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Professional Culture And Efficacy Correlates Of Organizational Effectiveness In Cooperative Extension Services., Rebecca Elaine White

LSU Historical Dissertations and Theses

Several important lines of inquiry have been developed during the past fifty years to study the complex nature of educational organizations. In particular, theorists, researchers, and educational policy makers have become increasingly concerned about the effectiveness of educational institutions. Recently, significant research and policy maker attention has been focused on issues of effectiveness of higher education. The Cooperative Extension Services as ancillary outreach units of state land grant universities are no exception and the extant literature has been focused primarily on outcomes as organizational effectiveness measures. This study addresses the need to develop more comprehensive conceptual frameworks for studying perceived …

Teacher Efficacy, Administrator Efficacy, School Culture, And Leadership Density., Roy Wade Smith

LSU Historical Dissertations and Theses

This study examined new means for conceptualizing leadership in schools from a non-centrist perspective. Specifically, leadership in schools was conceived of, and studied as, an organizational construct rather than a set of personal attributes associated with positional authority. This non-centrist view of leadership is termed leadership density (Sergiovanni, 1987; Ellett, 1996), and is metaphorically represented in the study by characteristics of a small jazz combo. The primary focus of the study was the development of a new conceptual model of leadership, grounded within the small jazz combo metaphor. In an attempt to understand leadership from this new perspective, linkages between …

Psychological Mechanisms Underlying Individual Knowledge And Contribution In Learning Organizations, Bin Zhao, Hwee Hoon Tan

Research Collection Lee Kong Chian School Of Business

Although much has been written about how to set up learning organizations, there is a paucity of research on understanding employees’ willingness to learn or contribute knowledge in such activities, a key element in the success of organizational learning. This paper presents models for understanding individuals’ willingness to learn and individuals’ willingness to contribute in organizational settings. Through the examination of the psychological mechanisms underlying individuals’ willingness to learn and to contribute, we will further our understanding on the individual and contextual factors that affect employees’ decision to learn and contribute in organizational learning activities. Drawing from the literature, we …

Exploring Organizational Learning Of The Louisiana Cooperative Extension Service: A Qualitative Study Involving Parish Chairs Of Less Than Three Years Experience., Cathy Hirsch Hamilton

LSU Historical Dissertations and Theses

This qualitative study was designed to facilitate the description, analysis and utilization of continual learning within the Louisiana Cooperative Extension Service (LCES). The research linked exploration of a learning culture within an organization with the reflective practice of participatory action research methodology. Learning organizations promote knowledge sharing that allows for individual learning to make the transition into collective organizational learning. In order for transformative learning to occur, individuals must reflect on their actions to make sense of an experience. Explaining and thinking about what one is doing makes tacit knowledge explicit, therefore able to be shared and used for change. …

A Study Of The Impact Of Teacher Perceptions On The Implementation Of The Success For All Program In An Urban School District In New Jersey, Joseph Sinatra Fulmore Sr.

Seton Hall University Dissertations and Theses (ETDs)

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Church Renewal For Kentucky United Methodism?: Evaluating The Purpose-Driven Church® Network Pilot, James Cole Wofford

ATS Dissertations

No abstract provided.

Teacher Personal And School Culture Characteristics In Effective Schools: Toward A Model Of A Professional Learning Community., Dianne Fuselier Olivier

LSU Historical Dissertations and Theses

The purpose of this study was to explore personal and organizational factors within schools operating as professional learning communities and the relationships of these variables with intent to stay in teaching and organizational effectiveness. A conceptual framework, a Professional Learning Community Model, was developed to organize and conceptualize linkages among school culture, teacher self-efficacy, collective efficacy, human caring, intent to stay, and organizational effectiveness. Original measures were developed to assess teacher self-efficacy and collective efficacy and revisions/modifications of measures were used for school culture, human caring, and intent to stay. The study used a large sample and quantitative data analysis …

Faculty Perceptions Of Dean Transitions: Does Trust Matter? An Interpretive Case Study Of Organizational Trust And Organizational Culture, Rebecca L. Woolston Edd

Dissertations

This study looked for factors that might have influenced faculty perceptions of new deans at a professional school in the western part of the United States. More specifically, the study explored the question of how organizational trust may have influenced perceptions of new deans and faculty willingness to trust new deans. A single case study used guided interviews as data for the interpretive analysis. The study sought to provide insight into the phenomenon of dean transitions. The study also endeavored to add new dimensions to current conceptualizations of organizational trust and culture by highlighting a previously underexplored but potentially relevant …

Georgia Elementary Principals' Role Perceptions: The Initial Phase Of The A+ Act, Amy Z. Wright

College of Graduate Studies: Theses & Dissertations (1964–2006)

The study explored the role of the Georgia elementary principal as the initial phase of comprehensive educational reform was implemented in the state. The study examined 320 principals' personal and professional demographics, role change as a result of implementation of selected law components, and district support during the transition phase.

