Business Administration, Management, and Operations Commons^™

Strategic Recovery Requires Leadership, Christine G. Springer

Public Policy and Leadership Faculty Research

As public managers work toward a successful recovery post-midyear elections, we all must deal with system-wide problems arising from the recession. This requires first recognizing that the crisis continues and must be addressed not just by increasing revenue but by fixing system-wide structural and operational issues.

To do so involves developing the skills required in a recovery, identifying the causes of the crisis so that future crises can be better managed and concentrating on the key areas of leadership expertise needed to effectively communicate and deliver better outcomes.

The Effects Of Leadership Style And Employee’S Participation On Perceived Justice, Wai Kwan (Elaine) Lau

Management Faculty Research

The present study proposes and tests a model that examines the relationship between leadership style, employee’s participation, and justice perceptions. Results indicate that transactional, transformational, and dynamic leadership have positive impact on distributive, procedural, and interactional justice. Moreover, the effect of leadership style on organizational justice was indirect through employee’s participation. There are also some interesting differences across different types of leadership style and justice.

Management As A Liberal Art (China), C. William Pollard

C. William Pollard Papers

Delivered during a business trip to China, this speech outlines Pollard's vision -- adopted from noted theorist Peter Drucker -- of management as a liberal art. In particular, he focuses on how corporate leadership cannot be oriented to simply utilitarian goals but must also consider the whole person physical, spiritual, and moral being.

What Is Your Business? (China), C. William Pollard

C. William Pollard Papers

Speaking during a 2010 trip to China, Pollard reflects on Peter Drucker's influence on his own life and thought, noting in particular Drucker's emphasis on the business leader's duty to understand employees in a holistic manner, that is, as capable of being enriched by their work.

Making The Most Of Opportunities During A Recession, Christine G. Springer

Public Policy and Leadership Faculty Research

The best public managers know that conventional thinking won’t get them through tough times and that a recession is a rich opportunity to reinvent their organization and to lay the groundwork for future successes. Good times are when managers experience their greatest success. But bad times provide the greatest opportunities to rethink how the organization will persist through the inevitable up and down economic cycles so as to be successful in the future. Smart managers today that I have engaged regarding this process say that they plan for both the good and bad times by continually focusing on six processes: …

Antecedents Of Servant Leadership: A Mixed Methods Study, Curtis D. Beck

Department of Agricultural Leadership, Education, and Communication: Dissertations, Theses, and Student Research

The purpose of this mixed methods study was to explore the antecedents of servant leadership. The sequential explanatory research design consisted of two distinct phases: quantitative followed by qualitative. The Phase One quantitative survey collected data from 499 leaders and 630 raters from community leadership programs in the United States using the Servant Leadership Questionnaire (Barbuto & Wheeler, 2006). During Phase Two, selected leaders from phase one (N = 12) were interviewed to explain those results in more depth. The data were coded and analyzed for possible themes. Triangulation was used to analyze the quantitative and qualitative data to validate …

Mindful Leadership, Lyn Hopper

Georgia Library Quarterly

The author proposes mindful leadership for library officers and staff. She says that such leadership may be difficult to practice amid declining budgets but it is essential for effective leadership. She adds that psychologist Ellen Langer noted that job mindfulness boosts productivity, flexibility, leadership, innovation and job satisfaction. She claims that mindfulness originated from Buddhism by Buddhist monk Thich Nhat Hanh to reduce stress and encourage healing.

Integrated Conflict Management Systems As Cure And Cause: How Leaders Address Cultural Change And Conflict In Their Organizations, Brian S. Beck

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

Organizations experience the bottom line impact of internal conflicts daily. Conflicts between employees simply drain organizational resources. The idea of Integrated Conflict Management Systems (ICMS) has been introduced to help minimize the impact of these conflicts. ICMS, through the development of policies and procedures to address conflicts, are actually attempting to change the organization's culture, and when organizations attempt cultural changes, conflicts are likely to occur. The primary component of cultural change is the organizational leader.

The study interviews organizational leaders about the conflicts that occur when organizations change cultures and the methods that leaders use to work through those …

The Virtue Of Profit (Seattle), C. William Pollard

C. William Pollard Papers

In this speech at Seattle Pacific University, Pollard contends that profit can be considered virtuous when it allows servant leaders to invest in employees, thereby contributing to the moral and spiritual formation of human beings.

