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Understanding Financial Value Of Cloud-Based Business Applications: A Phenomenological Study, Victor Arthur Arthur Jan 2017

Understanding Financial Value Of Cloud-Based Business Applications: A Phenomenological Study, Victor Arthur Arthur

Walden Dissertations and Doctoral Studies

An understanding of opportunities and challenges in cloud computing is needed to better manage technology costs and create financial value. The purposes of this transcendental phenomenological study were to understand the lived experiences of minority business owners who operated business applications in the cloud and to explore how these experiences created financial value for businesses despite security challenges. Historically, minority business owners have experienced high rates of business failures and could benefit from information to help them manage business costs in order to position their businesses to grow and succeed. Modigliani-Miller's theorem on capital structure and Brealey and Young's concept …

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Association Between Physician Characteristics And Surgical Errors In U.S. Hospitals, Obumneke A. Amadi Jan 2017

Association Between Physician Characteristics And Surgical Errors In U.S. Hospitals, Obumneke A. Amadi

Walden Dissertations and Doctoral Studies

The high incidence of medical and surgical errors in U.S. hospitals and clinics affects patients' safety. Not enough is known about the relationship between physician characteristics and medical error rates. The purpose of this quantitative correlational study was to examine the relationship between selected physician characteristics and surgical errors in U.S. hospitals. The ecological model was used to understand personal and systemic factors that might be related to the incidence of surgical errors. Archived data from the National Practitioner Data Bank database of physician surgical errors were analyzed using bivariate and multivariate logistic regression analyses. Independent variables included physicians' home …

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Relationships Between Job Satisfaction, Supervisor Support, And Profitability Among Quick Service Industry Employees, Joseph Carl Vann Jan 2017

Relationships Between Job Satisfaction, Supervisor Support, And Profitability Among Quick Service Industry Employees, Joseph Carl Vann

Walden Dissertations and Doctoral Studies

Low profit margins threaten the sustainability of quick service restaurants (QSRs). In the United States, low levels of employee job satisfaction and low employee perceptions of supervisor support decrease organizational profitability by as much as $151 million annually, depending on the size and type of organization. Guided by the 2-factor theory of motivation, the purpose of this correlational study was to examine the relationship between employee job satisfaction, employee perceptions of supervisor support, and organizational profitability. A convenience sample of employees from 86 QSR franchise locations in Houston, Texas completed the Job Satisfaction and Perceived Supervisor Support surveys. Multiple linear …

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The Relationship Between Nurse Manager Leadership Style And The Enculturation Of Shared Governance, Anna Elizabeth Keane Jan 2017

The Relationship Between Nurse Manager Leadership Style And The Enculturation Of Shared Governance, Anna Elizabeth Keane

Walden Dissertations and Doctoral Studies

Shared governance, a participative model of governance, implemented by healthcare organizations for more than 30 years has been associated with empowerment, job satisfaction, and retention of registered nurses. Recent studies document a lack of participation in shared governance by registered nurses; the reason for the change is unknown. The nurse managers' role in this change is unknown. The purpose of this non-experimental, cross-sectional survey design study was to test Bass' theory of transformational leadership that examines the relationship between the leadership style of the manager and the enculturation of shared governance in acute care hospitals in the United States. A …

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Ask A Busy Person? A Reexamination Of Cognitive Performance Under Load, Graham Watson Jan 2017

Ask A Busy Person? A Reexamination Of Cognitive Performance Under Load, Graham Watson

Walden Dissertations and Doctoral Studies

A longstanding folk belief suggests that 'busy' people possess the ability to get more done than others. Busyness, defined as the demands of everyday life, has been shown to generate cognitive load, which has been called 'cognitive busyness.' Although most cognitive theory would deny the possibility that cognitive load may enhance performance, some recent research may support the possibility. Cowan's 1988 information-processing model was used to study how measures of everyday busyness correlated with performance on cognitive tasks. The research question addressed whether any combination of such measures, in combination with working memory, could predict performance on such tasks. 92 …

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Humanitarian Aid Workers' Perceptions Of Stress Management Services, Annette Hearns Jan 2017

Humanitarian Aid Workers' Perceptions Of Stress Management Services, Annette Hearns

Walden Dissertations and Doctoral Studies

Humanitarian aid workers live and work in harsh circumstances far from loved ones and support mechanisms. The problem is that international aid must continue to work effectively despite stress levels. The purpose of this phenomenological study was to understand how aid workers perceive their work-related stressors, examine their subsequent experiences of in-house stress management services, and describe the factors that influence aid workers' decisions to access in-house stress management services. The conservation of resources theory was used to understand aid workers experience of stress. A purposive sampling technique was used to identify 12 aid workers with a minimum of 5 …

