Digital Commons Network^™

As A Leader Do You Choose To Be A Horse, Lemming Or Goose?, Ruby Kohl

Academic Leadership: The Online Journal (2003-2012)

Organizations are often compared to living organisms (Morgan, 2006). In nature, there are many examples of group organizations that demonstrate leadership patterns: herds, bands, families, mobs, colonies, prides, gaggles, flocks, schools, etc. Survival of a species is often based on the type of leadership nature has established for a particular species in a particular environment at a particular time or season.

An Examination Of Tension In The Space Between Leadership Philosophy And The Cultural Reality Of Schools, Lisa Starr

Academic Leadership: The Online Journal (2003-2012)

Diversity is what gives our society depth and arguably beauty but it also problematizes already complex social issues like the importance and value placed on the education. In part, this challenge exists because public education is founded on the “values and belief systems of the dominant cultural and linguistic class” (Goddard & Hart, 2007, p. 16) yet schools are a complex, heterogeneous weave of cultures (Murakami-Ramalho, 2008). According to Chambers (2003), Canadian students are “probably the most ethnically, racially, linguistically, and religiously diverse of any school population in the world” (p. 223). This is no less true in the United …

Exploring Principal Leadership Roles Within A Community Of Practice To Promote Science Performance Of English Language Learners, David Carrejo, Teresa Cortez, Judy Reinhartz

Academic Leadership: The Online Journal (2003-2012)

The world we live in continues to become more technologically advanced and educating youth to become productive citizens in an ever-changing global society is vital. The importance and necessity of educating an increasingly diverse student population has become a top priority for Pre-K-16 educators. To meet this challenge and set priorities for serving English Language Learners (ELLs), educators at all levels need to forge a clear vision and shared commitment for fostering “… a sense of belonging and community that inspires collaboration” among its members for the success of all students (Texas Association of School Administrators, 2008, p. 4).

Gendered Leadership Dynamics And Rural Community Development In Nigeria: The Case Study Of Iyaloja And Lyalaje Women Leaders In Ekiti State, Gadebo

Academic Leadership: The Online Journal (2003-2012)

Rural areas are usually referred to as small, inward-looking, and idyllic communities held together by kinship relations and supporting basic agricultural occupations (Ekong, 2003). The characteristic features that differentiate rural from urban areas include: size, particularly areas inhabited by the people, low population density, homogeneity, presence of few social classes, low standard of living, presence of few / no social amenities such as electricity, pipe-borne water, low social mobility, mainly agrarian in nature – producing the bulk of food consumed in urban areas and the attendant drifting of young able-men to cities in order to benefit from the urban resources …

Leadership In Higher Education: Handling Faculty Resistance To Technology Through Strategic Planning, Kelli Mcbride

Academic Leadership: The Online Journal (2003-2012)

People often recognize leadership in the concrete, mostly by identifying an effective or ineffective leader, but they have a much more difficult time explaining leadership in the abstract – what qualities result in transformational and visionary leadership. Often this lack of understanding does not surface until a crisis or challenge arises in an organization, when a gap occurs between what is and what should be. Higher education faces such challenges, and it needs transformational leadership, especially concerning faculty resistance to technology (Buckley, 2002; Hagner, 2000; Moore, Fowler, & Watson, 2007; Scott, 2003). As many organizations see online learning as their …

An Examination Of The Relationship Between Empowerment And Organizational Commitment, Gholamreza Jandaghi, Reza Borghei, Hasan Matin, Nasrin Dastani

Academic Leadership: The Online Journal (2003-2012)

A rapidly changing environment threatens the survival of many organizations. The global economy propelled by booming regional economies, new media and information technology, universal consumer cultures, emerging global standards, and opportunities for corporate cost-sharing, has dramatically changed the environment in which organizations exist today (Ohema,1998,p.17). The survival of many organizations is threatened, in part, by reluctance to adapt to the changing environment. “Ecology evolutionary theory suggests that uncertain, volatile environments will support diverse organizational forms and that the apparent winners will fluctuate from time to time as conditions change” ( Hannan and Freeman, 1989, p.27).

