Digital Commons Network^™

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 …

Leadership Practices That Improve The Workplace Safety Environment, Nathan Nomore Chikono

Walden Dissertations and Doctoral Studies

Inadequate leadership is the reason workplace accidents in the mining industry remain high, making the industry one of the most hazardous operational activities in the world. Unsafe leadership practices may result in death or injury to workers. A group of 30 mining company leaders from 3 gold mines in Zimbabwe revealed an exception to these hazardous practices, however, notable through their outstanding safety improvement records. To better understand what these practitioners were doing, this multicase study research design explored their strategies to improve the workplace safety environment in the mines. Data were collected using audio-recorded semistructured interviews and document analyses. …

How Does Organizational Culture Impact Rn Engagement, Veronica Anntionette Ruffin-Ellis

Walden Dissertations and Doctoral Studies

Lack of RN engagement in the acute care setting can result in poor staffing, nursing shortages, increased stress levels for nurses and decreased morale. When nurses are not engaged in their work setting, quality of care suffers. A wide range of literature focuses on the importance of RN engagement; however, few health care organizations have taken the initiative to implement programs that foster RN engagement, demonstrating a gap in practice. This study examined the relationship between the levels of RN engagement and their perceptions of their organizational culture. Kolcaba's humanistic approach to meeting the needs of RN staff was used …

Servant Leadership And Humility In Police Promotional Practices, Kevin C. Barker

Walden Dissertations and Doctoral Studies

The improper promotion of police officers who lack effective police management skills results in poor supervisor/employee relationships and could have a further negative effect on the relationships between officers and citizens. Yet, few police departments utilize leadership testing in making promotional decisions. The purpose of this quantitative, descriptive study was to explore whether servant leadership, from the perspective of police officers, is viewed as an effective leadership strategy. In particular, the focus of this study was on the element of humility as part of servant leadership theory. Data were collected by distributing the Servant Leadership Survey (SLS) to 2,794 police …

Stakeholders' Perceptions Of Ethical Leadership: Implications For Organizational Success, Adejobi Sunday Odeneye

Walden Dissertations and Doctoral Studies

Leaders focus on the attainment of personal and organizational goals without consideration for the needs of stakeholders, especially those of followers. Ethical leadership (EL) studies' focus on leaders' perspectives represented a research gap that necessitated this study. Followers are the least researched among stakeholders; thus, this study explored EL from their viewpoints. Stakeholder theory, social learning theory, eudaimonia, and utilitarianism were the conceptual frameworks that guided this study. Twenty participants drawn from followers in a public organization in New Jersey were questioned about their experiences and expectations of EL using open-ended interview questions. Participants with shared experiences were selected based …

Trust In Union Leaders And Decline In Union Membership, Seth Ellery Francois

Walden Dissertations and Doctoral Studies

As of 2015, public opinion of the ethical and honesty standards of labor union leaders was low, with 36% of the public reporting a low or very low rating, and only 18% reporting high or very high ratings. Grounded in leadership behavioral theory, the purpose of this correlation study was to examine the relationship between union members' perceptions of union leadership consideration, union members' perceptions of leadership initiation of structure, and union members' perceptions of leadership trust. Forty-four union members completed a brief demographic survey, the Leader Behavior Description Questionnaire XII, and the Trust and Employee Satisfaction Survey. The results …

Exploring Which Leadership Styles Are Effective With Millennial Employees, Samuel Long

Walden Dissertations and Doctoral Studies

Managers struggle with how to motivate the Millennial generation employee. Research that explores which leadership styles are effective with Millennial generation employees is limited. The purpose of this study was to explore what leadership styles are effective with Millennial employees, which led to a key research question: Which leadership styles facilitate employee motivation for the Millennial generation? The theoretical framework was based on the social learning, transformational leadership, and servant leadership theories, which were used to identify effective leadership styles. In the theoretical framework, different motivation theories were presented to establish the context in which motivation was discussed. This quantitative …

Leadership Strategies For Employee Retention In Small Lodging Establishments, Adi Raz

Walden Dissertations and Doctoral Studies

In 2015, turnover in the lodging accommodations and food services industry was 72.1%, accounting for 6.5 million incidents of voluntary quits. The purpose of this correlational study was to examine the relationship between antecedent independent variables and employee turnover in bed and breakfasts (B&Bs) and inns. The independent variables were ethical leadership, organizational support, coworker support, work-family conflict, employee empowerment, employee voice, and work schedule. Organizational support theory provided the theoretical framework for the study. Survey data were collected from 105 B&B and inn managers in California, Arizona, Oregon, and Washington. Data analysis included descriptive statistics, a correlation matrix, chi-square …

