Digital Commons Network^™

Participant Reactions To A Leadership Development Program In A High Growth Firm: A Preliminary Study, Malika Begin

Theses and Dissertations

High growth firms (HGF), which report more than 20% annual growth for at least 3 consecutive years, have limited time and resources to support their success. Transformative leadership development interventions, which strive to create marked changes through shifting leaders’ ways of perceiving and operating, may be highly effective for rapidly expanding the firms’ leadership capacities. This study examined the perceived nature and impacts of a leadership development program that was intended to be transformative in one HGF.

All 10 leadership development trainees were interviewed about the effects of the program and the program features that contributed to those effects. Participants …

Hispanic School Leaders And Their Impact On Education, Linda Guzmán

Theses and Dissertations

The purpose of this qualitative phenomenological study is to investigate the impact Hispanic school leaders have in schools that are primarily Hispanic. The Hispanic community is one of the fastest-growing in the United States. Hispanics are the largest student group represented in elementary and high schools yet are disproportionately underrepresented in school leadership. Hispanic school leaders experience challenges in gaining the education, opportunities, and work experience to achieve leadership roles in schools. Once Hispanic leaders gain leadership roles and grow in experience, they face challenges implementing policies that positively impact their school community. A review of the literature identified challenges …

A Qualitative Analysis Of The Organizational Culture On An Inner-City Revitalization Of One Government Entity In California, Erin Franco

Theses and Dissertations

Inner-city revitalization is one primary goal of municipal leaders, yet it remains controversial in that it requires the entire municipality to become an organized system operating as an organization. All parties involved in the process of inner-city revitalization must be engaged and willing to undergo the proposed changes. These changes include creating multiple streams of revenue for the city, creating jobs for community members, and encouraging community engagement to develop healthy and happy communities. As leaders engage in this pursuit, they must have a thorough understanding of leadership's critical task to develop an organizational culture that aligns with the mission …

Impact Of Internal Corporate Social Responsibility Factors On The Employee’S Innovation Climate In The Medical Diagnostics Industry, Sofia M. Beglari

Theses and Dissertations

This study examined the relationship between employee-driven corporate social responsibility (CSR) factors and employee innovation in U.S. medical diagnostic companies during the respiratory syndrome coronavirus (COVID) pandemic. This study examined what employee-driven CSR factors affect such motivation of employees toward innovation. The research population was employees who have worked in operation, quality control, research, technical, and management departments of medical diagnostics companies in the United States of America. The investigator used a survey questionnaire for this correlation design study. Employees’ responses were analyzed based on education level, gender, and job function using descriptive analysis, t-test, and ANOVA-test. The theoretical framework …

Impact Of Leadership Skills On Entrepreneurs’ Business Success In Saudi Arabia, Omar Alaqeel

Theses and Dissertations

Most entrepreneurial businesses fail within the first 5 years of establishment. One of the major causes is the lack of leadership skills by the entrepreneurs. The aim of this quantitative study was to define the leadership skills that were required by entrepreneurs in Saudi Arabia in creating and sustaining entrepreneurial business successfully beyond 5 years and to identify the environmental factors affecting entrepreneurship ecosystem in Saudi Arabia. The population of interest in this study was entrepreneurs from Tasamy in Saudi Arabia. Tasamy is a non-profit organization that focuses on supporting entrepreneurship in Saudi Arabia. To answer the research questions for …

Scandinavian Work-Life Balance Experience: Its Implementation In The United Arab Emirates (Uae) Happiness Context, Maktoom Al Mazrouei

Theses and Dissertations

Employee happiness and satisfaction are unanimously correlated to enhanced levels of productivity and efficiency, making them important for employees and employers. Scandinavian countries consistently rank highly on the world happiness index and correspondingly possess comparatively happier employees in their workplaces. Aside from the structural setting, internal components, and atmosphere of the workplace, it is primarily understood that the initiatives undertaken by Scandinavian countries in relation to the concept of work life balance are significantly important. The concept of work-life balance is cognizant of an employee’s struggle in maintaining equilibrium between work and personal life. This study could aid the United …

Change Readiness And The Mediating Role Of General-Dispositional Internal Structures, Genevieve Joy Clark

Theses and Dissertations

This case study offers insight toward the impact of the general-dispositional, internal structures on a planned organizational change in the field of education. The process used and the findings of this may be applicable to a variety of fields. Stones’ strong structuration (2005) served as the theoretical framework guiding this study, though Chater and Loewenstein’s (2016) model of sensemaking offers supplementary consideration.

