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Click-Enter-Send: The Relationship Experiences Of People Who Are Blind Or Visually Impaired In Text-Based Workspaces, Kelly Bleach

Antioch University Dissertations & Theses

Companies have increasingly turned to text-based communications to recruit, hire, and manage a distributed remote workforce. For people who are blind or visually impaired, this movement presents both challenges and opportunities for attaining and retaining employment. Does the potential isolation of telework have a negative effect on workplace relationships for people who are blind or visually impaired? Does participation in text-based workspaces mitigate stereotypes and stigmatization experienced by people with visible disabilities? Using a constructivist grounded theory framework, this study explored how people who are blind or visually impaired experience relationships in text-based workspaces. Building and maintaining social connections and …

Self-Actualized Leaders’ Relationships With Dynamic Teams, Joseph Walter Pieri

Theses and Dissertations

A recent study of 831 companies around the world found that employees on average tend to spend 54% of their time working within teams (Frey et al., 2013). Today, this number is estimated to be an additional four to six percent higher (Gallup, 2020). Despite the upward trend of increased reliance on team-based structures in effort to improve productivity and boost morale, research reveals approximately two-thirds of U.S. employees are not engaged in their workplace (Gallup, 2020). More than half (51%) of workers merely go through the motions of their job, barely meeting minimum position responsibilities. However, leadership is essential …

Exploring The Concept Of The Digital Educator During Covid-19, Ana Schalk, Claire Mcavinia, Pauline Rooney

Journal Articles

In this paper, we explore academic identity, specifically the identity of the educator in higher education and academics’ conceptualisations of the digital educator. We suggest that the concept of a digital educator is not only about technology, tools and uses. The context for this exploration is academics’ participation in an online professional development module, Digital Education, and the “pivot online” (Weller, 2020a) during campus closures caused by the COVID-19 pandemic in 2020. Through qualitative research, we explored participants’ sense of teaching identity, whether they had or have a concept of being a digital educator and the extent to which these …

Equity Battles: Multicultural Leadership For English Language Learner Students, Alfredo Pargas

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

The focus of this study was to increase teachers’ and school leaders’ capacity and awareness to be better multicultural leaders for English Language Learner (ELL) students. This study produced several recommendations to address this issue. During this study, I used improvement science as the methodology and included a variety of stakeholders as participants. The conceptual framework used to guide this study included community cultural wealth and funds of knowledge. Using both the voices of ELL families and the input of the school equity team, which includes teachers and a school leader, we collaboratively created a six-stage intervention program to increase …

Impact Of Leadership Style On Moral Conduct In The Ghana Air Force, Kwabena Krampah Antwi

Walden Dissertations and Doctoral Studies

The conduct of personnel in the military is important in maintaining professionalism. The traditional hierarchical level of interactions in the military environment imposes on commanders a critical role to balance their authority in shaping the attitudes of subordinates to achieve objectives. This study was conducted to address the lack of awareness of how commanders’ leadership styles influence the moral conduct of personnel in the Ghana Air Force. The theoretical framework for this study was Bass and Avolio’s full range leadership model. The research question focused on subordinates’ perceptions of operational commanders’ leadership on subordinates’ moral conduct. This non-experimental correlational design …

Exploring The Drivers Of Tax Evasion In The Manufacturing Sector: Lagos, Nigeria, Ogunsola Bello Idowu

Walden Dissertations and Doctoral Studies

In Nigeria, tax evasion has been a practice since the beginning of taxation, and it is also a worldwide phenomenon. Using the theory of reasoned action and the technology adoption life cycle as developed, the purpose of this qualitative exploratory case study was to explore how leaders in the manufacturing companies could understand the drivers of tax evasion in manufacturing industries, which may prevent sanctions from tax authorities in Lagos State, Nigeria. Ten manufacturing companies with evidence of properly filed taxes for the past 5 years in Lagos, Nigeria were interviewed, and who have operated business within 5 years and …

Strategies For Strengthening Leader–Follower Relationships For Improving Organizational Performance, Onyinyechi Grace Odiaka

