Digital Commons Network^™

Learned Lessons: Growing Social Workers’ Preparation For Upstream Policy Practice, Ann Curry-Stevens, Lisa Hawash, Sarah Bradley

School of Social Work Faculty Publications and Presentations

Over the last 10 years, the MSW program at Portland State University has gone from graduating 15% of its students in the macro concentration, to 32%, while the national average remains under 9%. This article traces that experience through a historically-grounded narrative line, and extracts learnings that are potentially relevant for the profession. Curricular practices include reviewing the content for horizontal and vertical integration, introducing macro content early in the first year of the program with sufficient time to inform students’ choice of concentrations, and providing students influence to shape content in the advanced year. Faculty specializations and community reputation …

Institutionalizing Community Engagement: The College Within A University As A Missing Organizational Link, John Saltmarsh, Michael Middleton, Melissa Quan

eJournal of Public Affairs

This article examines the kinds of organizational change that can be implemented at level of a college in a university to institutionalize community engagement as a core value of the college.

Negotiating Through A Huskie, Edgar E. Lopez

Honors Capstones

Everyone will negotiate at least once in their lifetime, and some people negotiate every day. The aim of Negotiating Through A Huskie is to compare effective negotiation techniques used in practice as well as theoretical techniques used by leaders experiencing change management across different offices and departments. Change management significantly impacts individual and team performance in a company or organization. When experiencing organizational change, leaders must be willing to redirect or redefine the processes for a company or organization. Using effective negotiation techniques helps two or more parties reach a beneficial outcome which in turn facilitates organizational change. I analyzed …

Family And Consumer Sciences Extension Agent Receptivenessto Innovative Caregiving Programming, Kristopher M. Struckmeyer, Gina Peek, Paula J. Tripp, Alex J. Bishop, Sarah R. Gordon

Faculty Publications - Teaching and Educational Leadership

Communities can adapt to residents' needs through innovative citizen-led initiatives. Extension can facilitate these innovation initiatives, but are Extension agents always receptive to such change? We conducted a study to examine the association between organizational change and personal factors and Extension family and consumer sciences agents' innovativeness regarding caregiving programming. Respondents rated their receptiveness to change and answered questions regarding psychosocial health factors. We found that years in current position, leadership self-efficacy, interoffice support, and social support were significant predictors of innovativeness. Results suggest that personal factors rather than organizational change factors may be the more crucial mechanisms for driving …

Investigating Administrators’ Resistance To Implementing Restorative Practices, Beri Deister

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

In this case study, the researcher investigated the barriers to school administrators’ implementation of restorative practices as a management approach to student behavior. Based on the claim that restorative practices is a promising alternative to exclusionary disciplinary placements for changing behavior, the researcher used an emergent explanatory mixed methods design to better understand administrators’ resistance to change despite overwhelming evidence that exclusionary disciplinary practices are the primary contributors to national trends in disciplinary disproportionality and institutional discrimination. The researcher identified and analyzed barriers to create recommendations for addressing administrators’ resistance through organizational change strategies using systems theory.

Embracing Diversity And Inclusion: An Organizational Change Model To Increase Intercultural Competence, Fe Moncloa, Shannon J. Horrillo, Dorina Espinoza, Russell Hill

Journal of Extension

Professionals in Extension who develop intercultural competence are better prepared to meet the needs of multicultural populations. This article addresses University of California Extension's formation of an intercultural competence professional development initiative. We describe our use of an integrated conceptual framework that includes Hammer's Intercultural Development Inventory (IDI) and Kotter's eight-step organizational change process to institutionalize the initiative. IDI pretest and posttest results indicate that California 4-H professionals are more culturally competent. The impact of the initiative also is reflected in the significant growth (151% increase) in Latino youth participation in 4-H. We provide recommendations for replicating our effort.

