Business Administration, Management, and Operations Commons^™

Driving Strategies In Performance Excellence, Nathan Lawrence

Walden Dissertations and Doctoral Studies

Only a small number of U.S. businesses have implemented the Baldrige Criteria for Performance Excellence to improve their performance. The purpose of this multiple case study was to explore strategies that executive business leaders use to implement the Baldrige Criteria for Performance Excellence. The study population consisted of 6 business executives and 2 organizations in the U.S. state of Texas, all with experience in implementing the Baldrige Criteria for Performance Excellence. The theory of high performance work systems provided the conceptual framework for the study. Data were gathered from interviews and record reviews that were conducted within the organizations. Inductive …

Relationships Between Job Satisfaction, Supervisor Support, And Profitability Among Quick Service Industry Employees, Joseph Carl Vann

Walden Dissertations and Doctoral Studies

Low profit margins threaten the sustainability of quick service restaurants (QSRs). In the United States, low levels of employee job satisfaction and low employee perceptions of supervisor support decrease organizational profitability by as much as $151 million annually, depending on the size and type of organization. Guided by the 2-factor theory of motivation, the purpose of this correlational study was to examine the relationship between employee job satisfaction, employee perceptions of supervisor support, and organizational profitability. A convenience sample of employees from 86 QSR franchise locations in Houston, Texas completed the Job Satisfaction and Perceived Supervisor Support surveys. Multiple linear …

Functional And Dysfunctional Themes In Successful Peace Agreements Arising From Intractable Conflicts, Sharon Ryan Ryan

Walden Dissertations and Doctoral Studies

An important challenge facing humanity today is to determine how to resolve intractable conflicts. Intractable conflicts are intensely violent conflicts that are difficult to resolve and last at least one generation. The purpose of this study was to explore the themes leaders used in resolving intractable conflicts by writing peace agreements, which achieved at least a ninety percent implementation rating by the Kroc Institute for International Peace Studies at the University of Notre Dame. The research questions focused on the distribution of societal themes defined by Bar-Tal as present within societies experiencing an intractable conflict. This study used a multicase …

Minimizing Nepotistic Practices In Family Owned And Operated Businesses: The Private Sector, Darlene Thomas Thomas

Walden Dissertations and Doctoral Studies

Owners of family businesses in the private sector must be cognizant of nepotism to reduce skilled employee turnover. Guided by Herzberg two-factor theory as the conceptual framework, the purpose of this multiple case study was to explore strategies used by family owned and operated business leaders to minimize nepotistic practices that reduce skilled nonfamily employees' voluntary turnover. The population for this study included 3 family owned and operated funeral establishments in the Midwest region of St. Louis, Missouri. These participants had sustained their family businesses longer than 5 years while minimizing skilled nonfamily employees' voluntary turnover. Data were collected from …

Impact Of Change Management On Employee Behavior In A University Administrative Office, Kendra M. Turner

Walden Dissertations and Doctoral Studies

This qualitative case study focused on the effect of a system implementation upgrade on employees' job performance within a central administration department of a major research university in the Southern United States. Review of literature revealed a lack of a specific model or process for system implementation upgrades and its impact on employees' performance in a university administrative office. Guided by Kotter's research on change management models, the research questions examined the attitudes and behaviors of employees involved with the business process project. Data collection was through purposeful sampling and face-to-face interviews with 11 employees. Data were analyzed through pattern-matching …

The Sustainability Management Control System: Factors To Consider In Metric Conceptualization, Corne Mouton

Walden Dissertations and Doctoral Studies

The performance metrics embedded in sustainability management control systems (SMCS) provide organizational leaders the ability to affect the implementation and continual improvement of sustainability strategies. Leaders in oil sands companies lacking adequate information on the efficacy of the sustainability performance metrics and their use to enhance their SMCS could be at a competitive disadvantage. Guided by stakeholder theory, the purpose of this single case study was to explore strategies Alberta-based oil sands company leaders use for critical planning, developing, and implementing SMCS performance metrics. The target population comprised of 20 oil sands company leaders from an Alberta, Canada, organization who …

