Open Access. Powered by Scholars. Published by Universities.®

Business Commons

Open Access. Powered by Scholars. Published by Universities.®

Articles 1 - 30 of 165

Full-Text Articles in Business

Work-Life Balance Programs To Improve Employee Performance, George Sheppard Jan 2016

Work-Life Balance Programs To Improve Employee Performance, George Sheppard

Walden Dissertations and Doctoral Studies

Although work-life balance programs in the United States have become increasingly popular through the years, there is still a need to understand the contributions of these programs on employee performance. The purpose of this case study was to explore the work-life balance programs that nonprofit school leaders utilize to improve employee performance at a charter school organization. The job demands-resources model formed the conceptual framework for this study. Data were collected through semistructured interviews from a purposeful sample of 10 managers and 10 non-managerial employees working at a charter school organization in Harlem, New York. Data collection also included organizational …


Exploring The Financial Management Skills Of Independent Rock Bands, Mary A. Hobson Jan 2016

Exploring The Financial Management Skills Of Independent Rock Bands, Mary A. Hobson

Walden Dissertations and Doctoral Studies

In the post-Napster era of disruptive innovations, independent artists are managing more nonmusical roles and more revenue streams to remain competitive and earn a living wage from their music. The purpose of this single case study was to explore the financial management strategies that one independent rock band needed to understand music royalties. Disruptive innovation was the conceptual framework used to guide the study. The sample was comprised of 4 members of an independent rock band based in Northeast Ohio. The selected band met the criteria for the study as members who earned revenue from copyrighted works, merchandise, and CD …


Relationship Between Destructive Leadership Behaviors And Employee Turnover, Craig Michael Hyson Jan 2016

Relationship Between Destructive Leadership Behaviors And Employee Turnover, Craig Michael Hyson

Walden Dissertations and Doctoral Studies

The loss of 6 million U.S. manufacturing jobs since 2000 has severely affected communities that have lost a vital source of employment. Voluntary employee turnover has compounded the problem. The purpose of this correlational study was to examine the relationship between employee turnover and destructive leadership behaviors of managers in small and medium enterprise (SME) manufacturing businesses in Warren County, New Jersey. The constructive-destructive leadership model formed the theoretical framework for the study. A random sample of 96 SME manufacturing firm employees completed the destructive leadership scale (DLS), multifactor leadership questionnaire (MLQ), and the turnover intention scale (TIS-6) via an …


Effects Of An Integrated Electronic Health Record On An Academic Medical Center, Kenneth E. Koppenhaver Ii Jan 2016

Effects Of An Integrated Electronic Health Record On An Academic Medical Center, Kenneth E. Koppenhaver Ii

Walden Dissertations and Doctoral Studies

The debate about healthcare reform revolves around a triple aim of improving the health of populations, improving the patient experience, and reducing the cost of care. A major tool discussed in this debate has been the adoption of electronic health record (EHR) systems to record and guide care delivery. Due to low adoption rates and limited examples of success, the problem was a lack of understanding by healthcare organizations of how the EHR fundamentally changes an organization through the interactions of people, processes, and technology over time. The purpose of this case study was to explore the people, processes, and …


The Effect Of Workspace Layout On Individual Perceptions Of Creativity Across Generational Cohorts, Leslie Estelle Barrett Jan 2016

The Effect Of Workspace Layout On Individual Perceptions Of Creativity Across Generational Cohorts, Leslie Estelle Barrett

Walden Dissertations and Doctoral Studies

Organizations strategically design the physical work environment to enhance employees' creativity. Understanding the impact of workspace layout on individual perceptions of creativity across generational cohorts can be vital to sustaining organizational competitiveness. Researchers have theorized that workspace layout affects employees' perceptions of creativity; however, few studies have looked at the effect of generational cohort on this relationship. A quantitative study was conducted to examine the effect of workspace layout on individual perceptions of creativity across generational cohorts. A sample of 162 participants completed an online demographics questionnaire as well as aKEYS, a modified version of the KEYS to Creativity and …


