Business Commons^™

Examining The Career Path Of Certified Public Accountants In Audit And Tax Services: Perceptions Of Accounting Graduates' Competencies, Steven Mulhollen

Dissertations

Accounting professionals claim there is a deficiency of individuals with the appropriate competencies to enter the accounting workforce (Pasewark, 2021; Richardson, 2020; Sandifer, 2018; Thomson, 2017). Also, recent trends indicate a need to increase the number of qualified accounting professionals who can pass the Certified Public Accounting Exam (CPA Exam) and enter the public accounting workforce (American Institute of Certified Public Accountants [AICPA], 2021a; Dawkins, 2023). This quantitative, causal-comparative study expands existing studies by analyzing the impact of CPA's chosen career path of audit or tax on their perception of the required and attained accounting competencies. This study contributes to …

Coworkers And Leaders: The Relationship Between Trustworthiness, Trust, And Employee Engagement, Lianne Young

Dissertations

A highly engaged workforce provides numerous organizational and individual benefits (Shuck et al., 2016), the culmination of which leads to a competitive advantage difficult to emulate (Burke et al., 2013). It remains challenging to understand how engagement develops, with little research available explaining the process (Shuck, 2020). High employee engagement levels provide a competitive advantage, but stagnant engagement levels remain a significant obstacle (Shuck, 2020).

Shuck (2020) recommends further research focusing on methods to increase engagement. Trustworthiness and trust are antecedents and drivers of engagement (Chughtai & Buckley, 2008; Federman, 2010; SHRM, 2017). A lack of trust has negative impacts …

Affective Commitment, Mentoring, And Anticipated Turnover Among Millennials, Keiasha Hypolite

Dissertations

ABSTRACT

Millennials comprise the largest group of individuals in the workforce, yet organizations struggle to keep millennials engaged in the workplace. Millennials move from job to job, with an average stay at one employer between 12 and 18 months (Hechl, 2017). Researchers have reported that millennials cause the majority of turnover in the workplace. Globally, human resources practitioners experience difficulties retaining millennials (Sahraee et al., 2021). Previous studies have researched millennials, affective commitment, mentoring, and turnover. However, no known research has used all four factors to solve a global problem. In their discussion of the highly competitive labor market, Ramírez …

The Mediating Influence Of Organizational Trust On The Relationship Between Transformational Leadership And Job Satisfaction In The Virtual Workplace, Angela Daniels

Dissertations

Research has shown how leadership influences job satisfaction and organizational trust in the virtual workplace. With an increasing number of organizations shifting to these work environments, it is essential to study the effect of leadership on virtual workers. Prior studies suggest that leadership behaviors significantly impact job satisfaction (Hacker et al., 2019), and leadership plays a crucial role in inspiring employees to achieve the goals and objectives of the organization in a virtual workplace (Miller, 2020). Specifically, transformational leadership behaviors that shape the mindset and actions of employees are significant (Abelha et al., 2018). This study proposed a mediation model …

The Relationship Between The Protean Career Attitude And Feedback After The Employee Promotion Process, Marcie Overstreet

Dissertations

The deterioration of the traditional organizational career model progressively challenges employees to manage their careers (Briscoe et al., 2006). Increasingly, individuals self-manage their careers, focusing on both professional and personal circumstances throughout a career (Li et al., 2019). Employees continue to pursue career advancement by developing their knowledge, skills, and competencies. While individuals seek career development pursuing more challenging and higher paying jobs, organizations also show interest in career development.

Organizations take an interest in the career growth of employees because career advancement leads to increased morale and productivity and reduced costs associated with employee turnover (Bowness, 2019). Increased morale …

The Relationship Between Social Isolation, Telecommuting Intensity Levels, Autonomy, And Job Satisfaction During The Covid-19 Pandemic, Kristy Williams

Dissertations

The COVID-19 pandemic forced workplaces to social distance, and millions of workers began telecommuting or working from home (Kniffin et al., 2021). Becker (2002) stated, “How well companies manage their human capital is a crucial factor in their success (p. 8).” The pandemic has profoundly affected human capital (Ballotpedia, 2021; Collings et al., 2021; Jesuthasan et al., 2020; Kniffin et al., 2021). This study examined the relationship between social isolation, telecommuting intensity levels, autonomy, and job satisfaction during the COVID-19 pandemic. The researcher attempted to answer the research question and objectives by conducting a quantitative correlation study using a survey …

Higher Education Business And Technology Leaders’ Behaviors That Drive Outcome Alignment, Katherine Lynch-Holmes

Dissertations

Higher education institutions (HEIs) face unprecedented challenges, including capacity alignment, financial sustainability, and even public confidence (Grajeck & Brooks, 2020; Grawe, 2019; Oblinger, 2019; Simone, 2020, Wheeler, 2020, Witt & Coyne, 2019). Financial challenges force HEIs to reduce costs by making decisions like cutting programs, laying off staff or merging institutions to reduce operating costs (Chen et al., 2019; Sellingo, 2017; Witt & Coyne, 2019). Higher education leaders (HELs) must act as trusted partners and broker technology to align processes, support, and outcomes (Luftman 2000; Petkovics, 2018; Reinitz, 2019). Unfortunately, higher education’s business-technology (BITA) alignment remains lower than other national …

