistance To Change: An Analysis To The Department Of Defense's Anthrax Vaccine Immunization Program, Irene C. Johnson

Theses and Dissertations

The goal of this research was to investigate the impact of change on organizations, in the absence of a preparedness program and to develop strategies for overcoming resistance to change, in the midst of a proposed initiative that has become stalled as a result of mistrust and cynicism. The results of this research suggests a framework of management techniques that will offer leadership approaches to resurrecting a stalled change initiative and overcoming personnel's resistance to a proposed change project, in order for the project to be more widely accepted. A series of personal interviews and focus groups, a qualitative method …

Grand Valley Forum, Volume 028, Number 39, June 7, 2004, Grand Valley State University

2003-2004, Volume 28

Grand Valley Forum is Grand Valley State's faculty and staff newsletter, published from 1976 to the present.

Making Tanf Work: Organizational Restructuring, Staff Buy-In, And Performance Monitoring In Local Implementation, Frank Ridzi

The Journal of Sociology & Social Welfare

While research suggests that staff resistance to change and intentional subversion have hampered prior welfare reform efforts, this does not appear to be the case for the 1996 Personal Responsibility and Work Opportunity Reconciliation Act (PRWORA). This paper draws on data from a study of East County, New York to explicate the mechanisms that have enabled the unprecedented transformation in local implementation practice in this case. Interviews, participant observation, and textual analysis of legislative and program documents identify new program creation, staff buy-in, and the environment created by stern performance measures as instrumental in bringing about the PRWORA's successful implementation …