Digital Commons Network^™

An Analysis Of Participation In Servant Leadership As Self Reported By Elementary School Principals In Southwest Georgia, Barbara Perryman Williams

College of Graduate Studies: Theses & Dissertations

Servant leadership is an approach to leadership that holds promise in the school setting because of the nature of the principalship. The current educational climate created by the No Child Left Behind Act, funding cuts, and principal shortages increases the importance of leadership within the schools. Utilization of the approach has been reported in business, but it was less clear if school leaders by practice model servant leadership in elementary schools. The purpose of this mixed methods research study was to determine the extent that elementary school principals in Southwest Georgia participated in the servant leadership model. The researcher administered …

Examining The Dynamics Of Managing Information Systems Development Projects: A Control Loss Perspective, Ravi Narayanaswamy

All Dissertations

The failure rate of information systems development (ISD) projects continues to pose a big challenge for organizations. The success rate of ISD projects is less then forty percent. Factors such as disagreements and miscommunications among project manager and team members, poor monitoring and intermediary problems contribute to project failure.
Agency theory and leader member exchange (LMX) theories offer potential explanations for project failure. In particular, three monitoring strategies - control strategy, decision rights, and influence tactics were found to be effective in promoting project success. LMX theorists suggest that achieving congruence between the manager and subordinate regarding each other actions …

Crosscutting Issues In International Transformation: Interactions And Innovations Among People, Organizations, Processes, And Technology, Derrick J. Neal, Henrik Friman, Ralph Doughty, Linton Wells Ii

Books

This book is a compilation of papers presented at the International Transformation Conference in Stockholm, Sweden on June 2-3, 2009. The conference was hosted by the Swedish Defence Research Agency, FOI. The papers are organized according to the categories of culture, interagency, transformation initiatives, leadership, and adaptive organizations.

The complexities of the task make definitions of transformation a challenge and often open to debate. The unpredictable nature of the future international security environment defies a tightly bounded definition so the International Transformation Chairs have adopted an inclusive description: “Transformation is a process that shapes the changing nature of competition and …

The Silent Witness, November-December 2009

Silent Witness, The

A newsletter published for Deaf Catholics in Washington, D.C.

The Silent Witness Finding Aid

Working In Groups And Alone: Effects Of Group Gender Composition On Cognitive Insight Problem Solving Performance, Viktoria Tidikyte

Psychology Theses & Dissertations

This study examined how working within a group versus working alone affects creative problem solving and what role gender plays in influencing problem solving performance. Previous studies yielded contradictory predictions of whether working in a group improves or impedes creative problem solving performance and whether gender has an effect on problem solving efficiency of a group. I proposed that contradictory results of the previous studies might have been due to the gender by group interaction. Two hundred and six Old Dominion University undergraduate students participated in this study. A 2 (groups vs. individual) X 3 (gender group composition) X 2 …

Leading Groups & Organizations, Robert (Bob) Barnard

Syllabi

No abstract provided.

The Best Practices For Leadership Development In Medium-Sized Companies, Beth A. Hanzal

Theses and Graduate Projects

In the current business environment, leadership development is being recognized as an important strategic initiative for organizations faced with the challenge of filling critical leadership positions and ensuring their leaders have the capacity to lead their organizations' into the future. Most of the research on leadership development has focused on practices in large companies. The purpose of this research is to study the best practices for leadership development in medium-sized companies. Eleven leadership development professionals were interviewed. Those professionals worked for companies in a variety of industries, with annual revenues of between $300 million and $2 billion. During the interviews, …

The Long Island City Power Outage Settlement: A Case Study In Alternative Dispute Resolution, Eleanor Stein

Pace Environmental Law Review

No abstract provided.

