Digital Commons Network^™

Effective Empowerment In Organizations, Gary A. Yukl, Wendy S. Baker

Organization Management Journal

Psychological empowerment is the perception that workers can help determine their own work roles, accomplish meaningful work, and influence important decisions. Empowerment has been studied from different perspectives, including employee perceptions, leadership behaviors, and management programs. Despite positive rhetoric, programs designed to increase empowerment seldom achieve the benefits promised. Inconclusive and seemingly contradictory outcomes stem from the fact that few companies give employees significant control and access to management information. A half century of research suggests that empowerment strategies can offer real benefits. We outline facilitating conditions for effective empowerment, including characteristics of organizations, leaders, employees, and the work itself.

An Evaluation Of Attributes And Competencies For Manufacturing Engineering Technology Graduates, Loni S. Williamson

Theses and Dissertations

The purpose of this study is to determine the required attributes and competencies required for a graduate from a manufacturing engineering technology baccalaureate program. A document called “Competencies of Manufacturing Engineering Technology Graduates” was compiled in October 2004. This document lists twelve attributes thought to be important for MET graduates: Leadership, Professionalism, Creativity and Problem Solving, Management, Materials, Processes, Quality, Systems, Design, Communication, Safety and Environmental Issues, and Global Awareness. Under each attribute is a list of five to seven competencies creating a total of seventy-three competencies for graduates of an MET baccalaureate program. This list of attributes and competencies …

Fall 2006 Farquhar Forum, Farquhar College Of Arts And Sciences

The Farquhar Forum College Magazine

No abstract provided.

The Effectiveness Of A Four-Hour Challenge Course On Leadership Efficacy And Work Efficacy, Theresa J. Odella

Human Movement Studies & Special Education Theses & Dissertations

Challenge courses have become increasingly popular in recent years. Benefits examined and researched through the use of challenge courses include increased self-esteem, group cohesion, leadership skills, and general self-efficacy (Hart & Silka, 1994; Hatch & McCarthy, 2005; Moseley, Reinke, & Bookout, 2002; Paxton, 2000; Propst & Koesler, 1998). Many groups are turning to half-day challenge courses due to time and financial constraints. Few studies have quantified the benefits of a half-day course. The purpose of this study is to examine the effects of participation in a four-hour challenge course on leadership efficacy and work efficacy of college students. A survey …

Technical And Environmental Challenges Of Collaboration Engineering In Distributed Environments, Halbana Tarmizi, Matt Payne, Cherie Noteboom, Chi Zhang, Lucas Steinhauser, Gert-Jan De Vreede, Ilze Zigurs

Research & Publications

Collaboration in distributed settings has become a reality in organizational life. Yet we still have much to learn about issues inherent to distributed collaboration. One important area of study is the integration of Collaboration Engineering in distributed virtual teams for helping them in structuring their interaction. The field of Collaboration Engineering offers promising guidelines for process structures, but its application in distributed arenas is just beginning to be studied. We report on the design and development of a new collaboration environment for the incorporation of Collaboration Engineering principles, as well as the results of an initial study that examined leadership …

African American Public School Principals In East Tennessee: Motivation For Leadership., Joe L. Canada

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

The purpose of this study was to explore and document the factors that motivated African American public school administrators in a selected school system in East Tennessee to become school leaders. The study highlighted barriers and challenges, support mechanisms, and perceptions of training. If minority educators are to be actively recruited and retained, there must be an understanding of the factors that motivate them to progressively seek administrative leadership positions.

The African American public school administrators' experiences were collected through 17 one-on-one personal interviews. The interviews were audio-taped, transcribed, coded, and used to answer the 4 research questions.

The primary …

Critical Leadership Traits And Characteristics Of Rural Mississippi Community College Presidents For The 21st Century, Jan Reid-Bunch

Theses and Dissertations

The development of effective and well prepared leaders is vital to the continued success of community colleges and their students. The community college movement boomed in the 1960s and 1970s, and it is now faced with massive numbers of retirements across the nation. Throughout its history, the American Association of Community Colleges (AACC) has made leadership development a priority and a central portion of its mission. Leadership roles are changing in the 21st century in America?s community colleges; therefore, we must reflect on our past to assist in directing our future. According to Young and Ewing (1978), a vast majority …

Diversity Leadership In Higher Education, Lisa Portugal

Academic Leadership: The Online Journal (2003-2012)

This paper will focus on issues relating to diversity leadership in higher education, the assessment of diversity leadership issues, and suggestions for successful diversity leadership initiatives. Higher education is in the process of creating more opportunities for a diverse faculty body and issues such as mentoring, building recruiting networks, and creating sponsorship programs are at the forefront of current discussions. Moreover, developing institutional strategic plans and initiatives are essential in the development of diversity leadership agendas. Additionally, issues relating to the distribution of power and participatory management are of particular interest to many institutions of higher education.