Walden Dissertations and Doctoral Studies

AbstractPoor-quality leader-follower relationships reduce organizational performance. Organizational leaders are concerned about poor performance as it can negatively impact sustainability. Grounded in the leader-member exchange theory, the purpose of this qualitative single case study was to explore strategies leaders in oil-servicing organizations use to improve organizational performance. Data were collected from semi-structured, face-to-face interviews with 14 leaders from an oil-servicing organization and a review of company documents and the organizations’ websites. Through thematic analysis, five themes emerged: Leadership styles, motivation, mentoring and coaching, communication methods, and follower engagement. A key recommendation is for business leaders to influence followers to improve organizational …

Understanding Marketers’ Strategy Development Processes Used For Behavior Change, Eunice Moseley

Walden Dissertations and Doctoral Studies

Studies support the concept that a show of concern by marketing leaders for the consumer equates to consumer loyalty, consumer satisfaction, and positive consumer behavior change. The problem was that processes marketing leaders rely on to develop strategies in California may not show consideration of the campaign’s influence on consumers’ behavior. The purpose of this narrative inquiry was to answer the research question probing for how the processes marketing leaders rely on to develop marketing strategies in California show consideration of the campaigns’ influence on consumers’ behavior. The research question asked about the processes marketing leaders rely on to develop …

Educators’ Perception Of Their Psychosocial Support Of Elementary Students In Gabon, Africa, Michel Ikamba

Walden Dissertations and Doctoral Studies

Although educators internationally have often provided care to vulnerable students who struggle to meet the needs of nutrition, health, protection, and access to essential social services, no formal social systems exist in Gabon to aid educators who work with these students. In the absence of relevant local research and drawing on Dewey’s theory of progressive education as a conceptual model, this basic qualitative study asked about educators’ perceptions in limited resource elementary schools in Gabon of the social needs and strategies employed with students who demonstrated signs of disengagement and alienation. Qualitative data collection included semi-structured recorded interviews with 12 …

Leadership Strategies For Improving Employee Engagement, Stacy Wright

Walden Dissertations and Doctoral Studies

Small business leaders who lack effective strategies to improve employee engagement may be unable to retain employees, keep employees motivated, or improve employee performance, adversely affecting company productivity and profitability. Grounded in the transformational leadership theory, the purpose of this qualitative multiple case study was to explore strategies small business leaders use to improve employee engagement. Data were collected from three small business leaders in North Texas with 5 years of leadership experience who have successfully created and implemented employee engagement strategies. Data collection included semistructured interviews and publicly available organizational documents. Three key themes emerged from Yin’s five-step data …

Transforming Toxic Cultures From The Inside Out: Strategies To Identify & Eliminate Toxic Leadership Tendencies, Jessie Ferreira

Doctor of Strategic Leadership (DSL) Capstone Abstracts

The for-profit and non-profit sectors are becoming increasingly interested in the issues of toxic leadership and problematic organizational cultures. Leaders are more conscious of how toxic habits and tendencies decrease organizations' profitability and overall success. Toxic workplaces and toxic leadership compromise morale, and psychological anguish result from these destructive actions, resulting in billions of dollars spent yearly. A possible solution to these issues lies in increasing our emotional intelligence, specifically, self-awareness.

How can self-awareness be improved? It’s up to each of us to examine ourselves and formulate an effective response to other people and the environment. Daniel Goleman’s Emotional Intelligence …

Smart Heuristics For Individuals, Teams, And Organizations, Gerd Gigerenzer, Jochen Reb, Shenghua Luan

Research Collection Lee Kong Chian School Of Business

Heuristics are fast, frugal, and accurate strategies that enable rather than limit decision making under uncertainty. Uncertainty, as opposed to calculable risk, is characteristic of most organizational contexts. We review existing research and offer a descriptive and prescriptive theoretical framework to integrate the current patchwork of heuristics scattered across various areas of organizational studies. Research on the adaptive toolbox is descriptive, identifying the repertoire of heuristics on which individuals, teams, and organizations rely. Research on ecological rationality is prescriptive, specifying the conditions under which a given heuristic performs well, that is, when it is smart. Our review finds a relatively …

