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Corporate Social Responsibility Factors In Market Share And Financial Performance Improvement, Belinda Mclaughlin Jan 2017

Corporate Social Responsibility Factors In Market Share And Financial Performance Improvement, Belinda Mclaughlin

Walden Dissertations and Doctoral Studies

Some corporate leaders lack knowledge of CSR strategies to improve corporate financial performance. Businesses increase their profit margins when the business leaders integrate social and environmental management into core business processes. Grounded in stakeholder theory, this multicase study involved an exploration of corporate social responsibility factors that contributory to improving market share and financial performance. One-on-one interviews took place, and corporate leaders of 3 Native American owned companies that have implemented successful CSR strategies to improve market share and financial performance within the Midwestern area of the United States, including Kansas, Missouri, and Oklahoma. Data triangulation involved the use of …

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Understanding Barriers African American Teenage Mothers Face In Pursuit Of Higher Education, Aldison Middleton-Hinton Jan 2017

Understanding Barriers African American Teenage Mothers Face In Pursuit Of Higher Education, Aldison Middleton-Hinton

Walden Dissertations and Doctoral Studies

Researchers have found that social workers have difficulty identifying their roles in responding to the barriers African American teenage mothers face in pursuit of higher education. This action research project explored the roles social workers play in responding to the barriers African American teenage mothers face in pursuit of a college education and how social workers responded. The ecological systems theory was used to help understand this phenomenon. An action research methodology was used to collect data from 6 licensed social workers who worked with African American teenage mothers. Three focus groups were facilitated to explore the social work practice …

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Program Implementation And Upper Elementary Writing Achievement, Lisa` Weber Jan 2017

Program Implementation And Upper Elementary Writing Achievement, Lisa` Weber

Walden Dissertations and Doctoral Studies

According to the National Assessment of Educational Progress, a significant percent of fourth grade students write well below the basic level. In one elementary school, teachers implemented a new writing program for all students at the school. The purpose of this quasi-experimental quantitative study was to determine the effects of this writing program A Language for Learning and Write from the Beginning-?¦and Beyond. Bruner's theory of constructivism formed the theoretical foundation of this study. The study included 172 students in third, fourth, and fifth grades. The research questions examined pre- and post-paragraph writing scores, extended writing scores, grammar and usage …

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Relationship Between Project Managers’ Age, Years Of Project Experience, And Project Success, Luli Hoxha Jan 2017

Relationship Between Project Managers’ Age, Years Of Project Experience, And Project Success, Luli Hoxha

Walden Dissertations and Doctoral Studies

Project failures are costly to businesses and are increasingly present in the news. In many industries, projects have a 40% failure rate, and 90% of venture capital projects fail even to start. Project managers play a key role in delivering successful projects. The purpose of this correlational study was to examine the relationship between project manager’s age and years of project experience and project success. The population of this study consisted of 108 active or former project managers working in Albania or Kosovo who were LinkedIn members. The study was not grounded in a named theory; rather, based on the …

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Biosociocultural Factors And Motivation To Lose Weight Among Obese African American Women, Odette Marie Russell Jan 2017

Biosociocultural Factors And Motivation To Lose Weight Among Obese African American Women, Odette Marie Russell

Walden Dissertations and Doctoral Studies

Obesity is a pandemic that has a substantial impact among African American women. Biological, social, and cultural acceptance of obesity, collectively referred to as biosociocultural factors, represents an obstacle to efforts to address this health risk among this group. The purpose of this study was to develop a better understanding of the relationship between biosociocultural factors and motivation to lose weight. Self-determination theory, objectification theory, and social learning theory formed the study's theoretical framework. The key research question concerned the extent to which the investigated constructs (BMI, internalized body image, and social networks) helped to explain motivation for weight loss …

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Relationships Between Interprofessional Teamwork And Clinical Management Of, Jacqueline G. Stephens Jan 2017