Finding Our Way: Leadership For An Uncertain Time, Brian Trautman

Academic Leadership: The Online Journal (2003-2012)

Leaders at different levels within organizations, school systems, and communities are becoming increasingly aware of the concepts and principles of the “new science” of leadership. Many of these same leaders are now beginning to integrate the new science ideology into everyday decision-making processes and practices. New science is also offering leaders the knowledge and understanding needed to effectively transform long-established, hierarchical, mechanistic organizational human resource management models into open, participative, and adaptive learning systems.

The Role Of Higher Education In America: A Spa Or A Smörgåsbord?, Amany Saleh, Marcia Lamkin, David Cox

Academic Leadership: The Online Journal (2003-2012)

American higher education has a long and rich tradition of seeking higher moral and civic purposes in its endeavors. . . [C]ampuses have been the sites of debate on the critical issues of the day and faculty have sought to provide students with tools for rigorous analysis, critical reflection . . . . Now more than ever, higher education is challenged to educate the leaders of tomorrow and to connect those future leaders with the world of today. (Hollander 1999, v).

The Chinese Principal Leadership Capacities As Perceived By Master Teachers, Lotfollah Naijar

Academic Leadership: The Online Journal (2003-2012)

The study addressed the following questions: (1) What are Chinese master teachers’ perceptions of their principals’ leadership capacities related to the American ELCC (2002) educational leadership program standards? (2) Do teachers’ demographic factors of gender, age, and years of teaching experience predict the perceptions of their principals’ leadership capacities? (3) Do principals’ demographic factors of gender, age, years of leadership experience, and education attainment predict the teachers’ perceptions of the principals’ leadership capacities?

Involving People With Disabilities As Members Of Advisory Groups, Lisa Brennan, Meg Traci, Diana Spas, University Of Montana Rural Institute

Independent Living and Community Participation

Service providers, schools, parks departments, public health agencies and other organizations make decisions and policies that profoundly affect the health, employment, income and well-being of people with disabilities. This capacity carries the obligation to involve the people most affected by including individuals with disabilities in the decision-making process. This Practice Guideline offers suggestions on how to involve people with disabilities as active members and advisors of your group. Many of these suggestions may be helpful to all participants, including those without disabilities.

Reforming Pentagon Strategic Decisionmaking, Christopher J. Lamb, Irving Lachow

Strategic Forums

This Strategic Forum analyzes the institutional challenges facing strategic decisionmaking within the U.S. Department of Defense and proposes reforms to improve how senior leaders make and support decisions. It highlights how existing processes — designed to be rational and methodical — are often undermined by bureaucratic stovepipes, consensus-oriented products, and limited integration of analytic support. The paper argues for the creation of a dedicated Decision Support Cell reporting directly to the Secretary of Defense to provide integrated rational analyses and to enhance intuitive decisionmaking through exercises and shared experience. By clarifying baseline assumptions, improving cross-bureaucratic collaboration, and balancing rational and …

Principles Of Mentoring Spiritual Leaders In The Pastoral Ministry Of Augustine Of Hippo, Edward Smither

Faculty Dissertations

Though Augustine is highly regarded for his contribution to philosophy and theology, his primary occupation for the last forty years of his life was serving as the bishop of Hippo Regius. A highly personal man with a natural inclination to friendship, Augustine was a bishop-monk who served the church while living in a monastic community with other clergy. Hence, he made monks out of his clergy and regarded the monastery as a group that existed to serve the church. Through intimate contact with the clergy of Hippo as well as spiritual leaders of the fourth and fifth century African church, …

The Role Of Faculty Advisors In The Success Of Psi Chi Chapters: Leadership Characteristics And Their Relation With Student Organization Success, Mary Ann Bailey