Challenges Facing Organizational Leaders: A Phenomenological Study Of Nigerian Organizational Leaders, Adesina Olufemi Adegunle

Walden Dissertations and Doctoral Studies

In the first decade of the 21st century, the number of functioning business organizations in Nigeria decreased by 45%. The high rate of business failures in Nigeria has left many questions about what is needed for creating business success. The purpose of this qualitative phenomenological study was to explore the influence of internal and external dynamics on leaders in Nigerian microfinance organizations. Twenty leaders from microfinance institutions participated in face-to-face semistructured interviews. The data analysis process involved the use of Moustakas's modified van Kaam method, which resulted in the emergence of 12 themes. The themes that emerged included: (a) staff …

The Influence Of Attachment Styles On Employee Engagement, Ian Briggs

Walden Dissertations and Doctoral Studies

The purpose of this phenomenological study was to explore the influence of adult attachment styles on the engagement of employees in an attempt to address increasing losses in U.S. work productivity. Researchers have documented that organizations able to maintain better manager-employee relationships demonstrated positive employee engagement and improved productivity. However, a distinct gap in the literature remains as to how organizational leaders can stimulate healthier manager-employee relationships. Adult attachment theory was used as the foundation to explore how employees' relationships with their immediate manager affect their work engagement. To address this question, a purposeful sample of 16 full time mid …

Strategies To Improve Millennial Employee Engagement In The Luxury Resort Industry, Kei-Lin Cerf

Walden Dissertations and Doctoral Studies

Millennials are estimated to compose half of the workforce by 2020. Many hospitality researchers have studied Millennial employee engagement, but less is known about how to apply strategies that are authentically engaging for Millennials. The purpose of this study was to explore Millennial employee engagement strategies. The research questions for this study were used to examine the engagement strategies of luxury resort leaders and how Millennial employees perceived engagement. A single case study design was used to gather interview, questionnaire, and company document data from employees of a luxury resort in Hawai`i. Kahn's employee engagement theory served as the basis …

Relationship Between Budget And Project Success Factors In The Ghanaian Building Construction Sector, Kenneth Kwame Aggor

Walden Dissertations and Doctoral Studies

In developing countries, 60% of project management professionals appear to lack knowledge that timely completion, budget fidelity, and high quality are critical success factors for completion of construction initiatives. Based on the theories of iron triangle, accident causation, scientific management, and strategic management, the purpose of this correlational study was to examine the relationship between project budget and the independent variables of time, quality, safety, environmental impact, and site disputes in the Greater Accra Region of Ghana. One hundred and sixteen project managers, randomly selected from the population of construction professionals in the Greater Accra Region of Ghana, completed the …

Human Resource Local Content In Ghana's Upstream Petroleum Industry, Papa Benin

Walden Dissertations and Doctoral Studies

Enactment of Ghana's Petroleum (Local Content and Local Participation) Regulations, 2013 (L.I. 2204) was intended to regulate the percentage of local products, personnel, financing, and goods and services rendered within Ghana's upstream petroleum industry value chain. Five years after the inception of Ghana's upstream oil and gas industry, a gap is evident between the requirements of L.I. 2204 and professional practice. Drawing on Lewin's change theory, a cross-sectional study was conducted to examine the extent of differences between the prevailing human resource local content and the requirements of L.I. 2204 in Ghana's upstream petroleum industry. The extent to which training …

Correlations Between Management Behaviors And Financial Indicators With Fda Compliance Leading To Medicine Shortages, Francisco Gutierrez-Perez