The context for study was the shift to virtual learning because of the COVID-19 global pandemic and subsequent closure of schools beginning in March 2020. This empirical study examined agents-in-situ’s response to the change, including the structuring interactions …

Automation: Creative Destruction And The Race For Equilibrium, Dustin Rabi

Journal of the National Association of Administrative Law Judiciary

The inevitable transition to an automation-driven workforce, economy, and society is generating excitement in some and discomfort in others. Researchers have estimated that anywhere between 10—50% of today’s jobs are susceptible to automation. Furthermore, private firms are highly incentivized to adopt new technologies as a way to remain competitive in their respective markets. In anticipation of this potential economic paradigm shift, Congress requested the U.S. Government Accountability Office (GAO) to obtain more ascertainable data as to what is currently understood about how the adoption of advanced technologies will affect the U.S. workforce. Nine months after the report was published, on …

Educational Equity In Independent Schools: A Phenomenographic Study Of School-Wide Equity Practices, Barriers, And Leadership Behaviors Necessary To Achieve Diversity, Inclusion, And Cultural Competence, Christopher Gerard Lemieux

Theses and Dissertations

Independent schools are facing equity changes that had long been avoided, consequently, schools are now faced with adopting equity practices designed to produce equitable outcomes. Equity practices adopted have not been realized without corresponding leadership behaviors necessary to change cultural norms as well as overcoming associative barriers. This study explored how Heads of school in Southern California described the school-wide equity practices they utilized, barriers encountered, and the leadership behaviors that were necessary for achieving diversity, inclusion, and cultural competence at their school. This study used a phenomenographic design and included 11 Heads of school identified as having exemplary school-wide …

In Film, I Too Sing, America: Exploring The Lived Experiences Of Black Male Filmmakers, Charles Opong

Theses and Dissertations

This study is about the lived experiences of Black male filmmakers’ global identity, and representation. This study is pertinent as Black males are often portrayed as stereotypical characters when they are much more meaningful people to society. Black male creators’ stories are being told but not by them and not from the perspective of how they want to be seen while contextualizing the humanity of Black male film creators. This study explored two research questions: What are the lived experiences of being a Black male creator in the film industry? And to what extent do Black males feel their identity …

Organizational Dissonance In The Context Of Organizational Decline And Turnaround Of A Security Printer: A Quantitative Case Study, Tina Marie Ramirez-Dominguez

Theses and Dissertations

The purpose of this non-experimental, quantitative study was to examine organizational identity dissonance experienced by an organization's social actors in the context of organizational decline and turnaround utilizing factor structures from five years of pre-existing, employee surveys to determine whether differences in factor scores occurred over the 5-year time frame. Organizational identity dissonance is the psychological stress or discomfort experienced by an organization's social actors from holding two or more contradictory attitudes, beliefs, or behaviors (McLead, 2008) in relation to the organization's identity. A social actor is an individual participating in a communal environment (Whetten & Mackey, 2002). A communal …

The Effects Of Collaborative Leadership Practices On Employee Satisfaction Levels, Thomas Martin

Theses and Dissertations

Successful organizations understand how employee satisfaction levels affect the bottom line. Establishing the best practices for managing employee satisfaction is paramount so human resource directors can share information. This literature review will help educate human resource practitioners and researchers to understand better the history, the existing research, and the benefits of properly managing employee satisfaction levels. When employees become dissatisfied, it can lead to a lack of trust, poor communication, and retention problems. Obtaining information on managing employee satisfaction levels can be difficult for aspiring human resource leaders. Through this phenomenological research study, human resource executives will share their knowledge …

Support For Students With Disabilities: How Awareness And Accommodations Differ Across Faculty Members Within The Postsecondary Context, Toby Tomlinson Baker

Theses and Dissertations

This case study sought to determine the most salient needs of higher education faculty who instruct and accommodate students with disabilities (SWDs). Therefore, the faculty were analyzed as a community in a university setting. Currently, the accommodations that faculty provide for SWDs vary from institution to institution. Additionally, certain variables, such as faculty’s years with the university, budget, size, and location of the institution impact the level of support provided and what specific accommodations SWDs receive.The purpose of this qualitative case study was to develop an in-depth understanding of the current level of knowledge that faculty obtain for accommodating SWDs. …

Creating A Collaborative Culture: Can Online Learning Circles Spark Innovation And Promote Intrapreneurship?, Christian Deveaux Greer

Theses and Dissertations

Traditional organizational structures can be stubbornly inflexible and woefully under-optimized for cross-departmental project collaboration. Leaders seeking to innovate within the confines of these structures often have to empower themselves to create ad hoc agile teams that foster creative problem-solving, unlock social capital, and generate value early and often. As the President & CEO of a nonprofit science center in the Midwest, I have discovered that some of our most valuable ideas have sprouted and bloomed because distributed leaders, operating essentially as intrapreneurs, discovered ways to use their informal social networks to break through silos and successfully collaborate across departmental lines. …

Forward Solutions In Digital Learning Transformation: A Study In Navigating 21st-Century Organizational Learning For Learning & Development Professionals, Malika Afiya Viltz-Emerson

