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Effective Strategies Employed By Retail Store Leaders To Reduce Employee Turnover, Alexandro Beato

Walden Dissertations and Doctoral Studies

Employee turnover affects retail organizations in the form of lower productivity, decreased profitability, and reduced sustainability. In 2014, organizations lost over $11 billion in tangible and intangible assets as the result of employee turnover. High employee turnover rates have an adverse effect on productivity, which lead to unsustainable business practices. The number of retail employees who quit their jobs each month increased from 432,000 in December 2016 to 464,000 in January 2017, which indicates that some managers lack strategies to reduce employee turnover. Using the transformational leadership theory, the purpose of this single case study was to explore effective strategies …

The Relationship Between A Cfo's Financial Expertise And Firm Profitability, Scott Jeremy Rubin

Walden Dissertations and Doctoral Studies

More than 50% of small businesses fail by the 5th year of operation because of lack of economic sustainability. Organizations without a chief financial officer (CFO) with financial expertise may have suboptimal fiscal performance. The purpose of this correlational study was to examine whether there was a relationship between CFO licensure status, CFO age, and firm earnings per share. A sample of 403 small businesses in the United States, taken from the Russell 2000 Index, was used in the study. The theoretical framework for the study was Penrose's resource-based view of the firm. CFO names and firm earnings per share …

Strategies For Reducing Employee Stress And Increasing Employee Engagement, Kumar G. Subramaniam

Walden Dissertations and Doctoral Studies

Stress inside and outside of work affects employee productivity. In 2013, the estimated impact of employee absenteeism on U.S. businesses was $225 billion per year through reduced efficiency, overtime wages, fixed fringe benefits, and the cost of replacement employees. Based on the social exchange theory and the theory of planned behavior, the purpose of this qualitative single case study was to explore the strategies that HR leaders in a single organization used to reduce employee disengagement caused by stress. Using semistructured interviews, data were collected from 12 HR leaders and line managers within a single healthcare organization in eastern Tennessee. …

Government Rule Compliance, Safety, And The Influence Of Regulation On Railroad Trainmen, Carlos Mendoza, Phd

Walden Dissertations and Doctoral Studies

Operational testing of railroad trainmen on federal government safety rules is a daily occurrence on every railroad in the United States. This constant testing and resulting discipline distracts trainmen from the task at hand, causing a loss of focus which could lead to injury or accidents. Using the social construction framework, this research sought to gain an understanding of trainmen's perception on how operational testing impacts their workplace safety, as well as how they perceive the U.S. federal government influences regulation and discipline. This phenomenological study investigated a segment of railroad employees, the trainmen, because they are operationally tested more …

Strategies For Reducing Voluntary Employee Turnover, Xiomara Dejesus

Walden Dissertations and Doctoral Studies

The high costs associated with turnover and the loss of skilled employees have a significant adverse effect on organizational performance. The loss of one skilled worker can cost 25-500% of an employee's salary with respect to replacement, training, and productivity. The purpose of this descriptive multiple case study was to explore strategies for frontline managers and human resource managers to reduce voluntary employee turnover. The sample consisted of 5 frontline supervisors and 6 human resource leaders with successful experience designing and implementing strategies to reduce voluntary employee turnover in 8 organizations in Orange County, Florida. The conceptual framework for this …

Governed By Guerrillas: When Armed Insurgents Become Political Leaders, Megan Patsch

Browse all Theses and Dissertations

When an internal conflict ends, many states are faced with a choice of whether or not the insurgents they were fighting against should become political figures they govern beside. Increasingly, peace settlements involve the proposed evolution of guerrilla groups into political parties, yet little is known about rebel groups' long-term effectiveness in governing (Vines and Oruitemeka, 2008). However, the recurrent interest in converting guerrillas to politicians calls for a clear understanding of the chances of success. What makes a guerilla group more or less successful in governance? I hypothesized that a state with formerly armed insurgents would produce fewer pieces …

Focusing Events In Environmental Policy: Exide Technologies, Aliso Canyon, And Industrial Health Crises In Southern California, Emily Chittick