Academic Leadership Experiences Of Foreign-Born African Immigrants In American Institutions Of Higher Education, Taiwo A. Ande

All-Inclusive List of Electronic Theses and Dissertations

The purpose ofthis study was to explore the academic leadership experiences of foreign-born African immigrants who occupied mid- to senior-level positions of leadership in American colleges and universities. The study explored the cha1lenges and opportunities foreign-born African immigrants faced as they aspired and moved through various leadership positions in United States (U.S.) institutions of higher education. Detailed interviews were conducted with six foreign-born African academic leaders who currently or previously occupied academic leadership positions in the United States. Participants were from Ghana, Nigeria, and Kenya, and they occupied academic positions of directors, departmental chair, and associate provost. Seven themes emerged …

The Leadership Of Emergence: A Complex Systems Leadership Theory Of Emergence At Successive Organizational Levels, Benyamin B. Lichtenstein, Donde Ashmos Plowman

Department of Management: Faculty Publications

Complexity science reframes leadership by focusing on the dynamic interactions between all individuals, explaining how those interactions can, under certain conditions, produce emergent outcomes. We develop a Leadership of Emergence using this approach, through an analysis of three empirical studies which document emergence in distinct contexts. Each of these studies identifies the same four “conditions” for emergence: the presence of a Dis-equilibrium state, Amplifying actions, Recombination/“Self-organization”, and Stabilizing feedback. From these studies we also show how these conditions can be generated through nine specific behaviors which leaders can enact, including: Disrupt existing patterns through embracing uncertainty and creating controversy, Encourage …

What Are The Factors Of Success For Professional Learning Communities In High School?, Michael Stanton

Organization, Information and Learning Sciences ETDs

High schools suffer from poor performance in attendance, achievement, literacy development, and postsecondary outcomes. Teachers cannot redesign schools by trying harder; new models of collaboration and problem solving are key to transforming their schools. Professional learning communities (PLCs) with professional development in transformative learning, constructivist adult learning theories, and collaborative problem solving may provide the best answer for school change. What are the best processes and methods for high school teachers to transform their frames of reference to solve their common difficult dilemmas while changing their approach to problem solving to improve schools and student proficiency in standards? I collected …

Cooperative Grouping Working On Mathematics Homework, Maggie Pickering

Action Research Projects

In this action research study of my classroom of sixth grade mathematics, I investigated the impact of cooperative grouping on mathematics homework completion, achievement, and attitude toward mathematics. I discovered that many students do benefit from cooperative grouping in the mathematics classroom; however, low-ability students tended not to benefit as much as other students. Also, homework completion and student attitude toward mathematics did not change with cooperative grouping. As a result of this research, I plan to continue to use cooperative groupings but will change the way cooperative learning is used in my mathematics classroom to see if there is …

Section Abstracts: Psychology

Virginia Journal of Science

Abstracts of the Psychology Section for the 87th Annual Meeting of the Virginia Academy of Science, May 27-29, 2009, Virginia Commonwealth University, Richmond Virginia.

Considerations Of Distance Education Integration: A Qualitative Study, Jennifer L. Styron, Shuyan Wang, Ronald A. Styron Jr.

Journal of Educational Technology Development and Exchange (JETDE)

As higher education institutions determine whether or not to initiate or expand distance education offerings, there are many considerations and levels of decision making that need to be measured. This study investigated the role of key administrators at the departmental chair and dean levels in expanding distance education offerings. Findings of this study included faculty and student considerations, resources and external support, and integration costs of distance education offerings as major considerations within distance education decision making. Furthermore, the need for realistic timelines, planning for the associated costs of distance education offerings, and current tenure and promotion policies are discussed. …

An Inventory And Assessment Of Las Vegas Arts And Cultural Assets, Jeffrey Mitchell, Molly J. Bleecker, Scott Maddux

BBER Publications

This report presents the findings of an investigation of the arts and cultural economy of Las Vegas, New Mexico. This study was conducted as part of the New Mexico Arts and Cultural District Program. The study was done in three parts: an inventory of the creative economy of the Las Vegas area; a community-based survey of artists, retailers, and others engaged in the arts industry of the area; an analysis of the economic impact of the local creative economy.

Leadership In Partially Distributed Teams, Linda Plotnick

Dissertations

Inter-organizational collaboration is becoming more common. When organizations collaborate they often do so in partially distributed teams (PDTs). A PDT is a hybrid team that has at least one collocated subteam and at least two subteams that are geographically distributed and communicate primarily through electronic media. While PDTs share many characteristics with both traditionally collocated and fully distributed teams, they also have unique characteristics and issues.

This dissertation reports on a field study of PDTs conducted over two semesters with student participants, This research was conducted as part of a larger series of studies investigating PDTs, In these studies, participants …

The Ticker, May 11, 2009

The Ticker

The Ticker is the student newspaper of Baruch College. It has been published continuously since 1932, when the Baruch College campus was the School of Business and Civic Administration of the City College of New York.