Success And Failure Rates, Factors, And Alignment With Change Models: A Meta-Ethnographic Analysis Of Planned Organizational Change Qualitative Case Study Literature, Diana Mcburnett

Human Resource Development Theses and Dissertations

The literature on planned organizational change contains numerous theories and models proposed and many references to success and failure rates and factors. However, the literature does not currently provide a synthesized body of evidence on such rates and factors and the effectiveness of specific models. The literature was reviewed to provide a brief historical overview of organizational change, evidence on change success and failure rates and factors, and an overview of contingency and paradox theories which provided the theoretical underpinnings for the study. This study provided a meta-ethnographic synthesis of 298 articles reporting qualitative case studies of planned organizational change …

Organizational Change Within Christian Higher Education Institutions And The Reactions Of Faculty, Dena Counts

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

Christian higher education in the United States is experiencing frequent transformational organizational change that is impacting faculty. Researchers have asserted that frequent, second-order organizational change correlates with interpersonal conflict, and conflict is associated with counterproductive work behaviors (CWBs). These associations between change, conflict, and negative work behavior are important to understand as faculty actions could significantly impact change efforts. Because of the context of Christian higher education, this study was designed to determine if faculty organizational identification influenced the correlations of the variables. It specifically utilized a cross-sectional survey design to assess faculty (N = 267) perceptions of organizational change, …

A Case Study Of Participant Responses To Organizational Change Involving Technology In The National Security Domain: How Informal Processes Iterate Structure And Outcomes, Brian E. Martinez

School of Public Service Theses & Dissertations

Nuanced differences between organizations and the pace of change within the national security domain have routinely produced equivocal results involving information and communication technology (ICT) development. These results are characterized by unpredictable costs, unrealistic delivery schedules, and dubious ICT performance in-use. This research is a case study exploration of organizational change involving technology (also referred to as ICT) in the national security domain of the public sector.

This research used machine learning and manual content analysis to compare the results of three experiments on interview transcripts. The first experiment investigated linkages between empirical and interpretive elements of organizational change. Empirical …

Creating Sustainable Support Systems For The Cultural Integration Of International Students At A Medium Size Ontario University, Muzi Li

The Dissertation in Practice at Western University

This OIP investigates the lack of cultural integration and support for international students at Medium-Size Ontario University (MSOU). The support for cultural integration of the international students at MSOU is inadequate and international students are facing social, emotional and academic challenges as they are not provided with the needed assistance to acclimatize to Western culture. Three potential solutions to address the PoP are demonstrated and evaluated. The chosen solution of implementing extended orientation and workshops is inspected in detail. Transformational Leadership and Confucianism are examined to ensure their relevancy and appropriateness to address this PoP and OIP and connected to …

Influence Of Organizational Change On Health Records Management Practices In Local Government Areas Of Osun State, Nigeria, Michael Segun Omole Dr., Tajudeen Temitayo Adebayo Dr

Library Philosophy and Practice (e-journal)

The study reported the influence of organizational change on health records management practices in local government areas, with a view to contributing to finding solutions to problems associated with organizational change in relation to health records management practices in local government areas of Osun State.

Survey research design was adopted for the study. The study population was three hundred and six (306) medical and health officers in the 30 local government areas of Osun State. Total enumeration technique was used. A validated questionnaire was the instrument used for data collection. The response rate of 93.1% was obtained and data …

Can Algorithms Help Us Decide Who To Trust?, David De Cremer, Jack Mcguire, Yorck Hesselbarth, Ke M Mai

Research Collection Lee Kong Chian School Of Business

The use of artificial intelligence (AI) and algorithms is increasing within organizations to manage business processes, hire employees, and automate routine organizational decision making. This comes as no surprise, since the application of simple linear algorithms have been shown to outperform human judgment in the accuracy of many administrative tasks. A 2017 Accenture survey also revealed that 85% of executives want to invest more extensively in AI-related technologies over the next three years.