Walden Dissertations and Doctoral Studies

In the first 3 years of the Obama Administration, 2009-2011, the number of warning letters issued to pharmaceutical firms for manufacturing and quality issues increased by 81% to 49 letters. Only 9 letters were issued in the last 3 years of the George W. Bush Administration. Shortfalls in compliance and product quality led to medicine shortages that affected patients' treatment and health. This quantitative study sought to learn to what extent, if any, the independent variables, management behaviors and financial indicators at pharmaceutical firms in the United States, correlated with, or predicted, the dependent variable, compliance with the FDA regulations. …

The Relationship Between Athletic Development Personality Factors And Decision Making, Herbert Degraffe

Walden Dissertations and Doctoral Studies

Ineffective leadership that results from personality defects, ineffective core executive functions, and emotional decision making can lead to destructive actions and executive failures that affect organizational effectiveness. The purpose of this correlational study was to determine if athletic development personality factors correlate with decision making at the executive leadership level. The research questions focused on determining if there was a relationship between athletic development personality factors and decision making. Social exchange theory, social representations theory, and leadership theories comprised the theoretical framework. Participants included 124 executive decision-makers from the United States, the United Kingdom, South Africa, India, and Singapore who …

How Improved Training Strategies Can Benefit Taxpayers Using Vita Programs, Jaclyn Marie Barkow

Walden Dissertations and Doctoral Studies

Many volunteer income tax assistance (VITA) sites experience inaccuracy in the taxes prepared according to audits conducted by the treasury inspector general for tax administration (TIGTA). Effective training strategies may influence the accuracy rates of tax returns prepared at VITA sites. Following the conceptual framework of the human capital theory, this multiple case study described the training strategies used by 4 VITA site coordinators in northwest Indiana. An Internal Revenue Service (IRS) representative overseeing the VITA sites identified the 4 site coordinators as achieving an exceptional accuracy rating. Data were collected from semistructured interviews, the annual VITA site coordinator's manual …

The Role Of Project Leadership In Global Multicultural Project Success, Jamal Nassif

Walden Dissertations and Doctoral Studies

Global projects have a high failure rate, with many project failures attributed to lack of effective leadership. A knowledge gap about leadership requirements and complexities in a global project management environment has increased the risks in global projects. The problem is evident in the increasing project failure rate and the struggling national strategies in the oil and gas industry in the Arabian Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC). The purpose of this study was to explore the role of leadership in project success and adaptation complexities in GCC. The conceptual framework consisted of complex adaptive systems and contingency theories. A qualitative approach …

Building Consensus Among General Counsel To Address Managerial Legal Strategy Perspectives, Evan Andrew Peterson

Walden Dissertations and Doctoral Studies

The research problem for this study focused on organizations' inability to derive strategic value from the law due to the lack of integration between legal strategy and business strategy. The purpose of this study was to build consensus among in-house general counsel working across business industries in the United States with regard to techniques that will alter unreceptive managerial viewpoints toward the strategic value of law within the corporate setting. The research question centered on assessing the level of consensus among general counsel relative to those techniques. This 3-round qualitative Delphi study began with open-ended questions in Round 1 and …

Perceptions Of Ingratiation From The Perspective Of Retired Air Force Leaders, Kevin C. Dunn

Walden Dissertations and Doctoral Studies

Ingratiation is a deceptive, psychological tactic subordinates use to convince their supervisors to treat them better than other subordinates. Subordinate ingratiation is relatively well-known, but the concept of a manager promoting and encouraging ingratiative behaviors to subordinates is less common and seen as uncommonly deceptive. Little is known about how managers feel about ingratiation why any manager would encourage it. The purpose of this study was to explore how people in management positions percieve manager-encouraged ingratiation. Research questions addressed how people in management positions might respond to a scenario wherein a manager encouraged a subordinate employee to act out ingratiation. …

Nonprofit Sustainability: How Does Departure Of A Founding Leader Impact Outcomes?, Lauren Mcindoo

