Digital Commons Network^™

Leadership Alignment Within A Safety Culture Change Process, Nicholas P. Krump

Theses and Dissertations

The purpose of this thesis was to determine the key components of effective leadership alignment within the safety culture change process at the National Cooperative Refinery Association in McPherson, Kansas. The implementation efforts provided data regarding leaders' actions, employee perceptions, and leadership alignment interventions. Research data gathered through 129 paper surveys and 25 group interviews were analyzed to identify relationships between work-related demographic indicators and workplace attitudes. The final analysis revealed a statistically significant relationship between the "alignment" composite and salaried employees, meaning salaried employees were more likely to answer positively than hourly employees. Secondly, the findings showed a strong …

A Study Of The Application Of The Concepts Of Karen Horney In Leadership Development Within The National Management Association Of The Boeing Company, Frank Z. Nunez

Theses and Dissertations

This study investigates the usefulness of the personality theories of Karen Horney in leadership development. The Horney concepts examined are: (a) the basic anxiety, (b) the real and idealized self, (c) the self-defeating cycle, and (d) the three movements of people. The research questions guiding this inquiry are: Will professionals who are willing to develop their leadership capabilities find the theories of Karen Horney useful in that pursuit? How can these concepts contribute to deeper self-awareness? How can deeper self-awareness generated from these concepts influence a leader's development? The literature review indicates that Karen Horney's concepts are used by leadership …

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 …

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 …

Curriculum Control And Teachers' Perceptions Of Professional Discretion And Satisfaction, Donald May

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

The goal of this research was to investigate teachers' perceptions of professional discretion and satisfaction related to internal and external factors of curriculum control. Results of the study were intended to provide data to policy makers and school district administrators that could be used in the development and implementation of the curriculum reform process. Middle and high school teachers in a large central Florida school district completed the survey. The survey's six constructs were 1. Influence of Teacher Beliefs 2. Perceptions of Success and Satisfaction 3. Influence of Tests and Curriculum Guides 4. Teacher Control of Pedagogy 5. Leadership 6. …

Authority, Leadership, And Peacemaking: The Role Of The Diasporas: A Pilot Study Of A Group Relations Conference: A Dissertation, Tracy Wallach

Educational Studies Dissertations

Research suggests that conflicts are much more likely to re-ignite in societies which have large Diaspora communities in the United States. This study examines the role of American Jewish, Arab, and other Middle Eastern Diaspora communities in the Israeli-Palestinian conflict, and addresses the generally neglected role of trauma and emotions in perpetuating conflict.

The project employed group relations conference methodology to conduct the inquiry. A group relations lens allows one to look at the Israeli-Palestinian conflict at multiple levels: on the psychological level (looking at issues of trauma, identity, collective narrative, emotions and unconscious processes); on the social level (looking …

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.

Achieving High Organization Performance Through Servant Leadership, David E. Melchar, Susan M. Bosco

Business Faculty Publications

This empirical paper investigates whether a servant leader can develop a corporate culture that attracts or develops other servant leaders. Using the survey developed by Barbuto and Wheeler (2006), servant leader characteristics in managers were measured at three high-performing organizations. Results indicate that servant leaders can develop a culture of followers who are servant leaders themselves. This is one of the few studies to empirically test the model of servant leadership in an organizational environment. The success these servant leaders have achieved in a for-profit, demanding environment suggests this leadership style is viable for adoption by other firms.

Leadership Behavior Impact On Employee Engagement, Michelle J. Marquard

Theses and Dissertations

As the age of employer enlightenment continues to unfold, for the past half-century researchers have collected mounting empirical evidence linking management theory and environmental factors to worker productivity. The rise of professional research over the past several years has however signaled a change in the marketability of this research within the business community. The change is prompted by a newfound interest in workforce productivity as a source of profitability (Colan, 2009; Corporate Leadership Council, 2004; Gebauer, Lowman, & Gordon, 2008; Thomas, 2000, 2009). The study of management systems, the system of interrelationships between supervisory characteristics and organizational performance, has gained …

Leadership Practices, Competitive Priorities, And Manufacturing Group Performance, Ravi Kathuria, Fariborz Y. Partovi, Jeffrey H. Greenhaus

Business Faculty Articles and Research

Purpose

– The purpose of this paper is to examine the role of manufacturing leadership in enhancing manufacturing performance for different manufacturing configurations.