The study employed a descriptive, survey approach to address the research questions. A self-designed survey questionnaire was developed to explore principals' perceptions of role change during restructuring, and included both a qualitative and quantitative orientation.

Findings indicated that the majority ofthe 320 Georgia elementary principals who responded to the survey …

Putting West Virginia Middle Schools To The Test: Implementation Of Key Practices As A Predictor Of School Achievement., Thelma Mae Isaacs

Graduate Theses, Dissertations, and Problem Reports (ETD)

The purpose of this study was to provide an accurate description of the status of middle schools in the state of West Virginia and to determine the relationship that exists between the degree of implementation of key middle level practices and school achievement level when controlling for school location, school size, student body socioeconomic status, and student body race/ethnicity. Seventy-eight West Virginia middle schools contributed data for the study. Each school principal completed the Survey of Middle School Implementation Levels, which was used to measure the degree of implementation of key middle level practices. School achievement data, aggregated to the …

Information Technology Infrastructure Stability, Jeffrey Pankow

Theses

The goal of this thesis is to validate the critical importance of IT infrastructure stability and to determine the factors impacting stability and what IT executives are doing to address these factors.

Nonlinear Dynamics In Psychology, Stephen J. Guastello

Psychology Faculty Research and Publications

This article provides a survey of the applications of nonlinear dynamical systems theory to substantive problems encountered in the full scope of psychological science. Applications are organized into three topical areas – cognitive science, social and organizational psychology, and personality and clinical psychology. Both theoretical and empirical studies are considered with an emphasis on works that capture the broadest scope of issues that are of substantive interest to psychological theory. A budding literature on the implications of NDS principles in professional practice is reported also.

The Acquiescent Gatekeeper: Reputational Intermediaries, Auditor Independence And The Governance Of Accounting, John C. Coffee Jr.

Faculty Scholarship

The role of "gatekeepers" as reputational intermediaries who can be more easily deterred than the principals they serve has been developed in theory, but less often examined in practice. Initially, this article seeks to define the conditions under which gatekeeper liability is likely to work – and, correspondingly, the conditions under which it is more likely to fail. Then, after reviewing the recent empirical literature on earnings management, it concludes that the independent auditor does not today satisfy the conditions under which gatekeeper liability should produce high law compliance. A variety of explanations – poor observability, implicit collusion, and high …

Second Generation Employment Discrimination: A Structural Approach, Susan Sturm

Faculty Scholarship

The judiciary's traditional rule-based approach has been successful in reducing overt discrimination against women and people of color. It has been less effective in addressing more subtle and complex forms of workplace inequity. These second generation forms of bias result from patterns of interaction, informal norms, networking, mentoring, and evaluation. Drawing on the potential of recent Supreme Court decisions, Professor Sturm proposes a structural regulatory solution to this problem of second generation employment discrimination. Her approach links the efforts of courts, workplaces, employees, lawyers, and mediating organizations to construct a regime that encourages employers to engage in effective problem solving. …

Case Study Of A Fourth Generation Mrm Program At A Corporate Aviation Operator, Manoj S. Patanker, James C. Taylor

Journal of Aviation/Aerospace Education & Research

Research in aviation maintenance human factors maps the evolution of MRM training programs into four distinct generations bridging attitude awareness programs, behavior changes, and process and structure changes. This paper analyzes a fourth generation MRM program from the perspective of the multi-step process, developed by the authors, as a guide for airlines to develop their own human factors programs. This analysis demonstrates that the corporate maintenance human factors program under review is a forerunner; however, a few additional, definitive steps during the planning, implementation, and follow-up would make this program more robust.

The Role Of Mentoring In Developing Professional And Personal Competencies For School Administrators, Marguerite Verble Shook

College of Graduate Studies: Theses & Dissertations (1964–2006)

In the state of Georgia and across the nation there was a shortage of principals. A new supply of administrators was needed to guide education through the 21st century. These leaders needed updated knowledge and skills to address the needs of an educational system affected by educational reform. Effective leadership allowed administrators to view situations in both the eyes of management and leadership. A mentoring program for beginning administrators provided guidance in developing these skills and in recruiting and retaining individuals for these critical positions.