Undergraduate Honors Capstone Projects

Leaders of a student organization may have a strong impact on the success of the chapter they lead. The current research study examined leadership qualities of Psi Chi Faculty Advisors, leaders in a Psychology honors society, and how those qualities affected the activity, involvement, and satisfaction of members within Psi Chi. In order to assess these variables, a national online survey was sent out to Psi Chi student leaders asking them to evaluate their Faculty Advisor's leadership characteristics in addition to their Psi Chi chapter. Two-hundred and eighty-five surveys were completed and returned. Results showed a significant positive correlation between …

Fort Wayne Alumnus, Taylor University Fort Wayne

TUFW Alumni Publications (All)

The Spring 2006 edition of The Fort Wayne Alumnus, published by Taylor University Fort Wayne in Fort Wayne, Indiana.

Leadership Challenges In Indian Software Industry, Narendra M Agrawal

Working Papers

Indian software industry has had a phenomenal growth for the last fifteen years and is expected to sustain its growth momentum at least in the near future. Abundant supply of low cost manpower has been one of the major factors contributing to the growth of Indian software industry. However, the high rate of growth has also been the cause of increase in manpower cost, high attrition and disturbed work-life balance. The study based on 27 case studies by practicing software professionals identifies thirteen clusters of problems and also the reasons for those problems. The paper makes recommendations to over come …

Orchestrating Change At The Departmental Level:, Lari Coakley, Linda Randall

Academic Leadership: The Online Journal (2003-2012)

Academic leaders in higher education must increasingly deal with demands from stakeholders such as students, parents, and government at the same time that they are held accountable for the curriculum and student learning environment (Newman, Couturier & Scurry, 2004; Smith, 2004). In addition, new types of higher education institutions, i.e. the for-profit schools, purport to be more agile in responding to the needs of these various constituencies, putting more pressure on the traditional colleges and universities to react more quickly. Gone are the days of unhurried deliberations and incremental changes that could take years to institute. The loosely coupled organizational …

Leading With The Heart: Coach K’S Successful Strategies For Basketball, Business And Life, Peter A. Maresco

Academic Leadership: The Online Journal (2003-2012)

If you are a student of leadership, whether in business or in sports, you have no doubt noticed the proliferation of leadership books that continue to make their way onto the shelves of bookstores. After a while one starts to wonder if there can be possibly anything left to write on the subject that hasn’t already been written. Well, perhaps there is; the relationship between leadership in sports and leadership in business, perhaps even leadership in our everyday lives.

Women In The Superintendency: A Study Of Accumulative Disadvantage, Cheryl Evans

Academic Leadership: The Online Journal (2003-2012)

Through the lens of the Salieri effect (Clark & Corcoran, 1986) and accumulative disadvantage, the purpose of the study is to describe and explain the under-representation of women in the superintendency despite their over-representation in the teaching profession. The following will be accomplished: (a) a description of the stories of women’s lives and experiences that pertains to or describe a career in education administration; (b) an analysis of the stories these women tell through the lens of the Salieri effect and accumulative disadvantage; © other realities that may be revealed; (d) an assessment of the usefulness of the Salieri effect …

Spring 2006 Farquhar Forum, Farquhar College Of Arts And Sciences

The Farquhar Forum College Magazine

No abstract provided.

An Evaluation Of How Organizational Culture Can Perpetuate A Formal Mentoring Relationship, Daniel J. Rieker

Theses and Dissertations

The purpose of this research was to investigate how an organization's culture can have an effect on formal mentoring. Specifically, this thesis sought to determine if perceptions among gender, ethnicity, and organizational position differ for mentoring and organizational culture. Additionally, this thesis sought to determine if any correlations may exist between organizational culture and formal mentoring overall.

