Business Commons^™

Implementing And Marketing Diversity, Equity And Inclusion Practices And Resources: Creating The E‐Buzz!, Essraa Nawar, Kristin Laughtin-Dunker

Digital Initiatives Symposium

Leatherby Libraries Librarians are committed to supporting and promoting diversity, equity, and inclusion for students, faculty, researchers, and staff. We demonstrate this commitment holistically through the provision of all resources and services in support of teaching, learning, and research. Our goal is to reduce obstacles to accessing diverse research resources, services, learning, and engagement through educational outreach in order to raise awareness of diversity related issues.

In 2020, Library administration selected a Diversity and Outreach librarian that was charged with creating a comprehensive Diversity, Equity and Inclusion (DEI) and Outreach plan. As a result, a number of practices and initiatives …

Online Fan Communities: Welcoming Behavior, Brand Community Markers, And Multiple Identities In Sports Fandom, Blaine R. Huber

Doctoral Dissertations

Online fan communities have revolutionized the way sport consumers engage with fellow fans and the sports product. The traditional regional boundaries that once characterized sports fandom have been mitigated by the emergence of new media, social media platforms, and online fan communities. This dissertation explores the non-geographically bound nature of contemporary sports fan communities, examining the evolving dynamics of fan behavior in the digital age. In Study 1, an interactional perspective is employed to explore online fan socialization. The focus is on how new fans' self-presentation influences acceptance within NFL team-specific Reddit communities. Utilizing data mining, textual analysis, and qualitative …

Leading Horses To Water During A Pandemic: Assuring Communication Learning For "Quants", Thomas Hall

International Journal for Business Education

Students who are attracted to quantitative disciplines of study can be reluctant to devote much attention to the important task of communicating, and previous research (Hostager, 2018) has identified statistically significant differences in learning approaches by major among undergraduate business students. This paper presents results of learning assurance for writing skills (direct measures) even when the content of the course relates to the highly quantitative topics of data analytics and finance. The approach combines various pedagogical methods in an undergraduate, writing-intensive setting: traditional testing but in an iterative framework, “flipped classroom” intensive work using spreadsheet software, repeated submission of brief …

The Impact Of Work-Life Balance Programs On Quality Of Work-Life (Qwl) Among Female Employees Within The Banking Sector, Mohammad Al Qudah

Jerash for Research and Studies Journal مجلة جرش للبحوث والدراسات

The purpose of the current study is to examine the impact of work-life balance programs (Flexible work arrangements, Maternity leave policies, Childcare support, Women's health programs, Leadership development programs, Pay equity, and Communication) on quality of work life (QWL) among female employees within the banking sector. Quantitative methodology was carried out, and a questionnaire was self-administered on (296) female full-time employees within commercial banks in Jordan. SPSS was employed to screen and analyze the gathered data. Results of the study indicated that acceptance of study hypotheses under the main allegation of the fact that characteristics of female employees' work-life balance …

Medical School Middle Managers Learning To Successfully Work With Leadership To Navigate Organizational Change, Elizabeth G. Smith

Doctor of Education Program Dissertations

There is a lapse in research exploring middle managers at medical schools during an organizational change. The purpose of this qualitative phenomenological study was to examine the perceptions of middle managers during an organizational change to mitigate burnout and build resilience. The literature reviewed explored how stressors from organizational changes may impact medical school middle managers, leading to feeling less secure about their position and increasing middle managers’ stress leading to burnout. For an organizational change to be successful, middle managers must build trust with their staff, communicate with middle managers, and engage middle managers in the change process. Burnout …

Weakness Is The New Strength: How Vulnerability Makes Leaders Stronger, Scott Dick

Transform

Weakness is the new strength: How vulnerability makes leaders stronger is the result from the meta-analysis of five phenomenological studies designed to generate a theory that explains how exemplar leaders from five different fields used “soft-skills” and four domains of behavior to create mutual shared knowledge, resolve conflict and transform relationships to produce breakthrough results. The four domains of behavior are communication, collaboration, ethics, and emotional intelligence. The sample was composed of 75 exemplar leaders from five different professional fields and included an analysis of over 1,300 pages of interview transcripts as the main data source for the study. The …

Medical Tourism & Communication, Alicia Mason

Faculty Submissions

Medical tourism (MT), sometimes referred to as health tourism or medical travel, involves both the treatment of illness and the facilitation of wellness, with travel. Medical tourism is a multifaceted and multiphase process involving many agents and actors that requires careful planning and execution. The coordinated process involves the biomedical, transportation, tourism, and leisure industries. From the communication perspective, the process can be viewed as a 5-stage model consisting of the: (a) orientation, (b) preparation, (c) experiential and treatment, (d) convalescence, and (e) reflection phases. Medical tourism is uniquely situated in a nexus of academic literature related to communication, business …

A Review Of Two Decades Of Research On Language In International Management (1997 - 2022) - Supplemental Material, Yung-Hwal Park, Kevin Lehnert

Other Faculty Publications

This research reviews over two decades of research on language within international management. This comprehensive review codes and summarizes 263 articles, highlighting the impact of language in various strategic areas of management: language policy; HRM and organizational behavior; internationalization; HQ-subsidiary relationship; knowledge sharing; corporate reporting and governance; and mergers and acquisitions (M&A) and inter-firm strategic collaboration. This study also highlights two major needs within the discipline (internal vs. external focus of language and level of analysis – individual, group and organizational), and addressed the call for a broader future research agenda.

