Digital Commons Network^™

Core Leader Competencies For Implementing Sustainability Strategies In Small And Medium-Sized Enterprises, Alan William Jackson

Walden Dissertations and Doctoral Studies

Because small- and medium-sized enterprises contribute as much as 70% of the world's pollution, small-business leaders need to develop and implement strategic approaches to sustainable development. Global sustainable development spending may reach $5 trillion by 2030. Guided by leadership competency theory, this qualitative multiple case study explored the core competencies of 5 independent small business leaders who had successfully implemented environmentally sustainable initiatives in their manufacturing firms in eastern Nebraska. Interviews and company planning documents including strategic business plans were gathered, coded, and cross-case analyzed, and member checking was periodically conducted to strengthen the trustworthiness of interpretations. Thematic analysis identified …

Leadership Styles And Learning For Performance Within Commercial Banks In Kenya, Teckie Michelle Karoki

Walden Dissertations and Doctoral Studies

The literature indicates that leaders influence the establishment of organizational learning culture (OLC) by the application of transformational (TFO), transactional (TAC), and passive-avoidant (PAV) styles. Further, the literature links OLC to the financial performance of organizations by leadership involvement in establishing learning organizations. However, the manner in which the practice of OLC occurs and the relationship of OLC with TFO, TAC, and PAV is unclear, as is the link between OLC and financial performance (ROA); especially for growing economies outside North America. The purpose of this study was to address this gap in the literature through a quantitative study of …

Strategies To Retain Employees In The Insurance Industry, Marilyn Martin

Walden Dissertations and Doctoral Studies

Employee turnover costs can be 100%-200% of the total compensation package of an employee who leaves the organization, depending upon their position and experience. Leaders in the highly competitive insurance industry should emphasize the importance to retain talented employees with managers in an effort to minimize costs and diminish productivity levels associated with employee turnover. The purpose of this qualitative multiple case study was to explore strategies to retain employees used by insurance managers in the Charlotte, NC metropolitan area. The conceptual framework included Herzberg's motivator-hygiene theory to explore motivator factors that encourage employee retention. Seminstructured interviews were conducted with …

Ethical Behavior, Leadership, And Decision Making, Emmett Emery

Walden Dissertations and Doctoral Studies

Ethical principles applied in organizations can broaden individual and corporate priorities beyond profit and shareholder enrichment. Ethical factors may influence leaders to make sound decisions to protect the organization from unethical behavior. The purpose of this study was to examine if a correlation exists between the independent variables of leadership and decision making, and the dependent variable of ethical behavior. Drucker's theory of management served as the theoretical framework. Data collection involved 2 survey instruments, the Authentic Leadership Questionnaire and the Moral Potency Questionnaire from 98 participants from retail businesses in the southwestern United States. The model as a whole …

Teachers Perceptions Of Barriers To Universal Design For Learning, Mary Elizabeth Jordan Anstead

Walden Dissertations and Doctoral Studies

Universal Design for Learning (UDL) has been identified as a contemporary instructional model for promoting inclusion and equitable opportunities for diverse and struggling learners. However, research regarding teachers' perceptions of UDL and its effective implementation is limited, making planning, implementing, and providing professional development difficult for administrators. Guided by the constructivist views of Vygotsky and Piaget, this qualitative case study was designed to understand teachers' knowledge and perceptions of how UDL can be used to promote equitable inclusive instruction, implementation barriers, educational applications for UDL, and perceived needs to implement UDL. Participants were teachers who had implemented UDL from a …

University Presidents And The Role Of Fundraising At Private Liberal Arts Universities, Greeley Robert Myers

Walden Dissertations and Doctoral Studies

In the last decade, private liberal arts universities have experienced financial difficulties requiring the need to raise private funds. The financial viability of these universities depends on the ability of university presidents to raise money; however, challenges remain to carry out this task. To increase fundraising effectiveness at the university being examined, this case study identified skills and practices of 10 university presidents who achieved fundraising success during their tenure, such as the completion of a capital campaign or the growth of the university's endowment. Transformational leadership style traits were considered to determine their alignment with the successful fundraising behaviors …