The First 4 Years: A Small Business Sustainability Study, Iris Ann Cooper Jan 2016

The First 4 Years: A Small Business Sustainability Study, Iris Ann Cooper

Walden Dissertations and Doctoral Studies

Small businesses create most of the new jobs in the world, yet more than half fail before the 5th year. Small businesses contribute to the economy by originating new products and services, yet they often lack the strategies to overcome the challenges of the beginning years. When businesses fail, the community wanes from unemployment, poverty, crime, and other social dilemmas. The purpose of this single case study was to explore small business strategies for sustainability beyond Year 4, specifically in a single independent operating Ohio restaurant owner with less than 500 employees. The conceptual framework was Schumpeter's theory of the …


Servant Leaders' Use Of High Performance Work Practices And Corporate Social Performance, Michelle Kathleen Fitzgerald Preiksaitis Jan 2016

Servant Leaders' Use Of High Performance Work Practices And Corporate Social Performance, Michelle Kathleen Fitzgerald Preiksaitis

Walden Dissertations and Doctoral Studies

Business researchers have shown that servant leaders empower, provide long-term vision, and serve their workers and followers better than do nonservant leaders. High performance work practices (HPWPs) and corporate social performance (CSP) can enhance employee and firm productivity. However, when overused or poorly managed, HPWPs and CSP can lead to the business problems of employee disengagement, overload, or anxiety. Scholars noted a gap in human resource management research regarding whether leadership styles affect HPWPs and CSP use. This study examined the relationship between leadership style and the use of HPWPs and CSP, by using a quantitative, nonexperimental design. U.S. business …


Environmental Leadership: Exploring Environmental Dissonance Involving Natural Resource Consumption And Ecosystem Degradation, Thomas L. Tochterman Jan 2016

Environmental Leadership: Exploring Environmental Dissonance Involving Natural Resource Consumption And Ecosystem Degradation, Thomas L. Tochterman

Walden Dissertations and Doctoral Studies

As the corporate world, communities, and individuals become more globalized and demands on natural resources increase, a new emphasis on environmental leadership including a new pragmatic environmental ethos is needed to meet certain basic human needs of future generations. The research problem addressed in this study was the lack of knowledge concerning how environmental cognitive dissonance influences consumption practices related to inefficient resource utilization and ecosystem degradation. The purpose of this study was to provide an understanding of the breadth and depth of environmental cognitive dissonance among visitors to the Kruger National Park in South Africa. The research questions addressed …


The Relationship Between Cultural Intelligence And Work Outcomes Of Expatriates In China, Barbara Joanna Diemer Jan 2016

The Relationship Between Cultural Intelligence And Work Outcomes Of Expatriates In China, Barbara Joanna Diemer

Walden Dissertations and Doctoral Studies

International assignment failures cost an organization roughly 3 to 4 times an expatriate's annual salary with the most expatriate failures cited for work assignments in China. Previous scholarly research identified cultural intelligence (CQ) as being influential to expatriate work outcomes. The purpose of this correlational study was to examine the relationships among a subset of CQ predictor variables and work outcome related dependent variables. Quantitative analysis regarding the relationship between CQ and work outcomes for U.S. nationals working in China does not currently exist in the scholarly research. Improvement of expatriate work outcomes and reduction of failed assignment costs is …


Strategies For Maintaining Credit Union Profitability In Grenada, Nadia Lisa-Adele Francis-Sandy Jan 2016

Strategies For Maintaining Credit Union Profitability In Grenada, Nadia Lisa-Adele Francis-Sandy

Walden Dissertations and Doctoral Studies

Nonbank financial institutions (NBFIs), of which credit unions comprise, constitute an important part of the financial sector because of their contribution to economic development, particularly in developing economies. This multiple case study explored strategies for maintaining credit union profitability against the backdrop of numerous closures in the past decade. The conceptual framework for this study was agency theory. Data were collected from 6 purposefully selected managers or directors representing individual credit unions in Grenada. Data were also collected from publicly available sources and used to conduct methodological triangulation. The interview data were coded using a computer-aided software package, and the …


