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Lessons In Leadership: Robert Oppenheimer And The Los Alamos Laboratory, Richard C. Ringer

Organization Management Journal

The leadership of Robert Oppenheimer, Director of the Los Alamos Laboratory during WWII, serves as a vivid lesson in leadership. The recollections of those who worked with Oppenheimer at Los Alamos clearly attribute much of the success of the laboratory to Oppenheimer’s leadership. Of specific interest are: Oppenheimer's efforts in recruiting, his ability to create a sense of meaning and purpose at the laboratory, his technical competence, and his ability to generate commitment and involvement among members of the laboratory.

Individual Incentives Versus Team Performance: Lessons From A Game Of Charades, Shawn E. Peacock, Patricia Denise Lopez, Marlon F. Sukal

Organization Management Journal

In this article, we describe a modified game of Charades that was developed to facilitate a discussion on the basic principles of effective reward system design. Students are organized into small groups. Incentive schemes are then manipulated so that one player within the group strives for an individual incentive, while the rest of the team play for a group reward. Through this simple and “fun” activity, students learn firsthand what happens when individual and team interests and incentives are not aligned. This experiential learning activity also offers excellent opportunities to discuss group dynamics, communication and coordination, and the importance of …

Examining Fairness Perceptions Of Financial Resource Allocations In United States Olympic Sport., Stephen W. Dittmore 1968-

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

The purpose of the study was to measure U.S. National Governing Body (NGB) administrators' perceptions of fairness of financial resource allocation within the U.S. Olympic Movement. The study was grounded in the organizational justice literature, specifically in distributive justice, which focuses on the perceived fairness of outcome decisions within organizations. This study follows that pattern, but adds to it by examining a new setting and controlling for the construct of procedural justice, which focuses on perceived fairness of policies and procedures employed within organizations. The study examined the perceived fairness of seven Distribution Principles and also measured which Distribution Principle …

The Pioneering Journey Of Christian Radio Through Satellite Distribution: A Historical Overview Of The Moody Broadcasting Network 1982 – 2002, Kornel Gerstner

Masters Theses

Moody Broadcasting was the first Christian radio network that developed and used satellite distribution effectively. The project looks at the uniqueness of Moody Broadcasting Network, as part of a greater organization, Moody Bible Institute. During the twenty years, MBN was able to not only to maintain its previously owned-and-operated radio stations, but also acquire more listener-supported radio networks, without ever selling airtime. Even though the original “dream” was never fully implemented, the growth of MBN is indisputable. Chapters examine at different challenges and victories that MBN faced during these crucial years of serving the needs of listeners. This project also …

Examination Of Teachers' Participation In Teacher Leadership In A Rural District In Georgia, Debra Ellen Smith

College of Graduate Studies: Theses & Dissertations

Teacher leadership is an integral part of school improvement and an essential component of distributed leadership. The purpose of the study was to understand teacher leadership in a rural school district by analyzing teachers' behaviors mapped to the dimensions of Snell and Swanson's framework of teacher leadership: empowerment; expertise; reflection; and collaboration. The study sought to discover if there was a difference in teachers' participation in teacher leadership in the three school levels of elementary, middle and high school. The study also examined demographic characteristics such as years of experience, educational degrees, and training in teacher preparation programs and their …

Characteristics Of Leadership: How To Develop Leadership Skills In Young Adults, Jamie L. Macioch

Theses and Dissertations

No abstract provided.

Distributed Sensemaking In Loosely Coupled Organizations, Sridhar Belavadi Seshadri

Student Scholarship

Academic Medical Centers\, despite their research and educational prowess\, are in a financial crisis. Increasing costs\, stiffer competition\, and anticipated tightening of budgets have created new levels of urgency and vibrancy among medical school deans and hospital CEOs about the need to increase the productivity of the clinical enterprise. To date\, most of these efforts have failed- this study attempts to understand why. The conceptual model sets up the relative advantage created by the organizational innovation and resulting organizational performance as the primary independent variable and dependent variables respectively. Organizational sensemaking among the sponsors\, designers\, and implementers of the change …

Distributed Sensemaking In Loosely Coupled Organizations, Sridhar Belavadi Seshadar