Relationships Between Interprofessional Teamwork And Clinical Management Of, Jacqueline G. Stephens

Walden Dissertations and Doctoral Studies

Diabetes mellitus (DM) is a highly prevalent chronic disease that affects 29 million people in the United States including over 2 million veterans who receive care through the Veterans Administration. Patient-aligned care teams (PACTs) are an interprofessional teamwork system designed to improve outcomes of chronic illness, but empirical explorations of the efficacy of the PACTs have been insufficient. Utilizing the chronic care model, the purpose of this retrospective study was to determine if PACTs have been efficient in the diabetic management of veterans receiving care through a Southeastern VA. Medical records for 114 veterans with type 2 DM were randomly …

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Exploring The Experiences Of Adults After Equine Facilitated Psychotherapy (Efp), Deby Kay Torbett Jan 2017

Exploring The Experiences Of Adults After Equine Facilitated Psychotherapy (Efp), Deby Kay Torbett

Walden Dissertations and Doctoral Studies

The aim of this phenomenological qualitative study was to capture and understand the essence of the lived experiences of individuals after participating in equine facilitated psychotherapy (EFP). In that the experiences of participants after exposure to EFP have not previously been examined, this study adds to the literature on this innovative therapy. Theoretical viewpoints on animal assisted therapy and solution-focused brief therapy (SFBT) were explored, as well as how the SFBT methodology compares to techniques used in EFP. Using interviews, the study involved capturing participants' experiences by collecting their descriptions of their involvement with EFP, identifying the specific experiences they …

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Retention Of The Experienced Nurse, Tina Melissa Brinegar Jan 2017

Retention Of The Experienced Nurse, Tina Melissa Brinegar

Walden Dissertations and Doctoral Studies

The nursing profession is facing a potentially devastating shortage of nurses by the year 2020. Contributing to the shortage is the retirement of experienced nurses who are over the age of 45, and an aging baby boomer population. The loss will place a considerable strain on the overloaded health systems. As a result, it is important to identify successful strategies for addressing the problem of experienced nurse retention. Therefore, the purpose of this project was to conduct a systematic review of literature to answer the question of what retention strategies have been used to prevent the loss of the experienced …

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The Challenges Of Implementing Bring Your Own Device, Leslie Deshield Jan 2017

The Challenges Of Implementing Bring Your Own Device, Leslie Deshield

Walden Dissertations and Doctoral Studies

Research conducted by Tech Pro (2014) indicated that the Bring Your Own Device (BYOD) concept is gaining momentum with 74% of organizations already having some BYOD program or planning to implement one. While BYOD offers several benefits, it also presents challenges that concern information technology leaders and information security managers. This correlational study used the systems theory framework to examine the relationship between information security managers' intentions, perceptions of security, and compliance regarding BYOD implementation. Participants of the study consisted of information security managers in the eastern United States who had obtained the Certified Information Systems Manager certification. Data was …

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Emotional Intelligence In Leadership And Project Success Within Virtual Teams, Betsy Ferronato Jan 2017

Emotional Intelligence In Leadership And Project Success Within Virtual Teams, Betsy Ferronato

Walden Dissertations and Doctoral Studies

Previous literature has focused on the traits of various leadership styles. Due to the lack of research on leadership styles, the focus of this study was to identify which emotional intelligence characteristics of a leader are significant to the success of virtual team projects. Supported by emotional intelligence and transformational leadership theories, the research questions addressed (a) whether, among virtual teams, a relationship exists between overall emotional intelligence scores and the success of virtual project teams, and (b) to what extent virtual team leaders' abilities to express and use their emotions predict the success of virtual team projects. The target …

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South Carolina State Government: Organizational Succession Plans, Angela West-Barnett Jan 2017

South Carolina State Government: Organizational Succession Plans, Angela West-Barnett