Walden Dissertations and Doctoral Studies

There is a high failure rate among local community-based nonprofit human service organizations in New York State, which may lead to service gaps in communities. Increasing sustainability may reduce these gaps and allow nonprofits to continue following the first leadership transition. Using McGregor's human resource theory as the guide, the purpose of this phenomenological study was to explore the relationship between leadership succession planning and how departure of founding leaders impacts the sustainability of nonprofits. Data were collected through interviews with 16 leaders that included departing founding leaders, successors, and 2 board members in 4 local community-based nonprofit human service …

Social Media At Work: The Roles Of Job Satisfaction, Employment Status, And Facebook Use With Co-Workers, Brett W. Robertson, Kerk Kee

Communication Faculty Articles and Research

Limited research has studied workplace satisfaction in a computer-mediated context, particularly with the use of social media. Based on an analysis of an online survey of working adults (N=512) in various companies and organizations in a metropolitan area in Southern California, we tested the relationships among time spent on Facebook interacting with coworkers, employment status, and job satisfaction. Results show that an employee’s satisfaction at work is positively associated with the amount of time they spend on Facebook interacting with co-workers. Contrary to our initial predictions, results to the second and third hypotheses revealed that part time employees reported having …

Stunting Higher-Ed Reforms: Arrogance And Ignorance, Aaron W. Hughey

Counseling & Student Affairs Faculty Publications

No abstract provided.

The Impact Of Authentic Leadership Behavior On Employee Engagement And Organizational Ethical Culture In Nigeria, Adayehi B. Peter

Human Resource Development Theses and Dissertations

Authenticity in leadership is an old phenomenon that has recently sparked a new research interest in management and the human resource development (HRD) literature (Peus, Wesche, Streicher, Braun, & Frey, 2012). An upswing in highly publicized corporate scandals, management malfeasance, and broader societal challenges facing public and private organizations has contributed to the recent attention placed on authenticity and authentic leadership (Walumbwa, Avolio, Gardner, Wernsing, & Peterson, 2008). Authentic leadership behavior allows leaders and organizations meet the raised expectations of fairness, morality, and social responsibility held by employees and organizational stakeholders (Kiersch, 2012).

The primary purpose of this study was …

Leadership Styles, Organisational Culture And Learning Organisational Capability In Education Industry: Evidence From Egypt, Dr. Maha Ahmed Zaki Dajani, Dr. Mohamed Saad Mohamed

Business Administration

We aim in this study to explore the interaction between three constructs: leadership style, organisational culture, and organisational learning capacity. In addition to that, we investigated the validity of this trio relationship in both public and private Egyptian universities situated in Greater Cairo area. A quota sampling procedure was used to recruit 298 academicians - 186 from public universities and 112 from private universities. Significant correlations were obtained between transformational and transactional leadership style and organisational learning capacity dimensions. However, the moderating effect of organisational culture in the relationship between leadership styles and organisational learning capacity was not reported. Lastly, …

Measuring Organizational Climate At The Abilene-Taylor County Public Health District, Sarah Floyd

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

The aim of this study was to answer the question, according to the Competing Values Framework, what is the organizational climate of the Abilene-Taylor County Public Health District (ATCPHD)? Organizational climate for this study refers to the collective perceptions of employees on their interactions with their peers, management, and the organization. This study surveyed the 64 employees at the ATCPHD with the Organizational Climate Measure (OCM). Forty employees participated in the study. The study determined that the climate of the ATCPHD, according to Competing Values Framework (CVF), was the Human Relations organizational climate with a secondary climate of Relational Goals. …

An Examination Of Lmx And Procedural Justice On Performance Appraisal Satisfaction Within The Context Of A Distributed Workplace Arrangement, Debra A. Herd

Human Resource Development Theses and Dissertations

Trends in the current literature emphasize the role of organizational context in employee performance appraisal processes (e.g., Levy & Williams, 2004; Pichler et al., 2015). Social context is a type of organizational context. Using hierarchical regression techniques and data from 138 U.S.-based employees, the study examined the social context of distributed workplace arrangements and the related implications of media richness and communication frequency in relation to leader–member exchange (LMX), procedural justice, and performance appraisal satisfaction. Research has revealed that manager–employee relationships and procedural justice perspectives positively influence performance appraisal satisfaction. However, researchers have yet to explore the impact distributed workplace …