Student Scholarship

Academic Medical Centers, despite their research and educational prowess, are in a financial crisis. Increasing costs, stiffer competition, and anticipated tightening of budgets have created new levels of urgency and vibrancy among medical school deans and hospital CEOs about the need to increase the productivity of the clinical enterprise. To date, most of these efforts have failed- this study attempts to understand why. The conceptual model sets up the relative advantage created by the organizational innovation and resulting organizational performance as the primary independent variable and dependent variables respectively. Organizational sensemaking among the sponsors, designers, and implementers of the change …

Association In Associations: Network Dynamics In Dermatology Research, Rebecca M. Minnillo

Student Scholarship

The work of scientists is heterogeneous-a series of interactions within networks composed of individuals from diverse fields and disciplines (Star & Griesemer, 1989). Generation of new knowledge is essential in the organizations in which these individuals associate; the bridge that holds them together. Knowledge generation takes place at both the individual and collective levels (Brown and Duguid, 1998). Professional organizations attract individuals because they provide a unique forum, a space in which they converge to pursue common goals. Actor-network Theory (ANT) is concerned with how heterogeneous networks and the associations that comprise them come into existence and operate to construct …

Burnout And Hopelessness Among Nurses Working On Midwest Community Psychiatric Hospital Units, Gina M. Cook

Theses and Dissertations

This quantitative descriptive study was undertaken to examine burnout and hopelessness in a sample of nurses working on Midwest co mmunity psychiatric hospital units. The literature identifies nursing as a stressful occupation; however, a very limited number of studies have examined stress in psychiatric nursing. In spite of the limited research to date, there is evidence in the literature to suggest a relationship between burnout and hopelessness in the nursing profession. The lack of consensus in the literature creates a difficulty in defining burnout; however, essential elements of burnout are consistent and clear throughout the nursing literature, including a sense …

A Mixed Methods Study On Cbam And The Adoption Of Thin Client Computers By Adolescents, Cynthia Sistek-Chandler Edd

Dissertations

Although stages of change and adoption of innovation dynamics have been examined for adult populations, comparable research for adolescents is limited. Applying a change instrument grounded in Concerns-Based Adoption Model (CBAM) to an adolescent population, this study investigates perceptions of 45 middle school students who used thin client portable computers in a one-to-one program at home and at school for 3 years. A mixed methodology design identified which of the 7 stages of concern students passed through and why some students adopted the innovation more readily than others. The Change Facilitator Stages of Concern Questionnaire, a modified version of CBAM, …

Ukraine's Military Between East And West, Marybeth Peterson Ulrich Professor

Books, Monographs & Collaborative Studies

America’s new allies in Central and Eastern Europe have been struggling with defense reform since the end of the Cold War. Only recently since the Orange Revolution has Ukraine’s national political and military leadership seriously engaged the process of radical and comprehensive defense reform. This monograph applies the various roadmaps for reform developed in the post-communist states of Central European states to the emerging Ukrainian case. The author draws upon this mixed picture to suggest a framework focused on key areas in need of reform as well as key conditions that facilitate the achievement of reform objectives. The result is …

Inside Unlv, Diane Russell, Shane Bevell, David Ashley, Mamie Peers, Grace Russell, Lisa Shawcroft

Inside UNLV

No abstract provided.

A New Theory Of Trademarks, Chad J. Doellinger

Penn State Law Review (2003 - Present)

No abstract provided.

May 2007 Commencement Program, Bowling Green State University

Commencement Programs

No abstract provided.

