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Full-Text Articles in Business

Exploring The Factors That Promote Risk Taking, Innovativeness, And Proactiveness Among Managers And Employees: The Influence Of Trust, Motivational, And Enabling Mechanisms, Michael G. Stull May 2004

Exploring The Factors That Promote Risk Taking, Innovativeness, And Proactiveness Among Managers And Employees: The Influence Of Trust, Motivational, And Enabling Mechanisms, Michael G. Stull

Student Scholarship

With the current competitive challenges facing for-profit and nonprofits organizations, observers have advocated the implementation of internal entrepreneurial actions as a response. Internal entrepreneurship--defined as risk taking, innovativeness, and proactiveness actions--are examined to determine what mechanisms are at work in promoting these actions among both managers and employees in organizations. Four organizations--two from each sector--were studied using a grounded theory approach, with semi-structured qualitative interviews performed with 15 managers and employees. Data analysis and coding resulted in a conceptual model that provides a parsimonious explanation of the mechanisms that promote entrepreneurial actions in organizations. Three key mechanisms that stem from …


Free At Last?, Adekunle Solaru May 2004

Free At Last?, Adekunle Solaru

Student Scholarship

Academic literature on work entry and professional growth in the United States lacks studies of individuals from cultures other than the dominant culture. Given the prime importance of academic research in the development of public goods, this lacuna contributes to the sub-optimal achievements of efforts to improve employment outcomes for some of America's unemployed and under-employed population. For individuals who have historically deep roots in the United States, such as some African-Americans, psychological adaptation to the American workplace is a key obstacle to the freedom of full participation in the culture of the United States. For individuals who move to …


Jan'l Passe Li Passe: The Haitian Organization In The American Landscape, Nesly Metayer May 2004

Jan'l Passe Li Passe: The Haitian Organization In The American Landscape, Nesly Metayer

Student Scholarship

For the purpose of this research I have conducted four focus groups with a total of twenty four participants in two distinct geographical areas of the US and within two distinct organizations. I was amazed to realize while doing the data coding and data analysis that in the absence of geographical clues it was almost impossible to distinguish the focus groups from each other. How is it possible that such disparate groups of people from different educational and professional backgrounds located in such different social environments have exactly the same experience in the US-based Haitian organization? Why is it that …


Subtle Effects - Significant Consequences: A Field Study Of Mutual Fund Selection Behavior, Gary A. Walker May 2004

Subtle Effects - Significant Consequences: A Field Study Of Mutual Fund Selection Behavior, Gary A. Walker

Student Scholarship

Tens of millions of Americans strive to accumulate sufficient assets to one day retire with adequate financial means to support themselves. Mutual funds are a dominant instrument used to facilitate these dreams. Inadequate disclosure of shareholder costs is unnecessarily costing our society billions of dollars annually, impeding consumers from attaining their aspirations of financially secure golden years. Understanding why consumers behave self detrimentally remains a paradox in an otherwise value cognizant culture. This article is a qualitative study of consumer mutual fund selection behavior designed to identify probable causes. Qualitative analysis revealed primary reliance on risk and performance selection criteria …


"Educate Only The Bright Ones" Education And Social Capital In Jamaica, 1950-2000, Beverley J. Morgan May 2004

"Educate Only The Bright Ones" Education And Social Capital In Jamaica, 1950-2000, Beverley J. Morgan

Student Scholarship

The work describes and probes the relationships between the institutions of elite and non-elite secondary education and selected graduates of these institutions in Jamaica over an approximately fifty-year period. It considers the curricula, pedagogy, and values of the institutions, viewed as independent variables, and the propensity of a selection of their graduates to contribute to the accumulation of social capital, through civic engagement and the display of high levels of trust, and sociability, viewed as dependent variables, The research suggests that the institutions of education are the loci of the incorporation of individual actors' stances towards the dominant society, and …


Building Blocks For More Responsible Nonprofit Boards Of Trustees In Higher Education, Susan Williams May 2004

Building Blocks For More Responsible Nonprofit Boards Of Trustees In Higher Education, Susan Williams

Student Scholarship

During recent history, too many nonprofit organizations of higher education have become well known due to highly publicized cases of wrongdoing, which has contributed to the decline in confidence from the public. Contemporaneously, the for-profit corporate sector grappled with the ramifications of catastrophic failures. In response to these combined crises there has been a movement for greater accountability and responsibility from the public upon the governing boards of the organizations because the primary responsibility for these organizations vests with the board. This renewed interest has inspired this study to further understand how board members describe how they enact their responsibilities …


Building Blocks For More Responsible Nonprofit Boards Of Trustees In Higher Education, Susan Williams May 2004