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Nursing Student's Breast Cancer Knowledge And Breast- Self Examination Technique Confidence, Lydia E. Gaud Jan 2017

Nursing Student's Breast Cancer Knowledge And Breast- Self Examination Technique Confidence, Lydia E. Gaud

Walden Dissertations and Doctoral Studies

Breast cancer is the second leading cause of cancer death in women in the United States. Several factors have been identified that interfere with women's breast cancer screening practices, including lack of knowledge and confidence in the breast self-examination (BSE) technique, and lack of information provided by health care provider. One of the reasons nurses do not teach breast cancer detection could be the little emphasis given to breast cancer examination in nursing schools. The BSE is a measure of significant value in detecting cancer of the breast. However, less than half of the women in the United States are …

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Utilizing Corporate Governance In Strategy Formulation And Execution, Oladayo Ojo Jan 2017

Utilizing Corporate Governance In Strategy Formulation And Execution, Oladayo Ojo

Walden Dissertations and Doctoral Studies

Ineffective corporate governance is a leading cause of financial crises. Ineffectual corporate governance is mainly due to the lack of prudential and efficient supervision, which is symptomatic of board composition and the selection criteria of board members. The purpose of this single case study was to explore the strategies that banking leaders used to identify board selection criteria that ensures effective governance. The sample consisted of 4 business leaders at a bank located in California that remained profitable and did not have losses during the recent recession. The conceptual framework used for the study was agency theory. The data sources …

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Relationships Between Critical Business Performance Variables And Solo Criminal Law Practitioners Success, Renee Norris-Jones Jan 2017

Relationships Between Critical Business Performance Variables And Solo Criminal Law Practitioners Success, Renee Norris-Jones

Walden Dissertations and Doctoral Studies

Growing numbers of America's 1,281,432 active licensed attorneys open their own law firms due to strained employment opportunities. With 50% of small businesses failing within 5 years, and solo law offices accounting for 75% of attorneys in private practice, there is a need for preparing solo criminal law practitioners for business success. Some solo criminal law practitioners do not understand the critical business performance variables that impact small business success. The total population for this quantitative correlational study included solo criminal law practitioners from the Philadelphia Bar Association Legal Directory and Pennsylvania Association of Criminal Defense Lawyers members. Barney's resource-based …

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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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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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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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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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Predictors And Moderators Of Sexual Distress In Women With Persistent Genital Arousal Disorder, Lisa Squibb Jan 2017

Predictors And Moderators Of Sexual Distress In Women With Persistent Genital Arousal Disorder, Lisa Squibb

Walden Dissertations and Doctoral Studies

Persistent Genital Arousal Disorder (PGAD) is a complex, poorly understood condition characterized by unremitting, unwanted, distressing genital arousal which occurs frequently and for extended periods of time, often in the absence of sexual stimuli. The pathophysiology is unknown. Researchers have hypothesized underlying disorders of neurological, vascular, pharmacological and psychological origins. Possible causalities have been suggested including anxiety disorder, SSRI use, and pudendal nerve neuropathies among others. Despite the uncertainty of etiology, other aspects of the disorder are clearer, including distress and poor quality of life for many. In this study, I used a biopsychosocial model to examine three potential psychological …

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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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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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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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Mentoring, Networking, And Role Modeling Opportunities Between Men And Women In Management Positions, Annette Moultrie-Ohens Jan 2017

Mentoring, Networking, And Role Modeling Opportunities Between Men And Women In Management Positions, Annette Moultrie-Ohens

Walden Dissertations and Doctoral Studies

Although women represent more than half of the U.S. population, in 2015 women held less than 25% of senior-level positions, and less than 5% of executive positions in corporate America. The underrepresentation of women in leadership position is partially attributable to a lack of role models, mentoring, and networking programs needed to develop women executives and senior-managers. The purpose of this quantitative, comparative, field survey study was to examine the differences in the availability of mentoring, networking, and role modeling opportunities between men and women in management positions, and to explore causes of such differences. The attribution theory was used …

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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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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 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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Impact Of Change Management On Employee Behavior In A University Administrative Office, Kendra M. Turner Jan 2017

Impact Of Change Management On Employee Behavior In A University Administrative Office, Kendra M. Turner

Walden Dissertations and Doctoral Studies

This qualitative case study focused on the effect of a system implementation upgrade on employees' job performance within a central administration department of a major research university in the Southern United States. Review of literature revealed a lack of a specific model or process for system implementation upgrades and its impact on employees' performance in a university administrative office. Guided by Kotter's research on change management models, the research questions examined the attitudes and behaviors of employees involved with the business process project. Data collection was through purposeful sampling and face-to-face interviews with 11 employees. Data were analyzed through pattern-matching …

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