Business Commons^™

How To Cultivate Compassion As A Tool For Everyday Leadership, Paula Webster

Mindfulness Studies Theses

In this two-party thesis study, the need for compassion in our world is presented up front. Upon this foundation of the need for compassion, the building blocks that together comprise compassionate everyday leader are placed: leaders and leadership, mindful leadership, defining the everyday leader, mindfulness, compassion, and how to cultivate compassion. The evolution of broad concepts of leadership are reviewed, from a control-based approach to a more mindful leadership, social-intelligence based approach. In a mindful leadership approach, qualities of self-awareness are cultivated within and then manifest in relation to the leadership process. Everyday leadership is a more expansive and inclusive …

Proactive Environmental Strategies: Managing A Corporate Culture Shift Toward Sustainability, Mark E. Calub

Master's Projects and Capstones

The roles and responsibilities of Environmental, Health and Safety (EHS) professionals have expanded over the last several decades. Initially focused solely on reducing a firm's ecological impact, many EHS professionals are now tasked with managing a firm's cultural shift towards sustainability. EHS professionals need to develop proactive environmental strategies that further interconnect the environmental, social, and economic performance goals of the firm. Using a concept analysis and integrative literature review approach, the research examines the evolving role of corporate environmental management and evaluates strategic management tools for environmental compliance, environmental performance, and corporate sustainability. The research reveals that the role …

Essays On Managing Intuition For Strategic Option Generation, Tejpavan Singh Gandhok

Dissertations and Theses Collection (Open Access)

This dissertation comprises of two essays. The first essay seeks to examine the issue of 'slow' (i.e. gestation periods over hours, weeks and months) forms of intuition and their complex interactions with analytic thinking, especially in the context of breakthrough ideation/ complex problem solving. This exploratory study with qualitative observations with a small set of experienced practitioners supports the sparse academic literature in this area that managers do rely on long gestation forms of sub-conscious processing and that these forms of thinking manifest themselves in different forms with varying degrees of confidence and positive emotion/ affect (popularly referred to as …

Conflicting Voices And Strategic Choices: Capital Structure Heterogeneity And Strategic Actions, Chetan Chawla

Doctoral Dissertations

The mix of debt and equity in a firm’s capital structure has been associated with varied strategic actions, such as diversification and innovation. Different forms of debt and equity have been associated with particular types of strategic actions. Although there are clear differences between debt and equity, I argue there are also similarities across the two forms of capital. I develop a theoretical framework to categorize both debt and equity along the dimensions of time horizon and risk tolerance, so as to categorize the providers of capital as Transient Equity, Dedicated Equity, Transactional Debt, and Relational Debt. I then empirically …

A Mixed-Methods (Quantitative-Qualitative) Study To Identify The Perceived Level Of, Zeky Zardo

Dissertations

Different approaches to developing leaders have been established through various forms of self-assessment, action learning, and education and training activities (Smither et al., 2005). The existing body of research on the impact and success of college and university leadership development programs focuses heavily on undergraduate leadership programs and not graduate-level programs such as the Master of Business Administration (MBA) or the doctorate. The purpose of this mixed-methods (quantitative–qualitative) study was to identify the perceived level of transformational leadership skill development by students enrolled in a doctoral program in organizational leadership. In addition, it was the purpose of this study to …

Research On The Container Shipping Alliance And Its Influences On Chinese Shipping Enterprises, Haolin Zhang

World Maritime University Dissertations

No abstract provided.

Dalian Port Transformation Development Strategy Research, Weiyuan Huang

World Maritime University Dissertations

No abstract provided.

Research On Market Analysis Of Special Break-Bulk Cargo, Shuangshuang Jiang

World Maritime University Dissertations

No abstract provided.

Research On The Logistics Development Of Dalian Port And How To Develop Dalian Harbor City Based On Dalian Port, Yichen Shi

World Maritime University Dissertations

No abstract provided.

Research On Cruise Supply Chain In China : The Case Of Shanghai, Danbi Zhao

World Maritime University Dissertations

No abstract provided.

Competition And Cooperation: An Assessment And Integration Of Seemingly Paradoxical Actions, Kyle Dean Turner

Doctoral Dissertations

Competition and cooperation represent two foundational elements within the strategic management research domain. While substantial research examining competition or cooperation exists, research assessing these two paradoxical actions simultaneously has been limited. This study leverages the attention based view of the firm and insights from literature examining organizational ambidexterity to further understand if, and how, these two seemingly contradictory actions are managed and leveraged by firms. First, this research identifies and assesses the extent to which attention within the firm shapes competitive and cooperative action. Further, this research conceptually defines and empirically tests curvilinear relationships between competitive and cooperative action and …

A Theoretical And Experimental Investigation Of Efficiency, Equity, And Uncertainty In Tournaments, Nicholas Busko

Doctoral Dissertations

This dissertation consists of three essays centered around labor incentives that arise in relative compensation contracts. Chapter 1 poses the question: if devotion to a core competence were truly optimal, why would firms do otherwise? We argue that the behavior of drifting from the core may be motivated by the competitive incentives faced by managers who seek to rise within a firm. We find competition creates an incentive for a manager to look for less correlated opportunities that pull the firm in a new direction. In a symmetric equilibrium all managers behave this way, leading to lower expected output for …

A Verification And Extension Of Students' Motivations, Financial Orientation, And Identity Salience As Predictors Of Likelihood To Withdraw From A University, Matthew I. Quinn

Undergraduate Distinction Papers

Broadly, this research examines a student’s likelihood to withdraw from a university based on the relationship between motivations, financial orientation, and identity salience. Specifically, this study empirically examines the relationship between extrinsic motivation, intrinsic motivation, and apathetic motivation, perceived opportunity loss and lifestyle activities related to financial orientation, and satisfaction and reciprocity related to identity salience, as predictors of a student’s likelihood of withdrawing from a university.

