Business Commons^™

Distinguishing Leadership Of Information Assurance Teams, Bamidele Adetokunbo Bankole

Walden Dissertations and Doctoral Studies

Information assurance (IA) projects are essential components of the information technology industry and often fail due to budget overruns, missed deadlines, and lack of performance by the project teams. The purpose of this phenomenological study was to explore the strategies necessary to improve IA project team performance. Lewin's situational leadership theory was used as the conceptual framework for this study. Interviews were conducted with 20 IA professionals located in the Washington, DC Metropolitan area. The data were transcribed, coded, and clustered for the identification of common patterns based on the Moustakas' modified van Kaam analysis. The major themes that emerged …

Department Chairs As Leaders: A Model Of Social Intelligence And Creative Performance In A State University, Afzal Rahim, Ismail Civelek, Feng Helen Liang

Management Faculty Publications

This study presents a structural equations model that represents relationships between department chairs’ social intelligence (SI) and their creative performance (CP) at a public university in the United States. SI was defined as the ability to be aware of relevant social situations, to manage situational challenges effectively, to understand others’ concerns and feelings, and to build and maintain positive relationships in social settings. Four components of SI were examined: situational awareness, situational response, cognitive empathy, and social skills. The model was tested with questionnaire data from 406 faculty members belonging to 43 departments in a state university. The data analyses …

Taking A Transformative Leadership Approach To Stakeholder Trust, Christopher Roszak

Walden Dissertations and Doctoral Studies

Business leaders struggle with the application of appropriate leadership models to retain stakeholder trust. The purpose of this phenomenological study was to explore the lived experiences of mortgage and investment leaders and stakeholders on applying various leadership models to restore stakeholder trust. Stakeholder and stewardship theories formed the conceptual framework of this study. A purposive sample of 20 stakeholders from the investments and mortgage industry in central Colorado participated in semistructured interviews. The research questions were on a leader's application of various leadership traits to restore stakeholder trust. Six themes emerged following coding and reduction using a modified van Kaam …

Transformational Leadership Principles Within Small Businesses, Tiffany Suzanne Mckinnon-Russell

Walden Dissertations and Doctoral Studies

Small businesses in the United States experience a high rate of failure. The purpose of this phenomenological study was to identify and explore consistent strategies small business owners in Harrisburg, Pennsylvania used to lead successful companies. Transformational leadership theory formed the conceptual framework for this study. A mixed purposive sample of 20 small business owners participated in semistructured face- to-face and telephone interviews. Each of the participants possessed a minimum of 3 years of successful business operation and employed fewer than 500 individuals. Using Moustakas' modified van Kaam analyses, 6 main themes emerged: characteristics and experiences, leadership behaviors, managing operations, …

Exploring Antecedents To Work Engagement And Psychological Well-Being Within A Canadian Provincial Ministry, Kris Ellis

Walden Dissertations and Doctoral Studies

A gap exists in organizational development strategies on why some individuals remain disengaged with their work. This study addressed whether a combination of specific contextual factors could support individuals, teams, and leaders to demonstrate the attitudes and behaviors consistent with work engagement. The theoretical frameworks of social constructivism, the conceptual framework of symbolic interactionism, and a hermeneutic inquiry approach were used to address how individual psychological traits/abilities of employees support work engagement. Nineteen employees of a Canadian provincial government ministry completed an engagement survey, MSCEIT, MBTI, and SDI assessments. They also participated in focus groups. Survey results showed high engagement …

The Perceptions Of Managers Relating To Subordinate Productivity In Virtual Work Arrangements, Frank Melvin

Walden Dissertations and Doctoral Studies

Some managers tend to resist virtual work and find it challenging to manage the productivity of subordinates working virtually. This phenomenological study examined managers' perceptions of subordinate productivity in virtual work arrangements. Adaptive structuration theory and McGregor's X and Y theory guided this study. The primary research questions focused on the managers' perceptions of worker productivity in virtual work arrangements and the related challenges. Data collection included semistructured interviews with 40 business managers responsible for overseeing the productivity of virtual workers. The study was conducted in the Atlanta, Georgia metropolitan area. Utilizing the Stevick'Colaizzi'Keen method of data analysis, 3 primary …

Job Expectations Of Employees In The Millennial Generation, Samantha Jean Linden

Walden Dissertations and Doctoral Studies

Understanding Millennials' job expectations is critical for employee retention because of the number of Generation X workers who are unable to fill the job openings that Baby Boomers leave vacant when retiring from the workforce. The purpose of this phenomenological study was to explore Millennial employees' job expectations. Interviews were conducted with a purposeful sample of 20 Millennials who had at least a bachelor's degree, had at least 1 year of employment experience, and worked in the Baltimore-Washington metropolitan area. The inclusion criteria established work experience as a foundation for determining Millennials' job expectations. The conceptual frameworks of this study …