Walden Dissertations and Doctoral Studies

In the South Carolina state government, 43.4% of all full-time equivalent employees will be eligible to retire by the mid- to late-2020s. The potential loss of core organizational knowledge may occur as a result of the retirement of seasoned employees. Grounded by the transformational leadership theory, this qualitative case study explored the successful succession strategies of 8 Certified Public Managers (CPMs) in South Carolina state government organizations. Purposeful sampling led to selecting the 8 CPMs who each had more than 11 years of experience managing employees and each directly influenced the programmatic operations for their respective state government organizations. Data …

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Women In Stem: The Effect Of Undergraduate Research On Persistence, Jodi Christine Wilker Jan 2017

Women In Stem: The Effect Of Undergraduate Research On Persistence, Jodi Christine Wilker

Walden Dissertations and Doctoral Studies

The underrepresentation of women in science, technology, engineering, and math (STEM) careers constitutes a major issue in postsecondary science education. Perseverance of women in STEM is linked to a strong science identity. Experiential learning activities, such as undergraduate research, increase science identity and thus should help keep women in STEM. Most studies on research program development are from 4-year institutions, yet many women start at community colleges. The goal of this study was to fill this gap. Science identity and experiential learning theories provided the framework for this case study at a local institution (LECC). Semistructured interviews determined college science …

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Designing And Evaluating An Educational Initiative Promoting Condom Use Among Hiv+ Hispanic Men, Gilberto Andino Jan 2017

Designing And Evaluating An Educational Initiative Promoting Condom Use Among Hiv+ Hispanic Men, Gilberto Andino

Walden Dissertations and Doctoral Studies

In 2013, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention estimated that between 252,000 and 312,000 Hispanic men and women in the United States were unaware of their risk for transmitting HV/AIDS. Guided by the logic model and Leininger's theory, the purpose of this project was to design a culturally sensitive HIV/AIDS educational program for HIV+ Hispanic males and to evaluate the program content with the staff at a medical center in South Florida, with the goal of implementing the program at that center. The educational program content focused on increasing the knowledge of Hispanic HIV+ men on the effectiveness of …

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A Phenomenological Examination Of Virtual Game Developers' Experiences Using Jacob's Ladder Pre-Production Design Tactic, Jasmine Brown-Turner Jan 2017

A Phenomenological Examination Of Virtual Game Developers' Experiences Using Jacob's Ladder Pre-Production Design Tactic, Jasmine Brown-Turner

Walden Dissertations and Doctoral Studies

Edutainment refers to curriculum and instruction designed with a clear educational purpose, including multi-faceted virtual learning game design. Tools such as the Jacob's Ladder pre-production design tactic have been developed to ensure that voices of both engineers and educators are heard. However, it is unclear how development team members experience and perceive their collaborative work while designing a virtual game using such tactics. This phenomenological study examined the experiences of agile software team members using Jacob's Ladder pre-production design as an interdisciplinary collaboration tool while designing a virtual learning game. Seven design team members (3 educators and 4 engineers) participated …

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Leadership Strategies To Create Success In Virtual Teams, Catherine Muir Freeman Jan 2017

Leadership Strategies To Create Success In Virtual Teams, Catherine Muir Freeman

Walden Dissertations and Doctoral Studies

There has been a rise in remote and virtual employees over the last 10 years with roughly 20-30 million Americans working remotely at least 1 day each week. This growth in virtual employees increases business and organizations' dependency on technology and on effective strategies to lead virtual teams. Grounded in transformational leadership theory, the purpose of this explanatory case study was to explore strategies e-leaders use in leading virtual teams effectively. The study population comprised a virtual company headquartered in the United States. The data included semistructured interviews with e-leaders with at least 1 year of experience in leading successful …

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New Teacher Mentees' Perceptions Of Mentorship As An Assimilation Strategy, Konstance Laverne Grimble Jan 2017

New Teacher Mentees' Perceptions Of Mentorship As An Assimilation Strategy, Konstance Laverne Grimble