Effective Communication And Teamwork Improve Patient Safety, Helene M. Anderson

Walden Dissertations and Doctoral Studies

Work environment influences the effectiveness of care for patients in any healthcare setting. It is even more important in settings such as the neonatal ICU (NICU) where this project took place. When the environment is not healthy, communication may suffer and result in poor patient outcomes and, family, patient, and staff dissatisfaction. The purpose of this quality improvement project was to understand how the implementation of the TeamSTEPPS program, for nurses in the NICU, could impact the safety culture as measured by the AACN Healthy Work Environment (HWE) tool. Lewin's professional practice change theory and the AHRQ change model were …

Servant Leadership And Its Effect On Employee Job Satisfaction And Turnover Intent, Dennis M. Mitterer

Walden Dissertations and Doctoral Studies

Experts expect a shortage of more than 900,000 nurses by 2022, according to the United States Bureau of Labor Statistics Employment Projections. Turnover in nursing contributes significantly to the shortage and often results from poor leadership of nurse managers. The purpose of this quantitative study was to investigate how servant leadership behaviors affected the psychological state and behavioral response of staff nurses as reflected by job satisfaction and turnover intention. Specifically, the research question addressed whether servant leadership positively contributes to the psychological states and the behaviors of staff nurses leading to greater job satisfaction. The study design was correlational, …

Leadership Development For The Formal Nurse Leader, Lori Neu

Walden Dissertations and Doctoral Studies

Nurse leaders are essential to the advancement of healthcare because of their ability to bridge the gap of knowledge between clinical practice and the business of healthcare. Developing nurse managers is imperative to the future of nursing given their influential role in healthcare. The central topic of exploration in the project was how nurse managers use the American Organization of Nurse Executives (AONE) Nurse Manger Inventory Tool to assess their management skills after exposure to the leadership development program currently available to them. In this project, the novice to expert theory was used to evaluate the existing leadership development program …

Strategies Used To Retain Talent In The Insurance Industry, Jamie Edward King

Walden Dissertations and Doctoral Studies

Employee engagement levels are critical to organizations that desire to retain a workforce

that innovates, produces positive results, and stays committed to the organization. The

purpose of this single case study was to explore employee engagement strategies used by

business leaders to retain talent. The conceptual framework that guided this study was

Deci's self-determination theory. Data collection occurred through semistructured

interviews with four participants within the insurance industry having three or more years

of management experience and having a positive reputation for engaging employees. The

participating company is located in central Indiana. Participants answered 10 open-ended

questions related to employee …

Influence Of Leadership Style On Leaders' Transition From Private To Public Sector, Lorinda Lee

Walden Dissertations and Doctoral Studies

Leadership can improve the quality of work through motivation or degrade work through pressure. Leadership effectiveness depends on style and work environment. Differences in work environment may create challenges for leaders transitioning from private to public organizations. The purpose of this quantitative correlational study was to examine the relationship between leadership styles and ease of transition from private to public organizations. The study included the full-range leadership model as the theoretical foundation. Seventy-seven public sector employees in Ontario, Canada, participated in a survey to measure leadership style and effectiveness of transition from private to public sector. Results of multiple linear …

A Phenomenological Study On The Leadership Experience Of Teleworking Leaders, Patrice Ann Louie

Walden Dissertations and Doctoral Studies

Technological advances and the desire for employees to improve work-life balance have contributed to the growth of telework. Finding and retaining effective leadership talent are critical needs of organizations. Recruitment and retention of leadership talent can be supported by access to perquisites such as the ability to telework. Although research on teleworking employees in general, and virtual team leaders, can inform the industry, few leadership models exist that specifically help understand what it takes to be a teleworking leader. The purpose of this phenomenological study of teleworking leaders filled this gap by examining the experiences of 12 teleworking leaders with …

Nonprofit Sustainability: How Does Departure Of A Founding Leader Impact Outcomes?, Lauren Mcindoo

Walden Dissertations and Doctoral Studies

There is a high failure rate among local community-based nonprofit human service organizations in New York State, which may lead to service gaps in communities. Increasing sustainability may reduce these gaps and allow nonprofits to continue following the first leadership transition. Using McGregor's human resource theory as the guide, the purpose of this phenomenological study was to explore the relationship between leadership succession planning and how departure of founding leaders impacts the sustainability of nonprofits. Data were collected through interviews with 16 leaders that included departing founding leaders, successors, and 2 board members in 4 local community-based nonprofit human service …

Strategies To Improve Job Satisfaction And Reduce Voluntary Employee Turnover Of Nurses, Stewart Proctor