Organizational Stressors As Predictors Of Burnout, Kristen Albritton

Dissertations

The purpose of this study is to determine if organizational stress, measured by role conflict and role ambiguity, predicts burnout among employees. A review of the related literature identified variables that demonstrate a relationship with burnout, supported by the Maslach (1998) theory of burnout and Katz and Kahn’s (1966) organizational role theory. The researcher also examined whether organizational level and demographic variables (gender, education level, and job tenure) moderate the relationships between role conflict, role ambiguity, and burnout.

The study follows a non-experimental, cross-sectional design using data collected from a survey. Results of linear regression analyses reveal role conflict and …

The Relationship Between The Perceived Value Of Professional Development, Job Satisfaction, And Intent To Leave, Wendy Marie Wells

Dissertations

Organizations striving to remain competitive compete in the war for talent in order to recruit and retain employees. Studies assessing intent to leave and turnover suggest numerous strategies to mitigate the revolving door of employees quitting jobs (Allen, 2008; Allen, Bryant, & Vardaman 2010; Lee, Hom, Eberly, & Li, 2018). This study assesses the relationship between the perceived value of professional development, job satisfaction, and intent to leave. Results of the study reveal as one finds professional development, valuable job satisfaction increases. In assessing the relationship between professional development and intent to leave, the results of the study suggest that …

Work-Life Balance: Perceived Differences Of Teleworkers And Non-Teleworkers, Christian Paul Lagarde

Dissertations

As the growth in the number of dual-career couples continues, couples attempt to balance the demands of career and family (Berlato & Corrêa, 2017). A healthy work environment potentially supports a positive work-life balance for employees. Supportive work environments increase morale, job satisfaction, job retention, productivity, as well as a fulfilling family life (Molla, 2015). Failure to assist employees with finding work-life balance risk the loss of a positive work environment for a company’s employees and the entire organization. Therefore, this human capital study seeks to build on the current research surrounding assisting organizations to find work-life balance for their …

The Economic Impacts Of Casino Gaming In Mississippi: Local, Regional, National And International Considerations, Janelle Townes

Dissertations

Casino development and the proliferation of the casino gaming industry has centered on the prevailing issue of economic impact. The purpose of this study was to determine what impact casinos in Mississippi have on the economy of the host communities. In this quantitative descriptive research study, the primary employment, tourism and revenue data were gathered from records provided by the Mississippi Gaming Commission to test the level of change that occurred in the host communities of Mississippi casinos between 2000 and 2015, a period when Mississippi communities experienced severe economic crises due in part to natural diseasters and economic recession. …

Supervisor-Subordinate Conflict Negotiation: Examining The Core Concerns In Light Of Communication Accommodation And Gender Roles, Piyawan Charoensap-Kelly

Dissertations

This quasi-experimental study examined a supervisor-subordinate negotiation of an emotion-laden conflict from the lens of the core concerns framework, communication accommodation theory, and gender roles research. Results empirically support CCF that, by accommodating or attending to the employees’ core concerns, managers can stimulate employees’ positive emotion and integrative intention. However, under- and overaccommodating the core concerns can lead to distributive intention. Additionally, the employees’ perception of manager goodwill can strengthen or attenuate the positive effect of core concerns accommodativeness on outcome variables especially for male managers. Thus, moderate accommodation is recommended for male managers. For female managers, the results show …

Exploring Churn And Alignment Between Retention And Occupational Culture As Perceived By Professional Truck Drivers, Catherine M. Cole

Dissertations

Despite advances in logistics software and increased driver pay, the trucking industry continues a historic wave of human capital risks in the form of driver turnover and driver shortages. Previous efforts to understand the phenomenon of driver turnover rely heavily on supply chain, transportation, and logistics based disciplines. The current study provides a human capital ontology towards understanding professional truck driver perceptions. Within the interpretive framework of pragmatism, the study applied a simultaneous ethnographic and phenomenological research design to explore the phenomenon of churn and professional truck driver perceptions of environmental alignment between trucking industry retention strategies and the occupational …

Perceived Influence Of The Ferguson Effect On Law Enforcement Officer Turnover Intentions, William P. Markopoulos Jr

Dissertations

Law enforcement officer turnover lacks the support of empirical research (Monk-Turner, O’Leary, & Sumter, 2010; Wareham, Smith, & Lambert, 2013), despite being costly in terms of both human and monetary capital (Peña, 2013; Reaves, 2012; Wilson & Sheer, 2013). What literature is available describes factors such as job dissatisfaction and monetary issues as reasons to leave an agency (Cyprian, 2009; Hubbard, 2008; McIntyre, 1990). A new phenomenon, known as the “Ferguson Effect” has been examined in terms of community involvement (Nix & Wolfe, 2016; Wolfe & Nix, 2016) and violent crime rates (Rosenfeld, 2015), but there is no research that …