Walden Dissertations and Doctoral Studies

Attrition among new teachers with fewer than 5 years of experience was high in an urban high school in Texas. The high attrition rate is a problem for students, because high teacher turnover can result in teachers with low expertise. In this study, the conceptual framework used was Hord's professional learning community (PLC) model, which emphasizes trust and a utilization of a cycle of inquiry among colleagues to prepare lessons and assessments that affect student achievement. The purpose of this study was to determine new high school teachers' perceptions of assimilation techniques used by their mentors in the new teacher …

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Exploring The Impact Of Collective Bargaining Agreements On Employee Performance Management, Nana Gyesie Jan 2017

Exploring The Impact Of Collective Bargaining Agreements On Employee Performance Management, Nana Gyesie

Walden Dissertations and Doctoral Studies

As of 2014, union density in the United States had dropped compared to union density during the 1950s. Collective bargaining agreements are the foundational agreement for all issues related to salary, benefits, and working conditions. The purpose of this multiple case study was to explore how collective bargaining agreements hindered or enabled managers from creating and sustaining high performance work practices. The conceptual framework included Walton and McKersie's work on behavioral theories for labor negotiations, human capital, and collective bargaining, and Huselid's work on high performance work practices. Fifteen respondents across 5 labor unions in Washington DC were selected through …

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Youth Justice Arbitrators' Experiences With Restorative Justice In Rural American Areas, Leigh Dezuraye Hicks Jan 2017

Youth Justice Arbitrators' Experiences With Restorative Justice In Rural American Areas, Leigh Dezuraye Hicks

Walden Dissertations and Doctoral Studies

The rise in the number of Black, male, incarcerated, rural youth and the retributive juvenile justice system is a prominent problem in the United States, creating a revolving door for youth in conflict with the law. Restorative justice is an alternative approach that diverts youth from court and focus on rehabilitation, but lacks sufficient experiential evidence from those involved in the process to support broader implementation. The purpose of this study was to explore the experiences of restorative justice arbitrators and the role they play in facilitating resolution of youth criminal charges in a rural setting in a southern U.S. …

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Post Advanced Technology Implementation Effects On School Psychologist Job Performance, Rana Dirice Hobson Jan 2017

Post Advanced Technology Implementation Effects On School Psychologist Job Performance, Rana Dirice Hobson

Walden Dissertations and Doctoral Studies

The technology acceptance model (TAM) has been widely used to assess technology adoption in business, education, and health care. The New York City Department of Education (NYCDOE) launched a web-based Individualized Educational Program (IEP) system for school psychologists to use in conducting evaluations and reviews. This quantitative study examined the relationship between school psychologists' TAM factors associated with the web-based IEP system's perceived usability and usefulness measured by a TAM Instrument with individual job performance assessed by the Job Performance Ratings Measure. A random sample of 69 NYCDOE school psychologists participated in this study, and a regression analysis addressed the …

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Exploring Business Planning Strategies Of Women-Owned Small Businesses In The Construction Trades, Diana Fay-Spina Jan 2017

Exploring Business Planning Strategies Of Women-Owned Small Businesses In The Construction Trades, Diana Fay-Spina

Walden Dissertations and Doctoral Studies

Many small businesses fail to survive past 5 years, listing the primary reason given for failure as inadequate business planning strategies. The construction industry provides the building and upkeep of physical infrastructure (buildings and roadways) in developed societies and is a major contributor to the gross domestic product for many nations. In the United States, the construction trades primarily consist of small businesses, with a smaller portion of the sector classified as women-owned. The purpose of this qualitative multiple case study was to explore the business planning strategies that successful women-owned small business (WOSB) construction leaders in New Jersey use …

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Experiences Of Middle-Aged, African American Women With Excessive Weight, Tina Ann Mcclaire Jan 2017

Experiences Of Middle-Aged, African American Women With Excessive Weight, Tina Ann Mcclaire