Leadership Dispositions: What Are They And Are They Essential To Good Leadership, Carroll Helm

Academic Leadership: The Online Journal (2003-2012)

George Orwell once wrote an intriguing and acclaimed short-story called The Shooting of an Elephant. The story takes place in the mid 1930’s in Moulmein, lower Burma. Orwell was a young police officer in the province that was still under British colonial rule. He describes in lurid detail how is pressured into killing a tame elephant that had escaped his trainer’s chains and was enjoying a day of freedom. Unfortunately, the elephant ravages a local market and a man is killed by the elephant. Over 2,000 Burmese were watching and waiting to see what he would do. What happens next …

Good Leadership For Top Performing Teams, Britta Sundberg

Theses and Graduate Projects

Finding good leaders is one of the biggest challenges a business faces. Companies need strong people that positively lead in good times and even more importantly during down times. Every organization will face challenges and it is how the leadership handles the situation that witl determine the success of the outcome. What behaviors do successful managers have that help them continue to perform in good times and in tough times, not allowing the tough times to destroy what they have worked towards? Accountability, leadership development and open communication are vital when leading a team. This thesis will look at these …

Leadership Philosophy And Practice Which Drive Improved Chemical Health Outcomes, Denise St. Peter Mcalpin

Theses and Graduate Projects

This research project is designed to identifo a relationship between a particular leadership style and the practice of leadership among outpatient chemical health treatment programs.

Client discharge outcome data obtained will help determine the most improved and the least irnproved treatment results specific to "use of chemicals" at the time of discharge.

The subjects will be asked to anonymously answer ten questions about leadership style, philosophy and practice in an attempt to determine if leadership plays a role in the client's outcorne measures.

Those surveyed will be asked to describe themselves using adjectives most associated with leadership theories developed by …

The Glass Ceiling Effect: A Pakistani Perspective, Shandana Shoaib, Romy Sajjad Khan, Sajjad Ahmad Khan

Business Review

The Glass Ceiling commonly refers to impediments to career growth and upward mobility in organizations owing to racial and gender biases. The study undertaken on this phenomenon has reflected different behavior patterns for different factors leading to the glass ceiling effect. This paper focuses specifically on gender and analyzes the behavior pattern of women in Pakistani society. We have also analyzed the impediments and pressures that have resulted in creating a Glass Ceiling for women in higher management.

The Impact Of Women Leaders Upon Organizational Performance, Humair Hashmi

Business Review

The aim of this research was to target television professionals in the state, and the private sector to develop their professional capabilities to address gender issues, and to portray women in an affirmative manner in the media. Research literature of the past indicated that women were paid 30% less than men: That they experienced an invisible barrier, the “glass ceiling effect": That organizations headed by women were less corrupt and more efficient. The present research focused on these issues in Pakistani organizations. Imperial College of Business Studies Lahore was assigned the research by United Nation Development Programme, to see if …

The Superintendent's Role In Developing Peer Coaching, Barry C. Younghans

All-Inclusive List of Electronic Theses and Dissertations

The purpose of this qualitative study was to discover how the behaviors of Indiana School district-level leaders create a culture of instructional, peer coaching in the district. An additional purpose was to discover any similarities between how district level leaders and leaders from different sized corporations behaved to create a climate of peer coaching. The increase in accountability brought about by both federal and state legislation has placed greater emphasis on providing each classroom with highly-trained instructors. One method of professional development that is currently being used to help ensure that students have access to excellent teachers is peer coaching; …

Shaping A Creative Milieu: Creativity, Process, Pedagogy, Leadership, And Place, Tom Borrup

Journal of Urban Culture Research

This paper surveys research in relation to the conditions and processes considered important in fostering creativity in a variety of contexts including cities, organizations, and learning environments. Two established schools of the arts, and their leaders, serve as case studies in the examination of milieu designed to foster creative thinking and work. The paper identifies ten characteristics found to be common in the formation of creative milieu by scholars in psychology, business, economics, anthropology, geography, leadership, urban studies, education, and the arts. Characteristics include exchanges across cultures and domains of knowledge, opportunities for serendipitous interactions and for solitude, risk-taking, stable …

Reframing And Reforming The Securities And Exchange Commission: Lessons From Literature On Change Leadership, Joan Mcleod Heminway

Villanova Law Review (1956 - )

The article discusses the lessons learned from the restructuring of the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) under the Sarbanes-Oxley Act. The strengths and weakness of the SEC reform measures are highlighted. Key reform proposals stemming from the global financial crisis and reform efforts being undertaken as of the spring of 2010 include overhauling or abolishing the SEC, managing the SEC through the Federal Reserve or the Department of the Treasury, and combining the SEC with the Commodity Futures Trading Commission (CFTC).

The Characterization Of Leadership Within Undergraduate Engineering Design Teams Through Case Study Analysis, Gary Palmer Ii

All Theses

The purpose of this research is to clearly define leadership that exists within engineering project teams. Leadership can be applicable to any field of study and is heavily researched in business management. Sources which review leadership classify this topic in reference to managerial styles, leadership types and styles, emotional intelligence, and work climate. However, there are few sources which define leadership specifically within engineering environments. The motivation of this research is driven by the absence of defining and observing consistency in engineering leadership through the research‟s experience in engineering teams. Existing leadership is defined in this research through conducting two …

Values Congruence: Its Effect On Perceptions Of Montana Elementary School Principal Leadership Practices And Student Achievement, Daniel Roy Zorn