Building Blocks For More Responsible Nonprofit Boards Of Trustees In Higher Education, Susan Williams

Student Scholarship

During recent history, too many nonprofit organizations of higher education have become well known due to highly publicized cases of wrongdoing, which has contributed to the decline in confidence from the public. Contemporaneously, the for-profit corporate sector grappled with the ramifications of catastrophic failures. In response to these combined crises there has been a movement for greater accountability and responsibility from the public upon the governing boards of the organizations because the primary responsibility for these organizations vests with the board. This renewed interest has inspired this study to further understand how board members describe how they enact their responsibilities …


Commitment, Trust And Manager And Employee Disagreement On The Terms Of The Employment Relationship, Efrain Rivera May 2004

Commitment, Trust And Manager And Employee Disagreement On The Terms Of The Employment Relationship, Efrain Rivera

Student Scholarship

The nature of the employee/employer relationship continues to evolve as firms respond to competition\, globalization\, shifts in technology and other changes in the business environment (Cavanaugh & Noe 1999; Hallier & James 1997; Handy 1990). Employees are increasingly assumed to be responsible for their own career progression and ultimately their own employability (Cavanaugh & Noe 1999). These changes in employee's expectations and obligations to the firm have important implications for individual and organizational outcomes. One way to examine the evolution of the employee/employer relationship is through psychological contract theory. The psychological contract has been defined as an "individual's beliefs regarding …


The Role Of Trust Between Project Managers And Project Sponsors In Information Technology Projects, Patricia A. Sahm May 2004

The Role Of Trust Between Project Managers And Project Sponsors In Information Technology Projects, Patricia A. Sahm

Student Scholarship

The increase in information technology (IT) projects has brought about related growth in project manager/project sponsor dyads. Although this dyad is acknowledged as important to project success, the nature of the relationship and its impact on project success factors remain under explored. Using 87 project manager/project sponsor dyads, the author of this study analyzed the effects of two interpersonal trust dimensions (cognitive trust and affective trust) on performance and satisfaction outcomes. Results of the data analysis show that project management dyad work is affected by the introduction of interpersonal trust. In particular, cognitive trust has a positive impact on metrics …


Parish Vibrancy: A Reflection Of Pastoral Leadership On Parishioner Support And Parishioner Satisfaction, Terrence J. Brizz May 2004

Parish Vibrancy: A Reflection Of Pastoral Leadership On Parishioner Support And Parishioner Satisfaction, Terrence J. Brizz

Student Scholarship

The number of Catholic priests available to lead and administer Catholic parishes is declining. The Roman Catholic Church is facing a leadership crises. To help understand the nature of pastoral leadership, this study was designed to examine the impact of pastoral leadership on parishioner satisfaction and parishoner support in 135 Catholic parishes in the Cleveland Diocese. Parishoner satisfaction was assessed from 52,786 Vibrant Parish Life surveys collected from these parishes. Parishioner support was defined as mult-year trends in the parishes' financial and sacramental data. Pastoral leadership was measured through the frequency use of emotional intelligence competencies by pastors from 32 …


Preferable Leadership Outcomes In Adolescent Boys: The Role Of Authoritative Parenting, Teaching & Guidance Strategies, And Psychological Autonomy, Franklin T. Kudo May 2004

Preferable Leadership Outcomes In Adolescent Boys: The Role Of Authoritative Parenting, Teaching & Guidance Strategies, And Psychological Autonomy, Franklin T. Kudo

Student Scholarship

There are many questions about leadership development that remain unanswered. There is also a wide variety of different theoretical approaches to explain the complexities that exist in the leadership field. This research paper addresses the topical issue of leadership development in adolescent boys. It approaches the study from a perspective of investigating the role of authoritative parenting style, parental teaching and guidance strategies, and the meditative effect of psychological autonomy in adolescents. Through qualitative research methods of semi-structured interviews, and a limited number of measurement scale questions, the thoughts and feelings of parents and their scouts are explored. The data …


Relational Governance: An Evolving Model Responding To Evolving Needs!, Joseph Mandato May 2004

Relational Governance: An Evolving Model Responding To Evolving Needs!, Joseph Mandato

Student Scholarship

Researchers are challenging extant models of nonprofit governance practices. Given an apparent shortfall in effective practice, a deductive study is conducted to determine the impact of a refined management model, relational governance, on outcomes cited in the literature as examples of effective practice. Relational governance emphasizes partnering, advising relationships between board and management and builds on recent nonprofit governance literature while contrasting on several dimensions with the well-known extant model policy governance. A research design is presented for empirically testing the relational governance model by means of a survey instrument made available to the unit of research, current and former …