The Role Of Corporate Governance In Preventing Bank Failures In Zimbabwe., Bernard Chidziva Jan 2016

The Role Of Corporate Governance In Preventing Bank Failures In Zimbabwe., Bernard Chidziva

Walden Dissertations and Doctoral Studies

The 2008-2009 global financial crisis resulting in some banks collapsing has raised questions about the corporate governance of financial institutions. Some bank managers lack an understanding of the role of corporate governance in preventing bank failures. In this multiple case study, data were collected through interviews and triangulated with annual reports to explore the strategies some bank managers need to improve their understanding of the role of corporate governance in preventing bank failures in Zimbabwe. The 7 study participants were purposefully recruited from a larger population of 19 bank managers responsible for corporate governance and compliance operating in Zimbabwe between …


Predictive Factors Of Organizational Support Communication In Volunteer Mentor Retention, Jennifer Kristin Stukey Jan 2016

Predictive Factors Of Organizational Support Communication In Volunteer Mentor Retention, Jennifer Kristin Stukey

Walden Dissertations and Doctoral Studies

Research has shown that long-term volunteer retention is critical for sustaining the viability of youth mentoring programs such as Big Brothers Big Sisters (BBBS). Data from recent studies have indicated that volunteers must continue their service for at least 1 year in to have a sustainable effect on the mentee. Results from prior studies have indicated that the support provided by the agency to the volunteer can predict volunteer retention. However, a gap in current literature exists regarding the effect of support communication on volunteer retention. Therefore, the purpose of this quantitative study was to assess the relationship between organizational …


Knowledge Sharing Intentions In Wholesale Distribution Organizations, Andrew E. Roth Jan 2016

Knowledge Sharing Intentions In Wholesale Distribution Organizations, Andrew E. Roth

Walden Dissertations and Doctoral Studies

Millions of American employees are eligible to retire through 2026, which may contribute to lowered organizational performance stemming from the resultant void in knowledge. Increasing knowledge sharing (KS) among organizational members may improve employee efficiency and company performance, and therefore may be of value to wholesale distribution leaders. Although researchers have suggested that sense of self-worth, subjective norms, and attitudes influence employees' inclinations to share knowledge, researchers have not analyzed the relationships between a subset of predictor variables and KS intentions in wholesale distribution organizations. The purpose of this correlational study, grounded in the theory of planned behavior, was to …


The Relationship Between Knowledge Management Tools And Interprofessional Healthcare Team Decision Making, Lisa Simon Jan 2016

The Relationship Between Knowledge Management Tools And Interprofessional Healthcare Team Decision Making, Lisa Simon

Walden Dissertations and Doctoral Studies

Rising costs and continued risks in patient care indicate that knowledge management (KM) tools have not been fully recognized in healthcare. A case study was conducted to determine how KM tools might support the decision-making process of interprofessional teams. The study was predominately qualitative with a quantitative supplemental component. A questionnaire was used to collect data; this questionnaire contained open-ended questions along with Baggs' Collaboration and Satisfaction about Care Decisions and Anderson & West's Team Climate Inventory instruments. Responses to open-ended questions were reviewed, categorized, and coded as part of the qualitative analysis. Descriptive statistics were completed from Likert scale …


Knowledge Transfer Preferences Of Expert Employees Nearing Retirement, Phillip Andrew Weiss Jan 2016

Knowledge Transfer Preferences Of Expert Employees Nearing Retirement, Phillip Andrew Weiss

Walden Dissertations and Doctoral Studies

Managers of organizations face increasing rates of retiring Baby Boomers as that generation begins to leave the workforce. Some managers of organizations have no formalized knowledge transfer strategies in place to reduce the lost productivity and negative financial effects of these retiring employees. The purpose of this single-site case study was to explore the knowledge transfer preferences of expert scientific support employees nearing retirement at a United States national laboratory in northern California. Understanding the preferences of employees nearing retirement may allow managers to affect the business practice of promoting organizational learning by implementing strategies that catalyze knowledge transfer from …