Graduate Student Theses, Dissertations, & Professional Papers

The purpose of this quantitative study was to examine the relationship between principal and teacher values congruence and perceived principal leadership practices. Additionally, this study considered the relationship between values congruence, leadership practices, and student achievement. The perceptions teachers hold regarding their principal's effectiveness have proven to be an important variable that influences the quality of the school, when quality is defined in terms of student achievement levels (Cotton, 2003; Marzano et. al., 2005). This study sought a better understanding of the factors that influence a teacher's perceptions of their principal's effectiveness to provide insight into the teacher/principal relationship and …

A Biblical-Covenantal Perspective On Organizational Behavior & Leadership, Kahlib Fischer

Faculty Publications and Presentations

WHAT IS A WORLDVIEW? For starters, it’s important to recognize that our view on organizational behavior, and indeed on life itself, is influenced by our worldview. A worldview is an intellectual, emotional, and spiritual framework by which every person views reality, makes sense of life, and applies meaning to every area of life. Everyone has a worldview, but the sad fact is that most people don’t really know that they have one, or how their unspoken assumptions about truth, meaning, values, and humanity influence every decision they make and every perception they have. As a result, most people’s worldviews are …

Applying Trait And Situational Leadership Approaches To Assess Theoretical Antecedents Of Managers' Work-Life Supportive Behaviors, Sue A. Epstein

Legacy Theses & Dissertations (2009 - 2024)

Managers' work-life supportive behaviors positively impact the usage of work-life programs, help reduce work-life conflict, and improve additional organizational and individual outcomes (e.g., job satisfaction, turnover intentions) (Foley, Linnehan, Greenhaus, & Weer, 2006). These behaviors include helping their subordinates rearrange their work schedules and encouraging subordinates' use of organizational work-life policies (e.g., flextime, job sharing, leave programs) (Mesmer-Magnus & Viswesvaran, 2006). While the benefits of such targeted leadership have been well studied, the predictors of managerial work-life supportive behaviors have received little attention. In this research, the trait and situational approaches to effective leadership are used as the basis for …

How Management Level And Environmental Dynamism Are Related To Change Behavior And Unit Performance, Eric C. T. E. Larsen

Legacy Theses & Dissertations (2009 - 2024)

A survey study was conducted to determine how management level and environmental dynamism affect change leadership by managers and its impact on work unit performance. An on-line survey was used to obtain data from subordinates of the managers in many different organizations. The results showed that change-oriented behavior was used more by high level managers than by low level managers, and when the environment was dynamic rather than relatively stable. Management level enhanced the effects of a manager's change behavior on unit performance, and the enhancing effect of dynamism was marginally significant. The results are consistent with theories about the …

An Examination Of Principal Practices That Enhance Teacher Collaboration Through Professional Development In Literacy Collaborative, Marsha Susan Strosberg

Legacy Theses & Dissertations (2009 - 2024)

While whole school reform requires the commitment and collaboration of the faculty to build capacity to effect academic improvement, the school leader plays a crucial role in establishing and nurturing a setting that facilitates this goal. This research described how elementary principals restructure their buildings to create and support professional learning communities in this change process.

Libraries And Sustainability In Developing Countries: Leadership Models Based On Three Successful Organizations, Athena Michael

Collaborative Librarianship

The purpose of this study is to examine leadership styles highly effective in building sustainable libraries in developing countries. The author studies the leadership of three organizations: Room to Read, Central Asia Institute (CAI), and the Hester J. Hodgdon (HJH) Libraries for All Program, each focusing to some extent on libraries and literacy in developing countries. Following a review of the history of sustainability in the library community, aspects of Andy Hargreaves’ and Dean Fink’s principles of sustainable leadership are referenced in an analysis of the leadership styles found in these organizations. The author concludes that, although Room to Read, …

Emotional Intelligence And Transformational And Transactional Leadership: A Meta-Analysis, Peter D. Harms, Marcus Credé

Leadership Institute: Faculty Publications

The purpose of this study is to evaluate claims that emotional intelligence is significantly related to transformational and other leadership behaviors. Results (based on 62 independent samples) indicated a validity estimate of .59 when ratings of both emotional intelligence and leadership behaviors were provided by the same source (self, subordinates, peers, or superiors). However, when ratings of the constructs were derived from different sources, the validity estimate was .12. Lower validity estimates were found for transactional and laissez-faire leadership behaviors. Separate analyses were performed for each measure of emotional intelligence. Trait measures of emotional intelligence tended to show higher validities …

The Multicolored Patchwork Portraiture Of An Effective Veteran High School Special Education Teacher Amidst The Tempest Of The High Stakes Testing Movement, Vaughn Bicehouse

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

This single-subject study used the art and science of portraiture to illuminate a veteran special education teacher who is meeting the needs of her students with disabilities. This qualitative study was not done for the purposes of generalization but rather to show how this remarkable and effective special educator acts as an inspirational educational leader and inspires both her students and her fellow teachers.