Design/methodology/approach

– Survey data collected from three levels of respondents in excess of 480, from 98 manufacturing units in the USA are used to test the study hypothesis using the cluster analysis and regression models.

Findings

– Effective leadership is positively associated with overall manufacturing performance beyond the fixed effects of organizational variables, such as competitive orientation and industry membership. The manufacturing leadership, however, does not seem to affect customer satisfaction.

Research limitations/implications

– The paper illustrates …

Perceptions Of Required Leadership Behaviors For Nurse Leaders As Measured By The Leadership Practices Inventory, Shelly Lummus

Theses and Dissertations

In the United States a significant nursing shortage exists. To compound this shortage, the health care system is in need of reform. In order to impact effectively these issues, strong nursing leadership will be critical. Historically, nursing education has focused primarily on clinical judgment and the nurse-patient relationship. Leadership education and mentoring has been limited. Because nursing theory does not emphasize leadership development, it is important to investigate the possible use of existing leadership theory and assessment tools from other disciplines and bring them to the nursing environment. The purpose of this study was to investigate the perceptions of required …

New Ceo's Personality And Leadership Styles As Measured By The Traits Of Age, Education, And Prior Experiences And Their Effect On The Firm's Performance, Stanley Wonkoo Cho

Theses and Dissertations

New technologies and increased competition require CEOs to assess and analyze vast amounts of information. They need cognitive ability and higher education and training. Moreover, CEOs are under more pressure to act quickly, to recognize potential problems or opportunities, and to take action immediately. They must be willing to take risks (Joos, Leone, & Zimmerman, 2003). Companies are turning to younger CEOs (Loomis, 2007) as they are more familiar with new technologies, better able to endure high stress environments, more open to new ideas, and less reluctant to take risks. This study examined the relationship between the financial performance of …

Leadership Characteristics And Team Outcomes In The Development Of A Marketing Web Page, Garry L. White, Karen H. Smith

Journal of International Technology and Information Management

Team structures are changing under the pressures of e-commerce and globalization. Today teams have to manage the challenges of working across functional boundaries, such as marketing and web development. In such an environment, research in the disciplines of management and psychology have found that shared leadership among team members may be superior to traditional leadership by a single team member, but this notion has not been tested in the contexts of marketing and web development. This paper presents the results of an empirical study showing that teams with shared leadership exhibited better performance and greater member satisfaction than teams with …

Inclusive Leadership And Employee Involvement In Creative Tasks In The Workplace: The Mediating Role Of Psychological Safety, Abraham Carmeli, Roni Reiter-Palmon, Enbal Ziv

Psychology Faculty Publications

This study examines how inclusive leadership (manifested by openness, accessibility, and availability of a leader) fosters employee creativity in the workplace. Using a sample of 150 employees, we investigated the relationship between inclusive leadership (measured at Time 1), psychological safety, and employee involvement in creative work tasks (measured at Time 2). The results of structural equation modeling (SEM) analysis indicate that inclusive leadership is positively related to psychological safety, which, in turn, engenders employee involvement in creative work.

Groups And Teams, Crystal L. Hoyt, Donelson R. Forsyth

Jepson School of Leadership Studies articles, book chapters and other publications

To understand leaders and leadership, one must understand groups and their dynamics. Leadership can occur across great distances, as when a leader influences followers who are distributed across differing contexts, but in many cases leadership occurs in an intact group that exists in a specific locale: Teams, boards, advisory councils, and classrooms arc all examples of groups that work toward shared goals with, in many cases, the help and guidance of a leader. Leadership can be considered a set of personality traits or a specific set of behaviors enacted by an individual, but an interpersonal, group-level conceptualization considers Ieadership to …