Assessing Information Technology And Business Alignment In Local City Government, Leslie Milbourne D'Anjou Jan 2016

Assessing Information Technology And Business Alignment In Local City Government, Leslie Milbourne D'Anjou

Walden Dissertations and Doctoral Studies

Top executives are interested in more transparent and formalized structures, applicable measurements, and clear justification of alignment. Limited or improper information technology governance (ITG) affects the business strategy that will ultimately influence the overall business alignment in local city government agencies (LCGAs). The problem addressed in this study was the lack of information regarding LCGAs IT/business strategic alignment maturity model (SAMM) level and the LCGAs' employment size. The purpose of this survey study was to evaluate 48 LCGA participants in the Southwestern part of the United States and compare their alignment perceptions with their cities' employment size. The theoretical framework …


Knowledge Sharing In Multicultural Organizations, Stephen Joseph Mcgrane Jan 2016

Knowledge Sharing In Multicultural Organizations, Stephen Joseph Mcgrane

Walden Dissertations and Doctoral Studies

Knowledge management is critical to achieving competitive advantage in the marketplace. The prominence of multicultural organizations also requires an understanding of knowledge-sharing behavior in multicultural teams. In spite of the need to accommodate these new conditions, a gap exists in the research on knowledge sharing in multicultural organizations. The purpose of this study was to examine factors that affect knowledge sharing in a multicultural context. In the research questions I examined the role that culture, monetary rewards, social units, and diversity play in knowledge sharing in a multicultural environment. This study used Hofstede's cultural dimension theory, Sveiby's knowledge-based theory, and …


Evaluating Key Predictors Of Employee Response To Change In The Pharmaceutical Industry, Otis S. Johnson Jan 2016

Evaluating Key Predictors Of Employee Response To Change In The Pharmaceutical Industry, Otis S. Johnson

Walden Dissertations and Doctoral Studies

This study addressed the factors that predict employee response to large-scale change in the United States pharmaceutical industry. When poorly executed, major organizational changes such as mergers and acquisitions are often disruptive and costly to organizations and demoralizing to employees. Although employee responses to change have been studied in several industries, employee responses during change execution in the pharmaceutical industry have not been subject to study. The purpose of this correlational study was to reduce the knowledge gap related to organizational change in the pharmaceutical industry by evaluating key predictors of employee response to large-scale change. The theoretical framework consisted …


Effects Of Management Control Systems And Strategy On Performance Of Minority-Owned Businesses, Raymond Onyema Obinozie Jan 2016

Effects Of Management Control Systems And Strategy On Performance Of Minority-Owned Businesses, Raymond Onyema Obinozie

Walden Dissertations and Doctoral Studies

This study addressed the perceived relationships among management control systems, business strategy, and organizational performance in U.S. minority-owned manufacturing businesses. Hofer's contingency theory provided a framework for the study, which included a quantitative, survey-based correlational design. Research questions focused on the relationship between financial- and nonfinancial-based management control systems as well as low-cost leadership and differentiation strategies, and how these practices impacted organizational performance. A random sample of 1,000 participants was selected from a population of 2,583 minority-owned manufacturing businesses in the United States. Results of the principal component analysis, Pearson's zero order correlation coefficient, and multiple regression analysis indicated …


Building And Maintaining Trust In Virtual Teams As A Competitive Strategy, Elizabeth Awajiigbanam Owonikoko Jan 2016

Building And Maintaining Trust In Virtual Teams As A Competitive Strategy, Elizabeth Awajiigbanam Owonikoko