Pomona Senior Theses

Focusing events are sudden, rare events that become known to policymakers and the public simultaneously, highlighting issues with existing public policy. Two case studies, the gas leak from the Aliso Canyon natural gas storage facility near Porter Ranch, and the publication of the Health Risk Assessment and discovery of lead contamination from Exide Technologies’ battery recycling facility in Vernon, are used to deepen theoretical insights into the development and functionality of industrial health crises as focusing events. The case studies suggest four key areas relevant to understanding focusing events. The first is the unique characteristics of industrial health crises, which …

The Role Of District And School Leaders' Trust And Communications In The Simultaneous Implementation Of Innovative Policies, Hal A. Lawson, Francesca T. Durand, Kristen Campbell Wilcox, Karen M. Gregory, Kathryn S. Schiller, Sarah J. Zuckerman

Department of Educational Administration: Faculty Publications

This mixed-method multiple case study investigated nine elementary schools. Six “odds-beating schools," which serve relatively high numbers of economically disadvantaged children, achieved higher than predicted performance on state assessments when compared with three typically performing schools. The overarching research question guiding this study was: What forces, factors, and actors account for odds-beating schools' better outcomes? The trust-communication connection provided one answer. Relational trust in odds-beating schools is an intraorganizational phenomenon, and it is accompanied by interorganizational trust (reciprocal trust). These two kinds of trust are accompanied by intraschool and district office-school communication mechanisms. Trust and communications are mutually constitutive as …

Learning And Working Together: Invoking Systems’ Change Through Inter-Organizational Collaborative Principles And A Learning Community Framework, Brandon Hey

Theses and Dissertations (Comprehensive)

Local communities face significant challenges such as increased inequality, immigration, and global climate change. In order to address these challenges whole cities have to innovate and learn together. In this thesis, I introduce the Learning Community (LC) model, a new way of collaborating and creating collective impact that emphasizes learning, alongside collective impact, as a central strategy to addressing complex social challenges. In a LC, members value the continuous pursuit of knowledge, feedback, and experimentation as well as the flow of information and resources between academic institutions and practice groups. The value of learning is built into key structures …

Seniority And Transparency In The Perceived Fairness Of Seniority-Based Police Promotion, Michael Edward Carter

Walden Dissertations and Doctoral Studies

Perception of fairness is a key construct affecting job performance, and perceptions of promotional processes are related to employees' sense of justice in private organizations. In police departments, negative perceptions of procedures can be detrimental to departmental effectiveness. The purpose of this quantitative quasiexperimental study was to compare Louisiana officers' perceptions of fairness of a seniority-based promotion system in relation to Louisiana deputies' perceptions of fairness of a merit-based promotion system. Organizational justice theory, including procedural justice, was the theoretical foundation. The research questions were designed to examine whether seniority, transparency, knowledge of the promotion systems, gender, and race predicted …

Exploration Of Leadership Skills For Organizational Strategy Execution, Regina L. Banks-Hall

Walden Dissertations and Doctoral Studies

Multinational corporate leaders acknowledge that a lack of business direction by senior leadership results in a 68% failure in the execution of organizational strategies. The purpose of this qualitative study was to explore what best practice solutions automotive manufacturing senior leaders created to help front-line managers execute organizational strategies. The population consisted of 20 automotive manufacturing senior leaders located in Michigan with significant years of automotive experience and at least a year of experience employed as an automotive manufacturing senior leader. Vroom's expectancy theory served as the conceptual framework for the study describing the enhancement of employee performance related to …

Crime Reduction Strategies Of Florida Sheriff's Offices Related To Residential Burglaries, Jack Armstrong

Walden Dissertations and Doctoral Studies

In Florida, the law enforcement response to burglaries is estimated to cost $1.3 billion, yet little is understood about whether specific types of enforcement and investigation strategies have an impact on reducing the incidence of burglary. Using Cohen and Felson's concept of guardianship as part of routine activities theory as the foundation, the purpose of this quantitative cross-sectional study was to examine whether any or all crime reduction strategies (community policing, intelligence led policing, Compare Statistics policing, traditional policing, hot spot policing, and evidence based policing) when combined with urbanity, household income, the sworn officers per 1000 population are statistically …