The Effects Of Radical Transformational Change On The Change Agent In Software And Systems Product Development Contexts, Bob Schatz

Full-Text Theses & Dissertations

We are at the cusp of what Ray Kurzweil, Google’s director of engineering, called the “age of acceleration,” where globalization, technology, and financial markets instill a need for newer, better, faster products and services (Friedman, 2016: 187). As old ways of operating become outmoded and exponential growth is expected, businesses struggle to keep pace. Many face the same imperative: adapt or die. They must make sweeping, radical organizational change led by prepared, capable leaders who are empowered to drive this transformation. Research on leading radical change initiatives has focused on systems, models, and methodology—the practical processes of taking a business …

Exploring The Perceptions Of Leaders In Investor-Owned Utilities In California On Managing Organizational Change Initiatives, Maria Liza Legaspi

Dissertations

Purpose: The purpose of this qualitative study employing in-depth interviews was to identify the strategies and practices executive leaders and midlevel managers of investor-owned utilities (IOUs) perceive are effective in creating employee acceptance and support of organizational change and to identify the supports and barriers executive leaders and midlevel managers perceive as affecting employee acceptance or resistance to organizational change in IOUs.

Methodology: A qualitative research design enabled the capture of deeper thoughts and insights of executive leaders and midlevel managers of 4 IOUs in California. The study delved into the strategies and practices used by IOUs that are perceived …

A Study Of The Effectiveness Of Growing Leaders Through Team Building And Continual Learning, Bruce Robert Lotarski

Doctor of Education (Ed.D)

Team building and continual learning methods have become transdisciplinary, and the effectiveness of these approaches have yet to be fully appreciated across industries. Training, coaching, and team building may alleviate many of the challenges for positioning talent with organizational change. Organizational leaders should provide direction and support with team building by clarifying and prioritizing goals before inducing innovative initiatives (Peralta, Lopes, Gilson, Lourenço, & Pais, 2014). Setting transparent goals and commitment is characteristic of mature groups, which team building may help develop (Peralta et al., 2014). Four goals for team members at the group level are to set goals, assign …

Knowledge, Principal Support, Self-Efficacy, And Beliefs Predict Commitment To Trauma-Informed Care, Stephanie A. Sundborg

School of Social Work Faculty Publications and Presentations

Objective: Organizations are identifying trauma-informed care (TIC) as a priority yet implementation is slow. Research suggests commitment to a change effort is an important predictor for change behavior; however, there is little theoretical or empirical evidence exploring commitment to TIC. This study examines the variables that predict affective commitment to TIC including foundational knowledge, principal support, self-efficacy, and beliefs about trauma. Does foundational knowledge independently predict affective commitment to TIC or is this relationship mediated by other variables? Method: Data were collected from 118 participants working in human services, using cross-sectional survey design. Participants completed self-report measures of affective commitment …

Factors And Considerations For Change At James Madison University, Robert P. Zaepfel Jr.

Masters Theses, 2010-2019

The objective of this qualitative case study was to develop a thematic change model and taxonomy of change factors specifically designed for higher education practitioners at James Madison University (JMU). This research will provide resources to guide future institutional change at JMU while focusing on the practical nature of applying resources and techniques to facilitate organizational change. This study will bridge the gap between academic research and practitioner application by creating a cyclical theoretical framework grounding the exploration of complex higher education change dynamics at JMU. Individual interviews focused on recent change events were conducted with participants identified through the …

Leading Change: Examining The Relationships Between Leadership Style, Organizational Culture And Change Readiness In Christian Universities Of The State Of Oregon, Dale Seipp Jr.

Doctor of Business Administration (DBA)

This research explores current literature surrounding key components of leading change in the context of higher education. Current issues impacting higher education and driving the need for change are examined and concepts related to understanding organizational culture, leadership style and change readiness are discussed. Using the context of the Council of Christian Colleges and Universities (CCCU) located in the State of Oregon, this study incorporates three instruments, the Multifactor Leadership Questionnaire (MLQ), the Organizational Culture Index (OCI) and the Organizational Change Recipients’ Belief Scale (OCRBS), to examine the relationships between leadership style, organizational culture and institutional change readiness.

