Digital Commons Network^™

Personal Resilience, Workplace Civility, And Staff Retention In Behavioral/Mental Health Crisis Stabilization Units, Paula D. Stover

Doctor of Nursing Practice (DNP) Translational and Clinical Research Projects

Retention of behavioral/mental health (BMH) staff is a critical need in public safety net systems, but a challenge to sustain. Chronic attrition in BMH settings is costly and can have adverse effects on client care. Researchers recommend investigation of personal resilience and workplace civility as potential retention factors. However, no studies explored relationships between these factors in BMH crisis stabilization units (CSU). A southeastern United States public safety net agency needed baseline data to inform workforce retention initiatives. A correlation design was used to measure relationships between personal resilience, workplace civility, and the intention to continue working at three CSUs …

An Elderly Employment Model For The Thai Automotive Industry, Pornrat Sadangharn

The South East Asian Journal of Management

This research aims at studying an elderly employment model for the Thai automotive industry. Mixed methods with a sequential exploratory strategy were utilized. Grounded theory was employed by using in-depth interviews to investigate the characteristics of elderly employment in the Thai automotive industry. For this stage of the research, theoretical and purposive sampling was used to select 32 key informants from four groups of stakeholders: (1) elderly workers, (2) employers or human resource managers, (3) government officers, and (4) academics. The findings were then validated using a quantitative approach with structural equation modelling (SEM). A total of 308 elderly workers …

The Revolving Door Of Education: Teacher Turnover And Retention Amongst The Graduates Of A Liberal Arts Teacher Education Program, Gregory W. Dachille, Chloe Ruff

Education Faculty Publications

In the United States, elementary and secondary education teachers comprise 4% of the entire civilian workforce (Ingersoll, 2001). The composition of that 4% is changing because of teacher turnover. According to recent statistics, 46% of teachers leave the classroom within the first five years of teaching and 9.5% of teachers leave the classroom within their first year (Rinke, 2014; Riggs, 2013; Zheng & Zeller, 2016). This study is designed to examine the teaching experiences of graduates of one teacher education program and the potential differences between graduates who stay in teaching and those who leave. Throughout this study, the guiding …

Evaluating Adn Faculty Job Satisfaction, Karen M. Thies

Doctor of Nursing Practice Projects

Background

The U.S. is facing a critical shortage of nurses as the aging baby boomer generation is requiring more nursing care. Contributing to the nursing shortage is the inability to educate larger numbers of nurses, attributable to a lack of nursing faculty. Insufficient numbers of nursing faculty results in qualified applicants being turned away from nursing programs.

Project Design

This project evaluated faculty job satisfaction in 703 accredited Associate Degree Nursing (ADN) programs in the U.S. The Index of Work Satisfaction (IWS) (Stamps, 1997), was designed to measure specific factors of nurses' job satisfaction and was emailed to all full …

Leadership Practices Supporting Retention In Head Start Nonprofit Organizations, Nannette Brown Phillips

Walden Dissertations and Doctoral Studies

Head Start, the largest early childhood organization in the United States, was federally mandated to employ bachelor degreed operational employees, with no additional funds. The purpose of this multiple case study was to explore effective strategies that successful leaders of Head Start Nonprofit Organizations use to retain operational employees. The population of this study included 5 Head Start CEOs/Program Directors in 5 Head Start nonprofit organizations in Alabama who successfully retained operational employees in their organization. Kouzes and Posner's transformational leadership theory provided a conceptual framework for this study. Data were collected via telephone interviews and employee records from the …

Best Leadership Practices For Retaining Direct Care Staff In Residential Treatment Centers, Emma Nicole Salazer

Theses and Dissertations

The purpose of this study is to identify best leadership practices in retaining direct-care staff in residential treatment centers. While research exists on employee retention, there is a lack of research focused on employee retention in residential care. How leaders engage with direct-care staff members in residential care can have a significant influence on increasing employee retention rate. The literature review revealed transformational leadership theory as the theoretical framework, including 4 components: idealized influence, individualized consideration, inspirational motivation, and intellectual stimulation. The design for this research was a qualitative case study. The residential treatment center was selected as the study …