Reducing Employee Turnover In Retail Environments: An Analysis Of Servant Leadership Variables, Beatriz Rodriguez

Walden Dissertations and Doctoral Studies

In a competitive retail environment, retail store managers (RSMs) need to retain retail customer service employees (RCSE) to maximize sales and reduce employee turnover costs. Servant leadership (SL) is a preferred leadership style within customer service organizations; however, there is disagreement regarding the usefulness of SL in the retail industry. The theoretical framework for this correlational study is Greenleaf's SL theory. Seventy-four of 109 contacted human resources managers (HRMs) from a Fortune 500 United States retailer, with responsibility for evaluating leadership competencies of the RSMs they support, completed Liden's Servant Leadership Questionnaire. RCSE turnover rates were available from company records. …

Assessing Nurse Manager Competencies In A Military Hospital, Ruby O. Anderson

Walden Dissertations and Doctoral Studies

Military health care organizations need competent frontline managers with knowledge and skills to manage health care complexity and ensure evidence-based practice. With systematic, planned turn over of military managers, more civilian managers are needed to fill permanent positions in military hospitals. The purpose of this project was to provide a better understanding of the competencies perceived by nurse managers at a military medical center and whether they differed by military or civilian status. The American Organization of Nurse Executives competency model and framework provided the theoretical framework for the project. The design was nonexperimental, with an observational, descriptive, cross-sectional approach. …

The Role Of Strategic Leadership In Banking Profitability, Joseph Ochien'g Witts

Walden Dissertations and Doctoral Studies

A study on corporate leadership failure in America by Vugt and Ronay has shown that the failure rate of business leadership in meeting profitability targets is as high as 60%. Most organizations fail to attain profitability targets due to limited experience and exposure to strategic leadership. The aim of this single case study design was to explore the role of strategic leadership in banking profitability. Twelve purposively selected senior bankers and members of the board of directors with over 10 years of experience in banking and profitability and 3 years in the top management team participated in the study in …

Perceptions Of Leader Emotional Intelligence And Subordinate Turnover Intentions In Substance Abuse Treatment Centers, Suzanne L. Jafferian

Walden Dissertations and Doctoral Studies

Substance abuse is a persistent social problem contributing to family disruption; domestic abuse; school failure; and financial costs relating to criminal prosecution, incarceration, treatment, and lost productivity and wages. Substance abuse is amenable to treatment, including psychotherapy. A client-therapist relationship is broken if the therapist leaves the organization; therefore, employee retention is especially important in treatment centers. Employee retention has been studied, but how it is affected by supervisees' perceptions of their managers' emotional intelligence has been a neglected area. The purpose of this nonexperimental, correlational study was to determine the relationship between employee turnover intention and perceived emotional intelligence …

Employee Turnover In Frontline Hospital Staff, Jeanne Lynn Wilson

Walden Dissertations and Doctoral Studies

Employee turnover is costly in service-intensive organizations where employee-customer interactions directly affect the organization's success. The purpose of this multiple case study was to identify strategies community hospital leaders use to reduce frontline support employee turnover. The study population consisted of leaders of a community hospital in southeast Louisiana. The conceptual framework for this study is Kahn's model of employee engagement. Semistructured interviews were conducted with eight hospital leaders in southeast Louisiana who were selected through census sampling. Interview transcripts were analyzed and coded following Yin's case study analysis process. Methodological triangulation allowed for a comparison of the findings of …

Executive Management Methods To Prepare Employees For Future Positions, Pheobie Latossa Coleman

Walden Dissertations and Doctoral Studies

Creating successful leaders is one of the challenges that social services organizations are facing. Employees may lack essential managerial skills to become productive leaders, and some managers may lack viable succession planning methods for preparing employees for leadership positions. The purpose of this case study was to explore methods that executive managers use to prepare employees for leadership positions. Path-goal theory and transformational leadership represent the conceptual framework that grounded this study. Semistructured interviews were conducted with 10 executive managers in the social services industry within southwest Georgia with experiences and skills specific to implementing successful succession planning. Company archives …