Implementation Of A Standardized Multifactorial Fall Prevention Program In A Rehabilitation Facility, Shanetta Monique Ancrum-Lee

Walden Dissertations and Doctoral Studies

One and a half million people are currently living in residential care facilities; as the baby boomer generation ages, this number will increase to 3 million. Approximately 3 out of 4 residents of these facilities fall each year, and 10% to 20% of those falls result in serious injuries such as fractures, disability, and a decreased quality of living. The BOUNCE Back fall initiative is a multifactorial program that uses a systematic approach starting on admission and to re-evaluate a resident following a fall. Nursing and therapy uses the Morse Fall Scale and the Elderly Mobility Scale to assess and …

A Grounded Theory Of The Factors Affecting Employee Vision Inspiration, Luis Luarca

Walden Dissertations and Doctoral Studies

Inspired, motivated employees are essential to organizational success. Research findings indicate a strong relationship between vision, leader charisma, organizational factors, and the extent to which employees feel motivated to achieve organizational goals based on the vision, known as employee vision inspiration (EVI). However, little is known about how employees personalize organizational visions and why this affects their performance. The purpose of this qualitative study was to explore in-depth the organizational and employee-related factors that affect EVI using the constant comparative method and grounded theory methodology, and how EVI manifests itself in employee behaviors directed toward the achievement of a company's …

Examining The Role Of Emotional Intelligence In The Work And Life Balance Of Foster Care Workers, Pamela Applewhite Applewhite

Walden Dissertations and Doctoral Studies

Foster care workers are an important part of the social service system, as they are the first line of support for children without families or who have been subjected to tragic events leading to their need for foster care. Foster care workers often experience work-life boundary issues due to the emotional nature of their work. The purpose of this quantitative study was to examine the relationship between (a) emotional intelligence and absenteeism and (b) emotional intelligence and work-life balance with foster care workers. Data was collected from foster care workers in the state of South Carolina employed with the Department …

Implementing Elementary School Next Generation Science Standards, Kathy Kennedy

Walden Dissertations and Doctoral Studies

Implementation of the Next Generation Science Standards requires developing elementary teacher content and pedagogical content knowledge of science and engineering concepts. Teacher preparation for this undertaking appears inadequate with little known about how in-service Mid-Atlantic urban elementary science teachers approach this task. The purpose of this basic qualitative interview study was to explore the research questions related to perceived learning needs of 8 elementary science teachers and 5 of their administrators serving as instructional leaders. Strategies needed for professional growth to support learning and barriers that hamper it at both building and district levels were included. These questions were considered …

Building Consensus Among General Counsel To Address Managerial Legal Strategy Perspectives, Evan Andrew Peterson

Walden Dissertations and Doctoral Studies

The research problem for this study focused on organizations' inability to derive strategic value from the law due to the lack of integration between legal strategy and business strategy. The purpose of this study was to build consensus among in-house general counsel working across business industries in the United States with regard to techniques that will alter unreceptive managerial viewpoints toward the strategic value of law within the corporate setting. The research question centered on assessing the level of consensus among general counsel relative to those techniques. This 3-round qualitative Delphi study began with open-ended questions in Round 1 and …

Generational Age Differences And Employee Motivation In The Public Sector, Peter C. Akwuole

Walden Dissertations and Doctoral Studies

Motivation is rarely used as a diversity management strategy, and as a result, little academic research explores the relationship between generational age differences and motivation in public sector management. Using Deci's intrinsic and extrinsic motivation theory as the foundation, the purpose of this correlational design study was to evaluate the relationship between generational age differences and employee motivation in a Maryland government agency. Data were collected through an online survey using the Work Preference Inventory from 35 of the agency's 5585 employees, born between 1946 and 2000. Data were analyzed using one-way analysis of variance with post-hoc tests to assess …

Increasing Inclusive Students' Achievement Through Use Of Usatestprep's Integrated Learning Systems, Roslynn Darnell Elom