Strategies For Reducing Voluntary Employee Turnover, Xiomara Dejesus

Walden Dissertations and Doctoral Studies

The high costs associated with turnover and the loss of skilled employees have a significant adverse effect on organizational performance. The loss of one skilled worker can cost 25-500% of an employee's salary with respect to replacement, training, and productivity. The purpose of this descriptive multiple case study was to explore strategies for frontline managers and human resource managers to reduce voluntary employee turnover. The sample consisted of 5 frontline supervisors and 6 human resource leaders with successful experience designing and implementing strategies to reduce voluntary employee turnover in 8 organizations in Orange County, Florida. The conceptual framework for this …

Strategies Small Business Owners Use For Long-Term Existence, Sherman Eldridge Humphrey Jr

Walden Dissertations and Doctoral Studies

More than 90 of every 100 new businesses fail within 5 years. The need to explore ongoing strategies that provide low-cost alternatives can prove invaluable to cash-strapped new business owners. Exploration of relationships among a group of stakeholders essential to business success provided data in this case study. Those stakeholders include the owner, the customer service personnel and the consumer. Without the consumer, all other business activities would cease to be necessary. Five business owners and five employees from Redding, California participated in 2 separate focus group interviews. The conceptual framework for this case study was to explore the specific …

The Influence Of Balance Within The Competing Values Framework And School Academic Success On Teacher Retention, Charisse Gulosino, Louis Franceschini Iii, Portia Hardman

Journal of Organizational & Educational Leadership

The primary aim of this study is to use the survey items from the TELL Tennessee Survey (2013) using the Competing Values Framework (CVF) to determine whether teachers' observations about a set of topically organized school climate dimensions and school performance levels are associated with their immediate professional plans. Using a three-by-two-level Analysis of Covariance (ANCOVA), we find that the effect of CVF “balance” and school performance level explain much of the variation in the percent of teachers who intend to stay at their current school, independent of the school’s student demographic characteristics. Specifically, the effect of having a balanced …

Transformational Leadership And Staff Nurses' Intent To Stay, Nourah Abdalaziz Alsadaan

International Nursing Research Congress (INRC)

Session presented on Saturday, July 25, 2015:

Purpose: To examine the relationship between transformational leadership and staff nurses' intent to stay.

Methods: Published research articles between 2000 and 2014 that examined transformational leadership (behaviours) and staff nurses' intent to stay were selected from 6 electronic databases, including the EMBASE, ERIC, PSYCHINFO, SCOPUS, MEDLINE (OVID) and Academic Search Complete. In consultation with a health librarian, databases were accessed using key words: transformational leadership, retention, nurs*

Results: The higher nurses rated their manager as having transformational leadeeship style, the lower was the unit tuRNer rate. Studies indicated that transformational leadership style was …

Exploring Leadership Strategy Influence On Nursing Personnel Retention Within Safety-Net Hospitals, Carl Brown

Walden Dissertations and Doctoral Studies

Frequent turnover among a hospital's nursing staff can profoundly impact organizational operating costs. With a national turnover rate of 17% in 2015, understanding the impact of management approaches on nurse attrition is vital to business success. Guided by Homan's social exchange theory, the purpose of this single case study was to explore leadership strategies used by safety-net hospital leaders to increase nursing personnel retention. Data collection consisted of semistructured interviews from a purposive snowball sampling of 8 senior directors working at a safety-net hospital in southern Maryland. Additional information collected involved documents and artifacts related to human resources management policies …

Strategies To Retain Employees In Clinical Laboratories, Amber Rose Phipps

Walden Dissertations and Doctoral Studies

With 30 million citizens gaining access to U.S. healthcare through the Affordable Care Act by 2016, healthcare managers need preanalytic employees to ensure quality healthcare services can be provided. The purpose of this qualitative single case study explored strategies used to retain preanalytic employees. The target population consisted of 10 clinical laboratory managers in a single community-based clinical laboratory in the mid-southern United States, selected because of prior success in improved employee retention strategies. The conceptual framework grounding this study was the theory of work adjustment. Data triangulation occurred from using semistructured interviews and company documents. All interpretations from the …