Involving Patient/Family Advisors And Advisory Councils With Patient And Family Engagement, Cortney D. Forward

Walden Dissertations and Doctoral Studies

Health care consumers are under-represented in literature when defining patient and family engagement. The proportion of people living longer is rapidly growing. Future research is needed to evaluate which strategies of patient and family engagement are most useful in real-world health care settings for patient and families. The purpose of this study was to describe the lived experiences of patient/family advisors working within patient family advisory councils at an academic medical center in the Midwestern United States. The conceptual framework is based on Greenleaf's servant leadership and Bass's transformational leadership. The research questions examined how patient/family advisors describe patient and …

Strategies For Succession Planning And Leadership Training Development For Nonprofit Organizations, Isaac C. Theus

Walden Dissertations and Doctoral Studies

Many leaders of nonprofit organizations (NPOs) lack strategies to replace leaders who leave the organization. An organization is in jeopardy of survival without an effective leadership development and succession planning strategy. The purpose of this single case study was to explore strategies NPO leaders use to develop future generations for leadership roles within the organization. Data were collected from face-to face semistructured interviews with 4 executives and 2 directors of a NPO in Texas and a review of documents including organization manuals, organizational charts, the employee handbook, and a management-in-training course. The human capital theory and succession theory were used …

Understanding Aquarium Culture In The Context Of Strategic Change, Katie E. Mcconnell

Theses and Dissertations

This study examined the relationship between organizational culture and strategic change. Specifically, how leaders can identify a preferred culture to support a new vision and create an action plan for shifting the existing to the preferred culture. Two frameworks were used: The Competing Values Culture Framework and Appreciative Inquiry. The combination of these models can be a helpful tool to create practical knowledge about culture and provide action plans to support the preferred state. Leaders indicated a 52% decrease in hierarchy and a 120% increase in adhocracy culture would effectively support the new vision. These results mapped to literature findings …

Are Employees More Likely To Accept Organizational Change If Psychological Safety Had Been Previously Established, Sara Strueby

Theses and Dissertations

To meet customer demands, organizations must continuously change to stay competitive in the external market. This can be challenging for organizations that have employees who are fearful of organizational changes. The purpose of this study was to understand if employees would be more likely to accept organizational changes if they had previously established psychological safety. The researcher conducted 12 qualitative interviews to assess the participants level of psychological safety pre and post organizational change. Due to the limited data, the study’s research question was not adequately addressed. The findings from this study indicated psychological safety is impacted by management. A …

Identifying The Challenges Remote Middle Managers Face, Stephanie Diaz

Theses and Dissertations

The purpose of this study was to investigate the challenges that remote middle managers face. Through a qualitative study focused on remote middle managers at a multinational organization, key themes were identified when middle managers were asked about challenges working and leading remotely. Participants included 12 middle managers working remotely based throughout the United States. Challenges identified included communication issues, work-life balance complications, and their involvement in strategy creation and implementation.

Enhancing Organizational Agility Within The Human Resources Function, Nathan Bushey

Theses and Dissertations

Organizational agility describes a firm’s dexterity in making necessary changes to sustain and enhance performance. This mixed methods study examined the nature of agility and the impacts of internal processes on agility within the human resources (HR) function of a telecommunications organization in the United States. Both survey and interview data were collected. Quantitative data were collected and statistically analyzed. Qualitative insights were coded to identify trends in the respective datasets. Study findings indicate the case organization had a moderate degree of agility and that its attunement to the external environment was variable. The data also suggested that leadership style, …

When Accreditation Policy Changes: An Exploration Of How Institutions Of Higher Education Adapt, Kim Levey