A Grounded Theory Of Software Process Improvement Model Adoption, W. Grant Norman

Graduate Theses, Dissertations, and Problem Reports (ETD)

This study, using a grounded theory methodology, analyzed data collected from software developers and IT professionals on software process improvement (SPI) adoption. The study is presented within a backdrop of organizational change steps described by John P. Kotter in his 1996 book, Leading Change. Software quality problems and failures have caused many financial losses, injuries, and even deaths. In the mid 1980s, as a means of mitigating these problems, the Department of Defense (DoD) and Carnegie Mellon University (CMU) began work on the Capability Maturity Model (CMMRTM) In 2001, the model was superseded by a more robust model, the Capability …

Sales Sense: Improving Communication Through A Network Of Frames, Stuart R. Strolin

Student Scholarship

Why, when one business unit is successfully using an IT product, will another business unit reject or block its deployment when they have the same or similar business needs? Sales practitioners involved in making sense of these situations, centered on the assimilation of complex software innovations, lack the descriptive tools and language for methodically formulating approaches to overcome such obstacles. Insights have been offered by theories such as Diffusion of Innovation (Rogers, 1995), Technological Frames (Orlikowski & Gash, 1994), and Actor-Network Theory (Callon & Latour, 1981; Law, 1987). Various authors (Fichman, 1992; Lamb, 2003; Letch & Perth, 2001; Silver, Markus, …

College And University Endowment Diversification: An Extension Of Institutional Theory, Mary (Mimi) E. Lord

Student Scholarship

Today’s college and university endowments look dramatically different than they did 25 years ago. The quest for greater investment returns has been accompanied by an explosion in the number of asset classes in endowment portfolios\, particularly among large endowments. According to Modern Portfolio Theory\, greater diversification of holdings can help to improve the return/risk profile of a portfolio either by: a) enabling greater returns without adding to risk; or b) lowering risk without lowering returns. Transformation toward greater diversification has resembled to some extent the diffusion process described in institutional theory\, where new practices are initiated by large\, prestigious organizations …

Employee Level Dynamics Within A Merger Or Acquisition. The "Me-I" Theory Of Organization Consolidations; Avoiding Merger-Encouraged-Individualism, Todd Creasy

Student Scholarship

With the employee as the unit of analysis while studying mergers and acquisitions, our results suggested for merger consolidations, perceived organization support (POS) and identification with the new merged organization partially mediated the relationship between procedural justice and job satisfaction. Identity with the new organization fully mediated the relationship between cultural discontinuity and job satisfaction. For acquisition consolidations, we suggest identification with the new organization partially mediated the relationship between procedural justice and organization citizenship behavior (OCB). Further, POS fully mediated the relationships between procedural justice and job satisfaction and between trust in management and job satisfaction. Lastly, identification with …

Sales Opportunity Crafting: Explaining Diverse Selling Approaches, Ganesh Kumar

Student Scholarship

Salespeople play a critical boundary-spanning role in establishing productive relationships with their buyers. In doing so, they employ diverse selling approaches that resulting in a wide range of customer experiences—some that align well with the overall marketing strategies and some that conflict with the intent of the organization. Several theoretical explanations for the variations in selling approaches, but no singular theory provide us a lens to understand how salespeople approach various selling opportunities. The primary goal of this inquiry is to compile the extant theoretical knowledge from various disciplines in order to develop a conceptual framework for future empirical research …

Where Was The Board? A "Moves"-Based Approach To Improving Npo Accountability, Frederick O. Udochi

Student Scholarship

Strong arguments have been made that traditional definitions of accountability – financial health, internal controls and regulatory compliance – do not fully capture an organization’s performance (Ospina et al, 2002; Behn, 2001; Kearns, 1996). Failures evidenced by multiple breakdowns of accountability in nonprofit organizations have resulted in calls for boards to pursue a broadened level of accountability. There is little or no corresponding guidance in the literature to show how that could be accomplished. This research paper proposes to explore the “how” by adopting the notion of “moves” (Pentland, 1992), which are the verbal and/or nonverbal actions, routines or accomplishments …

Integrating Total Disability Management In A Climate Of Change: A Case Study, Mary E. Jesko Edd

Dissertations

Integrated disability management (IDM) is a cost-containment strategy increasingly being employed by human resources and risk management departments to address occupational and non-occupational illness and injury in a consistent manner. The goal is to both reduce on-the-job injury and minimize the loss of work time due to injury or illness. Although a large number of organizations have embraced the IDM concept, implementing IDM often is difficult because of the complex array of contracts, policies, procedures, corporate cultures and structures. Although extensive research has examined leaders' influence on change in various types of businesses, to date, research has not specifically explored …