Let's Speculate About It: When And Why Consumers Want To Discuss Mystery Products, Aleksandra Kovacheva, Hillary Wiener

Marketing Faculty Scholarship

Research suggests that mystery products can be appealing to consumers and can motivate interest and purchase. In this paper, we examine a different benefit of these offerings – their effect on driving conversation. We propose that such products can prompt a conversation due to their ability to motivate joint speculation, or the process of thinking about possible resolutions of the uncertainty with others. We define this novel driver of conversation, delineate it from related constructs, and situate it in the literature. We then provide initial evidence for the proposed theory in seven studies (n = 2,835), demonstrating that mystery …

Factors Influencing Employee Satisfaction In Nonprofit Organizations In The United States, Kristi Egbert

Journal of Nonprofit Innovation

Employees in nonprofit organizations are not paid as much as for-profit employees according to the United States 2014 Labor Statistics. Nonprofits work to meet community needs. Since turnover rates impact a company’s ability to these needs (Lee, 2015), it is important to learn what keeps employees satisfied. This review found that employees find the work itself satisfying when they see how they support the organization’s mission (Haley-Lock, 2007), chances to move up in the company, autonomy, (Weisberg & Dent, 2016), and inclusivity (Brimhall, 2019), and workplace relationships (Mathieu & Nabiak, 2016; Slater & Slater, 2018) are related with job satisfaction.

Feminist Pragmatism In The Nonprofit Sector, Elise L. Kieffer

Journal of Nonprofit Innovation

This thought paper explores the practical applications of the feminist pragmatism philosophy for modern nonprofit organizations confronting persistent issues. I argue that the integration of research, theory, education, programming, and administration serve as spokes strengthening the wheel that is the nonprofit sector.

Can Artificial Intelligence, Specifically Large Language Models (Llms), Enhance Human Emotional Intelligence Responses In A Small Team Work Environment?, Jason Evans

AI Assignment Library

Compare real-world human responses to potential conflict situations to an artificial intelligence response. Several articles have suggested that LLMs may actually be more successful at modeling proper human emotional responses than factual based responses. The objective of this assignment is for students to discover if and how a LLM can serve as a model for proper responses to minimize conflict and increase team effectiveness. This specific assignment was designed for aviation students, but can be adapted for any small team working environment.

An Assessment Of Hospice Patients’ Experience From Cancer Care Services In The United States Hospitals: A Mixed-Method Study, Femi Obasun

Doctoral Dissertations and Projects

This mixed methods research (MMR) addressed management's failure to give high-quality hospice care in healthcare facilities within the United States. Failure to provide high-quality care leads to issues with quality control and customer satisfaction. The researcher used an MMR design to perform a systematic survey of 96 participants in select U.S.-based hospice services management facilities. The medical records from the Research Institution organization were used to choose the participants. The total population was 1,300 from which 96 participants were randomly chosen. This study's first phase included surveying participants utilizing questions from a Likert scale that yielded quantitative responses. The second …

Communication Use In Non-Profit Maternal Health, Marliatou Barry

Student Theses and Dissertations

The promotion of maternal health centrally involves a communication strategy. Effective communication aids in recognizing current issues, determining potential fixes, and persuading others to take action. Therefore, nowadays it is very difficult to dispute the significance of communication in the healthcare industry.In the early 1980s, the World Health Organization (WHO) acknowledged communication as one of the add-on strategies to be employed in promoting health as a result of its pivotal role (WHO, 1984).

This thesis project uses a case study method to explore how non-profit organizations use communication strategies to influence various stakeholders about issues of maternal health. First, a …

Understanding The Business Model Of Content Creation, Taylor Vahey

Honors Projects in Communication

Individuals who post niched consistent content to social media platforms have grown audiences, which presents an opportunity for content creators to monetize the attention their posts receive. Both content creators and marketing practitioners are using trial and error processes to learn how to utilize the newest online promotion strategy; influencer marketing. This research aims to outline the business operations from the perspective of the influencer. Research on all aspects of this industry is insufficient, with only a few hundred published peer-reviewed articles on the topic available. Most of the research focuses on the perspective of the audience or the marketing …

Women In Organizations: Leadership And Overcoming Biases, Madison T. Witt

Honors Thesis

This thesis will work to describe the different experiences women have in the workplace compared to men. It will discuss the biases faced: prove-it-again bias, tightrope bias, and the maternal wall bias. These play a large role in why women act as they do in the workplace as well as why they tend to experience different barriers within the corporate ladder. This research notes both gender biases facing women and the additional bias women of color face. These different experiences change how women lead companies when placed in executive positions. These leadership styles of women tend to be more welcoming …

Worcester's Changing Media Landscape And Political Participation, Claire M. Robbins

School of Professional Studies

No abstract provided.

