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Forward Thinking, Stephanie Tweed, Erika Bradley

ETSU Faculty Works

Forward thinking is a multi-faceted concept. Forward thinking does not entail predicting the future but rather anticipating what is next for an organization through the use of strategies, visions, and reflection. Words to describe forward thinking are possibility thinking, anticipation, tactical decision making, and envisioning.

Forward thinking applies to many areas of leadership. Within education, administrators particularly benefit from forward thinking strategies. Administrators can maximize his or her school’s forward thinking potential through strategies, reflection, and time management. Since the most successful strategies are built backwards, administrators must begin with the end result in mind; student achievement. Reflection allows administrators …

Evaluation Of The Live Release Rate Formula & Implementation: Example Analysis Of The Effects Of Mandatory Spay/Neuter Laws On Intake At Shelters Within Dallas, Tx, Amanda Laskoe

MPA/MPP/MPFM Capstone Projects

It is estimated that shelters spend $1 billion annually dealing with unwanted animals (Frank & Carlisle-Frank, 2007). Approximately six to eight million cats and dogs enter U.S. shelters each year, and three to four million of these animals are then euthanized (HSUS, 2009). These are staggering statistics, yet in the early nineties, euthanasia estimates ranged from seven to seventeen million dogs/cats annually (Frank & Carlisle-Frank, 2011). Such improvements have resulted from a greater understanding of, and resources being dedicated to, the issue. Unfortunately, the rate of decline for euthanasia has slowed because programs have not been accurately targeted toward animal …

Jour 7100: Entrepreneurial Journalism (Syllabus), Carrie Brown-Smith

Journalism and Strategic Media Syllabi Archive

Course Description: This course will examine business models and new media tools that can encourage entrepreneurial thinking and planning in various fields of mass communication, as well as the theory and practices of traditional media management. Subjects will include environment assessment, organization and strategy, budgeting, decision-making, and other functions in advertising, news, and public relations.

Small & Medium Enterprises - Their Views Of Product Data Management Tools, Karen Waldenmeyer, Nathan W. Hartman

Computer Graphics Technology Faculty Publications

This study was conducted as a means to discover common traits associated with small and medium manufacturers, especially ones who have adopted product data management (PDM) systems as a method to control engineering design and manufacturing data. After qualitative interviews were conducted with leading experts across industry sectors, a survey was developed and sent to small and medium manufacturers in the United States. The study concludes a number of interesting findings about the state of PDM usage within various segments of the industry, including general uses for engineering design systems, level of data exchange with customers and suppliers, and satisfaction …

Political Party Transitions In Post-Conflict States: How Political Parties Reacted And Adapted During Democratic Transitions In Cambodia, El Salvador And Mozambique, Rachel L. Miller

Browse all Theses and Dissertations

This study argues that political parties in the post-conflict period are adaptable to and capable of changing roles as states transition to peacetime settings. In the aftermath of war in El Salvador, Cambodia and Mozambique and during a democratic transition, changes in political party structures and attitudes, and the influence of external actors emerged as significant factors in the way political parties adapted. National and international political contexts, ideological differences and war time political party origins played a part in incumbent and insurgent political parties' behaviors and electoral successes in the aftermath of war, which has ultimately affected the democratic …

Reflections Of Middle School Students By Gender And Race/Ethnicity On Obtaining A Successful Science Education, Bethany Mihalik

All NMU Master's Theses

No abstract provided.

Founder Succession In Small Businesses, Mike Parkhurst

Theses and Dissertations

The purpose of this study is twofold. The first is to replicate and expand on previous studies by Rubenson and Gupta (1992, 1996) who introduced a contingency model for the initial succession of an organization. The second purpose is to verify that their model is applicable to organizations that are substantially smaller than the original 54 Fortune 1000 companies that were studied. The researcher used a qualitative research methodology to answer the following research questions. 1. Is the Contingency Model of the Initial Succession proposed by Rubenson and Gupta (1996) transferable to organizations of smaller size and lower revenues? 2. …

Workplace Conflict: A Phenomenological Study Of The Types, Processes, And Consequences Of Small Business Conflict, Clare Fowler

Theses and Dissertations

This dissertation concerns the conflicts experienced by small businesses. A small business is defined in this study as a business less than 10 years old with 5 to 50 employees. According to the U.S. Census, the majority of American employees work in small businesses. The literature shows that most of these small business owners report spending a substantial amount of their time and money dealing with conflicts. This dissertation analyzes the types of conflicts reported by small business owners, and some possibilities for resolving those conflicts. The literature suggests that conflicts are inevitable in the workplace, but that there are …