The movement to hold schools accountable for the educational performance of students with disabilities is fairly new in the United States. Since the enactment of the Education for All Handicapped Children Act (P.L. 94-142) in 1975, …

Study Of The Lasting Effects Of Attending: A Leadershape Program, Daniel J. Stoker

All-Inclusive List of Electronic Theses and Dissertations

This exploratory study investigated the long-term learning resulting from participation in a LeaderShape program. The research examined LeaderShape graduates‘ current practices and definitions of leadership to see if they remain consistent with the program‘s learning goals. Graduates with five or more years since attendance were studied to provide a separation of time for the social experience to dissipate and to allow for possible application of the material beyond a collegiate setting. An electronic survey was distributed to 1,399 LeaderShape graduates who attended a national session between 1986 and 2004, resulting in 207 (14.8%) responses. Quantitative questions were analyzed utilizing SPSS …

Lifecode: An Examination Of The Shape, The Nature, And The Usage Of The Oikoscode, A Replicative Nonformal Learning Pattern Of Ethical Education For Leadership And Community Groups, Thom Wolf

Dissertations

Problem

The problem investigated in this study is how the oikoscode (Haustafeln), a pattern of ethical education replicated by earliest Christianity, can be developed into a theoretical model. The oikoscode is the lifestyle pattern, the lifecode of attitudinal framing and behavioral conduct that guided earliest Christianity, the generation of the first 25 years after the resurrection of Jesus.

Method

For this study in theory construction, Lynham‘s five-phased (conceptual development, operationalization, application, confirmation or disconfirmation, and continuous refinement and development) theory-building recursive system was used, delimited to only two of the five phases, conceptual development and operationalization. Data regarding the shape, …

Discovering The Leadership Skills Of Alumni Who Participated In An Adult Agricultural Leadership Development Program: A Case Study, Terence A. Hejny

College of Education and Human Sciences: Dissertations, Theses, and Student Research

This qualitative instrumental case study identified the leadership skills and concepts learned by participants of an adult agricultural leadership development program. Structured interviews were conducted with 15 men and women who were past participants of the Nebraska LEAD Program. Triangulation was used to verify the findings.

The interview transcripts were coded and analyzed for possible themes. Five themes emerged: (a) Personal Understanding of Leadership—definitions of leadership, skills of successful leaders, and thoughts on identifying leaders; (b) Leadership Lessons Learned—experiences in the Nebraska LEAD Program; (c) Leadership Encounters—experiences in leadership before and after their participation in the program, as well as …

What Lincoln Was Up Against: The Context Of Leadership, Edward L. Ayers

History Faculty Publications

Abraham Lincoln faced desperate challenges from the moment he took office until the day he was killed. While Union armies in the field struggled for four years against dismayingly effective Confederate forces, Lincoln fought to keep the North from breaking apart. The task proved unrelenting.

The Relationship Of 10th-Grade District Progress Monitoring Assessment Scores To Florida Comprehensive Assessment Test Scores In Reading And Mathematics For 2008-2009, Marilyn Underwood

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

The focus of this research was to investigate the use of a district created formative benchmark assessment in reading to predict student achievement for 10th-grade students on the Florida Comprehensive Assessment Test (FCAT) in one county in north central Florida. The purpose of the study was to provide information to high school principals and teachers to better understand how students were performing and learning and to maximize use of the formative district benchmark assessment in order to modify instruction and positively impact student achievement. This study expanded a prior limited study which correlated district benchmark assessment scores to FCAT scores …

The Principles Of Persuasion In Executive Leadership, Sonia Y. Bao

CMC Senior Theses

Persuasion is becoming increasingly prevalent and important for executives in the business world, especially in light of the current economic situation and the shifting dynamic in organizational management. As a result, it is worth examining the scientific process behind persuasion and how applying these findings will produce more effective executive leaders. This paper will dive into the realm of persuasion in the work place by first drawing upon the history between persuasion and rhetoric, how these historical thought processes have influenced the persuasion we know and understand today, as well as examine how certain techniques can make persuasion most effective, …

Ethics And Leadership: How Personal Ethics Produce Effective Leaders, Jessica Waggoner

CMC Senior Theses

With over 200 definitions of leadership, the question has evolved from ‘what is leadership?’ to ‘what is good leadership?” This paper analyzes the importance of personal ethics in leadership and how ethics produce effective leaders. The importance of understanding ethics, motivation to act as a role model and developing a plan of action for an organization are discussed because of their importance regarding development of good leadership. These key aspects suggest personal ethics positively affect leadership and when made a priority for leaders will produce ethical and effective leadership.