Training And Coping Strategies: Reducing Expectation Gaps To Improve Perception Of Job Performance, Job Satisfaction And Decrease Intent To Turnover In Nursing Work, Lori A. Holtzworth-Brohm Apr 2004

Training And Coping Strategies: Reducing Expectation Gaps To Improve Perception Of Job Performance, Job Satisfaction And Decrease Intent To Turnover In Nursing Work, Lori A. Holtzworth-Brohm

Student Scholarship

A sample of 89 hospital-based registered nurses with at least one year of experience were surveyed to ascertain their expectations and actual experiences in nursing work and determine if gaps between expectations and experiences exist. The nurses were also asked to specify the frequency of formal and informal training they participated in and what coping strategies they used to deal with these gaps. Lastly, the nurses were asked to assess their perception of job performance compared to peers, their level of job satisfaction, and their intention to turnover. The data collected was cleaned and coded for quality then analyzed using …


Social Capital, Organizational Legitimacy, And Transformational Leadership: Implications For Nonprofit Fundraising And Board Relations, Nancy Koury King Apr 2004

Social Capital, Organizational Legitimacy, And Transformational Leadership: Implications For Nonprofit Fundraising And Board Relations, Nancy Koury King

Student Scholarship

Do a leader’s social capital building activities influence outcomes in their organization? A web- based survey of leaders of nonprofit aging services organizations was conducted to determine the relationship between social capital investing activities, transformational leadership style, organizational legitimacy and organizational performance indicators. The study looked specifically at leaders’ internal and external social capital building activities and their impact on two different organizational outcomes--donations and the leader’s relationship with the board. In addition, the roles of organizational legitimacy and transformational leadership in moderating these relationships were studied. The research found that external social capital investing activities predicted an effective relationship …


Accounting For Differences In Factory Performance When Adopting Flow Based Production Techniques: A General Purpose Conceptualization, Michael R. Lopez Apr 2004

Accounting For Differences In Factory Performance When Adopting Flow Based Production Techniques: A General Purpose Conceptualization, Michael R. Lopez

Student Scholarship

Despite abundant information describing the advantages that accrue from successful implementation of world class manufacturing (WCM) best practices, previous research provides little insight as to why the same techniques are able to foster competitiveness at one site yet fail to do so in another. Practitioners maintain that such discrepancies are due to contextual factors that preclude even immanently rational improvements from manifesting themselves in their operations. General purpose technology (GPT) theory suggests that heterogeneity results from innovational complementarities needed to fully benefit from the routine use of WCM practices. This exploratory study provides empirical support for complementary organizational changes, whereas …


Leadership In The Context Of A Corporate Restructuring, Howard S. Steinberg Jun 2003

Leadership In The Context Of A Corporate Restructuring, Howard S. Steinberg

Student Scholarship

Examination of leadership characteristics in the context of a corporate restructuring proved to be surprising. Observations and reviewed documentation revealed that no single characteristic of leadership differentiated leaders from managers but rather it is a combination of qualities that make the difference. Emerging themes, together with those theorized in literature, illustrate that although terminology has changed the basic understanding of leadership has not. The ability to challenge oneself personally and professionally remains at the heart of those that lead. The finest leaders of our time--the Jack Welches, and the Lou Gerstners--are all highly energetic individuals that continually challenge the status …


Cooperation And Defection In The Commons Certified Local Governments And Historic Preservation Commissions, Brian W. Kenny Jun 2003

Cooperation And Defection In The Commons Certified Local Governments And Historic Preservation Commissions, Brian W. Kenny

Student Scholarship

Public activities were observed at a Phoenix historic preservation meeting. Subsequent research involved interviewing 4 individuals who told personal stories, recounted opinions, and compared themselves with others in the preservation commons. These actors accept duty because they believe grass roots social and economic activism improves their community's quality of life. Their symbolic interaction at the local scale validates the essential Protestant creation myth of American democracy. Issues of cooperation and defection have applicability to situations where volunteers advise the cultural, environmental, and science sectors of the economy. This ethnography establishes knowledge that helps explain and predict patterns of human behavior, …


What's Really Going On? The Jamaican Policy Environment And Small Exporting Firms, Beverley J. Morgan Jun 2003

What's Really Going On? The Jamaican Policy Environment And Small Exporting Firms, Beverley J. Morgan

Student Scholarship

In the context of a policy framework to which there has been long-term political commitment, and having economic growth as its goal, but which has not yielded successful outcomes, this ethnographic study presents the multiple perspectives of a variety of actors in the Jamaican policy space. The participants in the study reflect on the reasons for economic failure, the relationships between the public and private sectors, and what they view as the distance between the articulation of policy and its practice. In the course of these reflections, they consider instability and its role in their decision- making, risk, capital- flight, …