Feminism, Globalism, And Leadership: How Women Make A "Worldly" World, Scott C. Hammond, Susan R. Madsen, Jory Jensen

Marketing and Strategy Faculty Publications

The influx of women into leadership, management, and idea leader roles is clearly one of the significant aspects of globalization over the last 50 years. While women are still underrepresented in global business and politics, their influence on reconceptualizing leadership models is undeniable. While it would be difficult to precisely determine a “feminist” perspective on leadership, idea leaders such as Follett, Kanter, and Wheatley have influenced the concept and practice of leadership beyond any gender construct. The unique themes within their work are present in the global dialogue that is reframing how we think about leadership. This paper will discuss …

Neoliberalizing Race, David T. Goldberg

Macalester Civic Forum

No abstract provided.

Personality And Leader Emergence In Groups, Rhett M. Smith

Masters Theses and Doctoral Dissertations

Trait-based approaches to leadership have been around for a long time. Starting out as one of the original theories of leadership, research in the area of trait- based perspectives began to slow and give way to other, different domains of predicting leadership in the 1950s. Only recently has there been a revived interest in the trait approaches to leadership. Building on this resurgence, the present study examined the relationship between leader emergence and the Five Factor Model of personality (Extraversion, Agreeableness, Openness to Experience, Neuroticism, and Conscientiousness).

My Guild, My Team: Applying The Technology Capabilities Of Massively Multiplayer Online Games To Virtual Project Teams, Dawn Owens, Deepak Khazanchi

Information Systems and Quantitative Analysis Faculty Proceedings & Presentations

Millions of people are playing Massively Multiplayer Online Games (MMOGs), a computer game genre where thousands of players interact daily in highly complex virtual world environments. These players self-organize, develop skills, and acquire various roles. MMOGs appear to mirror the complexity of the business context while offering unique technology capabilities that appear to encourage group participation and emergent leadership. Managing a remote workforce across different time zones, geography and culture requires effective virtual collaboration and management of communication, coordination challenges and control issues. Therefore, the purpose of this paper is to explore the unique technology capabilities of MMOGs and propose …

The Practical Application Of Transformational Theory Vs. Complexity Leadership Theory On The Challenges Of Leading Information Technology (It) Software Development Teams, Jodine Burchell

Journal of Business & Leadership: Research, Practice, and Teaching (2005-2012)

Since the turn of the 20th century many leadership theories have emerged and evolved over time. Transformational leadership is one of the older, more prominent theories and has been used in organizations and in political arenas for many years. Complexity leadership theory, on the other hand, is relatively new in practice and academia. To date, there is very little literature addressing the similarities and differences between the transformational and complexity leadership theories as well as their comparative value in organizational contexts. Both the Complexity Leadership and Transformational Leadership theories are presented and the similarities and differences of each theory are …

Data-Driven Decision Making: The Development And Validation Of An Instrument To Measure Principals’ Practices, Marcus Childress

Academic Leadership: The Online Journal (2003-2012)

From the perspective of preparing school administrators, principals need to learn to use and believe in factual data when they make their administrative decisions. In alignment with the NCLB, the revised Standards for Advanced Programs in Educational Leadership have more emphases placed on school administrators’ ability and knowledge in using data (Educational Leadership Constituent Council (ELCC), 2002; National Council for the Accreditation of Teacher Education (NCATE), 2002). The ELCC/NCATE (2002) standards serve as school leadership preparation program standards and can be used as a cornerstone for the professional development of existing school administrators (Murphy & Shipman, 1998; Murphy, Yff, & …

About The Authors, Volume 27 (2009)

To Improve the Academy: A Journal of Educational Development

About the editors and authors of volume 27 (2009) of To Improve the Academy: A Journal of Educational Development.