Improving Patients' Engagement And Retention In Intensive Outpatient Substance Abuse Treatment, Leo W. Lavender

Walden Dissertations and Doctoral Studies

Substance use disorder continues to be a major health crisis in the United States. Thousands of people die yearly due to substance use and related criminal activity. Substance abuse treatment is a remedy to the disorder and treatment centers admit thousands of patients yearly to address the dilemma. Throughout the years retention has been an ongoing barrier to successful treatment. This study explored significant obstacles to retention: motivation and engagement. The Baldrige Excellence Framework was utilized to assess the training, supervision, procedures, and leadership roles at an intensive outpatient substance abuse treatment center. This study utilized a qualitative approach case …

Strategies Business Leaders Use To Increase Employee Engagement, Jo Ann Lee

Walden Dissertations and Doctoral Studies

Fifty-one percent of American workers in the restaurant industry are not engaged or committed to their work, resulting in high turnover. Business owners are concerned with the lack of commitment of employees because there can be a negative financial impact on the business and increased employee turnover. Grounded in the situational leadership theory, the purpose of this multiple case study was to explore strategies business leaders use to increase employee engagement. Participants consisted of four restaurant business leaders in Virginia who implemented strategies to increase employee engagement. Data were collected through semistructured interviews and company websites and analyzed using thematic …

The Effectiveness Of Strategy Execution In The Regulatory Management Of The Nigerian Downstream Petroleum Industry., Michael Chinedu Nwonu

Walden Dissertations and Doctoral Studies

AbstractNigeria is Africa’s largest oil and gas producer; however, its petroleum industry has experienced mismanagement and a lack of coherent regulations. The general problem addressed in this study was that leaders and managers of Nigeria’s public sector did not have a strong system in place to create and implement regulatory strategies that effectively controlled the management of the petroleum sector. The purpose of this qualitative phenomenological study was to explore the lived experiences of managers in developing petroleum regulatory strategies defined by the Federal Ministry of Petroleum Resources, FMPR, in Abuja, Nigeria. The realization concept was applied as a conceptual …

Improving Employee Productivity Using Effective Leadership Strategies, Candice Nicole Rodgers

Walden Dissertations and Doctoral Studies

Low employee productivity has the potential to impact small business outcomes negatively. Small business leaders who can develop and use strategies to increase employee productivity, improve employee morale, and lower employee turnover rates can help a business succeed and grow. Grounded in the decision-making model of leadership theory, the purpose of this qualitative, multiple case study was to identify strategies some small business leaders use to increase employee productivity. The participants consisted of one leader from five different small businesses who had experience implementing leadership strategies to improve employee productivity. Data were collected using semistructured interviews, a review of documents, …

Strategies To Enhance Leadership Development Of Midlevel Managers, Elizabeth Wiebe

Walden Dissertations and Doctoral Studies

Organizational executives annually invest more than $50 billion in leadership development worldwide. Nonetheless, human resources (HR) managers are concerned that leadership development initiatives prove inadequate in delivering learning outcomes equal to the investment, leaving midlevel managers ill-prepared to lead. Guided by experiential learning theory, this qualitative multiple-case study was conducted to explore strategies HR managers use to enhance the leadership development of midlevel managers. A purposeful sample included three HR managers from three organizations located in a west coast metropolitan area in Canada who successfully implemented leadership development strategies. Data were collected from semistructured interviews and organizational documents. Informed by …

Phenomenological Exploration Of Followers’ Lived Experiences And Their Perception Of Ethical Leadership, Saad R. Maklad

Walden Dissertations and Doctoral Studies

The purpose of this phenomenological qualitative study was to explore the lived experiences of followers under unethical leadership in private and public organizations in the United States. Data collection involved interviewing 20 participants from private or public U.S. organizations with open-ended interview question. Participant selection was limited to followers and frontline employees who directly contact stakeholders. Utilitarianism, Adams’s equity theory, social learning theory, stakeholder theory, and Eudaimonia were the conceptual frameworks used to guide this study. The data analysis process in this phenomenological study consisted of using the two-cycle analysis and the modified Stevick-Colaizzi-Keen method. The findings demonstrated eight overarching …