Education Program For Nurses Working In An Immigration Detention Facility, Dr. Tiney Elizabeth Ray

Walden Dissertations and Doctoral Studies

Nursing response to medical emergencies has been an ongoing issue in immigration detention centers. Lack of teamwork and poor communication with medical and security staff have resulted in detainees sustaining injuries during medical emergencies. This project was developed to persuade Immigration and Customs Enforcement Health Service Corps (IHSC) leaders to consider piloting the TeamSTEPPS emergency response curriculum for nurses working in the immigration detention center. Tuckman and Jensen's model of group development will provide guidance to IHSC leaders in understanding the transformational stages of forming a successful team. TeamSTEPPS will address gaps in emergency health care competency by improving collaboration, …

Examining How Knowledge Managers Facilitate The Process Of Knowledge Creation In Organizations, Dean Allen Call

Walden Dissertations and Doctoral Studies

The problem addressed in this study was how knowledge managers facilitated the process of knowledge creation. Researchers identified this area as important because it begins to fill the literature gap in the dynamics surrounding knowledge creation. Using 4 research questions developed from the theory of dynamic organizational knowledge creation, the study investigated how knowledge managers facilitated and supported knowledge creation, promoted knowledge formation, and accounted for knowledge gaps. The theory was selected to provide a framework and an analytical perspective on the process of knowledge creation. A qualitative research design was used to learn from a sample of 12 Chief …

Senior Army Women's Leader Behaviors And Their Civilian Career Transition, Sharon R. Hamilton

Walden Dissertations and Doctoral Studies

Female retired Army colonels (FRACs) have significant potential to contribute to civilian organizations. To take advantage of that talent, it is important to have a better understanding of their behaviors based on their dual identities as women and leaders. The purpose of this qualitative case study was to understand the under researched factors accounting for the development of FRACs' leader behaviors and the transfer of those behaviors to civilian careers. The 4 underlying meta categories of leadership behavior formed the conceptual framework. The theory of planned behavior was used to explore potential influences on FRAC leader behavior development. The 3 …

Staff Perceptions Of The Effect Of The Leader In Me On Student Motivation And Peer Relationships In Elementary School, Charlene Tidd

Walden Dissertations and Doctoral Studies

Staff and student surveys at Lane Elementary School (pseudonym) confirm that students lack motivation to complete class work and often struggle to interact appropriately with one another. Similar concerns are reported across the United States as indicated by national Gallup Poll results on student motivation, peer relationships, and feelings of connectedness in schools. The purpose of this qualitative case study was to determine if elementary school personnel believe than an initiative called The Leader In Me has had a positive impact on student motivation and peer relationships. Underpinning this study were Perrin's student motivation theory and research on social and …

Nigerian Banking Governance, Leadership Style, And Performance During The 2008-2009 Financial Crisis, Adeola Oluwayemi Agbato

Walden Dissertations and Doctoral Studies

The 2008-2009 global financial crisis of financial systems negatively affected about 30% of Nigerian banks, leading to profitability issues. The profitability issues led to operational challenges, downsizing, and liquidation of some banks. The purpose of this correlational study was to examine the relationship between corporate governance structure, perception of leadership style, and bank performance. This study was grounded in agency theory and used survey and archival data. Survey data were collected from 11 participants employed by commercial banks located in Nigeria, using the Multifaceted Leadership Questionnaire. Corporate governance and bank performance data were collected from annual bank reports. The model …

The Relationship Between Hospital Leadership Activities And Clinical Quality Outcomes In Iowa, Sarah Pavelka

Walden Dissertations and Doctoral Studies

The Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services have been working with hospital networks across the United States to improve health care through education and training on clinical best practices and leadership frameworks. Some organizations have failed to reach the high-quality standards of care expected and have adverse patient care outcomes. The purpose of the study was to determine the relationship between leadership actions, funding type, and clinical care outcomes in participating Partners for Patients hospital programs in Iowa. The secondary variable data were provided from a Partnership for Patients contractor, through the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services Organizational Assessment …