Human Capital Advantage From Fortitude, Resilience, And Perseverance Of Minority Ceos In Stem Organizations: A Phenomenological Study, Torin Mordel Malone

Theses and Dissertations

This research study explored how the inherent lived experiences of minorities can foster the attributes of strength and stamina, collectively referred to as the fortitude, resilience, and perseverance (FRP) of minority executive-level leadership. Specifically, this research considered the lived experiences of ten minority CEOs and assessed the influence of how they lead and communicate within their organizations. The purpose of this qualitative phenomenological study was to discover if and how the attributes of FRP could distinctively serve as a human capital advantage for organizations to consider with regard to utilizing minority executive-level leadership. The implication is that the greater understanding …

Just Following Up: My Experience As A Summer Student Administrator For Osler, Hoskin & Harcourt Llp, Bridget Leslie

SASAH 4th Year Capstone and Other Projects: Publications

In this paper, I reflect on my experience as a Summer Student Administrator for Osler, Hoskin & Harcourt LLP where I acquired skills such as proficiency in various software and data analysis as well as professional communication, confidence, and organization. I applied these skills daily to produce quality work, and I am still applying these skills to my academic and personal life almost a year later. The culminating experience of the summer was presenting my own data analysis to a group of executives, which helped me improve my presentation skills and foster confidence in my own abilities. In addition to …

An Imc Approach To Building Trust Among Nonprofit Donors, Catherine A. Romaine

Honors Theses

This thesis explores the role of a holistic Integrated Marketing Communications strategy within the nonprofit sector. The research aims to identify the effectiveness of different marketing communication tactics in soliciting donations for nonprofit organizations. It examines the influences and motivations of donors when choosing one organization over another for their monetary contributions. The thesis investigates the impact of specific integrated marketing strategies in building and maintaining relationships with different stakeholders such as donors, volunteers, and employees.

Through a literature review of successful nonprofits and missteps within the sector, this thesis identifies various factors that contribute to nonprofit marketing success, including …

Covid's Positive Implications On Business-To-Business Salesperson Communication And Customer Interaction, Lucy Matthews, Diane R. Edmondson, Ryan Matthews, Frances Ann Stott, Tammy Bahmanziari

Atlantic Marketing Journal

This article aims to investigate the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on industrial salesperson communication with buyers, specifically focusing on the positive outcomes. The authors use a qualitative data collection approach based on grounded theory. Thirteen executives, primarily from the transportation industry, were interviewed. Based on the executive interviews, this study develops the pandemic-induced customer interaction model for the industrial market, drawing from the Technology Acceptance Model (TAM) and innovation diffusion theory. This study is the first to examine the positive impacts of the COVID-19 pandemic on business-to-business sales organization communication. This study contributes to the literature through the creation …

Communication During Covid-19 Crisis: A Case Of Hotels In Turkey, Ayse Selin Dulger, Ayse Bas Collins, Aysegul Gunduz Songur, Cihan Cobanoglu

Journal of Global Hospitality and Tourism

During the COVID-19 pandemic, which has spread all over the world, the importance of communication in terms of knowledge sharing has increased even more in the tourism sector, as in all sectors. Each hotel business has benefited from various communication tools in the pandemic crisis. The aim of this study is to provide an understanding of the crisis communication strategy tackled by the hotels in Turkey during this unprecedented period, via both conventional and internet based public relations and communication platforms within the framework of crisis communication management. For this purpose, in-depth interviews were conducted with 25 hotel managers in …

E Pluribus Unum: Increasing A Shared Understanding Of Mission At Marine Corps University, Edward Greiner, Kirstin Pantazis, Christopher Reid, Dominick White

Doctor of Education Capstones

E PLURIBUS UNUM: INCREASING A SHARED UNDERSTANDING OF MISSION AT MARINE CORPS UNIVERSITY

By Edward Greiner, Kirstin Pantazis, Christopher Reid, and Dominick White

A capstone project submitted in partial fulfillment of the requirements for the degree of Doctor of Education in the Department of Educational Leadership at Virginia Commonwealth University

Virginia Commonwealth University, 2023.