Walden Dissertations and Doctoral Studies

Integrated learning systems (ILS) are effective ways to increase academic achievement for students, including those with disabilities. However, many teachers do not fully or properly implement this type of educational technology in their classroom teaching. The purpose of this qualitative bounded case study was to examine the perceptions of high school educators and administrators toward ILS use. The study was grounded in Ely's conditions of change theory. Research questions focused on educators' perceptions of barriers toward implementation of an ILS in the classroom. Participants included 8 inclusive secondary school teachers and 2 local administrators in a rural school system in …

Human Capital Strategies Of Leaders In The Food Service Industry, Olivia Patrice Chanté Miller

Walden Dissertations and Doctoral Studies

High voluntary employee turnover in the food service industry often exceeds 60%. Some food service leaders lack strategies to motivate employees to stay with the organization. High voluntary employee turnover negatively affects organizational profitability due to increased employee replacement costs and reduced organizational productivity. The purpose of this multiple case study was to explore the human capital strategies successful food service leaders use to reduce voluntary employee turnover intentions. The target population consisted of 4 managers of 4 different casual dining restaurants in Winston-Salem, NC who successfully used human capital strategies to reduce voluntary employee turnover intentions. The conceptual frameworks …

Servant Leadership: What Makes It An Effective Leadership Model., Janice Poland Tanno

Walden Dissertations and Doctoral Studies

Servant leadership (SL), a universal, ethical leadership style, consistently produces high performance and employee engagement. For the last two decades, lack of business ethics in decision making by senior leaders has resulted in many negative outcomes, such as the WorldCom scandal. The purpose of this descriptive phenomenological study was to identify and report the lived experiences of senior leaders in relation to decision making in SL organizations in the southwestern United States. The study's theoretical/conceptual foundations encompassed Maslow's motivation theories, decision theory, spirituality, spiritual intelligence, Cicero's virtue theory of ethics, and Greenleaf's SL. Data collection involved the use of semistructured …

Leading A Multigenerational Workforce In The Public Sector, Cynthia A. Thompson

Walden Dissertations and Doctoral Studies

One of the demographic changes in the workplace is the presence of multiple generations working together. Some managers may find leading a multigenerational workforce a challenge, because the generational cohorts may have different work values and approaches to work. The purpose of this qualitative case study was to explore how generational characteristics manifest in the workplace, how managers perceive a multigenerational workforce, and whether macro-level descriptions of generations creates stereotypes or recognizable indicators of behavior in the workplace. Mannheim's theory of generations and diversity management theory provided the conceptual framework for the study. Data were collected through interviews and a …

Motives Why Employees At Fort Mcpherson Accepted Or Rejected Their Relocation, Tashan Renea Whitsett

Walden Dissertations and Doctoral Studies

Base closures and relocations reduce costs to the Department of Defense but necessitate the relocation of personnel, organizations, and functions. When Fort McPherson closed, Fort Bragg received the organization's personnel and equipment. The problem in this study was the lack of knowledge and understanding within the U.S. military, especially among civil service and contractor employees affected by realignments and closures, regarding (a) the decision process to accept or reject offers to relocate, (b) the potential health effects related to relocating, and (c) the effect that personnel relocations and losses have on the military mission. This study is essential because no …

A Phenomenological Study Of Cross Gender Mentoring Among U.S. Army Officers, Scott Randolph Johnson

Walden Dissertations and Doctoral Studies

Leader mentoring in the military has not been well researched, especially that involving cross-gender pairings. A phenomenological study was conducted to gain insight into the perceptions, thoughts, and feelings of military officers regarding their decision to engage in mentoring, to include with members of the opposite gender. Semistructured interviews were conducted with 20 male and 20 female U.S. Army senior commissioned officers to collect information regarding mentoring selection perspectives and decisions and to examine emerging themes, concepts, and patterns, using NVivo 11 Pro Plus. Negative themes that emerged among both male and female participants concerned adverse perceptions of members within …

Introduction Of Evidence-Based Practice To Acute Stroke Center Nursing In Jakarta, Indonesia, Tonya Sue Stagner

