Digital Commons Network^™

Fall Prevention Quality Initiative: Implementation Of A Unit Safety Champion (Usc), Susan Lynn Rednak

Walden Dissertations and Doctoral Studies

The literature supports that a Unit Safety Champion (USC) may reduce falls among hospitalized patients. The purpose of this project was to determine if the implementation of a USC would assist in reducing falls on an acute unit in an urban hospital environment. The frequency of patient falls on the unit was collected from the hospital's quality department 3 months before and 3 months after the implementation of the USC. The average number of falls for 3 months before implementation was 5.0 per month (SD = 2.65) and involved a total of 15 individual patients. The average number of falls …

Financial Performance Outcomes Following System Replacement In The Insurance Industry, Trevor James Owen

Walden Dissertations and Doctoral Studies

Enterprise system replacement projects within the property and casualty insurance industry are costly, high-risk undertakings that carry a significant risk of project failure. The decision to replace policy administration systems for companies with over $250 million in direct written premium is a multimillion dollar investment for corporate strategic decision makers. This study examined the financial impact of enterprise policy administration system replacement in the property and casualty insurance industry by comparing financial performance results for companies that performed policy administration system replacements with those that did not. Insurance industry financial results for the years 2009 through 2014 were used for …

Increasing Productivity Of Retained Employees After A Workforce Reduction, Jason Michael Matyus

Walden Dissertations and Doctoral Studies

There is an increased use of downsizing across telecommunications in the northeast United States, and organizational leaders are challenged to motivate the productivity of the retained employees. Guided by systems theory, the purpose of this single case study was to explore successful downsizing strategies of a small group of organizational leaders and managers in the operations of telecommunications in the northeast United States. The study participants, chosen for their motivation success in motivation after downsizing, consisted of 2 purposefully selected business leaders who completed individual, face-to-face interviews and a focus group of 5 managers. The coding of data and word …

When Does Six Sigma Reduce Defects And Increase Efficiencies?, Richard Jay Sands

Walden Dissertations and Doctoral Studies

A field research-based statistical study was used to investigate successes and failures of Six Sigma methodologies based projects. Six Sigma methodologies require that projects be designed, planned, and implemented using techniques specifically designed to achieve desired benefits that are based on the method's key drivers for project success. This study addressed an identified gap in the literature that Six Sigma projects do not fail because of Six Sigma methodologies, but that the projects can fail because of deficient support processes. Six Sigma projects that do not achieve the desired benefits are often labeled as "fads". Research questions related to management …

Assessment Of Organizational Readiness: Parent Advisory Councils In A Children's Hospital Within A Hospital, Suzanne R. Springate

DNP Projects

Background: A children’s hospital within a hospital (CHWH) in the Midwest region of the United States established a strategic goal to become the preferred provider for children in the region. Outcomes in patient and family experience had fallen short of established organizational expectations. Recognizing that parent advisors are an essential component of patient and family centered care, the strategic plan called for integrating parents into formal, advisory roles.

Purpose: The purpose of this practice improvement project was to perform an assessment of organizational readiness to incorporate parents into formal advisory roles at this CHWH.

Methods: A cross-sectional survey design was …

Delirium Screening Instrument Knowledge And Perception Among Cardiovascular Intensive Care Nurses, Brittany Lynn Dahl

DNP Projects

Background: Delirium is a serious condition that affects critically ill adult patients in the intensive care unit. Bedside nursing delirium measurements are considered a dependable source of information that can be used for clinical decision-making. Nurse education and assessment of perceptions is important when building a framework for successful delirium assessment. However, few data exist about nursing perceptions and practices associated with delirium screening instruments. The overall purpose of this project is to examine nurse perceptions and knowledge about delirium and delirium screening instruments at the University of Kentucky (UK) Hospital’s Cardiovascular Intensive Care Unit (CVICU).

Objectives: The aims of …

Applying The Cacao Change Model To Promote Systemic Transformation In Stem, Anthony Marker, Patricia Pyke, Sarah Ritter, Karen Viskupic, Amy Moll, R. Eric Landrum, Tony Roark, Susan Shadle

Organizational Performance and Workplace Learning Faculty Publications and Presentations

Since its inception in the Middle Ages, the university classroom can be characterized by students gathered around a sage who imparts his or her knowledge. However, the effective classroom of today looks vastly different: First-year engineering students not only learn basic engineering principles, but are also guided to consider their own inner values and motivations as they design and build adaptive devices for people with disabilities; students in a large chemistry lecture work animatedly together in small groups on inquiry-based activities while an instructor and teaching assistants circulate and guide their learning; students learning differential equations practice explicit metacognitive skills …

Professional Learning Communities : Teacher Perception Of Components Of Professional Learning Communities In High Schools, Erika Schlichter