A questionnaire was designed by extending scale items related to the constructs of interest. First-year students at a private university located in the upper Midwest were sampled. A hypothesized model was tested using …

The Microfoundations Of Middle Manager Strategic Influence: Three Essays, David G. Cohen

Doctoral Dissertations

My dissertation is a set of three independent papers exploring both conceptually and empirically the processes by which middle managers influence organizational strategy. Specifically, I examine the hows and whys of middle management strategic influence. By what mechanisms do middle managers change the course of organizational strategy and why do some middle managers, but not others, change the organization’s strategic direction? I do so from a perspective of methodological reductionism (that is, I look to the actions of the individual for explanations of organizational level phenomena, such as strategic change). In particular, all three papers explore how an individual middle …

Engaging With The Future: A Historical Investigation Of Greenpeace, Yves Plourde

Electronic Thesis and Dissertation Repository

This dissertation concentrates on the case of organizations that engage with the future with the intent to shape it. Engaging with the future implies identifying and pursuing opportunities aligned with one’s vision for the future and that have the potential to enact the environment. My specific focus is on the properties that can make the organization more effective at pursuing its objectives, to understand why these properties are important and how they can enhance an organization’s ability to engage with the future. The study builds on the extreme case of Greenpeace International, an organization that dedicates its actions to the …

A Taxonomy Of Emerging Markets, Alexander A. Assouad

Doctor of Business Administration Dissertations

Focusing on emerging markets is now a significant imperative for business professionals as well as strategy, management, and international business (IB) scholars. However, there are no accepted categorizations of these countries. Furthermore, major international organizations, institutions, scholars, and multinational, all approach classifying these countries from a multitude of different perspectives. Using institutional theory as a framework and drawing on research from multiple disciplines such as IB, sociology, economics, and economic geography, this dissertation proposes a framework by which a more nuanced reclassification of emerging markets into eight subgroups is considered appropriate. The application of this multidimensional and multidisciplinary approach shows …

Why Empowering Salespeople Is A Double Edge Sword, Lucy Matthews

Doctor of Business Administration Dissertations

Salespeople in business-to-business markets are given autonomy to manage firms’ relationships with their customers. This autonomy implies that salespeople are responsible for making decisions that not only benefit but may also adversely impact customers (e.g., offer an account preferential treatment vs. terminate an established account). While numerous studies establish that autonomy (a critical facet of empowerment) has a positive impact on sales employee’s job outcomes, this study investigates the possibility that salesperson autonomy also has undesirable effects on salesperson job outcomes because it makes them responsible for decisions that have adverse consequences on the customers they are charged with satisfying. …

Mathematical Modeling For Platform-Based Product Configuration Considering Total Life-Cycle Sustainability, Tian Lan

Theses and Dissertations--Mechanical Engineering

Many companies are using platform-based product designs to fulfill the requirements of customers while maintaining low cost. However, research that integrates sustainability into platform-based product design is still limited. Considering sustainability during platform-based design process is a challenge because the total life-cycle from pre-manufacturing, manufacturing and use to post-use stages as well as economic, environmental and societal performance in these stages must be considered. In this research, an approach for quantifying sustainability is introduced and a mathematical model is developed for identifying a more sustainable platform. Data from life-cycle assessment is used to quantify environmental factors; criteria from the Product …

Designing An Effective Information Security Policy For Exceptional Situations In An Organization: An Experimental Study, George S. Antoniou

CCE Theses and Dissertations

An increasing number of researchers are recognizing the importance of the role played by employees in maintaining the effectiveness of an information security policy. Currently, little research exists to validate the relationship between the actions (behaviors) taken by employees in response to exceptional situations (antecedents) regarding an organization’s information security policy, the impact (consequences) those actions have on an organization, and the motives that prompt those actions. When these exceptional situations occur, employees may feel compelled to engage in behaviors that violate the terms of an information security policy because strict compliance with the policy could cause the organization to …

Strategies For Improving The Competitiveness Of The Korean Shipbuilding Industry : Case Study Of Hyundai Heavy Industries, Lee Hyun

World Maritime University Dissertations

Although external factors affect companies, companies need solutions to survive and sustain growth. However, the financial crisis of 2008 affected the Korean shipbuilding industry and companies recorded poor financial results. To solve this problem and increase the competitiveness of the Korean shipbuilding industry, it is necessary to find stabilizing suggestions and promising markets to diversify into. Therefore, this research is aimed at proposing suggestions for problem solving and new market development. To deeply look into this situation, a case study of a particular company will be undertaken. The target company is Hyundai Heavy Industries and its competitors are Samsung Heavy …

La Acción Integral: Herramienta De Gestión De Los Gobiernos Municipales Focalizados Por La Política Nacional De Consolidación Y Reconstrucción Territorial, Orlando Antonio Mejía Quintero

Maestría en Administración

La acción integral ha sido un medio fundamental para el desarrollo social, en el desarrollo de los logros del Gobierno nacional de recuperación de la legitimidad y la gobernabilidad; desde el inicio del proceso de Consolidación en 2002 y hasta la fecha, representado en la Política Nacional de Consolidación y Reconstrucción Territorial (PNCRT), presentando modificaciones en su estrategia en concordancia con los escenarios coyunturales. Este artículo se sustenta teóricamente en los conceptos de legitimidad y gobernabilidad y en la doctrina de acción integral de las Fuerzas Militares (FF. MM.), complementada con la experiencia de oficiales que trabajaron en esta estrategia …