Walden Dissertations and Doctoral Studies

Job satisfaction and employee turnover affect the health care industry in the form of overworked staff, inadequate health care, and loss of profits. In 2015, the United States health care industry had a shortage of over 923,000 registered nurses. Health care organizations lose an estimated $1.4 to $2.1 billion each year because of registered nurse (RN) turnover. These factors indicate that some managers lack the strategies to increase job satisfaction and reduce RN turnover. The purpose of this single case study was to use the Herzberg 2-factor theory to explore strategies 5 health care leaders use to improve nurses' job …

Transformational Leadership In Quality Management, Hanan Omar Omar

Graduate Student Theses, Dissertations, & Professional Papers

Businesses of all types seek to combine the most appropriate leadership styles with the best management practices. This paper reviews the principles of Transformational Leadership along with the ideals of Quality Management and evaluates the effects Transformational Leadership can have on a Quality Management system.

Drawing from numerous leadership and management textbooks, journal articles, and online sources, various aspects of Transformational Leadership and how it relates to other leadership styles were examined. Also reviewed was the development and growth of Quality Management, and the various aspects of a quality management program, with a detailed look at three of the major …

The Use Of Email And The Relationships Between Education Leaders And Followers, Reda Haddouch

Graduate Student Theses, Dissertations, & Professional Papers

Through the use of a survey questionnaire and descriptive statistics to analyze the collected data, this quantitative research study sought to determine whether there is a relationship between the use of email as a form of communication and the quality of the leader-follower relationship in organizations. Two electronic survey questionnaires were designed based on questions derived from three already existing and pretested research instruments. Data were collected from faculty (n=28) and undergraduate students (n=92) at two higher education public institutions in the United States.

The predictor variables included age, gender, level of education, frequency of email use, responsiveness to emails, …

Leadership Within Occupational Therapy : A Mixed Methods Study, Scott Truskowski

Occupational Therapy Program Student Theses, Dissertations and Capstones

PURPOSE: This sequential embedded mixed methods study first identified the ways in which occupational therapy leaders experience leadership, then explored the ways in which those same leaders utilized their professional training as occupational therapists within their practice of leadership. METHODS: The twelve participants held formal leadership positions in either academia, clinical practice, or professional associations. The ecology of human performance model of practice was utilized to frame the research study. Data was collected through an initial interview with all 12 participants and through leadership artifacts and a second interview with six participants. RESULTS: Three themes resulted from thematic analysis of …

An Action Plan For Youth Involvement Leadership At Francois In Martinique, Louise R. Nocandy

Doctor of Ministry Projects

Problem

Youth involvement leadership in Seventh-day Adventist local churches remains an issue of concern. Part of the vision of the Seventh-day Adventist World Church and the local church is to encourage the youth to be faithful disciples of Christ and to teach, train, equip, and involve them in the Seventh-day Adventist local churches. However, the Annual Local Churches Strategic Plan is not intentionally oriented towards youth involvement leadership and the Annual Youth Strategic Plans are generally not based on the vision for the entire church. This gap reveals a lack of partnership between the youth department and most other departments …

Many Hats, One Head: Considering Professional Identity In Academic Library Directorship, Maura A. Smale

Publications and Research

No abstract provided.

Always A Novice: Feminist Learning And Leadership Practice, Maura A. Smale

Publications and Research

Learning about the theory and practice of intersectional feminism played an important role in my development as a librarian and a library director, and the ongoing study of feminism continues to be integral to my leadership work. Th e definition of feminism that I prefer is the concise and powerful statement by bell hooks: “feminism seeks to end sexism, sexist exploitation, and oppression.” While I did not attend a library and information science graduate program with the express intention of becoming a library director, that is where I find myself. And while I have always considered myself a feminist, I …

Boundary Spanning, Networking, And Sensemaking/Sensegiving: How Career Services Directors Enact Mid-Level Leadership, Linda Kent Davis

Graduate Doctoral Dissertations

This study seeks to understand higher education leadership overall by exploring how mid-level leadership is enacted by career services directors. Given that higher education institutions are facing a wide range of challenges that require an equally wide range of skills to address them, colleges and universities may need to become more inclusive regarding who contributes to institutional leadership. Mid-level leadership is defined in this study as a process of social interaction that originates with a middle manager and that cuts across functional areas and/or hierarchical levels to impact institutional goals. Three research questions frame the study: 1) How do career …

The Role Of The Secondary Principal As A Transformational Leader In High Performing, Project Based Learning Schools In California, Daniel P. Ching