Theses and Dissertations

While there is a substantial volume of information on digital transformation in companies and basic knowledge of the learning functions in organizations, there is little academic research on the skilling required of Learning and Development Practitioners or Professionals (LDPs) and the impact 21st century digital transformation has on their role. This mixed methods study shares lived experiences and the perceptions of LDPs and identifies challenges with which they are faced. Overall, the study explores transformation of LDPs within the construct of organizations and the digital evolution. The study reviews how LDPs are adapting to the rapid changes and the evolution …

Corporate Venturing In The Media & Entertainment Industry: Contextual Factors That Influence Corporate Venture Decision Making, Graylind R. Wherry

Theses and Dissertations

This research study focuses on Corporate Venturing (CV) within the Media and Entertainment(M&E) industry and investigates factors that influence CV decision-making. CV provides a viable strategy to facilitate innovation and organizational change within companies; however, this area is understudied within the M&E industry. Companies that make up the entertainment industry may not have specific insight into how best to exploit this opportunity. Specifically, this study looks at the influence of firm characteristics, industry characteristics, and other outside factors using the PESTLE strategy model characteristics impacting the parent or venture unit's CV decision-making within the M&E industry. In terms of this …

Identifying Characteristics That Lead To Better Academic Performance For International Students In U.S. Colleges, Hadi Rajabbeigi

Theses and Dissertations

A large proportion of students in the United States is international students. Thus, educational leaders need to facilitate the learning process for this population. This study investigated the characteristics of international students that affect their academic performance. The purpose of this study was to determine how individual characteristics of international students affect the learning strategies they choose and how it affects their academic performance. For this purpose, the survey was designed according to the literature, which measures characteristic variables based on VIA character strengths (Peterson & Seligman, 2004), learning strategies (MSLQ) developed by Pintrich et al. (1991), and academic performance …

Administrative Law: Whose Job Is It Anyway?, Allison Mather

Pepperdine Law Review

This Note examines the current state of judicial deference to administrative agencies and suggests modifying the doctrine to better comport with the Constitution. It examines the history of administrative agencies and the rise of judicial deference. The Note explores the present-day applications of judicial deference and analyzes whether the current doctrine is consistent with both its initial underlying policies and the Constitution. Ultimately, judicial deference to administrative agencies raises serious separation of powers concerns and should be modified to remain faithful to the nation’s founding principles.

An Exploration Of Gender And National Security Through The Integration Of Women Into Military Roles, Alexine D. Carr

Pepperdine Policy Review

This paper stems from curiosity as to whether there are differences in the outcomes or abilities of militaries to function effectively when females are included. Notions of high-stakes warfare, the physiology of both genders, tradition, and a culture built upon hypermasculine ideals deserve consideration within the context of both 21 st -century feminist thought and overall fighting aptitude. In the pages that follow, the militaries of the United States, Israel, and Sweden are examined to 1) determine what women specifically contribute within a military setting, and 2) argue that integration aligns with priorities of both feminism and national security. Specifically, …

Building Change Agility Within Teams, Tiffany N. Bersos

Theses and Dissertations

Change is necessary for an organization to be successful. However, poorly executed change, with ill-equipped leaders and unprepared teams, often result in failed efforts. Leaders can have a direct impact on their team's change agility and successful change initiatives. This study looked at team leaders and individual contributors across a variety of industries and explored ways that team leaders can build change agility. This study addressed three research questions: how participants defined the role of a leader, what individuals observed about themselves when at their best during a change, and what practices they believed would aid in building change agility …

The Kairos Model: Best Leadership Practices For Small-To-Medium Sized Management Consulting Firms, Edward Eng

Theses and Dissertations

Breakthrough technologies and ever-increasing customer demands are paving the way for new entrants to disrupt the traditional management industry. With their capacious resources, industry incumbents have mitigated these emergent forces by integrating digital capabilities into their arsenal of services. Without the capacity of market leaders, small and medium-sized business consultants are struggling to compete effectively. To fill this research gap, this study strove to develop a practical framework to help small- to medium-sized business consultants act more purposefully amidst growing competitive pressures.

The researcher chose a qualitative grounded theory design to collect data through face-to- face, semi-structured interview questions. Insights …

Career Trajectory And Leadership: The Role Of Personal Adversity, Kristina E. Kovacs

Theses and Dissertations

Adversity is part of life and certainly contributes to human development. This study seeks to explore the impact of personal adversity on career trajectory and leadership. A qualitative study based on 12 interviews with a narrative approach is presented. Key themes were identified among high-level executives around career evolution, perception of leadership, and how those experiences impacted their way of leading. The study concludes with a brief discussion of limitations and the findings that raise questions for additional research and provide some support for leadership and career development, counseling, and training.