Walden Dissertations and Doctoral Studies

Obesity and overweight issues are nationally recognized crises for African American women. A noteworthy gap remains in the literature regarding this population's experiences with excessive weight, specifically, the role of culture and social support networks on their experience with being overweight. Without an understanding of the experience and meaning of being overweight for African American women, physicians and clinicians will not be able to fully support African American women in their weight loss journeys. Using the social learning theory as a framework, the purpose of this phenomenological research study was to explore experiences of obese or overweight middle-aged African American …

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The Impact Of The Digital Divide On First-Year Community College Students, Malinda Mansfield Jan 2017

The Impact Of The Digital Divide On First-Year Community College Students, Malinda Mansfield

Walden Dissertations and Doctoral Studies

Some students do not possess the learning management system (LMS) and basic computer skills needed for success in first-year experience (FYE) courses. The purpose of this quantitative study, based on the Integrative Learning Design Framework and theory of transactional distance, was to identify what basic computer skills and LMS skills are needed for first-year students to be successful in FYE courses. A survey was offered to 368 first-year students and 47 first-year instructors at a large Midwestern community college to compare instructors' perceptions of the computer literacy skill levels necessary for FYE student success with FYE students' self-reported current computer …

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Reducing Technology Costs For Small Real Estate Businesses Using Cloud And Mobility, Linda Anne-Marie Mcintosh Jan 2017

Reducing Technology Costs For Small Real Estate Businesses Using Cloud And Mobility, Linda Anne-Marie Mcintosh

Walden Dissertations and Doctoral Studies

Increased client accessibility strategies, awareness of technology cost, and factors of third-party data security capabilities are elements small real estate business (SREB) owners need to know before adopting cloud and mobility technology. The purpose of this multiple case study was to explore the strategies SREB owners use to implement cloud and mobility products to reduce their technology costs. The target population consisted of 3 SREB owners who had experience implementing cloud and mobility products in their businesses in the state of Texas. The conceptual framework of this research study was the technology acceptance model theory. Semistructured interviews were conducted and …

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Barriers To Switching Patients To Second-Line Antiretroviral Treatment Among Clinicians In Tanzania, Peter Charles Mgosha Jan 2017

Barriers To Switching Patients To Second-Line Antiretroviral Treatment Among Clinicians In Tanzania, Peter Charles Mgosha

Walden Dissertations and Doctoral Studies

Poor decision making among clinicians to transferring human immune deficiency virus (HIV) patients into second-line antiretroviral therapy (ART) has led to an increase in morbidity and mortality to people living with HIV (PLHIV). No clear barriers are known for clinicians not switching their patients. This is a descriptive qualitative research aimed to discover obstacles that influence clinicians' decision making to transferring patients into second-line ART despite higher level resistance to first-line ART. The researcher applied a participatory action research framework to solve the identified barriers with clinicians. Using the research questions the researcher explored reasons, perceived barriers and enabling factors …

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The Relationship Between Youths' Risky Sexual Behavior And Race/Ethnicity, William Patrick Odhiambo Okello Jan 2017

The Relationship Between Youths' Risky Sexual Behavior And Race/Ethnicity, William Patrick Odhiambo Okello

Walden Dissertations and Doctoral Studies

According to the CDC, young people, aged 15-24 years, share the greatest risk of new sexually transmitted diseases (STD) and the negative impact of alcohol and drug use. The purpose of this quantitative study, based on the theory of social-psychological problem-behavior, was to analyze the 2013 YRBSS secondary data and document if a relationship existed between race/ethnicity and youth sexual behavior, alcohol consumption, and drug use for the 13,583 survey participants. A Kolmogorov-Smirnov test and Chi-Square were conducted to answer the research questions. Results indicated that American Indian/Alaskan Natives were most likely to report first sexual activity before 11 years …

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Examining Nurse Satisfaction With A Bedside Handover Report Process, Imelda C. Principe Jan 2017