The Effect Of Nationality Differences On The Emotional Intelligence Of Leaders, Hossein Reza Nikoui

Walden Dissertations and Doctoral Studies

Previous studies related to manager effectiveness and organizational culture have determined that emotional intelligence (EI) is a critical predictor of intercultural adjustment and business success. However, few investigators have examined the relationship between EI and nationality differences. In today's globalized business environment, such understanding is crucial to the development of more effective leadership programs for international workers. This quantitative study explored the degrees to which the EI of organizational managers varied across nationalities. A theoretical framework, provided by several theories related to personality, leadership, and types of intelligence, created a lens through which to analyze study results. The Trait Emotional …

Leaders' Risk Propensity And Delegation Of Critical Decision-Making Authority, Reginald Carlton Doctor

Walden Dissertations and Doctoral Studies

A leader's unwillingness to delegate critical decision-making authority to subordinate managers and employees negatively impacts the performance of a firm. There is a lack of research that measures a leader's willingness to delegate critical decision-making authority to subordinate managers and employees based on their individual risk propensities. The purpose of this study was to provide empirical evidence of the influence risk propensity has on a leader's willingness to delegate critical decision-making authority. Specifically, this study examined the extent that risk propensity of leaders affect delegating critical decision making authority to subordinate managers and employees. The research design was a quantitative …

A Mixed Methods Study: Dimensions Of Cross-Cultural Professional Success: Experiences Of Western Women Living And Working In Eastern Cultures, Tami J. France

Antioch University Full-Text Dissertations & Theses

In this world of global interconnectedness women continue to develop cross-cultural careers and their experiences impact and influence global scholarship and practice. Through this study, the relationships, resources, and characteristics that support female expatriate success were explored, with additional focus on the role of mentor and coach relationships. The mixed-methods study was conducted using a sequential approach to research that began with one-on-one semi structured interviews with ten professional women from the United States and Canada working or formerly working in China and Hong Kong. A survey was designed based on the interview findings. Professional women from western countries working …

A Mixed Methods Perspective: How Integral Leaders Can Contribute To The Growth Of Emerging Leaders, Susan M. Hayes

Antioch University Full-Text Dissertations & Theses

Given that organizational complexity continues to increase, leaders are looking for credible information, and a process that helps them become a better leader. Emerging leaders are faced with trying to be the best leader they can be while leading teams of people who think and act differently from them. To assist emerging leaders with their leadership, this study explores the literature and looks to highly respected and admired leaders for how they became the leader they are today. The purpose of this study was fourfold: first, to identify and describe first and second tier integral theory leaders from a sample …

Employees' Perceptions Of Managerial Transformational Leadership Behaviors And Effectiveness Among Information Technology Managers, Olusesan Ogunsakin

Walden Dissertations and Doctoral Studies

The selection of effective leaders is critical to improving organizations' performance in the current dynamic global business landscape; however, the inadequacy of leadership selection criteria in many organizations had led to an increase in the rate of chief executive officers' dismissals within the last 3 decades in the United States. The purpose of this correlational study was to examine the relationship between employees' assessments of their managers' transformational leadership behaviors and employees' perceptions of managerial leadership effectiveness for improved leadership selection. Bass' transformational leadership theory and Herzberg's motivation-hygiene theory guided the study with data gathered, using an online survey, from …

A Quantitative Model Studying The Effects Of Transformational Leadership On Job Satisfaction, Kenneth Uzoma Chukwuba

Walden Dissertations and Doctoral Studies

Hotels have lost $3.4 billion over the last 5 years because of high rates of employee turnover. Leaders must use the tools necessary to increase job satisfaction and retain professional employees. The problem was that insufficient data described the relationships between transformational leadership, gender, education, and job satisfaction for hotel professionals. The purpose of this survey study was to understand the relationship between transformational leadership and job satisfaction for the hotel professionals in the United States. A total of 248 hotel professionals from the Colorado Lodging and Hotel Association were surveyed using the Multifactor Leadership Questionnaire and the Job Satisfaction …

Strategies To Improve The Financial Performance Of State-Owned Enterprises In Ghana, Solomon Bonney

Walden Dissertations and Doctoral Studies

Abstract

The deteriorating financial performance of state-owned enterprises (SOEs) has been an increasing concern for the government of Ghana. The contributions of SOEs to the gross domestic product (GDP) of the Ghanaian economy have declined, leading to the loss of job opportunities because of the unprofitability and rising debt levels. SOE managers need to adopt strategies to improve the financial performance of their organizations so they can contribute to the GDP and generate employment opportunities. Government, SOE management, and employees will benefit from profitable and sustainable SOEs that have the ability to contribute to the national development agenda. The purpose …