Toward Informed Leadership: Teaching Students To Make Better Decisions Using Information, Ilana Stonebraker

Libraries Faculty and Staff Scholarship and Research

Studies have shown that introducing additional information without context leads to worse decision making. Informed leadership is the purposeful integration of information into decision management. This article reframes information literacy as decision management using elements of evidence-based management. It highlights strategies such as decision awareness, process creation, and decision practice and approaches for purposeful application in the information literacy classroom.

An Examination Of The Efficacy Of Non-Traditional Admissions Criteria On Persistence To Graduation Among Radiography Students, Aaron W. Hughey, Joy Menser

Counseling & Student Affairs Faculty Publications

The relationship between non-traditional (a.k.a. non- cognitive) admissions criteria and graduation rates of radiography students was investigated. The population for this study included all radiography program directors responsible for accredited programs in the United States and Puerto Rico (N = 618). All programs are required to maintain records on retention in accordance with the Joint Review Committee on Education in Radiologic Technology (JRCERT) (n.d.). A total of 737 radiography programs are recognized by the American Registry of Radiologic Technologists (ARRT) and of the 737 programs, 618 are programmatically accredited by the JRCERT. Of the 618 programs accredited, the institutions offer …

Executive Compensation Incentives Contingent On Long-Term Accounting Performance, Zhi Li, Lingling Wang

Business Faculty Articles and Research

The percentage of S&P 500 firms using multiyear accounting-based performance (MAP) incentives for CEOs increased from 16.5% in 1996 to 43.3% in 2008. The use and design of MAP incentives depend on the signal quality of accounting versus stock performance, shareholder horizons, strategic imperatives, and board independence. After the technology bubble, option expensing, and the publicity of option backdating, firms increasingly use stock-based MAP plans to replace options, resulting in changes in pay structure, but not in pay level. While firms respond to the evolving contracting environment, they consider firm characteristics and shareholder preferences and do not blindly follow the …

How Variances In Business School Rankings Affect Enrollment Trends And Practices, Guillermo A. De Veyga

Seton Hall University Dissertations and Theses (ETDs)

This study examined the effect that variances in the U.S News and World Report rankings have on enrollment trends and practices in both top and not top-25 business schools. The purpose of this study was to determine whether mobility in the rankings was met with a statistically significant response to the research questions presented. While this was not the first study to look at business school rankings and their effect on enrollment trends, it was the first one to look at recent data associated with this phenomena, as well as, the first study to utilize panel data in order to …

From Creativity To Team Innovation: Building The Bridge In Organizations, Jonathan Brown

Creativity and Change Leadership Graduate Student Master's Projects

The outcome of this project is a new model for team innovation. It was created as a result of the need for teams to be better prepared to innovate. The approach of this project was to investigate, clarify, combine, synthesize and finally propose useful ways to accelerate team innovation in organizations. It started with a diagram and evolved into an articulation of each step of the model. This prototype model is called Model for Purposeful Team Innovation. The model is divided in seven steps that include identity, mission, quality, targets for improvement, roadmap, execution, monitoring to assess the maturity and …

The Threat Of Innovation: Tactics To Improve Small Team Creative Outcomes In Risk-Averse Organizations, Paul Gaylo

Creativity and Change Leadership Graduate Student Master's Projects

This project explores the paradox that creativity is generally viewed as a positive force and is a desired trait or characteristic, yet when faced with the true cost of creativity, individuals and organizations may purposefully or inadvertently suppress creativity. Real world examples are used to frame the applicability of this project to the typical large and complex technical product organization. The project includes a review of creativity scholarship in the context of organizations and a discussion to establish the foundational science behind this paradox. The project introduces the new creativity readiness level index, and a survey strategy to gauge organizational …