Walden Dissertations and Doctoral Studies

Evidence-based practice (EBP) is a relatively new concept for nurses in Indonesia; it has not

been integrated into nursing care. This project sought to introduce EBP to nurses at an acute stroke center (ASC). The knowledge transfer team approach guided the project. The goal was to identify and analyze current data and to develop an EBP guideline for clinical nursing practice in the ASC. Sources of evidence that was used to address the practice-focused question included project team members, organizational documents, and a database search to identify EBP guidelines for the nursing care of acute stroke patients. A database search …

Leader–Member Exchange Between Academic Deans And Faculty In Community Colleges, Alexander Lincoln Clifford

Walden Dissertations and Doctoral Studies

Between 2011 and 2016, 84% of senior leaders in community colleges indicated retirement intentions and thereby exposed a need to provide better mentorship, training, and early selection of potential replacements for college executives. The purpose of this study was to determine the nature and extent of the relationships between the independent variables (mentorship, leadership training, and time in the position as dean) and the dependent variable (demonstrated leadership of academic deans in community colleges). A popular approach that describes this dynamic is Graen and Uhl-Bien's leader–member exchange theory, which was operationalized by the LMX–7 instrument. A causal–comparative design was used …

Factors Contributing To Business Process Reengineering Implementation Success, Mary Elizabeth Dell'aquila

Walden Dissertations and Doctoral Studies

Organizational leaders continue to use business process reengineering (BPR) as a process improvement methodology even though BPR implementations have had low success rates. To increase BPR success rates, organizational leaders must understand what specific factors contribute to successful BPR implementations. Grounded in Lewin's field theory, the purpose of this nonexperimental, cross-sectional study was to examine the impact of gender and education on BPR. Data collection consisted of nonprobability convenience sample of 122 members from the professional networking website LinkedIn and the professional organizational website American Society for Quality. Data were gathered from a 6-point Likert-type scale survey instrument based on …

Strategies Hospital Leaders Use In Implementing Electronic Medical Record Systems, Shaunette Miller

Walden Dissertations and Doctoral Studies

Some hospital leaders lacked strategies for implementing electronic medical record (EMR) systems. The purpose of this case study was to explore successful strategies that hospital leaders used in implementing EMR systems. The target population consisted of hospital leaders who succeeded in implementing EMR systems in a single healthcare organization located in the Los Angeles, California region. The conceptual framework used was Kotter's (1996) eight-step process for leading change, and data were collected from face-to-face recorded interviews with 5 participants and from company documents related to EMR design and development. Data were analyzed through methodological triangulation of data types, and exploring …

Introduction Of A Comprehensive Modified Early Warning Scoring System In A Large Rural Hospital, Beth A. Meade

DNP Projects

PURPOSE: To develop and test a comprehensive modified early warning scoring (MEWS) system for use on two medical-surgical-telemetry units in a large rural hospital in northeastern Kentucky; to educate and train nursing staff in utilization of a new MEWS system and early identification and management of clinical deterioration; and to determine nursing satisfaction regarding education, training, and use of a new MEWS system.

BACKGROUND: Adult medical-surgical patients are at risk for clinical deterioration. Rapid response systems and MEWS systems are strategies that have been employed to assist nursing staff in early identification and management of clinical deterioration. Testing of a …

Perception Is Reality: Change Leadership And Work Engagement, Johnette (Jay) Caulfield, Anthony Senger

Management Faculty Research and Publications

Purpose

The purpose of this paper is to investigate how employee perceptions of change and leadership might impact work engagement following major organizational change.

Design/methodology/approach

Social media invited US workers recently experiencing major organizational change to anonymously complete a web-based survey requesting qualitative and quantitative responses. Values-based coding and thematic analysis were used to explore qualitative data. Hierarchical and linear regression, and bootstrapped mediation were used to analyze quantitative data.

Findings

Analysis of qualitative data identified employees’ perceptions of ideal change and ideal leadership were well supported in the change leadership literature. Analysis of quantitative data indicated that employee perceptions …