Professional Dispositions And Perceptions Of Principals About Inclusion In Senior Secondary Schools, Desmond Prince, George Williams

Walden Dissertations and Doctoral Studies

AbstractProviding inclusive education for children with special educational needs and disabilities entails educating these students in general education classrooms. There are no consistent practices or regulations for administering programs for such students in general education classrooms in Sierra Leone. This problem is supported by the lack of literature about administrative inclusive education practices. This basic qualitative study was conducted to explore the professional dispositions, perceptions, and rules or regulations that school principals hold for administering programs for students with special educational needs and disabilities in general education classrooms. The conceptual framework of the study was based on moral leadership and …

Strategies To Reduce Nonconformance Of Parts In Aerospace Manufacturing, John Louis Lloyd Jr

Walden Dissertations and Doctoral Studies

The cost of nonconformance of parts can impact the aerospace industry globally, resulting in revenue loss and consumer confidence degradation. Grounded in the eight disciplines of problem solving, the purpose of this multiple case study was to explore strategies aerospace manufacturing quality managers in the United States used to implement successful change initiatives to address the nonconformance of parts. Data were collected through semistructured interviews with four aerospace quality executives and supporting company documents. Data were analyzed using methodological triangulation, coding, and thematic analysis. Four themes emerged: (a) identify and implement a specific problem-solving strategy, (b) identify and mitigate employee …

The Relationship Of Servant Leadership And Psychological Safety On Team Performance In Healthcare, Amy Lynn Palmiero

Walden Dissertations and Doctoral Studies

AbstractTeamwork in healthcare is a dynamic and complex process where interdisciplinary individuals must come together to deliver high-quality patient care. Despite significant overall improvements in healthcare delivery, process failures and communication breakdowns continue to be problematic leading to inefficiencies within the healthcare system resulting in higher costs, and in some instances, preventable patient harm. An examination of the relationship between leadership, psychological safety, and team performance provides valuable insight on the importance of the role leadership plays in shaping psychologically safe environments and enhancing team performance. Using servant leadership theory as the framework for this study, a quantitative correlational approach …

First-Generation Academically At-Risk Black College Students' Perceptions Of Borrowing And Repayment Of Student Loans, Tianna Gordon

Walden Dissertations and Doctoral Studies

Escalating college costs have far-reaching implications, especially for low-income and first-generation students. Lack of financial literacy can negatively affect the success of these learners and may have long-lasting consequences, yet there is a lack of literature about the borrowing and repayment obligations related to student loans of first-generation, academically at-risk Black students. Grounded in social cognitive theory and human capital theory, the purpose of this basic qualitative study was to explore first-generation academically at-risk Black college students' understanding of student loan borrowing and repayment obligations. A semistructured interview protocol with open-ended questions was used to obtain the narrative data from …

Facilitating Executive Succession For Female Hospitality Managers, Ryann Hanna

Walden Dissertations and Doctoral Studies

The lack of women in leadership roles continues to be a diversity concern, and a lack of knowledge regarding the male experience promoting female advancement when in a gatekeeper role is not well understood. The purpose of this study was to explore the male experience promoting women within the hospitality industry. Role congruity theory and leader member exchange are foundational concepts for understanding bias around gender diversity and the facilitators of succession; however, what is not known is the experience of male executives facilitating female advancement, what affects their support of female successors, and the perceptions they have when considering …

Pink Bamboo Ceiling: Barriers And Breakthroughs For Asian American Women Leaders, Mele W. Kramer

Walden Dissertations and Doctoral Studies

AbstractAsian Americans are the most diverse and fastest-growing minority group in the U.S. and have the highest average level of education of all minority and dominant groups in America making up 6.2 % of the labor market. However, Asian Americans overall hold one percent of the executive leadership roles in Fortune 500 organizations. Low leadership representation leaves this demographic without a decision-making voice and without power in society. The purpose of this qualitative study was to learn about the lived experiences of Asian American women (AAW) leaders and potential leaders as it pertains to race, gender, and stereotypes in the …