Walden Dissertations and Doctoral Studies

Many virtual team leaders lack strategies to build and maintain trust among virtual team members, which affects performance and productivity. The purpose of this exploratory single case study was to provide organizational leaders with information about the strategies that virtual team leaders use to build and maintain trust among virtual team members to enhance job performance. Cognition-based and affect-based theories of interpersonal relationships were used as a conceptual framework. In-depth, semistructured electronic interviews were conducted with 10 virtual team leaders of a multinational global organization specializing in management consulting and technology services that has headquarters in Dublin, Ireland. Interview data …


Exploring Knowledge Management Models On Information Technology Projects, Alan Richard Foote Jan 2016

Exploring Knowledge Management Models On Information Technology Projects, Alan Richard Foote

Walden Dissertations and Doctoral Studies

One way an organization manages the knowledge of its people is in information technology (IT) projects. Organizations develop IT projects for many socially responsible reasons, including improved health care services and better community services. IT projects do not always achieve the goals of the organization when the knowledge of the stakeholders is not managed for these objectives. For this study the purpose was to address the use of knowledge management (KM) in project management (PM) to improve the success of IT projects in achieving the organizational goals. The research questions were based on KM including its tools and techniques to …


Empirical Examination Of User Acceptance Of Enterprise Resource Planning Systems In The United States, Rohan Oldacre Jan 2016

Empirical Examination Of User Acceptance Of Enterprise Resource Planning Systems In The United States, Rohan Oldacre

Walden Dissertations and Doctoral Studies

Enterprise resource planning (ERP) systems are complex software packages that support an integrated real-time setting among the various business functions in an entire organization. ERP systems improve productivity, but only to the extent that employees accept and use the systems extensively to perform their duties. The leaders of many organizations have not been able to realize the expected benefits because of a lack of user acceptance. The purpose of this quantitative cross-sectional survey study was to examine the factors that influence user acceptance of ERP systems in the United States. Davis's technology acceptance model was the theoretical foundation used to …


Employee Turnover Intention In The U.S. Fast Food Industry, Imelda A. Bebe Jan 2016

Employee Turnover Intention In The U.S. Fast Food Industry, Imelda A. Bebe

Walden Dissertations and Doctoral Studies

Employee turnover in the U.S. fast food industry has been high, averaging rate 150% per annum. The purpose of the correlational design study was to examine the relationships between job satisfaction factors, job dissatisfaction factors, and employee turnover intentions among fast food employees to determine whether a statistically significant relationship exists between these variables. The population for the study consisted of 144 fast food restaurant employees working in the East Coast in the United States. The theoretical framework was Herzberg's 2-factor motivation-hygiene needs theory, which describes job satisfaction factors and job dissatisfaction factors. Internet survey data of 144 participants were …


Strategic Managerial Responses To Critical Service Events In Restaurants, Douglas Grant Edwards Jan 2016

Strategic Managerial Responses To Critical Service Events In Restaurants, Douglas Grant Edwards

Walden Dissertations and Doctoral Studies

Inappropriate managerial responses to critical service events (CSEs) in restaurants contribute to an increased rate of customer defection and restaurant failure. Some restaurant managers lack employee-training strategies that may enhance service recovery from CSEs. This case study explored what employee-training strategies participants deemed essential to enhance service recovery to CSEs. The population for this study was restaurant managers from a U.S. regional chain in South Carolina with at least 3 years of employee-training experience. Organizational learning theory was the conceptual framework for this study. Data collection included semistructured face-to-face interviews with restaurant managers and an exploration of company archival documents …


Evaluating Federal Information Technology Program Success Based On Earned Value Management, Mae Moy Jan 2016

Evaluating Federal Information Technology Program Success Based On Earned Value Management, Mae Moy

Walden Dissertations and Doctoral Studies

Despite the use of earned value management (EVM) techniques to track development progress, federal information (IT) software programs continue to fail by not meeting identified business requirements. The purpose of this logistic regression study was to examine, using IT software data from federal agencies from 2011 to 2014, whether a relationship between schedule variance (SV), cost variance (CV), and actual cost (AC) could predict the success of IT software program, as operationalized by meeting the identified business requirements. The population of interest was 132 IT software programs developed between 2011 and 2014 for federal agencies. The sample source was an …