Applied Experiences Of The Soar Framework By Association Management And Foundation Executives, Steven Wayne Swafford

Theses and Dissertations

The purpose of the study was to explore the application of the strengths, opportunities, aspirations, and results (SOAR) framework derived from the appreciative inquiry literature and through the lived experiences of California-based association management and non-profit executives leading professional societies, trade associations, or foundations. In addition, this research, using phenomenological interviewing techniques, aimed to determine whether or not association management executives working in California-based professional societies and trade associations changed their individual thought processes or behaviors as a result of attending a professional development program that demonstrated the SOAR framework. The research questions that guided this research were: (a) what …

Change From The Inside Out In Tanzania: Investigating Change In A Nonprofit Organization In Bagamoyo, Tanzania, Through Participatory Action Research, Katherine N. Balk

Theses and Dissertations

All over the globe, nonprofit organizations aim to strengthen communities while struggling with the restraints of limited resources. This research study involved Participatory Action Research (PAR) to examine how to build internal capacity in one such organization in Bagamoyo, Tanzania. This study was a partnership between me (the academic researcher) and organizational members and stakeholders of the Baobab Home. Through interviews and meetings, the project focus involved creating written contracts. Over the course of five meetings, contracts were researched, policies and procedures were discussed, and formal contracts were created in Swahili. Findings include a discussion of the role of the …

A Descriptive Study Of The Key Leadership Characteristics Of Mid-Level Managers In The Business Divisions At A Federally Funded Research And Development Center (Ffrdc), Kevin Michael Caporicci

Theses and Dissertations

Leadership sets the tone and determines and shapes the organization. The more proficient individuals are in leadership and management skills, the more the organizations will thrive. Technical challenges have and will always be barriers, but competent leadership will always resolve those barriers. There are leaders of organizations who revel in success and those that perish in futility. What is the difference? Is it the organizational structure? Could it be luck? Throughout history there are individuals who have been praised for their leadership abilities. What can we learn from them? The purpose of this study was to determine the key leadership …

Positive Deviance During Organization Change: Researcher's Social Construction Of Expanded University Goals, Claire Euline Sutherland

Theses and Dissertations

Many universities have expanded from teaching only to include research goals, requiring shifts in organization behavior. An exploratory case study method was used to examine these dynamics among positive deviant researchers at the University of Technology, Jamaica (UTech), the single case examined, from a social construction perspective. As a participant observer in the organization, the researcher engaged in marginality and its associated risks in studying UTech's transition from low to higher research outputs to answer the research questions - significant norms influencing positive deviancy patterns of the researchers and, their perceptions and experiences during transition. A qualitative case report and …

Driving Employee Engagement Through Internal Communication; A Public Relations Perspective: A Case Study Of Cork Institute Of Technology, Ireland., Desmond P. Carroll

Theses

This study is concerned with the important role of internal communication (IC) as a driver of employee engagement and investigates how public relations (PR) might be best placed to advise on and oversee a system of managed or strategic communication within an organisation.

The literature reveals that a communications culture must pervade an organisation for effective communication to take place. Whilst early models leaned towards a predominant one-way transmission of communication, we are now witnessing a paradigm shift to a horizontal two-way system of communication and engagement.

The research methodology employed in this study was a qualitative case study which …

A Pilot Study On Gender Disparities In The Accounting Profession: Overcoming The Disproportionate Workplace, Laury Fouche

Honors Theses

The public accounting industry was described for many years as the most difficult of all the fields or a woman to break into. Today, female accountants have made significant inroads in a traditionally male-dominated profession. While institutional barriers including informal networks and resistance to organizational changes have thwarted advancement, personal factors such as confidence and family considerations have also influenced the advancement of women's careers. This research project shows that women in public accounting are nearing parity with their male counterparts due to governmentl efforts, accounting firm initiatives, and individuals' determination to attain upper management postions.

Should My Spouse Be My Partner? Preliminary Evidence From The Panel Study Of Income Dynamics, W. Gibb Dyer, W. Justin Dyer, Richard G. Gardner

Faculty Publications

This study examines how firm performance and family income are affected when an “owner-managed” firm transitions to a “copreneurial” business. Data from the Panel Study of Income Dynamics were used to track changes in firm performance and family income from 1996 to 2006 during which time an owner-manager decided to partner with his spouse. The findings suggest that (a) involvement of one’s spouse in the business had no significant impact on firm profits and (b) working with one’s spouse had a significant impact on family income. The authors hypothesize that the lack of spousal influence on firm performance is because …

The Myth Of The Independent Physician: Implications For Health Law, Policy, And Ethics, Jessica Mantel

Case Western Reserve Law Review

No abstract provided.