Dissertations

ABSTRACT

The Role of the Secondary Principal as a Transformational Leader in High Performing, Project Based Learning Schools in California

by Daniel Ching

Purpose: California (CA) schools are facing increased pressure to implement new content standards and perform well on the California Assessment of Student Performance and Progress (CAASPP). The new standards focus on higher level thinking skills, technology, and skills that cross multiple content areas. These expectations are aligned with project based learning (PBL) as an instructional model. However, there are very few models for PBL schools that are considered high performing. To implement PBL in high schools requires …

The Impact Of Authentic Leadership Behavior On Employee Engagement And Organizational Ethical Culture In Nigeria, Adayehi B. Peter

Human Resource Development Theses and Dissertations

Authenticity in leadership is an old phenomenon that has recently sparked a new research interest in management and the human resource development (HRD) literature (Peus, Wesche, Streicher, Braun, & Frey, 2012). An upswing in highly publicized corporate scandals, management malfeasance, and broader societal challenges facing public and private organizations has contributed to the recent attention placed on authenticity and authentic leadership (Walumbwa, Avolio, Gardner, Wernsing, & Peterson, 2008). Authentic leadership behavior allows leaders and organizations meet the raised expectations of fairness, morality, and social responsibility held by employees and organizational stakeholders (Kiersch, 2012).

The primary purpose of this study was …

Gatekeeping In Crisis Communication: An Exploration Of Leadership In The Press Conference, Carrie A. Boettcher

Proceedings from the Document Academy

Community leaders significantly influence the community's perception of and response to an emergency. This study explored the initial press conferences and communication efforts by community leaders as gatekeepers through an investigation of two large-scale disasters in the United States. Grounded in Patrick Wilson's call to a "reorientation toward the functional" and "to the point of the user," this study explores the initial communication efforts by Mayor Rudolf Giuliani immediately following the attacks on the World Trade Center in New York City on September 11, 2001, and by Mayor Ray Nagin in response to landfall of Hurricane Katrina in August 2005, …

Pastoral Leadership Experiences And Organizational Outcomes In Contemporary Catholic Communities: The Clerical Perspective, Justin Mathias Udomah

Theses & Dissertations

This interpretive qualitative study explored pastoral leadership experiences of 8 Catholic priests serving in the Central Texas area of the United States. The purpose was to understand what their pastoral experiences meant for them as religious leaders and how their various perspectives would portray pastoral leadership in the 21st century Church. Participants were Catholic priests with 5 to 25 years’ experience in the ministry serving as fulltime pastors in parishes. Data collection was through open-ended interviews conducted in conducive locations. One general question was asked that enabled participants to tell their stories about their pastoral experiences since ordination. These were …

How The Transformational Leadership Style Of Superintendents Is Associated With Employees’ Organizational Commitment Via The Mediating Effect Of Extrinsic Motivation Within Nursing Homes For Disabled People In Taiwan, Ling Hui Yang

Theses & Dissertations

In 2013, about 4.8% of Taiwanese people qualified as having a disability; a disability is classified as having mild, moderate or severe, and in some cases, extremely severe intellectual disabilities or having multiple disabilities (Ministry of the Interior, Department of Statistics, 2013; Tseng, 2013). In 2013, there were 254 nursing homes for people with disabilities that were registered with the Social and Family Administration at the Ministry of Health and Welfare in Taiwan (Lee et al., 2013; Tseng, 2013). The current problems in Taiwan’s nursing homes for the disabled include overworked employees, employees with a poor work-life balance and excessive …

Understanding The Concept Of "Inspiring Professors" In Mexico, Ivone Juárez Barco

Student Scholarship

There is only 14% of graduates that have had professors who cared for them as persons, made them excited about learning and encouraged them to pursue their dreams, reported a study from Gallup and Purdue University (2015). The purpose of this qualitative research was to generate a grounded theory to comprehend the concept of “inspiring professor” in Mexico. The question to be answered which originated this research was “what are the characteristics of professors who inspire students?”. Thirty- nine professors were interviewed, 19 of them were identified as “truly inspiring” by students. The findings that distinguish inspiring professors are: they …

Cross-Cultural Comparison Of Servant Leadership In The United States And Latin America, Ismael Merino

Undergraduate Honors Theses

In this study, the subject matter evaluated is the difference between the United States and Latin America concerning the practice and acceptance of servant leadership. This research compares the practice and the acceptance of servant leadership between the United States of America and Latin America. In order to do this, a cross-cultural comparison was conducted between these two groups. The objective was to find the differences in the leadership styles of these two groups and subsequently analyze the results. The Hofstede’s cultural dimensions were used to be able to compare cultural differences, and understand why these differences appear in the …