Examining Nurse Satisfaction With A Bedside Handover Report Process, Imelda C. Principe

Walden Dissertations and Doctoral Studies

Nurses' job satisfaction affects work performance at the point of care in hospitals. The incoming nurses who are able to receive a comprehensive patient report at shift change are more prepared in comparison to incoming nurses who are not able to receive a comprehensive patient report to provide care that is safe. The purpose of this project, guided by the theory of organization change, was to explore whether the use of a bedside handover process impacts nurses' satisfaction in an adult postoperative orthopedic and spine unit. A post-implementation survey of the bedside handover process was conducted after one month and …

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Functional And Dysfunctional Themes In Successful Peace Agreements Arising From Intractable Conflicts, Sharon Ryan Ryan Jan 2017

Functional And Dysfunctional Themes In Successful Peace Agreements Arising From Intractable Conflicts, Sharon Ryan Ryan

Walden Dissertations and Doctoral Studies

An important challenge facing humanity today is to determine how to resolve intractable conflicts. Intractable conflicts are intensely violent conflicts that are difficult to resolve and last at least one generation. The purpose of this study was to explore the themes leaders used in resolving intractable conflicts by writing peace agreements, which achieved at least a ninety percent implementation rating by the Kroc Institute for International Peace Studies at the University of Notre Dame. The research questions focused on the distribution of societal themes defined by Bar-Tal as present within societies experiencing an intractable conflict. This study used a multicase …

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The Impact Of Nursing Interventions On Pediatric Pressure Injuries, Charleen Singh Jan 2017

The Impact Of Nursing Interventions On Pediatric Pressure Injuries, Charleen Singh

Walden Dissertations and Doctoral Studies

Hospitalized children are vulnerable to pressure injuries. Multiple methods are available to decrease pressure injuries. One specific method is the pediatric pressure injury prevention bundle, which includes device rotation, moisture management, positioning, skin assessment, and support surface management. Although this prevention bundle is available nationwide, it is not known if this type of bundled methodology helps decrease pressure injuries in hospitalized children. Secondary data regarding nursing interventions implemented as a bundle and pressure injury rates from a large pediatric hospital consortium were used to address this gap in the literature. The research questions explored the impact of the pressure injury …

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The Relationship Of Moral Reasoning And Ethical Decision Making Among It Employees, Karen J. Stockton-Tillman Jan 2017

The Relationship Of Moral Reasoning And Ethical Decision Making Among It Employees, Karen J. Stockton-Tillman

Walden Dissertations and Doctoral Studies

There has been a rise in the last decade of documented unethical business behavior by information technology (IT) employees. Over the last several years, business managers have tried to address this area of concern to find a solution to this growing problem, but they have struggled with the metrics to identify unethical behavior in IT employees. The purpose of this study was to examine the role of 3 employee constructs-ethics training (ET), education level (EL), and employee's perception of their organizations' ethical leadership (EP)-on whether an IT employee would behave in an unethical manner. The theoretical framework for the study …

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Minimizing Nepotistic Practices In Family Owned And Operated Businesses: The Private Sector, Darlene Thomas Thomas Jan 2017

Minimizing Nepotistic Practices In Family Owned And Operated Businesses: The Private Sector, Darlene Thomas Thomas

Walden Dissertations and Doctoral Studies

Owners of family businesses in the private sector must be cognizant of nepotism to reduce skilled employee turnover. Guided by Herzberg two-factor theory as the conceptual framework, the purpose of this multiple case study was to explore strategies used by family owned and operated business leaders to minimize nepotistic practices that reduce skilled nonfamily employees' voluntary turnover. The population for this study included 3 family owned and operated funeral establishments in the Midwest region of St. Louis, Missouri. These participants had sustained their family businesses longer than 5 years while minimizing skilled nonfamily employees' voluntary turnover. Data were collected from …

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