Multicultural Training Of Clinical And Counseling Psychology Doctoral Students: Ideals Vs. Practice, Bryana F. C. White

Open Access Dissertations

The American Psychological Association (APA), which is the advocating body for the field of psychology, emphasizes the importance of multicultural competencies for researchers and clinicians (APA, 2003; 2010). Graduate students are the field’s future professionals. The multicultural training of doctoral level clinical and counseling psychology graduate students is integral to efforts to improve clinical services and the research that provides the foundation for those services. While the literature addresses issues of multicultural competence and training in a general way, few specifics regarding the methods employed by graduate programs to aid their students in the process of developing those competencies are …

Diffusion Of Innovative Panic Disorder Treatment Strategies In A Community Mental Heath Agency, Whitney Noelle Pierce

Browse all Theses and Dissertations

This translational research piece involved collaborating with a local community mental health agency to examine knowledge, skills, attitudes, practices, and outcomes for panic disorder treatments. The project included designing and administering an online survey to client care personnel including psychologists, counselors, social workers, nurses, and psychiatrists. Additionally, a database review was utilized to obtain information about treatment modalities, duration, and outcomes. Survey results were analyzed using goodness of fit statistics to show differences between attitudes of participants by discipline regarding the safety and effectiveness of panic disorder treatments. The database analysis of pre and post GAF scores revealed comparable outcomes …

Examining Studies Of Inquiry-Based Learning In Three Fields Of Education: Sparking Generative Conversation, Brett L. M. Levy, Ebony Elizabeth Thomas, Kathryn Drago, Lesely A. Rex

Educational Theory and Practice Faculty Scholarship

Many educational researchers across the United States have found that inquiry-based learning (IBL) supports the development of deep, meaningful content knowledge. However, integrating inquiry-based learning into classroom practice has been challenging, in part because of contrasting conceptualizations and practices across educational fields. In this paper, we (1) describe differing conceptions of IBL, (2) summarize our own studies of IBL in three fields of education, (3) compare and contrast the processes and purposes of IBL in our studies and fields, and (4) suggest numerous opportunities for cross-disciplinary collaborations on IBL curriculum, teaching, and research that could bolster its inclusion in K-12 …

Reclaiming “Anthropology: The Forgotten Behavioral Science In Management History” – Commentaries, Fred Luthans, Ivana Milosevic, Beth A. Bechky, Edgar H. Schein, Susan Wright, Davydd J. Greenwood

Department of Management: Faculty Publications

Purpose – This collection of commentaries on the reprinted 1987 article by Nancy C. Morey and Fred Luthans, “Anthropology: the forgotten behavioral science in management history”, aims to reflect on the treatment of the history of anthropological work in organizational studies presented in the original article.

Design/methodology/approach – The essays are invited and peer-reviewed contributions from scholars in organizational studies and anthropology.

Findings – The scholars invited to comment on the original article have seen its value, and their contributions ground its content in contemporary issues and debates.

Originality/value – The original article was deemed “original” for its time (1987), …

Designing Work, Family & Health Organizational Change Initiatives, Ellen Ernst Kossek, Leslie B. Hammer, Erin L. Kelly, Phyllis Moen

Psychology Faculty Publications and Presentations

In this paper, we describe the development of the most comprehensive work-family organizational change initiative to date in the United States. Our goal is to share an in-depth case study with examples and critical lessons that emerged. We draw on our years of experience working with major employers from two industries representative of today’s workforce (health care and IT professionals). Employers and applied researchers can draw on this study and lessons to create, customize, and deliver evidence-based interventions to improve work, family and health.

Marketing Research Is Power In Negotiations To Sell A Small Business, Michael Latta

AMTP Proceedings 2013

Small firms are at a disadvantage in negotiations with larger firms and need to have something on their side of the table to give them power in the process. Primary marketing research can provide proprietary information for the smaller firm that may be used to support a forecasting model to be used in evaluating offers during negotiations. This paper describes such a negotiation supported by a proprietary forecasting simulator that created an advantage for the smaller firm over the larger firm. As a result, the smaller firm had a go-it-alone baseline revenue forecast to determine the incremental value of a …

Evaluating Discharge Readiness Of Patients At A Primary Stroke Center, Amanda Green

DNP Projects

The diagnosis of stroke is very prevalent in healthcare and it is estimated that someone in the United States suffers from a stroke every 40 seconds (Lloyd-Jones et al., 2009). In order to optimally prepare these patients for discharge and improve patient outcomes, it is important to understand the needs of the patient and caregiver and to meet these needs. In order to evaluate this, the focus of this project was to evaluate the discharge readiness of patients at a primary stroke center. “Discharge Needs of the Stroke Patient and Caregiver” focuses on a review of the literature in order …

If You Can't Beat Them, Kill Them: Complex Adaptive Systems Theory And The Rise In Targeted Killing, Carla Crandall

Seton Hall Law Review

No abstract provided.