A Collective Action To Protect The Great Lakes St. Lawrence River Basin By Building A Multijurisdictional Governing Regime, Bruce C. Gockerman Jun 2003

A Collective Action To Protect The Great Lakes St. Lawrence River Basin By Building A Multijurisdictional Governing Regime, Bruce C. Gockerman

Student Scholarship

Great Lakes Compact 2005: A Collective Action to Protect the Great Lakes St. Lawrence River Basin By Building a Multijurisdictional Governing Regime Based on Cooperative Horizontal Federalism: Overcoming Barriers to Collective Action Through Governance\, Leadership and Social Learning as Negotiated Order and Decision-Making Processes. The five Great Lakes (Superior\, Michigan\, Huron\, Erie and Ontario) and St. Lawrence River Basin hold twenty 20% of the World’s fresh water supply and 96% of the fresh water in the United States. It is a vast\, complex ecosystem supporting 43 million people\, industries and cities that are along and near its shorelines. The invasion …


Philanthropy Ventures With Social Entrepreneurs: An Ethnographic Inquiry Into Progressive Grantee-Grantor Collaborations, Kwardua Vanderpuye Jun 2003

Philanthropy Ventures With Social Entrepreneurs: An Ethnographic Inquiry Into Progressive Grantee-Grantor Collaborations, Kwardua Vanderpuye

Student Scholarship

To effectively support the empowerment of marginalized and resource-poor communities, the nonprofit sector must not only anticipate, but embrace and support transition of their programs with community partners towards greater autonomy. The aim of this ethnographic inquiry is to create opportunities for social change grantees to reflect on their interactions with their grantors, social change philanthropists, which fund their movement oriented goals of social justice and systemic change. Social change philanthropists turn the traditional, donor-controlled approach to philanthropy on its head by transferring grant-making decisions from the donors to community activist boards selected to reflect the make-up of prospective grant …


The Nursing Debut: The Work Entry Transition, Lori Brohm May 2003

The Nursing Debut: The Work Entry Transition, Lori Brohm

Student Scholarship

This research proposes that the congruence between an individual's expectations and their perceptions of the experiences upon entering a career affect the adaptation/coping strategies used to achieve a sense of organizational "fit." Interviews conducted with newly graduated nurses and nursing students identified a variety of coping strategies used to deal with the stress of career transition. These adaptation strategies include personal, professional and social coping strategies. Congruence of expectations and experience, the presence of external stressors (long hours, nurse vacancies, high patient volumes), and the quality of orientation experiences and peer relationships require an individual to employ different adjustment strategies. …


Deconstructing The Pervasive Adequate Disclosure Debate, Gary A. Walker May 2003

Deconstructing The Pervasive Adequate Disclosure Debate, Gary A. Walker

Student Scholarship

Examination of mutual fund selection and evaluation practices revealed post revision disclosure ineffectiveness rooted in deficient transparency. Observations of and interviews with investment club members evidenced that disclosure failed to warn participants of detrimental costs and adverse consequences. Emergent topics, together with those theorized in the literature, included prospectus transparency, terminology comprehension, cost awareness, and consequential effects. Topical data conflation created a composite picture of fee awareness and implication familiarity. Contrived terminology contributed to erroneous interpretations. Members underestimated costs in all examined periods and found fee tables exceptionally confusing. Unrealistically low return assumptions and limited reporting periods did more to …


Enron And Sarbanes-Oxley As Engines Of Cultural Change In A Theory Of Movement, Teresa Schmid May 2003

Enron And Sarbanes-Oxley As Engines Of Cultural Change In A Theory Of Movement, Teresa Schmid

Student Scholarship

Cultural change is a stubborn thing. The womens suffrage movement began with in 1792 with the publication of Mary Wolstonecrafts book, Vindication of the Rights of Women, and did not achieve its political goal until the passage of the Nineteenth Amendment, 128 years later. The Civil Rights Movement traces its origins to the abolitionist movement of the mid 19th century, but while slavery was abolished by the Thirteenth Amendment in 1865, the principle of social equality did become law until nearly 100 years later, upon the enactment of the Civil Rights Act of 1964. As the continuing womens and civil …


Risk Management Effectiveness (Rme): How Does A British Multi-National Company Go About Achieving Rme In Its Us Subsidiary?, Richard R. Clune May 2003

Risk Management Effectiveness (Rme): How Does A British Multi-National Company Go About Achieving Rme In Its Us Subsidiary?, Richard R. Clune

Student Scholarship

This study was designed to get at the perceptions concerning risk management effectiveness (RME) of executives serving on and interacting with a risk management committee. And to explore the cultural context, the setting selected was a US subsidiary of a British multi-national company. As will be described below, this study included direct observation by the researcher of a risk management committee meeting as well as pre-committee meeting interviews of executives, including the Chief Executive Officer and Chief Financial Officer, and post-meeting informal discussions with certain executive participants.