Graduate Research Theses & Dissertations

The mandate for school reform is becoming more urgent as schools increasingly focus on improving student learning. This mandate for reform has produced a need for effective school improvement structures to organize staff efforts to improve student learning. The professional learning communities (PLC) structure has been widely touted among practitioners as a valid model for instituting school reform. The popularity of this structure has grown to such an extent that its impact has been diluted through lack of understanding, partial implementation, and lack of focus on student learning outcomes. The purpose of this study was to examine the relationship among …

Gatekeeping Social Media In Today's Newsrooms, Matthew A. Clark

Communication & Leadership Dissertations and Theses

Social media has changed the face and function of today’s traditional newsrooms. But, more than that, social media has changed how editors and reporters report the news and, perhaps more importantly, control the flow of information via social media channels. Because social media has sped up the news gathering process, the way news and information in controlled from newsrooms to the general public and vice versa has changed. This study examined seven news professionals ranging in title and duty and asked how big of a part social media played in their day-to-day professional lives and how their respective news outlets …

Rrh Library Newsletter, January 2015, Libraries At Rochester Regional Health

Rochester Regional Health authored publications and proceedings

Newsletter sections include: Embracing Change; Introducing ClinicalKey®; Congratulations!

Lost (But Not Missing) At Work: Organizational Lostness As An Employee Response To Change, Lisa Jones Christensen, Scott C. Hammond

Faculty Publications

This article draws from the psychology of lost person behavior, established from wilderness search and rescue missions, to suggest that employees experience the condition of being lost within organizations. Data from wilderness searches, survivors, and organizational actors suggests that lessons from lost person behaviors apply in organizations. Reactions to being lost in an organization follow predictable patterns and include five specific stages: separation, isolation, deviation, deprivation, and realization. In defining the construct of organizational lostness and differentiating it from stress, coping, and resistance, we suggest an organizing framework to understand employee behaviors that would previously seem idiosyncratic. This article offers …

Playing To Win: The Surprising Power Of Play In Innovation, Suzanne M. Piotrowski, Kalle Lyytinen, Richard Boland, James Gaskin

Faculty Publications

Organizational teams are the primary mechanism by which ideas are birthed and recombined into innovations for maintaining or achieving competitive advantage. We know that resources of people, time and funding impact team effectiveness in innovating. We also know that factors such as individual traits of talent, expertise, and collaboration skills also matter greatly. What is less known, and less studied, is the role of team characteristics, in particular, team play and team playfulness on innovation results. Our two-part study examined 145 teams and discovered that team playfulness is present on all successful innovation teams and emerges as divergence and deep …

Strengthening The Pipeline— Talent Management For Libraries: A Human Resources Perspective, Agnes K. Bradshaw

VCU Libraries Faculty and Staff Publications

In order to both increase the pipeline of new librarians and develop “bench strength” (which is a human resources term used to refer to the capabilities and readiness of potential successors to move into key professional and leadership positions), librarians of color can work to form and develop strong, sustaining professional networks (in and outside the employing library) in order to help navigate the hiring process and to develop a support network that can be utilized throughout a professional career.

Avid Leadership: A Skills Approach To Transformational Change, Shannon Mcandrews

Theses and Dissertations

This quantitative study investigated a cross population of active Elementary Leaders (Kindergarten-8th grade) of AVID (Advancement Via Individual Determination) Center, a non-profit international educational organization. This dissertation's primary purpose was to explore the phenomenon of AVID Leadership as it related to individual's perspectives of their leadership traits. After attending skills-based sessions designed to enhance transformational leadership mindsets and transformational change skillsets, participants were invited to engage in an online survey. This survey contained both the Multifactor Leadership Questionnaire (MLQ) and researcher developed demographic questions. The study explored the similarities, differences, and impact of exposure to AVID Professional Learning, the relationship …

The Leadership Process: An Analysis Of Follower Influence On Leader Behavior In Hospital Organizations, Shawn M. Warren

Theses and Dissertations

The healthcare environment, specifically hospitals, face a turbulent environment and external forces that present difficult challenges to leaders. Hospital leaders are required to do more with less and navigate to ensure a profitable bottom line and high ratings of patient satisfaction. However, viewing solutions, such as developing a new force of leaders, to navigate through such a hostile environment may not be the only answer. This study seeks not to understand the leader solely, but is focused on the leadership process and the effect followers create due to their behaviors and attributes that influence leaders. The study draws from the …

Apology As A Leadership Behavior: A Meta-Analysis With Implications For Organizational Leaders, Matthew W. Brubaker

Theses and Dissertations

Leaders are frequently called to apologize on behalf of their organizations, in some cases skillfully resolving episodes of failure while meeting the unique, competing needs of diverse stakeholders. However, too often leaders handle apology poorly, exacerbating tense situations and alienating key constituents. This study is an examination of the practice of apology as a leadership behavior in an organizational context. To answer the question, How might the existing literatures on apology be examined, integrated and refocused to apply specifically to leaders operating within an organizational context? the study provides a meta-analysis of the diverse literatures that address the practice of …