Theses and Dissertations

Changing policies from the Department of Education and, subsequently, regional accreditor impact how institutions of higher education enact and implement processes and procedures (Beattie, Thornton, Laden, & Brackett, 2013). In today's environment, policy changes are occurring as policy-makers are reacting to pressure from taxpayers and critics alike as a result of decreasing international rankings and evidence of financial aid fraud at some institutions (Hartle, 2012). With efforts to reauthorize the Higher Education Act in addition to changes to federal law through negotiated rule-making, it is becoming increasingly more imperative that institutions of higher education become adaptable, as changes in the …

Determining Impact Of Appreciative Inquiry: A Case Study, Kimberly Davis

CUP Ed.D. Dissertations

This qualitative study was an exploratory, single-case study from the perspectives of Appreciative Inquiry [AI] practitioners that explored how they determined the impact of an Inquiry. Through AI worldwide, the common call to action has been for empirical, critical analysis of the theory and practices of AI (Bushe, 1998; Bushe & Marshak, 2011, 2014, 2015; Clarke, n.d.; Conklin, 2009; Grant & Humphries, 2006; Hart, Conklin, & Allen, 2008; Kessler, 2013; Tartell & Vogel, 2017; Willoughby & Tosey, 2007). Bushe and Marshak (2013) stated a lack of unifying theory of change being offered and “a rather large gulf between academics who …

Source Attribution In Asl-English Interpreter Education: Testing A Method, Laura Maddox

International Journal of Interpreter Education

In interactive signed/spoken language interpreting situations, participants in the conversation learn who is speaking if the interpreter identifies the “source” or initiator of each utterance. This interpreting technique is referred to as source attribution (SA). Although attributing interpreted utterances is a critical skill for interpreters, this is the first study to test a method for teaching SA techniques to signed language interpreting students. Using a mixed-method approach involving an experimental group and a control group, data was collected using a pretest/instruction/posttest method, along with journals, questionnaires, and interviews. The experimental group improved significantly more than the control group after the …

Encountering Change: Job Satisfaction Of Sign Language Interpreters In Finland, Liisa Martikainen, Petri Karkkola, Matti Kuittinen

International Journal of Interpreter Education

The organizational system for providing Finnish sign language interpreter services has recently changed, and this change has influenced the whole interpretation service industry. It poses major challenges for the maintenance of job satisfaction among sign language professionals. The level of job satisfaction of sign language interpreters (in this study, N = 135) was surveyed by means of an online questionnaire. While examining this phenomenon, this study mainly addresses the systemic factors in employment conditions. According to the results, the level of job satisfaction among interpreters is quite high; however, it remains clearly lower than the average for Finnish workers. The …

Organizational Culture In Public Institutions And Its Effect Over The Implementation Of Total Quality Management Process- Kosovo Case, Ilir Rexhepi, Ermira Qosja

International Journal of Business and Technology

Total Quality management (TQM) is a philosophy management method, the importance of which continuously has been growing after '90. There is relatively short time since Kosovo Public Institutions are practically doing their activity as a part of an independent Country, and as such day by day they are facing with different management challenges which continuously are becoming more rough and tough towards the EU integration process.

Total Quality Management within Public Institutions, is leaded by the phase of establishment and implementation of Quality management Systems based on ISO 9001. In this process, through a deep empiric study in three Kosovo …

The Implementation And Impact Of Growth Mindset In A North Texas School District, Tricia A. Badillo

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

Growth mindset strategies are linked to positive academic behaviors. Additionally, it is common knowledge that a school’s learning environment and the teachers’ attitudes and points of view are influential on student learning. However, leaders of school districts continue to struggle with effecting necessary changes to alter schools’ culture and implement practices that align with growth mindset. One North Texas suburban school district (Coppell Independent School District) is leading a shared effort to ensure growth mindset culture and practices are implemented district-wide. The purpose of this single case study was to understand how district leaders, school leaders, and teachers incorporated growth …