The Role Of Residual Income Management Systems (Eva) In Shaping The Outcome Of Businesses In Cyclic Markets €“ Part 2 Quantitative Research, Gregory F. Milzcik May 2003

The Role Of Residual Income Management Systems (Eva) In Shaping The Outcome Of Businesses In Cyclic Markets €“ Part 2 Quantitative Research, Gregory F. Milzcik

Student Scholarship

A variety of research (Wallace, 1997; Biddle, 1998; Glassman, 1999) shows the commonly held belief that management incentive systems influence the business decisions of company managers. However, given the wide-ranging business models in use today, as well as the changing economic conditions over time, it is entirely possible and likely that there will be differences in the effectiveness of incentive systems on company performance. More specifically, what is the role of incentive systems based on residual income (RI) in shaping business performance in companies operating in cyclic markets? Using quantitative research techniques, this study compares traditional and RI based incentive …


The Role Social Capital Plays In Building Effective Nonprofit Boards, Susan Williams May 2003

The Role Social Capital Plays In Building Effective Nonprofit Boards, Susan Williams

Student Scholarship

There is widespread concern over the effectiveness of nonprofit boards of trustees. Scholars and practitioners have continued to address the phenomenon of board ineffectiveness by continuing to clarify roles and responsibilities for individuals rather than focusing on the impact of the cohesive ties amongst board members and the ability of the board to work as a unit with shared values and trust resulting in value creation for the institution. In this paper I seek to contribute to the body of knowledge by developing the following arguments: (1) the appropriate ties amongst board members are integral to the ability to discuss …


Internet Adoption In The Public Sector, Demo Solaru May 2003

Internet Adoption In The Public Sector, Demo Solaru

Student Scholarship

In recent years, corporations, government, academia and individuals have devised different ways to use the Internet as a messaging, transaction and service delivery mechanism. In the public sector, the applications designed to serve the public has come to be known collectively as "e-Government", an acronym for electronic government. The applications of e-Government vary according to the focus of the federal, state or local entities that invest in them. While much information is available about the potential for e-Government and "success stories" from early attempts, very little is available in significant detail about the technology adoption process itself. Professionals involved in …


Motion Without Movement: The Struggle For Workforce Outcomes That Matter, Adekunle O. Solaru May 2003

Motion Without Movement: The Struggle For Workforce Outcomes That Matter, Adekunle O. Solaru

Student Scholarship

This study seeks to better define the processes by which poor African Americans on welfare can achieve employment success. Beginning with a conceptual model inspired by the stated goals of workforce programs, the study uses interviews of unemployed and employed African Americans to contest the thrust of workforce efforts by contrasting program goals with the respondents' realities. Hypotheses, stated in terms that can be agreed on by workforce practitioners and their clients, are developed to propose a reconciliation of objectives. These hypotheses therefore form a basis for testing of the relationships by quantitative means in a subsequent research phase.


Parish Vibrancy, Terry Brizz May 2003

Parish Vibrancy, Terry Brizz

Student Scholarship

This qualitative research study was designed to examine eight Roman Catholic parishes to determine both from a pastor's and a parishioner's viewpoint what makes a parish vibrant. The study was able to formulate, test and modify a conceptual model for a vibrant parish. The model demonstrates how the pastoral leadership style interacts with the parish organizational factors to influence parish vibrancy. However, certain parish characteristics can modify parish vibrancy. Parish vibrancy was determined to be a parish where there is a sense of community, in which parishioners give freely of their time, talents and treasure, experience spiritual growth, reach out …


Social Networks And Information Technology, James L. Hill May 2003

Social Networks And Information Technology, James L. Hill

Student Scholarship

That so many large-scale or enterprise – level Information Technology (IT) projects are said to fail is a puzzle. According to the Standish Group and individual practitioners, as many as four out of five of them do. They don’t deliver the planned functionality, cost much more than budgeted, take longer than expected, or are cancelled before they are completed. (Chaos, 1995) Yet, businesses and governments continue to invest heavily in IT, expecting significant improvements in productivity and level of service. (Stiglitz, Orszag, & Orszag, 2000). As much as half of annual capital spending in certain sectors of the economy is …