Building Management Bench Strength: A Qualitative Look At A Job Rotation Program, Paige Litton Creager Phd

Dissertations

Job rotation programs are known in the organizational development field as one of the primary components used in a successful employee development program. To date little research has gone beyond the quantifiable reporting of practices. The view of program participants has been unaccounted for, and consequently the organizational development field has lacked a holistic understanding of how employees succeed and fail in these programs. This research offers a current perspective on job rotation: A means of accelerating the development of high potential employees in order to build a strong management bench. A qualitative grounded theory approach was used to investigate …

Study Of Teacher Engagement In Four Dimensions Of Distributed Leadership In One School District In Georgia, Lisa Michele Smith

College of Graduate Studies: Theses & Dissertations

The researcher's purpose of this study was to understand teacher engagement within four dimensions of the distributed leadership model in one school district mandated to implement distributed leadership. The researcher administered a Likert-scale survey, Distributed Leadership Readiness Scale, developed by Elmore and modified by Gordon, to 295 certified teachers with Bachelor or higher degrees within eight schools in one school district. Teachers were engaged in all four dimensions, including: mission, vision and goals; school culture; leadership practices; and shared responsibility. Most teacher participation occurred with the distributed leadership practices in mission, vision and goals and the least engagement within leadership …

Paradoxical Strategies And Firm Performance: The Case Of Indonesian Banking Industry, Mohammad Hamsal, I Gusti Ngurah Agung

The South East Asian Journal of Management

Recently, research on paradoxical strategies has been considered critical in winning in the competitive dynamic landscape, characterized by uncertainty and rapid changes in the business environment. Such environmental uncertainties require firm to apply paradoxical strategies; combining strategic flexibility and strategic consistency (Parnell, 1994). This study addresses three main questions: what is the effect of strategic flexibility on firm’s performance; what is the effect of strategic consistency on firm’s performance; what is the contingent effect of perceived environmental uncertainty on the relationship between paradoxical strategies and firm’s performance. Questionnaires were distributed to 131 CEOs or members of top management team of …

Developing Expanded Conceptions Of Governance In Community Foundations, Michael Wolfe

Student Scholarship

Community foundations administer over $44 billion and distribute $3.5 billion annually to improve the quality of life throughout the United States. In 2000, a series of "National Standards for U.S. Community Foundations" was developed. Are changes currently promoted by the field of community foundations truly propelling community foundations to a more advanced role? Present research posits the value to community foundations of engaged proactive behavior by the board of directors and CEO. By examining the developmental responses of boards during times of institutional pressure, we can inform research and practice that seeks to improve nonprofit governance.

Technical Paper Session I-B - Professional Development Key Success Factors For New Generation Employees In Support Of The Moon, Mars And Beyond Mission, Marilyn Lutz, Jason O. Breitfeller

Space Congress® Proceedings

Future Space Programs will rely on young professionals. Our task is to solve the challenges associated with supporting space exploration while successfully breaking down generational barriers.

In 2004, President Bush put forth a challenge reminiscent of a speech given by President Kennedy in 1961. President Bush declared a goal “to return to the moon by 2020 as the launching point for missions beyond”. It is the human mind that imagines and implements the designs for the machines that will take us to the moon and beyond.

The objectives of Presidents Bush and Kennedy appear identical. The approach is completely different. …

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Historical Analysis Of Gang Formation And Structure: Case Study Of The Gangster Disciples, Benjamin A. Wright

Theses & Honors Papers

Gang members commit a disproportionate amount of crime, especially violent crime, in the United States. An estimated 3,340 homicides were committed by gangs in 1997 (Maxson, Curry, & Howell, 2002). Considering that the national homicide total was 18,210 on 1997 (Federal Bureau of Investigation, 1998), gangs were involved in 18% of homicides nationwide. In addition, the 1997 National Youth Gang Survey also estimated that 42% of youth gangs were involved in the distribution of illegal drugs (Maxson et al., 2002). As research has indicated, gangs and the reason people join gangs are a complex social phenomenon. Although we know more …

Monitor Newsletter April 16, 2007, Bowling Green State University

Monitor

Official Publication of Bowling Green State University for Faculty and Staff