Effective Strategies To Reduce Voluntary Employee Turnover Intentions In The Retail Sector, Connie Latoyia Owens

Walden Dissertations and Doctoral Studies

Voluntary employee turnover is a complex business problem that hurts organizations’ productivity and profits. High employee turnover rates require retail business leaders to implement strategies to help prevent employees from leaving their jobs. Grounded in transformational leadership theory, the purpose of this qualitative multiple-case study was to explore leadership strategies retail store managers use to reduce voluntary employee turnover. The participants included six retail managers from two mid-to-large retail food organizations in Chicago who successfully reduced voluntary employee turnover. Semistructured interviews and public company information were used for data collection. Data were analyzed using Yin’s five-step method. Four themes were …

First-Generation Academically At-Risk Black College Students' Perceptions Of Borrowing And Repayment Of Student Loans, Tianna Gordon

Walden Dissertations and Doctoral Studies

Escalating college costs have far-reaching implications, especially for low-income and first-generation students. Lack of financial literacy can negatively affect the success of these learners and may have long-lasting consequences, yet there is a lack of literature about the borrowing and repayment obligations related to student loans of first-generation, academically at-risk Black students. Grounded in social cognitive theory and human capital theory, the purpose of this basic qualitative study was to explore first-generation academically at-risk Black college students' understanding of student loan borrowing and repayment obligations. A semistructured interview protocol with open-ended questions was used to obtain the narrative data from …

Effective Strategies To Reduce Voluntary Employee Turnover Intentions In The Retail Sector, Connie Latoyia Owens

Walden Dissertations and Doctoral Studies

Voluntary employee turnover is a complex business problem that hurts organizations’ productivity and profits. High employee turnover rates require retail business leaders to implement strategies to help prevent employees from leaving their jobs. Grounded in transformational leadership theory, the purpose of this qualitative multiple-case study was to explore leadership strategies retail store managers use to reduce voluntary employee turnover. The participants included six retail managers from two mid-to-large retail food organizations in Chicago who successfully reduced voluntary employee turnover. Semistructured interviews and public company information were used for data collection. Data were analyzed using Yin’s five-step method. Four themes were …

Facilitating Executive Succession For Female Hospitality Managers, Ryann Hanna

Walden Dissertations and Doctoral Studies

The lack of women in leadership roles continues to be a diversity concern, and a lack of knowledge regarding the male experience promoting female advancement when in a gatekeeper role is not well understood. The purpose of this study was to explore the male experience promoting women within the hospitality industry. Role congruity theory and leader member exchange are foundational concepts for understanding bias around gender diversity and the facilitators of succession; however, what is not known is the experience of male executives facilitating female advancement, what affects their support of female successors, and the perceptions they have when considering …

The Role Of Women In Public Administration In Saint Lucia, Elizabeth Elicia Bailey

Walden Dissertations and Doctoral Studies

Women continue to face stereotypes and barriers with their advancement to leadership positions. Nonetheless, there is an increasing number of females in leadership roles partly due to programs and policies for the advancement of women, causing several women to aspire to and take up top leadership positions in the public sector. In Saint Lucia, women hold about 70% of the senior management positions that were once dominated primarily by men. However, little is known about the role of women in public administration in Saint Lucia. This qualitative study aimed to understand the perceptions of male and female leaders relating to …

A Text Analysis Of Meaning In Research On Gender, Language, And Leadership, Samantha Faith Weissrock

Walden Dissertations and Doctoral Studies

Focusing on gender and leadership research, the purpose of the study was to examine discursive messages used in research text regarding gendered leadership to explore the phenomenon of word usage and language structure. The study employed critical discourse analysis as the framework and methodology, a specific cross discipline approach to discourse analysis primarily concerned with language’s innate ability to change and take on new meaning over time. Leveraging texts available in scholarly, peer-reviewed publications dedicated to the intersection of gender and leadership in juxtaposition to the final issue of the same publication have previously focused on intersection of women in …