The Relationship Between The Human And Social Capital Characteristics Of Nascent Entrepreneurs And Expected Job Growth In The United States, William Dwight Burge

Dissertations

The global financial crisis (GFC) that began in 2007 negatively impacted new business creation (Davidsson & Gordon, 2015). Entrepreneurship has been identified as a viable way to generate jobs in the United States since the 1970s (U.S. Small Business Administration, 2014). However, the literature suggests that there has been a decline in entrepreneurship in the United States (Clifton, 2015; Singh & Ogbolu, 2015). Capital is important to those individuals involved in entrepreneurship (Cetindamar, Gupta, Karadeniz, & Egrican, 2012), specifically, human capital and the social network connections or social capital resources of the entrepreneur (Becker, 1993; Schutjens & Völker, 2010).

This …

Is Human Capital Development The Missing Element Of The Aerotropolis Model?, John Roosevelt Hubbard

Dissertations

Until the early 20th century, transportation by land or water served as the primary methods of trade. As competition in the global marketplace increased in the 21st century air transportation emerged as a new and faster method of trade. Convinced of the economic benefits of air transportation, many policymakers of airport communities were quick to make plans for growth such as building infrastructure around the airport. This aerotropolis model often ignored the human capital development required for success.

Central to this study is this question: Is human capital development the missing component of the aerotropolis model economic development strategy? The …

An Examination Of The Volunteer Coordinator's Influence On Church Volunteers' Intent-To-Continue At The Largest Protestant Churches, Jason Berton Golden

Dissertations

Volunteers contribute to the production of goods and services by easing the burden of the paid workforce while not increasing costs. Today’s volunteers tend to be highly trained, skilled professionals looking for a place to invest their time and skills. Churches are the largest single recipient of many volunteers’ efforts. Despite this fact, volunteerism is on the decline in churches.

Once recruited, attrition rates can climb as high as 40% in the first 12 months following training of volunteers. Therefore, the greatest challenge churches face is turnover. Not only does turnover lead to reduced production; it also incurs added expenditures …

Building Change Readiness Practices For Information Technology Support Staff, Dianna Joseph Perkins

Dissertations

With the turbulent economic conditions of the healthcare market, organizational leaders are faced with significant factors driving unprecedented change. Healthcare organizations are challenged with reimbursement reductions, high costs, modification of government regulations, and demanding healthcare consumers. Survival for healthcare organizations in this volatile climate requires successful implementation of rapid change. Healthcare leaders recognize a correlation between competitive advantage and the implementation of advanced information technology. Unfortunately, despite the efforts of healthcare leaders, many change initiatives fail. This study explores the effects communication, leadership, and culture strategies have on individual change readiness as perceived by IT support staff in a not-for-profit …

Manufacturing Mississippi's Workforce: An Assessment Of Employability Skills As Perceived By Faculty And Senior Students Of Four Year Manufacturing Related Degree Programs, Mamie Yvette Griffin

Dissertations

A worldwide concern exists that undergraduate programs are not producing graduates with the kind of lifelong learning and professional skills needed for workplace success. Numerous research studies indicate new employees lack needed employability skills such as teamwork, decision-making, and communication.

Similarly, recent national and state findings suggest that graduates of Mississippi‟s manufacturing-related degree programs may not be fully prepared to meet the needs of manufacturers in the state. Hence, this research proposes to determine the degree to which Mississippi‟s four-year manufacturing-related degree programs address employability.

To answer this question, the present study utilizes descriptive non-experimental research to assess the perception …

The Perceptions Of Superintendents Regarding The Need For Graduate Business Classes In Educational Leadership, Howard Leland Smith

Dissertations

The purpose of this study was to explore the comprehensiveness of educational leadership programs regarding the extent of appropriate business knowledge attained by public school administrators. Portions of the study included a discussion of current licensing practices, academic governance, basic business requirements for leadership and management, and basic financial literacy. A further purpose was to measure the perception of how the inclusion of specific business-oriented graduate education in the certification process might increase the initial success of administrators.

The literature review supported the concept that superintendents understand change management and fiscal responsibility. Survey respondents supported these concepts by indicating the …

The Pursuit Of Competitive Advantage And The Strategic Behavior Of Firms In Adopting Self-Service Technology, Timothy David Saur

Dissertations

In 2002 Zuboff and Maxim published their book titled The Support Economy. In the book the authors predict a new era of capitalism that holds great promise for companies and individuals who can design useful, usable, and desirable information systems, knowledge networks, and social software. Since the time of publication advances in technology have allowed the use of self-service products to expand into once unforeseen areas. Self-service technology is used by companies to lower cost, to increase market share, to develop new revenue streams, and to position their products as innovative. Yet the body of research surrounding the organizational strategy …