Building Level Principals As Change Agents In A Response To Intervention Reform Initiative, Kristen Elizabeth Ninni

Dissertations

The purpose of this study was to examine the role of the principal in a systems change effort. Utilizing Response to Intervention (RtI) as a means of studying principals as change agents, this researcher examined the principals' ability to implement and sustain a reform effort such as RtI as perceived by the principal, problem solving team, and teachers. This study examined how the perceptions influenced the change process and the extent to which the principal demonstrated characteristics of change such as knowledge of change, self-efficacy or their belief in their ability to make changes, and skills of change as supported …

Spiritual Abuse In The Christian Community, Barbara Olivia Berry

ATS Dissertations

No abstract provided.

The 'Where' And 'How' Of Exploration And Exploitation: Balancing Leadership Styles To Drive Innovation And Performance, Ann Kowal Smith

Student Scholarship

Using a global sample of public companies, we explored the relationships among transformational and transactional leadership, exploration and exploitation and performance. First, balanced leadership styles drive more innovative learning outcomes than either single style. Second, elements of an expanded framework of innovative learning, including “where” ideas are sourced and “how” they are shared, fully mediate the relationship between leadership and performance. Specifically, “how” drives earnings growth and “where” drives revenue growth. We propose a nuanced ambidexterity, whereby leaders balance not only exploration and exploitation, but also idea sourcing and idea sharing to unleash their organization’s collective wisdom and drive performance.

Expanding Leader Capability: An Exploratory Study Of The Effect Of Daily Practices For Leader Development, Simon Rakoff

Antioch University Dissertations & Theses

Leadership is, at its essence, an influence relationship between people. Leaders are often thought of as those who are able to influence people to take actions oriented toward achieving specific goals and objectives. While many books have been written, and myriad scholarly research studies conducted enumerating countless personal characteristics, qualities, and skills of the exemplary leader, little has been done to understand and convey the ways in which an individual might go about cultivating these virtues; which are often said to include charisma, empathy, communication skills, and others. Through a multiple single-subject design, this research examines the individual-level effect of …

Eutopiagraphies: Narratives Of Preferred Future Selves With Implications For Developmental Coaching, Florence Anne Diehl

Antioch University Dissertations & Theses

Eutopiagraphy is a narrative of a preferred future self that extends the research tradition of biography and autobiography. Taking place at the intersection of adult development, futures studies, and the practice of developmental coaching, this research asked the question, “what can eutopiagraphy reveal about a client’s meaning-making that may inform a coaching relationship, goals, and outcomes?” Using an adapted form of the subject-object interview, and subsequent thematic analysis, the eutopiagraphies of eight participants were collected and studied. Structures of constructive-developmental theory (values, view of others, range of perspective, control, and responsibility) were identified and constructive-developmental stages were estimated. This work …

Cross-Race Relationships As Sites Of Transformation: Navigating The Protective Shell And The Insular Bubble, Karen Audrey Geiger

Antioch University Dissertations & Theses

The context of leadership has evolved to incorporate greater social identity differences. Therefore, learning ways to navigate differences in social identity becomes important work leaders must now do. Because these differences surface in relationship with others, examining a relational framework helps us understand the nature of what happens between people (Ely & Roberts, 2008). This study explored the processes by which Black African American and White European American women enact leadership by creating and sustaining cross-race relationships as they work to change unjust systems around them. Using grounded theory methodology (Charmaz, 2006; Strauss & Corbin, 1990), a model was developed …

Strategic Asymmetric Multicultural Alliances In Business, Anthony James Scriffignano

Antioch University Dissertations & Theses

Global economics and other factors make it increasingly difficult for organizations to operate within the boundaries of one country in a rational way (e.g., leveraging best practices, profitable, achieving goals). In this study, I looked at strategic business alliances, transcending simple quid pro quo relationships to deliver ongoing partner value. I refined my study to multicultural relationships, having differing cultural identities (i.e., ideas, heritage, language, or demographics from differing geographies). Finally, I considered asymmetry (i.e., inequity in working relationship). Using a mixed-methodology design, I surveyed alliance participants and interviewed participants from selected alliances. A multi-case study addresses emergent themes of …

The Religious Spirituality Of An Indiana Public School Leader And Its Influence On The School, Peters Timothy St.