Transformational Leadership As A Means Of Improving Patient Care And Nursing Retention, Carla D. Thomas

Walden Dissertations and Doctoral Studies

The Joint Commission (TJC) sets standards to assist healthcare organizations in improving performance. The hospital for which this project was developed did not meet national TJC benchmarks for patient satisfaction and nurse retention. Based on direct observation, discussion with staff, and results of the Multifactorial Leadership Questionnaire given to 39 staff nurses before this project was chosen, evidence suggested that the leadership style of the charge nurses was transactional, which is less effective than transformational leadership (TFL). Framed within the Plan, Do, Study, Act model, the purpose of this quality improvement project was to design an educational curriculum including didactic …

Creating A Culture Of Completion In Two-Year Institutions: Examining The Influence Of Participation In The Community College Completion Corps On Institutional Stakeholders, Jennifer Blalock

Theses and Dissertations

This applied dissertation assessed the effect of participation in Community College Completion Corps and associated activities on campus stakeholders’ perceptions of a culture of completion. The national initiative to increase completion rates at community colleges has resulted in a heightened awareness of this performance measurement. A number of community colleges have participated by hosting a C4 signing event, the hallmark activity associated with the movement. This inaugural event served as a public declaration of the two-year institution’s intention to provide an environment in which policy and practice, as well as theory and application, focus on supporting and increasing student completion. …

A Case Study Of The Experiences Of Students With Disabilities Who Did Not Complete High School, Richard Wieringo

Doctoral Dissertations and Projects

This case study explores the experiences of students with disabilities who have dropped out of high school, so as to identify related factors that led to their decisions. Participants included both males and females who were designated as students with disabilities at Ridgeville High School (pseudonym for a Virginia high school) and who dropped out between their third and fourth years of high school, during the 2010 to 2014 academic years. All participants were between the ages of 18 and 24. The case study was conducted through the use of semi-structured interviews, journaling, and observation of the sample population, with …

A Case Study Of The Experiences Of Students With Disabilities Who Did Not Complete High School, Richard Wieringo

Doctoral Dissertations and Projects

This case study explores the experiences of students with disabilities who have dropped out of high school, so as to identify related factors that led to their decisions. Participants included both males and females who were designated as students with disabilities at Ridgeville High School (pseudonym for a Virginia high school) and who dropped out between their third and fourth years of high school, during the 2010 to 2014 academic years. All participants were between the ages of 18 and 24. The case study was conducted through the use of semi-structured interviews, journaling, and observation of the sample population, with …

The Implementation Of A Promotion/Retention Policy To Effect Change In Student Achievement In Third Grade Reading/Language Arts, Donna N. Shea

Theses and Dissertations

For decades there has been an ongoing push to increase student achievement through large-scale policy reform and yet far too many students in the United States still perform below proficiency levels with achievement gaps according to race and socio-economic status. Choctaw County School District (CCSD) was no different, as low performance, especially in reading/language arts, and achievement gaps according to race and SES were present. To address these issues, CCSD implemented a K-2 promotion/retention policy in 2008 to improve student achievement. The primary purpose of the study was to investigate how a school district’s implementation of a K-2 policy for …

Exploring Recruiting Challenges Of The Insurance Industry, Hema Chaurasia

Walden Dissertations and Doctoral Studies

Insurance companies provide financial protection to the general population, but their workforce challenges may destabilize the companies to the point of financial distress. Senior insurance company leaders lack effective strategies to recruit skilled professionals. With contingency theory and resource-based view theory as the framework, the focus in this multicase study was the exploration of the recruiting strategies of human resources (HR) managers in New York City area insurance companies. Four insurance company HR managers were recruited via a purposeful and snowball sampling method for semistructured interviews. These interviews were analyzed through a reflective interpretation process, which was guided by the …