The Relationship Between Job-Embedded Professional Development And Special Education Teacher Self-Efficacy In Hard-To-Staff Middle Schools, Sarah Dhah

Theses and Dissertations

The limited research that exists regarding instructional coaching and teacher efficacy suggests that instructional coaching may be related to higher levels of teacher self-efficacy. However, this potential relationship had not been explored specifically at the middle school special education, hard-to-staff school level. Hard-to-staff schools were defined for the purpose of this study as schools that experience difficulty with teacher recruitment, especially in hiring and retaining teachers who have had students succeed on standardized tests. The purpose of this study was to explore the relationship between instructional coaching and special education teacher self-efficacy in hard-to-staff middle schools. The researcher explored whether …

Exploring The Impact Of Team Building On Group Cohesion Of A Multicultural Team, Daphne S. L. Wong

Theses and Dissertations

This research explored the topic of team building for a multicultural team and investigated the impact on group cohesion. The participants were members of a work group, each of a different nationality. Review of existing literature revealed a list of team building elements most suited for the multicultural context. A team building program incorporating those elements and customized for the participant group was designed and implemented. Pre and post survey data showed no significant difference in group cohesion, although there was a slight increase in the score for task cohesion. Qualitative interview data, however, suggested a positive impact on group …

An Investigation Of The Information Practices Of Education Doctoral Students, Corinne Bishop

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

Academic libraries are increasingly re-envisioning their services to provide expanded outreach and segmented programming for specific user groups. Many academic libraries offer segmented services and programming for undergraduate groups such as first-year experience programs and general education programs. Currently, academic libraries are also identifying and expanding their services and programming to meet the unique needs of graduate groups. In conjunction with this focus, the roles of academic librarians are also expanding in the area of outreach. In essence, academic librarians are becoming more directly involved in aligning library services and programming with academic programs and promoting change within their institutions. …

Accreditation As An Organizational Response: Exploring The Influence Of Leadership And Institutional And Task Environments On The Accreditation Process In Communication Sciences And Disorders Programs, Jeffrey Charles Adams

Theses and Dissertations

Influences on the accreditation process in communication sciences and disorder (CSD) programs were examined using a cross case comparative qualitative analysis among four successfully accredited academic departments in the southern United States. Program chairs, CSD administrators, clinic directors and faculty were interviewed. Four institutional sites were selected for the case studies based upon the outcome of the program’s most recent accreditation site visit, the date of the accreditation site visit, number of available faculty, and institutional type. The four institutions included one master’s granting private institution, one master’s granting (larger) program, one doctoral/research medical university, and one doctoral/research university (very …

If You Can’T Take The Heat: Cultural Beliefs About Questionable Conduct, Stigma, Punishment, And Withdrawal Among Mexican Police Officers, Jorge A. Gonzalez, Lorena R. Pérez-Floriano

Management Faculty Publications

We introduce the concept of cultural beliefs about questionable conduct, and examine how these beliefs interact with stigma consciousness to influence punishment and two withdrawal behaviors: turnover and absenteeism. We used a sample of Mexican police officers in a border city and implemented a mixed method design, paying attention to the national, occupational, and organizational context of this setting. We conducted a qualitative phase to explore the prevalence and meaning of occupational stigma and four cultural beliefs about questionable conduct: greed, toughness, wariness, and savvy. The results of this phase helped us develop a context-relevant measure of cultural beliefs about …

When Demographic And Personality Diversity Are Both At Play: Effects On Team Performance And Implications For Diversity Management Practices, Mai P. Trinh

Management Faculty Publications

This chapter reviews what we know about the effects of demographic diversity (age, sex, and ethnicity) and personality diversity (conscientiousness, openness to experience, extraversion, emotional stability, and agreeableness) in teams in organizations. It also outlines challenges to today's diversity management and Human Resource (HR) practices, such as the lack of definite conclusions from research results, the mismatch between team diversity research designs and organizations' needs, and the lack of research examining simultaneously different aspects of diversity. Drawing from analysis results of team data from 55 teams of volunteers from Shanghai, the author recommends that HR training and selection take specific …

A Historical Analysis Of The Evolution Of The Administrative And Organizational Structure Of The University Of Central Florida As It Relates To Growth, Boyd Lindsley

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

This was a qualitative historical study, which was recounted chronologically and organized around the terms of the four full-time presidents of the university. The review addressed the processes associated with the establishment and development of Florida Technological University beginning in 1963 through its name change to the University of Central Florida in 1979, concluding in 2013. The organization's mission, vision, and goals, how they evolved and the impact they had on the university were of particular interest. The study was focused on the administrative actions and organizational changes that took place within the university to assist faculty in teaching, research, …