The Influence Of Nursing Academic Leadership On Faculty Retention, Carol Turrin Turrin

Walden Dissertations and Doctoral Studies

The critical nursing faculty shortage in the United States affects the ability of nursing schools to train an adequate number of nurses to meet increasing health care demands. Researchers have focused on the nursing faculty shortage; however, insufficient information exists on the relational influence leadership has on faculty retention. The research problem addressed in this study was the lack of information identifying how and in what ways leadership influences retention and intent to stay in academia. The purpose of this phenomenological study was to explore the perceptual views of current faculty, using the leader-member exchange theory. Focusing on baccalaureate nursing …

Managing Hiv/Aids Outreach Strategies In The Black Church: A Case Study, Angela Gail Hicks-Bennett

Walden Dissertations and Doctoral Studies

The problem under investigation is that there is little research about how church leaders develop and design HIV/AIDS education and support programs in selected counties of New York State. The gap in the literature is that there is little known about how church leaders support the educational process for the HIV/AIDS Black community in New York state. The theory of normative decision making was the primary conceptual framework for this research. The purpose of this qualitative exploratory multi-case study was to discover how church leaders managed their HIV/AIDS outreach program strategies. The overarching question asked what programs and education do …

Claiming A Seat At The Table: Inclusive Paths To Leadership In Academic Libraries And Beyond, Megan Hodge, Patricia Sobczak

VCU Libraries Faculty and Staff Presentations

The topic of leadership development in academic libraries is recent area of interest for the profession. There is nascent scholarship in the areas of how to prepare librarians to advance into a first formal management position as well as in the area of leadership capacity-building for librarians and library organizations. This poster combines two independent research projects with the common theme of leadership development in academic libraries. It is not often that separate scholarship integrates effectively and cogently, but these studies coalesced in such an impactful way that all parties felt the need to share the content as well as …

How To Cultivate Compassion As A Tool For Everyday Leadership, Paula Webster

Mindfulness Studies Theses

In this two-party thesis study, the need for compassion in our world is presented up front. Upon this foundation of the need for compassion, the building blocks that together comprise compassionate everyday leader are placed: leaders and leadership, mindful leadership, defining the everyday leader, mindfulness, compassion, and how to cultivate compassion. The evolution of broad concepts of leadership are reviewed, from a control-based approach to a more mindful leadership, social-intelligence based approach. In a mindful leadership approach, qualities of self-awareness are cultivated within and then manifest in relation to the leadership process. Everyday leadership is a more expansive and inclusive …

“How Do You Define Yourself?” Mobilizing Leadership In The Graduate Employee Union Movement, Kathleen Ragon

Master's Theses

Social movement scholars agree that leadership plays a crucial role in the emergence, structure, and outcomes of social movement organizations (SMOs) and is thus an indispensable area of research. The vast majority of theories of leadership to date have been developed in contexts where participants’ movement identities are relatively stable (e.g., gender, sexual, or occupational) and engagement in the site of contestation will be long-term (e.g., workplace or nation state). However, the recent proliferation of graduate student employee unions poses a challenge to this literature because graduate students’ employment is by its very nature temporary and variable; graduate assistantship appointments …

The Challenges Of Leading Change In Health-Care Delivery From The Frontline, Vivienne Byers

Articles

Aim: The public sector is facing turbulent times and this challenges nurses, who are expected to serve both patient interests and the efficiency drives of their organisations. In the context of implementing person-centred health policy, this paper explores the evolving role of front-line nurses as leaders and champions of change.

Background: Nurses can be seen to have some autonomy in health-care delivery. However, they are subject to systems of social control. In implementing person- centred policy, nurses can be seen to be doing the best they can within a constrained environment.