Developing Leadership In A National Cohort Of Secondary Biology Teachers: Uses Of An On-Line Course Structure To Develop Geographically Distant Professional Learning Community, P. Balcerzak, V. May, B. Schaal

Journal of Mathematics and Science: Collaborative Explorations

This report is a descriptive study of the role that on-line courses might have on the development of Professional Learning Communities (PLC’s) that support national leadership initiatives of participating high school biology teachers. The one hundred teachers involved in the Life Sciences for a Global Community (LSGC) Institute are expected not only to deepen their content knowledge, but also impact their district and state biology curricula. Additionally, the dispersion of Institute participants across the country presents a unique opportunity to develop, communicate. and implement a national coherent reform agenda. However, the geographic distance presents a barrier to collaborative design of …

Ml 714 Leading Groups And Organizations, Thomas F. Tumblin

Syllabi

Building the Bridge as You Walk on It by Robert E. Quinn (Hoboken, NJ: John Wiley and Sons, 2004), 256 pages, ISBN: 978-0-7879-7112-0. Discussing the Undiscussable by William Noonan (Hoboken, NY: John Wiley and Sons, 2007), 288 pages, ISBN: 978-0-7879-8632-2. How the Way We Talk Can Change the Way We Act by Robert Kegan and Lisa L. Lahey (San Francisco, CA: Jossey-Bass, 2002), 256 pages, ISBN: 978-0-7879-6379- 6378-1. Masterplanning by Bob Biehl (Nashville: Broadman and Holman Publishers, 2005), 280 pages, ISBN: 0805460969. Organization Theory by Ann L. Cunliffe (Thousand Oaks, CA, Sage Publications, 2008). 184 pages, ISBN: 978-1-4129-3549-4. The Virtuous …

Cl 614 Leading Groups And Organizations, Thomas F. Tumblin

Syllabi

Building the Bridge as You Walk on It by Robert E. Quinn (Hoboken, NJ: John Wiley and Sons, 2004), 256 pages, ISBN: 978-0-7879-7112-0. Discussing the Undiscussable by William Noonan (Hoboken, NY: John Wiley and Sons, 2007), 288 pages, ISBN: 978-0-7879-8632-2. How the Way We Talk Can Change the Way We Act by Robert Kegan and Lisa L. Lahey (San Francisco, CA: Jossey-Bass, 2002), 256 pages, ISBN: 978-0-7879-6379- 6378-1. Masterplanning by Bob Biehl (Nashville: Broadman and Holman Publishers, 2005), 280 pages, ISBN: 0805460969. Organization Theory by Ann L. Cunliffe (Thousand Oaks, CA, Sage Publications, 2008). 184 pages, ISBN: 978-1-4129-3549-4. The Virtuous …

Explorations In Leadership Education: The Role Of Leadership Education In Higher Education Outcomes, Douglas G. Mcbroom

Graduate Student Theses, Dissertations, & Professional Papers

There has been much criticism of academic leadership programs for not adequately preparing leaders. This is the case for all of the major programs: business administration, educational leadership, military science, and public administration. However, these evaluations themselves are limited inasmuch as they are typically concerned with such dimension as students' satisfaction and faculty credentials and performance while organizational outcomes attributable to leadership are ignored. The present research investigates the relationship of institutional outcomes for colleges and universities and the presence or absences of presidents with formal leadership training. The outcomes indicators are those contained in the Integrated Postsecondary Educational Data …

Religious Affiliation And Hiring Practice: A Case Study Of Concordia University Irvine, Marc Fawaz

Theses and Dissertations

In 1976, Christ College (CC), located in Irvine, California, began offering degrees leading to positions in the Lutheran Church-Missouri Synod (LCMS). The college comprises only 1 of several departments within Concordia University Irvine (CUI). Meanwhile, CUI is part of the Concordia University System (CUS), a nationwide network of LCMS 2- and 4-year colleges. Transformation of CC into a diverse university has been accompanied by challenges. Although enrollment is up, costs have risen. And although stakeholders prefer to hire full-time faculty with ties to the LCMS, few qualified candidates fulfill this stricture. These and other threats, coupled with the economic recession, …

The Effect Of A School-Year-Long In-Service Leadership Development Grow-Your-Own Program On New And Veteran Assistant Principals’ Perceived Leadership Effectiveness, Luann M. Richardson

Student Work

The purpose of this study was to determine the effect of a required school-year-long in-service leadership development grow-your-own program on new and veteran assistant principals' perceived leadership effectiveness compared to supervising principal and central office administrator ratings. The study analyzed perceived leadership effectiveness as measured by the school district's Principal/Assistant Principal Evaluation Form in six domains: (a) shared vision, (b) the culture of learning, (c) management, (d) family and community, (e) ethics, and (f) societal context after participation in a required school-year-long in-service leadership development grow-your-own program. Overall, pretest-posttest results indicated that new assistant principals' ( n = 8) and …