Strategies For Managing A Multigenerational Workforce, Ronald Lee Iden Jan 2016

Strategies For Managing A Multigenerational Workforce, Ronald Lee Iden

Walden Dissertations and Doctoral Studies

The multigenerational workforce presents a critical challenge for business managers, and each generation has different expectations. A human resource management study of organizations with more than 500 employees reported 58% of the managers experiencing conflict between younger and older workers. The purpose of this single case study was to explore the multigenerational strategies used by 3 managers from a Franklin County, Ohio manufacturing facility with a population size of 6 participants. The conceptual framework for this study was built upon generational theory and cohort group theory. The data were collected through face-to-face semistructured interviews, company documents, and a reflexive journal. …


The Correlation Of Leader Traits And Learning Organizational Culture, Mark Reginald Porter Jan 2016

The Correlation Of Leader Traits And Learning Organizational Culture, Mark Reginald Porter

Walden Dissertations and Doctoral Studies

Many researchers in numerous studies have focused on leadership style and organizational cultures, but there is an absence of research regarding leader personality traits and productive work cultures in Alberta's oil and gas industry. The purpose of this correlational study was to assess the relationship between leader traits and preestablished learning organization culture benchmarks within Alberta's oil and gas industry. Learning organization culture is an extension of Senge's learning organization theory. Simple random sampling was used to attain a population comprised of 52 employees in Alberta's oil and gas industry who were accountable to an organizational supervisor. Data were collected …


Relationship Between Working Capital Management, Policies, And Profitability Of Small Manufacturing Firms, Zelealem Tadesse Temtime Jan 2016

Relationship Between Working Capital Management, Policies, And Profitability Of Small Manufacturing Firms, Zelealem Tadesse Temtime

Walden Dissertations and Doctoral Studies

Working capital optimization, as an act of balancing liquidity and profitability, presents significant challenges when small businesses lack managerial expertise and access to affordable capital and credit facilities. To remain successful through efficient utilization of working capital, small business leaders need to understand the association between working capital management (WCM), working capital policy (WCP), and business profitability (PFT). Anchored in the cash conversion cycle theory, the purpose of this correlational study was to examine the relationship between WCM, WCP, and PFT. The study employed a retrospective secondary analysis of financial data from 2004 to 2013 from a random sample of …


An Exploration Of Leadership Styles And Motivation In Egyptian Business Organizations, Nady Ahmed El-Zayaty Jan 2016

An Exploration Of Leadership Styles And Motivation In Egyptian Business Organizations, Nady Ahmed El-Zayaty

Walden Dissertations and Doctoral Studies

Leadership styles can have a profound impact on employee motivation and performance. The changing global business landscape has drawn much attention to transformational leadership as an approach that addresses the demands of organizations in this complex environment. The purpose of this qualitative grounded theory study was to understand the nature of employee motivation with regard to leadership styles and the role of transformational leadership in Egyptian business organizations. Seventeen Egyptian professionals were recruited through a combination of e-mail and telephone procedures and were interviewed regarding their experiences with organizational leaders; their perception of the ideal organizational leader; their feelings about …


Benefits Of Conducting Postproject Reviews To Capture Lessons Learned, Olayemi Fadairo Jan 2016

Benefits Of Conducting Postproject Reviews To Capture Lessons Learned, Olayemi Fadairo

Walden Dissertations and Doctoral Studies

Organizational learning has been a focus of scholars since 1970. Researchers have demonstrated that conducting postproject reviews to capture lessons learned significantly improves organizational learning. Guided by the concept of organizational learning, the purpose of this case study was to explore how 6 New York metropolitan organizational leaders used postproject reviews to prevent project managers from repeating the same mistakes, increasing cost and time overruns, and experiencing project failure. Semistructured face-to-face and phone interviews were conducted with a project sponsor and 5 project managers in the New York metropolitan area. Data were analyzed using the process of coding and condensing …