All-Inclusive List of Electronic Theses and Dissertations

As schools expand secularization and laws limiting religious expression increase, one must not forget the religious spirituality of the individual. Individual religious spirituality is still protected under the United States Constitution. Many researchers feel that this religious spirituality should be nurtured, not discouraged in public schools. Multiple studies seen in the literature review show that spiritual and religious commitment directly leads to increased academic success and decreased risk taking behaviors in students. The school leader has the ability to encourage, foster, and enrich religious spirituality in students while following established law regarding the separation of church and state. All along, …

Developing And Implementing A Team Leadership Approach At The Alpha Seventh-Day Adventist Church, Gordon S. Jones

Doctor of Ministry Projects

Problem

Church life is not confined to a single or normative approach to leadership. Leadership must be decisively contextual The perennial challenge is developing, implementing, and practicing appropriate leadership. This project reports how this challenge was addressed at the Alpha Seventh-day Adventist Church.

Method

Cultural shift was fundamental to this challenge. The first step towards this transformation was establishing a theological and academic foundation. Next, four distinct phases were identified and employed in developing and implementing a team leadership approach for the Alpha Seventh-day Adventist Church.

Result

The project concluded with an evaluation instrument, which suggests that the new approach …

Positive Connection Leads To Student Success, Diane C. Leavitt Ma

All Student Scholarship

This study focuses on the impact of positive adult connections on high school students’ success. The data is from of one southern Maine high school with a population of 1,050 students. The data includes overall school-wide results of student connectedness, as well as in-depth results from nine student interviews. The researcher’s intent was to demonstrate the need for continued mentoring efforts for high school students. It does appear from this study that adult mentoring programs have a positive effect on student success. The study also indicates that further research regarding the impact of student mentoring programs in high schools is …

Leadership And The More-Important-Than-Average Effect: Overestimation Of Group Goals And The Justification Of Unethical Behavior, Crystal L. Hoyt, Terry L. Price, Alyson E. Emrick

Jepson School of Leadership Studies articles, book chapters and other publications

This research investigates the empirical assumptions behind the claim that leaders exaggerate the importance of their group’s goals more so than non-leaders and that they may use these beliefs to justify deviating from generally accepted moral requirements when doing so is necessary for goal achievement. We tested these biased thought processes across three studies. The results from these three studies established the more-important-than-average effect, both for real and illusory groups. Participants claimed that their group goals are more important than the goals of others, and this effect was stronger for leaders than for non-leading group members. In Study 3, …

Group Processes, Donelson R. Forsyth, Jeni Burnette

Jepson School of Leadership Studies articles, book chapters and other publications

Social behavior is often group behavior. People are in many respects individuals seeking their personal, private objectives, yet they are also members of social collectives that bind members to one another. The tendency to join with others is perhaps the most important single characteristic of humans. The processes that take place within these groups influence, in fundamental ways, their members and society-at-large. Just as the dynamic processes that occur in groups--such as the exchange of information among members, leading and following, pressures put on members to adhere to the group's standards, shifts in friendship alliances, and conflict and collaboration-change the …

The Perspectives Of First-Year Principals Regarding Their Experiences With Mentors And The Mentoring Process Within The Louisiana Educational Leaders Induction (Leli) Program, Sabrah Helms Kingham

LSU New Orleans Theses and Dissertations

Are new school administrators prepared for the surprises, obstacles, and opportunities they are likely to encounter during the first-year in their new role? Sadly enough, too many new leaders do not feel prepared to meet the challenges of their new role as an administrator. In 2006, the National Center for Education Statistics (2006) reported that there were 95,726 administrators in the U. S. Within this pool of administrators, approximately 127 were new hires in the state of Louisiana (LDE, 2006). In an effort to find ways to support, guide, and retain new principals, the Louisiana Educational Leaders Network, under the …