Examining Practices Of Elementary School Principals: Selection Of Co-Teaching Teams, Jeannette Tejeda

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

The purpose of this study was to explore the lived experiences of urban elementary school principals in relation to co-teaching and their co-teacher selection process. Three elementary school principals who exemplify characteristics of shared, ethical, and transformational leadership from a large urban school district in the southern United States were interviewed. The findings from the interviews were utilized to create a Likert-type survey to be administered to select co-teachers and select teachers not co-teaching at each of the three schools. The interview data were examined using Hycner's guidelines for phenomenological analysis. The Likert-type surveys administered to co-teachers and teachers not …

Nurse Managers, Work Environment Factors And Workplace Bullying, Joy Parchment

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

The purpose of this dissertation is to explore relationships between authentic leadership style, global social power, job demand, job control, and workplace bullying of nurse managers in acute care settings across the United States. Over 30 years of workplace bullying research exists. Consequences are linked to intent to leave, turnover, and harmful emotional and physical effects. Published studies identifying nurse managers as targets of workplace bullying and work environment factors that contribute to nurse managers being recipients of workplace bullying either, downward from their leaders, horizontally from their nurse manager peers, and upwards from their clinical nurses were not identified. …

A Conceptual Model To Measure Erp User-Value, Mohamed A. Lotfy, Leila Halawi

Publications

The critical factors in the onward and upward phase that maximize the value o the enterprise resource planning (ERP) system from the user’s point of view remain unidentified. A recent study of a public sector organization in the state of Colorado showed that the users’ perspectives regarding the benefits of an ERP system are unrecognized, as well as how the users of the ERP system view the ERP benefits post-implementation. The purpose of this study is to determine the factors that maximize the value of the implemented ERP system in the onward and upward phase postimplementation from the user’s point …

Increasing Police Accountability: Restoring Trust And Legitimacy Through The Appointment Of Independent Prosecutors, Kami Chavis Simmons

Faculty Publications

Criminal prosecution of police officers raises a myriad of issues that this Article will begin to explore. First, while there has been a paradigmatic shift in police accountability in recent decades from remedies focusing on individual officers to those focusing on broad organizational reform, this Article will explore the important role that the deterrence rationale of criminal prosecution might play as one tool to address police misconduct. Second, other than deterrence, criminal prosecutions serve numerous goals, including retribution for the harms imposed upon the victims and society for the crimes. Historically, many racial minorities, when compared with their white counterparts, …

Professional Learning Community And Non-Professional Learning Community Schools : A Quantitative Study Of Perceptions Of Teachers On Trust, Professionalism, And Change, Adam W. Zbrozek

Graduate Research Theses & Dissertations

The purpose of this study was to investigate the perceptions of teachers in Professional Learning Communities (PLC) and Non-PLC schools regarding Trust, Professionalism, and Change. The study included teaching staff of 10 Illinois elementary schools: five PLC schools and five non-PLC schools identified as demonstrating increasing levels of student achievement as measured by the annual state assessment (ISAT). Sampling was stratified in order to limit the population based on specific sets of characteristics. The study was limited to schools with demonstrated growth and success. Additionally, schools implementing PLCs that have been identified by Solution Tree were included in this study …

Diversity And Emotional Labor In Student Project Teams : Initial Tests Of A Theoretical Framework, Ruth A. Imose

Graduate Research Theses & Dissertations

Grandey's (2000) framework of emotional labor was extended to propose a modified framework of diversity and emotional labor. It was proposed that diverse workgroup composition may be considered a situational variable that triggers affective reactions within interpersonal and workgroup contexts and interactions. This framework suggests that emotional labor may be considered an important mediating variable that can account for a number of relationships between diversity and both individual and workgroup well-being. The current study provided some initial tests of the proposed framework using a complementary, multi-level approach. At the individual level, relationships between diversity, emotional labor, and well-being outcomes were …

The Mirage Of Curriculum Decentralization : A Case Study Of Local Stakeholders' Involvement In School-Based Curriculum Development (Sbcd) Policy Implementation In Indonesia, Muhamad Ali Akrom

Graduate Research Theses & Dissertations

This study examined local stakeholders' involvement in the School-Based Curriculum Development (SBCD) policy implementation in five elementary schools in a city in the southeastern region of Indonesia. An interpretive qualitative case study design was applied. Participants in the study consisted of principals, teachers, parents/School Committee members, and key officials from the local education authority. Four data collection strategies were employed in this study: semi-structured interviews, focus groups, observations, and document analysis. The data obtained were analyzed qualitatively using a constant comparative method. Nvivo 10 was also used to facilitate the analysis process.;Findings of the study indicated that the local stakeholders …