Systematic Review Of Retention Of Direct-Care Workers In Long-Term Care Facilities, Regina Evonne Goins

Walden Dissertations and Doctoral Studies

Turnover among direct-care workers in long-term care (LTC) facilities is high, and has a significant impact on residents, leaders, and owners of LTC facilities. The overall turnover costs are also substantial and constitute a significant financial burden in LTC facilities. This systematic review of the literature examined, retention strategies for direct-care workers in the LTC workforce. The information may be used to develop and provide practice recommendations that will help improve retention rates among direct-care workers in LTC facilities. The project design involved a systematic examination of English-only studies from 2001-2004, retrieved from 3 major databases: CINAHL with Medline simultaneous, …

Evaluating A Strategic Initiative's Efficiency To Enhance Community College Financial Sustainability, Anne S. Williams

Walden Dissertations and Doctoral Studies

During the first decade of the 21st Century, U.S. college enrollment rates increased, public funding fell by 30%, oversight structures changed, and funding algorithms switched to outcome-based metrics such as retention, progression, and graduation rates. Drawing from Vroom's expectancy theory, the purpose of this correlational study was to provide decision makers with information about the factors associated with an implemented strategic initiative at a Connecticut community college. The research question addressed the correlation between the strategic initiative, retention, and organizational financial sustainability using hierarchical, binary regression analysis of archival data for 2,558 first-time full-time students at a Connecticut community college. …

Leadership Skills For Nursing Unit Managers To Decrease Intention To Leave, Michael R. Roche, Christine M. Duffield, Sofia Dimitrelis, Belinda Frew

Research outputs 2014 to 2021

Aim: To examine specific elements of nursing leadership linked to intention to leave, in public acute care hospitals. Background: Nurse turnover is a global issue receiving widespread attention due to prolonged and projected workforce shortages. Nurse management and leadership qualities have been associated with intention to leave and turnover of nurses. The role of the nurse unit managers in the retention of nurses is becoming increasingly important, particularly because of their strong influence on the quality and stability of the work environment. Methods: Data were collected from 6 2 medical, surgical, and mixed units across eleven public acute care hospitals …

The Impact Of A Freshmen-Year Seminar On Students' Second-Year Retention, Lori Henry Richard

LSU Doctoral Dissertations

This study investigated the impact a freshman-year seminar course, UNIV 101, had on students’ second-year retention. Retention was determined based on a student’s subsequent enrollment at the university, one year after their initial semester. In addition, this study explored the relationship between selected independent variables found in literature and second-year retention. Finally, the study sought to determine if selected variables, completion of UNIV 101, and final letter grade earned by students in UNIV 101 was able to predict the probability of retention. The target population for this study was all first-time freshmen enrolled in a small, public, regional institution in …

First-Generation Freshman College Students: Factors Impacting Retention For The Subsequent Year, Laura Colson Mclean

Education Dissertations and Projects

Against all odds, first-generation college students continue to enroll in postsecondary schools with aspirations of obtaining a bachelor's degree. Unfortunately, many have not successfully reached their goal, which in turn has affected retention rates of colleges and universities. There are programs that provide academic support and advising to increase retention for first-generation college students. However, there are academic and nonacademic needs of the students that colleges, universities, and public policymakers have neglected to address.

The purpose of this research study was to determine from 168 first-generation college students at 5 participating institutions, what factors impacted their enrollment after their first …

Developing A Framework For Child Welfare Supervision, Miriam J. Landsman, Lisa D'Aunno

Journal of Family Strengths

The roles of the child welfare supervisor in guiding practice and in retaining child welfare workers are well established in the literature. In this article, we discuss a framework for child welfare supervision that was developed and implemented in the state of Iowa with support from the Children’s Bureau through a five-year grant to improve recruitment and retention in public child welfare. The framework supports family centered practice through a parallel process of supervision reflecting these guiding principles: strength-based, competency-based, culturally competent, reflective, individualized to workers’ learning styles and stages of development, and aimed at enhancing worker skill, autonomy, teamwork, …