Leadership In Groups: Social Networks And Perceptions Of Formal And Informal Leaders, Mitchell D. Stratton

Theses and Dissertations

The labors of organizational and behavioral science researchers have resulted in a literature robust in the study of leadership and social networks. Empirical examination of both topics has shown significant organizational outcomes, but breadth is lacking both within and between the disciplines. Studies of leadership have seen the preponderance of the effort focused on formal leaders, while most social network studies examine only one informal structure. Moreover, there exists a paucity of studies, which have sought to examine the interrelationships between leadership and social networks. In an effort to address these voids, this thesis investigated: 1) The concurrent existence of …

High Performance Individuals And How They Manage Their Personal Knowledge For Decision-Making: An Exploratory Study Of Us Air Force Leaders, Kenneth M. Ivey

Theses and Dissertations

The ability of Colonels, Generals, and Chiefs to effectively manage their personal knowledge may lead to better decisions; however, the Air Force does not have an understanding of how these high performance leaders manage their personal knowledge. This research used a multiple-case study methodology to explore how USAF leaders manage their personal knowledge when making routine and novel decisions. Viewing personal knowledge management as it related to sociotechnical theory provided the basis to determine how the need to accomplish the tasks associated with personal knowledge management impacted the people, technology, organizational structure, and the tasks associated with managing personal knowledge. …

Triple Bottom Line: A Business Metaphor For A Social Construct, Darrell Brown, Jesse F. Dillard, Scott Marshall

Business Faculty Publications and Presentations

The triple bottom line is emerging as a popular conceptualization and reporting vehicle for articulating corporate social, environmental, and economic performance and is receiving significant attention in connection with its efficacy and sufficiency as a means for reporting the extent to which an organization meets its societal responsibilities. By preparing and disseminating triple bottom line statements, an organization conveys an image of concern and sensitivity to the three dimensions of societal responsibility: economic, environmental, and social. However, as currently conceived and operationalized, we question whether the triple bottom line reports actually provide information relevant to accessing corporate responsibility and enforcing …

2006 Report On Nonprofit Executive Transition, Laura Deitrick, Paige Creager

Nonprofit Leadership and Capacity Building

Recent national studies of executives in the nonprofit field have indicated that the sector will soon be facing a massive transition in leadership. In this study, the Center sought to define and understand the challenges posed by executive transition, and how it pertains specifically to San Diego nonprofit sector. Particular focus was placed on the number of San Diego nonprofit executives who plan to retire or leave their positions in the next 5 years.

Thinking Style Differences Of Female College And University Presidents: A National Study, Melanie S. Jones

Theses, Dissertations and Capstones

The purpose of this study was to identify thinking style preferences of female college and university presidents and determine if differences in thinking style exist with regard to the independent variables of Carnegie classification, institutional control, highest academic degree earned, academic background/specialty, age, and total years of presidential experience. The Inquiry Mode Questionnaire (InQ) and a demographic data form were distributed to all 595 female presidents with institutions classified as Associate’s or higher by the Carnegie system. Responses were received from 369 (62.02%), with 328 (55.13%) utilized for data analysis. Descriptive statistics, MANOVA and ANOVA tests were used to address …

Leadership Styles And Philosophies Of Women University Presidents, Susan R. Madsen

Marketing and Strategy Faculty Publications

Although progress has been made, it remains clear that women are still underrepresented in administrative positions in all types of higher educational institutions throughout the world. While the issue is often now addressed in the literature, there are still few articles reporting research findings on the experiences and perceptions of university presidents, particularly women. Ten women university presidents were interviewed using the phenomenological research methodology. This paper reports the results of this research related to the presidents' perceptions of their own leadership styles and philosophies.

Virtual Study Groups: A Challenging Centerpiece For "Working Adult" Management Education, Gregory B. Northcraft, Terri L. Griffith, Mark A. Fuller

Management & Entrepreneurship

Groups and teams are critical to modern organizations, and consequently management education has incorporated groups as a centerpiece of both content (the study of group process) and process (the use of study groups and group projects). Unfortunately, working-adult educational programs appear to have yet to take an important final step - acknowledging that study groups often interact virtually and then providing support for virtual study group interaction. We provide both theory and data concerning the use of study groups as virtual teams. We believe that there are important benefits to be gained when study groups make educated decisions about the …

Leadership And Job Satisfaction, Stephanie Brooke

Academic Leadership: The Online Journal (2003-2012)

The objective of this research is to understand the impact of leadership style on employee job satisfaction in an effort to improve leader-employee relations in nonprofit child care settings. Since turnover rates, separation costs, vacancy costs, and training costs are high in child care centers (Vickers, 2002), providing strategies for increasing job satisfaction will lead to a more stable environment for children and their families, promote positive leader member relations, and strengthen the organizational climate. Since leadership style can critically influence employee satisfaction, this study is of significant importance in promoting social change. Specifically, it focuses on a unique industry, …