Managing The Affective Responses Of Employees During Organizational Change In Higher Education, Brad Kennington

Theses and Dissertations

Higher education is facing a period of continual change driven by numerous external and internal forces. Consequently, higher education leaders are faced with the frequent and daunting task of planning and managing organizational change in higher education institutions, which are both complex and dynamic in nature. Adding difficulty to this task is the fact that employees often react to change with emotional responses that are both challenging to understand and complicated and to manage. Managing affective dimensions of change can be overwhelming to leaders, which can lead to failed organizational change efforts. This study explored and answered (a) how a …

The Impact Of Manager Appreciative Communication On Employee Psychological Well-Being Being, Matthew Bowman

Theses and Dissertations

Communication and leadership are both important components of a successful organization and can play a role in an employee's psychological well-being. This study looks at managers communication and the real-life impact on an employee's experience at work and how it affects their happiness. This study uses a mixed methodology to build a foundation of data, each from the managers and employees' point of view to build context and generate a direction a manager can take when communicating with their staff. The manager and employee reactions showed a correlation between a manager's ability to communicate their appreciation to their employee. A …

Team Building Challenges And Opportunities After A Public Agency Merger, Andrea A. Severson

Theses and Dissertations

This study used a mixed-method design to gather data about team building after a public agency merger. This study found that teamwork, role clarity, and clear decision processes were the most important factors impacting goal accomplishment post-merger. Prioritizing team building before, during, and after a public agency merger can address some of the most common challenges presented by a merger or acquisition.

Books Or Food? Food Insecurity And The Rise Of Campus Food Pantries, Sonya Sharififard

Theses and Dissertations

This dissertation is a quantitative study of campus food pantries located in public four-year colleges and universities in the United States. The research aims to explain relationships among campus food pantries and surrounding neighborhood characteristics affecting local food environments. There are two parts to the study: (a) the quantitative analysis through responses from a participant questionnaire; and (b) a case study analysis to accompany the quantitative analysis. The researcher identified three metropolitan counties within U.S. census tracts, to determine the relationship between neighborhood demographics, the local food environment, and the impact on campus communities. The researcher explored food accessibility within …

An Evaluation Of A Transorganizational Development Process Promoting Positive Social Change, Erin Hall

Theses and Dissertations

Humanity's largest and most complex social problems are not going to be adequately addressed by one organization working alone. This study addressed two research questions: (1) what ingredients enable successful transorganization collaboration seeking positive social change? and (2) what roles does trust play? Using a case study methodology, participants and observers were interviewed. The data was analyzed using Ainsworth and Feyerhem's diagnostic model of transorganzational systems and Vangen and Huxham's trust-building and trust-sustaining theory. The findings emphasize the interdependence of transorganizational system (TS) design components and, in particular, of trust with each of the components.

What Goes Into Successful Diversity And Inclusion Initiatives In Entertainment? Lessons From Advocates Of Creative Talent, Lindsey Sands

Theses and Dissertations

Entertainment offers a powerful medium in reducing bias and prejudice. Therefore, its critical role in shaping bias through on-screen representation needs to be explored through people who work directly with writers, directors, and actors. This qualitative study aimed to determine the impact of diversity and inclusion approaches by interviewing 14 advocates of creative talent in the entertainment industry. The study explored the types of Diversity & Inclusion (D&I) initiatives prevalent in entertainment, the correlation between bias and prejudice reduction, and the perceived impact of these initiatives in improving environments. The study found that six themes emerged: access to relationships, highlighting …

Love As An Organizational Norm: An Exploration At A Values-Centered Organization, Vangie Marie Bogaty-Rodríguez

Theses and Dissertations

This study investigated to what extent, if any, developing a norm of love might be accepted, incorporated, sustained, and beneficial to an organization. Participants included 18 directors, manager, and supervisors of a 24-year-old telecommunications company located in Puerto Rico. Data were collected through individual interviews where interviewees shared their perspectives on the possibility of adopting the norm of love, their acceptance of it, and how they would implement it. Findings indicated that a majority (83.33%) of the participants acknowledged that love is part of the human essence and whole selves, and that such a norm would be beneficial to employees …

Advancing Leadership Consciousness: Integrity From The Inside Out, Jessica Plancich Shinners

Theses and Dissertations

A poll conducted by the World Economic Forum (2015) found that 86% of respondents perceive that we are facing a global leadership crisis. At the time of this study, the COVID-19 pandemic has impacted the global ecology in dramatic and widespread ways. In light of this uncertain political, economic, sociological, and ecological climate, humanity is in need of consistent and reliable ways of developing exemplary leaders. As society enters into massive technological advancement, leaders and collaborators are at risk of obsolescence if we do not find innovative ways to harness innate human capacities to advance consciousness and co-evolve with technology. …