Subordinate-Supervisor Communication: Junior Naval Officer Feelings And Obstacles When Communicating Up The Chain Of Command, Neva R. Fuentes

Communication & Leadership Dissertations and Theses

Research on subordinate-supervisor communication has revealed that employees in civilian organizations often stay silent about workplace problems. Comfort levels between subordinates and supervisors, was a major factor to this silence. Currently, there exists very little literature on upward communication from subordinate to supervisor amongst U.S. Naval Officers. The purpose of this thesis was to explore Junior Officer (JO) feelings and perceived obstacles about communicating up the chain of command with senior officers. Interview questions from a previous study (Milliken, Morrison, & Hewlin, 2003) on subordinate-supervisor communication were adapted for an electronic survey and used to explore JO feelings and perceived …

The Impacts Of Multiple 360 Feedback Projects Utilizing Coaching And Follow-Up: A Quantitative Longitudinal Exploratory Descriptive Research Study, Jeremy Unruh

Communication & Leadership Dissertations and Theses

360 degree feedback is a great tool for organizational development, however many organizations don’t include coaching and follow-up to maximize impact for long term results. This quantitative longitudinal exploratory descriptive research study explores the impact of conducting the same 360 feedback survey within the same organization over a 3 year time frame utilizing coaching and follow-up. Data from 6 individuals indicate an improvement of self-awareness and an increase of set goals and completed goals. Theories of self-awareness and self-perception are discussed as well as the development of a new communication channel between manager and employee for organizational development purposes.

The Effectiveness Of Social Media In Advancing Transformational Change, Kenneth Wesley Dey

Communication & Leadership Dissertations and Theses

The goal of this study is to determine the effectiveness of social media in advancing transformational change. Successfully implementing transformational change in an organization is heavily dependent on the support of key stakeholders. But engaging those stakeholders requires effective communication. Transformational efforts often fail because of the lack of credible communication or a failure to define a vision that can be easily communicated (Kotter, 2007). Researchers say that the key to successful transformational change is embracing a communication based in the realm of conversation where there is genuine two-way dialogue that is focused on listening and probing for more information …

Technological Change Within Union Environments: An Examination Of Existing Change Management Literature, Union Culture, And Critical Factors For Implementation Success, Bryan Altknecht

Communication & Leadership Dissertations and Theses

In today’s business climate, organizational change is a perpetual challenge for those in leadership positions. Despite the substantial academic conversation surrounding successful management of change, one aspect which has received little research is technological change within the context of union populations. This project utilizes multiple theoretical frameworks to present critical components for success including; understanding reluctance toward change, the role of leaders, managing technology change, and specific implementation considerations for union populations. It then synthesizes those components into a formal training course designed to teach organizational leaders the skills necessary to overcome the challenges of implementing technology changes within union …

Cultural Performance And Organizational Transformation: A Case Study Of The Utah State University Football Program, Marques Chavez

Communication & Leadership Dissertations and Theses

Methods of communication are often a significant reason for achieving organizational transformation. The primary aim of this study is to explain a case of organizational transformation by examining the cultural performances of organizational members—particularly the performance of ritual. The Utah State University football program served as the case study while qualitative interviews and narrative research provided the methodology for gathering and analyzing data. Communication expressed in the performance of ritual significantly contributed to fostering an environment of unity and trust within the organization which, in turn, spurred transformation. While rituals were key to fostering this environment, true sincerity from leadership …

The Intrapersonal Phenomenon: The Interactional Effects Of Intrapersonal Adjustments In The Organizational Change Of A Small Business, Jennifer Wilkes

Communication & Leadership Dissertations and Theses

It is inevitable that change involves varying levels of communication. A relationship may consist of an individual's communication with one's self or with one or more persons. The functionality of a relationship depends on the effectiveness or ineffectiveness of the communication of those individuals involved. When change is necessary in any form of organization, the level of communication for each member plays a vital role, especially in a small company. Based on literature and theory, intrapersonal development and influence relies on the structure of one's cultural language. Language structure shapes one's inner speech and self-talk through processes of internalization. The …