The purpose of this study was to examine the perceptions of a mentoring program for …

Effects Of Organizational Climate, Feedback-Seeking Environment And Innovation Characteristics On The Implementation Of A 360-Degree Feedback System, Simon Alan Bartle

Psychology Theses & Dissertations

The present study examined the effects of organizational climate, feedback seeking environment and innovation characteristics on the implementation of a 360-degree feedback system within a large financial holdings company. The effect of user attitudes toward the 360-degree feedback system was also assessed. A sample of responses from 255 360-degree feedback system users was collected over a 14-month time period. LISREL was used to test the hypothesized structural model. Overall goodness of fit for the model was poor (using generalized least squares estimates: the Non-Normed Fit Index (NNFI) = .95, Comparative Fit Index (CFI) = .96; Root Mean Square Error of …

Development Of A Leadership Development Program At The Dallas Market Center With A Plan For Implementation, Rudy Sanchez

Abraham S. Fischler College of Education ETD Archive

The Dallas Market Center (DMC) does not have a formal program to develop its employees into leadership roles. Therefore, the Dallas Market Center is at risk of losing its competitive advantage to other wholesale merchandise marts. Consequently, the purpose of this project was to design a leadership development program for the Dallas Market Center to be offered to employees in an effort to develop leadership skills and/or competencies that will in turn benefit DMC.

There were four research questions to be investigated. First, "What are the core competencies needed to be developed within the DMC leadership program?" Second, "What are …

Downsizing : An Analysis Of Organisational Strategies And Human Resource Management Outcomes, Cecil A. Clabaugh

Theses: Doctorates and Masters

The objective of this research was to examine the relationship between loss and retention of key employees in downsizing organisations and organisational performance. The purpose of this was to develop an understanding of the organisational performance that results when downsizing organisations are unable to retain their key workers. The secondary objective of the research was to examine the factors that make up a downsizing organisation's employee selection process in order to determine how these factors affect loss and retention of key workers. The research was guided by a theoretical framework developed by Kozlowski et al (1993) and Thornhill and Saunders …

To What Extent Can Knowledge Management Systems Build And Reinforce Consensus Around Initiatives For Change?: A Self-Reflective Analysis Of Professional Practice, Guy A. Duczynski

Theses: Doctorates and Masters

This thesis reports on my attempts to 're-align' the purpose, behaviour and underlying culture of a large military organisation through heuristic, self reflective enquiry - to 'find its future' - with and through its people. I use the word re-align with great care as I recognised that change would have been too ambitious and would (probably have) result(ed) in failure. Whilst I cannot claim total success, I have made new and valuable discoveries in knowledge elicitation and methods of integrating the views of a large number of people to 'build and reinforce consensus around initiatives for change'. In the process …

Free Agency And The Organization, Gregg Chalmers

Theses

Corporate downsizing has become a common occurrence in today's business world. As a result, many employers and employees no longer believe and cannot sustain the concept of lifetime employment. Several views on the breaking of this psychological contract and its implications on workplace loyalty and trust are offered from both the manufacturing and service industry's perspectives. The way we live and work is changing at an alarming rate. Rapid technological advancements enable employees to work from remote locations while communicating with their organization and coworkers in real-time. These break-through capabilities bring new challenges to the organization and the employee. In …

The Delaware Business Trust Act Failure As The New Corporate Law, Tamar Frankel

Faculty Scholarship

The Internet transcends boundaries and time, reduces and shifts the cost of receiving and disseminating information. It poses unusual pressures of change on the common law. Internet jurisprudence demonstrates the vitality of the common law, yet highlighted its limitations. The Article describes how the common law addresses Internet issues and the relationship of judicial cases and congressional actions. The Article praises common law system of "muddling through," evolving piecemeal, addressing particular conflicts, not always uniformly nor predictably. This is lawmaking for the risk-averse, reducing the risk and cost of correcting big mistakes. The price: higher learning costs and fewer clear, …

Erps And Strategy: First, Do No Harm, Kristi Jane Yuthas, Catherine Banbury, Darrell Brown

Business Faculty Publications and Presentations

ERP and other systems projects are now commonly preceded or accompanied by reengineering efforts. Traditional reengineering projects use a 'clean sheet' approach, in which companies attempt to design ideal processes without being bound to existing processes and constraints. When reengineering is associated with information technology (IT) implementation, the more common approach is known as 'tool-driven' or 'system-enhanced' reengineering. Under this approach, the new processes are designed with explicit attention to the opportunities and constraints presented by the capabilities of the new information system. Although IT-related reengineering approaches have matured through time, they have not kept pace with current perspectives on …

Development Of Plan To Establish Safety Committees At Miami-Dade Water And Sewer Department, Holly A. Word

Abraham S. Fischler College of Education ETD Archive

The problem under investigation was that it was unknown that the absence of safety committees could influence workers' compensation costs to Miami-Dade Water and Sewer Department. The purpose of this study was to develop a plan to establish safety committees. This plan may promote employee participation by increasing safety awareness that may reduce the overall rate of employee injuries. The research question for this study was, " What should be included in a plan to establish safety committees at Miami-Dade Water and Sewer Department?"

Deliberations of formative and summative committees were established to develop criteria of the safety committee program …