Capstone Chair: Beth E. Bukoski, Ph.D., Department of Educational Leadership

Mergers between higher education institutions present unique challenges to creating and maintaining a shared understanding of mission. Additionally, professional military education institutions with civilian faculty and staff must blend military and civilian cultures in the workplace. …

Speaking To The Head And The Heart: Prioritizing Empathetic Communication In The Post-Covid Workplace, Kevin T. Caffrey

Administrative and Professional Faculty Research

As of August 2022, COVID-19 continues to affect our daily lives in physical, psychological, and financial ways. Many vulnerable individuals are struggling to adapt to returning to work and as a result, employee morale is at risk. In times of crises, empathy is needed in the workplace to support one another, but many leaders and employees may not have a firm grasp of the concept. This article seeks to define empathetic communication and explore the need for prioritizing empathy amid the current post-COVID-19 workplace. Through a literature review of empathy, psychological safety in the workplace, and crisis leadership, the author …

Human Resource Managers’ Strategies To Reduce Coercive Management Practices, Lakerria Shantel Brown

Walden Dissertations and Doctoral Studies

Coercive management is a detrimental phenomenon in the health care industry that negatively impacts the organization and employees. Human resource managers in the health care industry who fail to identify and implement strategies to reduce coercive management practices experience poor employee engagement, increased voluntary turnover, and counterproductive work behavior by employees. Grounded in the leader-member exchange theory, the purpose of this qualitative multiple case study was to explore strategies human resource managers in the health care industry use to reduce coercive management practices. The participants were four human resource managers from the health care industry in Georgia who successfully developed …

Leadership Through Effective Communication, Han Boon Kevin Lim

Dissertations and Theses Collection (Open Access)

Charismatic leadership oratory is critical in aligning the organisational vision and goals for business sustainability. This research focuses on charismatic leadership, particularly on oratory leading to charismatic perception by the audience. This research seeks to provide future leaders with a better perspective of the multigenerational workforce in an effort to customise the rhetorical process for this diverse workforce to enhance charismatic perception, thereby promoting organisational communication.

The audience in prior studies has been treated as a homogeneous unit (Clark & Greatbatch, 2011; Groß et al., 2015), without distinguishing between different generational groups and their respective receptiveness to a leadership oratory. …

Organization Or Idea: Addressing Member Recruitment And Retention Within The Southern State Pageant Delegation, Brenna Mccormick

Doctor of Education Dissertations

This study aimed to determine the cause(s) of decreased recruitment and retention within the Southern State pageant delegation. The mixed methodology explanatory sequential design was used to conduct the research. A quantitative survey was conducted first to identify perceptions of past, present, and potential members of the Southern State delegation regarding recruitment and retention practices. Based on data results from the survey, qualitative interviews were conducted. In addition, an analysis of available organizational documents was conducted in relation to the collected quantitative data. Findings suggest that recruitment and retention within the organization are declining due to a lack of a …

Strategies Call Center Managers Use To Reduce Employee Turnover, Sheena R. Wheeler

Walden Dissertations and Doctoral Studies

Excessive employee turnover can disrupt an organization's efficient operational performance. Call center managers remain concerned with excessive employee turnover due to the expense of lost productivity, recruiting, and training new employees. Grounded in Herzberg’s two-factor theory of motivation, the intent of this qualitative single case study was to explore strategies call center managers use to reduce employee turnover. The participants consisted of five managers in one financial service call center in Nebraska who used successful strategies to reduce employee turnover. Data was collected using semistructured interviews and a review of the employee handbook. Four themes emerged through Yin’s 5-step process: …

Strategies For Improving Performance Through Diversity And Inclusion In The Workplace, Satari Kay Durrah

Walden Dissertations and Doctoral Studies

A lack of diversity and inclusion policies can lead to the perception of exclusion in the workplace and cause some employee groups to underperform. Some hospital leaders lack strategies for developing and implementing effective diversity and inclusion policies to improve business performance. Grounded in transformation leadership theory, the purpose of this multiple case qualitative study was to explore strategies for improving performance through diversity and inclusion in the healthcare field. The participants included four leaders from hospitals located in the southeastern region of the United States. Data were collected using semistructured interviews and review of company documents. Data were analyzed …

Strategies Global Virtual Team Leaders Use To Improve Trust And Communication, Sarah Crandell Monday

Walden Dissertations and Doctoral Studies

Global virtual team (GVT) members’ inability to effectively build trust and communication has the potential to negatively impact organizational outcomes. Organizational leaders are concerned with team members’ inability to build trust and communication, as it is the leading cause of reduced productivity and efficiency levels within GVTs. Grounded in the social exchange theory, the purpose of this qualitative multiple case study was to explore strategies GVT leaders use to improve trust and communication among GVT members. The participants were 18 GVT business leaders from six organizations located in the Pacific Northwest of the United States. Data were collected using semistructured …