Measuring Job Satisfaction Among Kentucky Head Principals Using The Rasch Rating Scale Model, Xavier J. Webb

Theses and Dissertations--Educational Leadership Studies

The continued expansion of principals' responsibilities is having a detrimental effect on their job satisfaction; therefore, it is increasingly challenging to retain these important leaders. Effective principals can impact student learning and other vital outcomes; thus, it is important to be able to retain effective school leaders. Examining the perceived sources of principals’ satisfaction and dissatisfaction with their work has strong implications for policies and practices that can be implemented to increase principal retention.

The purpose of this study was to measure the job satisfaction of head principals in Kentucky. The research conducted was an exploratory study using survey research …

Full Participation: Building The Architecture For Diversity And Public Engagement In Higher Education, Susan P. Sturm, Timothy Eatman, John Saltmarsh, Adam Bush

Faculty Scholarship

This catalyst paper offers a conceptual framework for connecting a set of conversations about change in higher education that often proceed separately but need to be brought together to gain traction within both the institutional and national policy arenas. By offering a framework to integrate projects and people working under the umbrella of equity, diversity, and inclusion with those working under the umbrella of community, public, and civic engagement, we aim to integrate both of these change agendas with efforts on campus to address the access and success of traditionally underserved students. We also hope to connect efforts targeting students, …

A Conceptual Model For Retaining County Extension Program Professionals, R Dale Safrit, Mitchell B. Owen

Journal of Extension

Retaining county program professionals in their positions continues to challenge Cooperative Extension systems. Turnover among program professionals results in unmet citizen needs, disrupted educational programs, low morale among remaining Extension professionals, and wasted financial and material resources. Using a qualitative methodology and content analysis, the authors developed the R.E.T.A.I.N.S. conceptual model for retaining county Extension program professionals, and suggest practical implications of the model: Recruit authentically; Expand on new employees' experiences and abilities; Train, train, train; Advocate for both the employee and the position; Inspire, invest in, and empower employees; Nurture connectivity among employees; and Show appreciation through effective recognition.

Factors Affecting Retention In Online Courses, Victoria L. Berling

All-Inclusive List of Electronic Theses and Dissertations

The purpose of this study was to expand what is known regarding the factors that relate to successful completion of online, undergraduate college courses. It addressed 13 student factors available through archival data at Northern Kentucky University based on 1,493 students enrolled in fully online courses in fall 2008. It included programmatic membership as the fourteenth variable. The study employed both logistic regression analysis and multiple regression analysis. The dependent variable for the logistic regression analysis was dichotomous based on completion of all online courses with a grade of D” or better (yes or no). The dependent variable for the …

Why They Stay: Career Longetivity Of Women In U.S. Corporate Engineering, Kathleen R. Buse

Student Scholarship

Women have a low representation in engineering as well as other science, technology, and math (STEM) fields as compared to other professions – and retention rates for males in engineering significantly exceed those for women. While previous research has identified numerous reasons why women exit STEM careers at a higher rate than men, the literature is silent about those women who stay. To better understand why women remain in corporate engineering professions despite well-researched and well-documented organizational and occupational obstacles that make it difficult for them to succeed, a qualitative study is proposed based on semi-structured interviews with both women …

Examining Successful Recuritment Strategies Utilized By Volunteer Alumni, James Eric Prudhomme

LSU Doctoral Dissertations

The purpose of this phenomenological qualitative study was to describe the manner in which volunteer alumni recruiters at a flagship institution were able to recruit prospective students both in and out of the formal recruitment setting. Due to the challenges facing Louisiana State University with out-of-state recruitment, volunteer alumni recruiters provide a cost-effective alternative to assist this effort. Findings of this study can be used to expand the current alumni volunteer recruitment effort by providing insight into the strategies that result in success in the recruitment process, all the while encouraging fellow alumni to assist their effort. The methodology for …