Method: A survey of nursing practice in person-centred health-policy …

How Attachment Style Correlates To Symptoms Of Burnout For Direct Care Staff In A Company That Serves People With Developmental And/Or Intellectual Disabilities, Shantel Lee Pickar

School of Education and Leadership Student Capstone Theses and Dissertations

The purpose of this study is to find if adult attachment style is correlated to depersonalization, lowered sense of accomplishment, and/or emotional exhaustion for direct-care employees and supervisors in one company that serves people with developmental and/or intellectual disabilities. A thorough review of literature was completed on this topic as well as a voluntary, unpaid employee survey which determined propensity for burnout as well as attachment style. Data was gathered and analyzed and results are shared in the context of this study.

The Experience Of Influence Among Youth Leaders, Kelly Moguel

Department of Agricultural Leadership, Education, and Communication: Dissertations, Theses, and Student Research

While the term “leadership” can be difficult to define, one term that is commonly seen in its association is “influence”. While the field of leadership has empirically identified several outcomes associated with adult influence (i.e., greater organizational performance, higher subordinate satisfaction, higher subordinate engagement), little is known about influence in youth leaders. The purpose of this phenomenological study was to gain a better understanding of how youth leaders experience influence. Twenty-nine in-depth, semi-structured interviews from fifth- 12^th-grade students in a leadership mentoring program called Nebraska Human Resources Institute (NHRI) at the University of Nebraska-Lincoln were conducted to ascertain …

The Impact Of Employee Engagement On Job Performance And Organisational Commitment In The Egyptian Banking Sector, Dr. Maha Ahmed Zaki Dajani

Business Administration

During the past two decades, employee engagement became a very popular managerial construct. Organisations use different engagement building tools in order to stay competitive and improve performance. Though there is an increasing contribution in human resource consulting agencies on the concept of employee engagement, yet there is a shortage of academic studies on that construct, especially in emerging economies countries. This engagement gap grew more in importance amidst the waves of ongoing recession and resource scarcity battles prevailing in the Middle Eastern Region, in general, and in Egypt in particular. This is an exploratory study that aims to identify the …

Perspectives Of Hispanic Men Who Overcame The Odds To Become Senior Leaders, Esequiel Jose Mora

Theses & Dissertations

Driven by the rapid growth of the Hispanic population in the United States, ethnic minorities will become the new majority group in the next 30 to 40 years. Yet, despite the substantial increase of Hispanics in this country, they remain underrepresented in senior leadership positions. This dissertation explored the perspectives of Hispanic male leaders to determine how they overcame barriers to successfully reach the senior leader levels. This topic is important for two reasons: (a) as U.S. businesses expand globally, they will need diverse leaders who can understand and relate to various cultures, and (b) with the increasing purchasing power …

Societal Leadership In Southeast Asia: National Landscapes, Challenges And Opportunities To Enhance Societal Impact, Institute For Societal Leadership

Institute of Societal Leadership Research Collection

This study draws its contents from the findings and insights that colleagues from the Institute for Societal Leadership have put together in the form of eleven Southeast Asian Country Insights Labs reports. The Country Insights Labs were undertaken to uncover the critical social issues facing leaders from business, government and civil society in each Southeast Asian country. During the visits to each country, ISL staff also investigated the challenges faced by civil society organisations (CSOs) such as philanthropic organisations, corporate foundations, non-governmental organisations (NGOs), activist groups, social enterprises and impact investment funders. This paper aggregates the background research and key …

Addressing Security Risks For Mobile Devices: What Higher Education Leaders Should Know, Casey J. Gordon

Department of Educational Administration: Dissertations, Theses, and Student Research

This qualitative study examined the topic of mobile device security at higher education institutions in the Midwestern United States. This study sought to answer the question of how higher education institutions have responded to threats to campus data security posed by mobile devices. It explored the questions of what institutions are doing currently, the policies and procedures they have in place, and what leaders should do in the future.

This research study consisted of four case studies, compiled through interviews with key Information Technology (IT) professionals and faculty at each of the four institutions studied as well as an examination …