The Perceptions And Lived Experiences Of Leaders Practicing Mindfulness Meditation: A Phenomenological Investigation, Denise A. Frizzell

Walden Dissertations and Doctoral Studies

Despite the gap between the demands of the global work environment and the maturity of its leaders, minimal research exists on the trend of the practice of mindfulness meditation and the developmental experiences of leaders, thereby resulting in a growing divide between theory and practice. Consequently, leadership scholars have little understanding of how an increasing number of leaders experience mindfulness meditation. The purpose of this phenomenological study was to understand the perceived impact mindfulness meditation had on leader development for 20 manager-leaders who had a regular (at least 3 days a week) mindfulness-meditation practice. The primary recruitment strategy included outreach …

An Evidence-Based Determination Of Whether Effective Leadership Competencies Are Universal And Transferable., John Michael Slade

Walden Dissertations and Doctoral Studies

Poor executive leadership of organizations over the last 20 years has resulted in the destruction of stakeholder value, loss of jobs, and in some cases, risk to the entire enterprise. An executive search firm database, encompassing 16,000 leaders from 300 organizations, was analyzed to determine if the commonality and transferability of leadership competences could be used to improve executive assessment. Implicit leadership theory, where leaders are gauged by the individuals that surround them, served as the theoretical foundation. The study also relies on a leadership competency model used by the executive search firm that constructed the database and is based …

Success Factors For Women Of Color Information Technology Leaders In Corporate America, Annette Skervin

Walden Dissertations and Doctoral Studies

The 2013 United States Census data documents the significant underrepresentation of women of color in the information technology (IT) field. Women of color (Black, Hispanic, Asian or self-classified as non-White) represent an untapped resource in an industry with a low unemployment rate, high starting salaries, and a projected 18% growth rate by the year 2022. Prior researchers have studied White women in IT and have not provided a voice to women of color leaders. The specific problem addressed was the under-representation of women of color IT leaders in corporate America. The purpose of this phenomenological study was to investigate the …

Communication Constructs That Influence Information Technology Project Failure, Vanessa Lajuan Ruth Mackey

Walden Dissertations and Doctoral Studies

Ineffective communication behavioral constructs in the workplace that lead to information technology (IT) project failure and in some cases organization failure are increasingly becoming a management concern. Despite this trend, there is little research on the communication behavioral constructs that contribute to IT project failure rates. The purpose of this phenomenological study was to explore the lived experiences of business analysts, programmers, and programmer analysts pertaining to the behavioral constructs associated with effective and ineffective communication. The research questions addressed these behaviors from a conceptual framework based on communication theory, organizational information processing theory, and critical social theory. This framework …

Communication Satisfaction Of Charismatic Leaders In Virtual Teams, Felicia Latrice Chachere

Walden Dissertations and Doctoral Studies

Over the last 2 decades of advances in technology, organizations have used virtual teams (VTs) as one way to expand globally. Strong leadership and communication skills with followers are essential qualities for successful VTs. It is important to conduct research related to charismatic leadership and communication satisfaction of team members as many organizations now use VTs. The purpose of the survey study was to examine the relationship of perceived charismatic leadership qualities in VT leaders and communication satisfaction in VT members. The research questions examined the association between charismatic leadership qualities and the subdimension of communication satisfaction. Charismatic leadership was …

Assessing Student Leadership Competencies And Adequacy Of Preparation In Seminary Training, Valerie Miles-Tribble

Walden Dissertations and Doctoral Studies

As more seminary student-practitioners seek non-pastoral leadership roles in faith-based

and secular organizations, the complexities of the roles demand leadership competencies beyond traditional religious study. Limited research assessing leadership competencies in seminary contexts raises uncertainty about whether leadership preparation needs are addressed adequately in seminary. This quantitative study focused on whether or not student self-assessed adequacy of preparation is related to, affected by, or influenced by self-assessed leadership competencies, individually or in the aggregate. The theoretical foundation joined Evers, Rush, and Berdrow's learner-centered theory that urges student input on competency development needs and Boyatzis's leadership competency theory that frames a …

Hispanic Women Business Executives' Self-Perceptions Of Leadership Effectiveness, Daniel R. Dusch

Walden Dissertations and Doctoral Studies

Hispanics will become the majority ethnic group in the U.S. by 2060. The social and business cultural changes affected by these demographics are inevitable and will require leadership from academic and business communities in order to ensure clear direction for the future. Gender research in managerial and professional positions mostly includes White women and typically excludes those of other racial, ethnic, and cultural backgrounds. The research problem was that there is little known about the lived experiences of Hispanic women business executives. The purpose of this phenomenological study was to explore the self-perceptions of leadership effectiveness of Hispanic women business …