The Glass Ceiling Effect: A Pakistani Perspective, Shandana Shoaib, Romy Sajjad Khan, Sajjad Ahmad Khan

Business Review

The Glass Ceiling commonly refers to impediments to career growth and upward mobility in organizations owing to racial and gender biases. The study undertaken on this phenomenon has reflected different behavior patterns for different factors leading to the glass ceiling effect. This paper focuses specifically on gender and analyzes the behavior pattern of women in Pakistani society. We have also analyzed the impediments and pressures that have resulted in creating a Glass Ceiling for women in higher management.

The Impact Of Women Leaders Upon Organizational Performance, Humair Hashmi

Business Review

The aim of this research was to target television professionals in the state, and the private sector to develop their professional capabilities to address gender issues, and to portray women in an affirmative manner in the media. Research literature of the past indicated that women were paid 30% less than men: That they experienced an invisible barrier, the “glass ceiling effect": That organizations headed by women were less corrupt and more efficient. The present research focused on these issues in Pakistani organizations. Imperial College of Business Studies Lahore was assigned the research by United Nation Development Programme, to see if …

Applying Trait And Situational Leadership Approaches To Assess Theoretical Antecedents Of Managers' Work-Life Supportive Behaviors, Sue A. Epstein

Legacy Theses & Dissertations (2009 - 2024)

Managers' work-life supportive behaviors positively impact the usage of work-life programs, help reduce work-life conflict, and improve additional organizational and individual outcomes (e.g., job satisfaction, turnover intentions) (Foley, Linnehan, Greenhaus, & Weer, 2006). These behaviors include helping their subordinates rearrange their work schedules and encouraging subordinates' use of organizational work-life policies (e.g., flextime, job sharing, leave programs) (Mesmer-Magnus & Viswesvaran, 2006). While the benefits of such targeted leadership have been well studied, the predictors of managerial work-life supportive behaviors have received little attention. In this research, the trait and situational approaches to effective leadership are used as the basis for …

How Management Level And Environmental Dynamism Are Related To Change Behavior And Unit Performance, Eric C. T. E. Larsen

Legacy Theses & Dissertations (2009 - 2024)

A survey study was conducted to determine how management level and environmental dynamism affect change leadership by managers and its impact on work unit performance. An on-line survey was used to obtain data from subordinates of the managers in many different organizations. The results showed that change-oriented behavior was used more by high level managers than by low level managers, and when the environment was dynamic rather than relatively stable. Management level enhanced the effects of a manager's change behavior on unit performance, and the enhancing effect of dynamism was marginally significant. The results are consistent with theories about the …

Achieving High Organization Performance Through Servant Leadership, David E. Melchar, Susan M. Bosco

Business Faculty Publications

This empirical paper investigates whether a servant leader can develop a corporate culture that attracts or develops other servant leaders. Using the survey developed by Barbuto and Wheeler (2006), servant leader characteristics in managers were measured at three high-performing organizations. Results indicate that servant leaders can develop a culture of followers who are servant leaders themselves. This is one of the few studies to empirically test the model of servant leadership in an organizational environment. The success these servant leaders have achieved in a for-profit, demanding environment suggests this leadership style is viable for adoption by other firms.

Narrative Vs. Powerpoint: For Leaders, It May Not Be A Matter Of Fact, Michael S. Carriger

WCBT Faculty Publications

This paper aims to argue that narratives, skillfully deployed by senior leaders in an organization, can be a very effective tool for creating, disseminating and executing corporate strategy. The paper presents a model for narrative use by leaders and a practical guide to implementing the model. Preliminary and anecdotal data are presented to substantiation a case for leaders' use of narrative as an alternative means for conveying corporate strategy. Implications for the practical use of narratives by leaders are explored by this paper.

The 'Where' And 'How' Of Exploration And Exploitation: Balancing Leadership Styles To Drive Innovation And Performance, Ann Kowal Smith

Student Scholarship

Using a global sample of public companies, we explored the relationships among transformational and transactional leadership, exploration and exploitation and performance. First, balanced leadership styles drive more innovative learning outcomes than either single style. Second, elements of an expanded framework of innovative learning, including “where” ideas are sourced and “how” they are shared, fully mediate the relationship between leadership and performance. Specifically, “how” drives earnings growth and “where” drives revenue growth. We propose a nuanced ambidexterity, whereby leaders balance not only exploration and exploitation, but also idea sourcing and idea sharing to unleash their organization’s collective wisdom and drive performance.

Board Level Strategic Decision-Making: Process Characteristics And Context, Bernard C. Bailey

Student Scholarship

How do boards make strategic decisions? Semi-structured interviews with twenty eight directors of small to medium size publicly traded U.S. companies in the high technology sector were conducted in order to gain insights into strategic decision-making at the board level. We identified six characteristics that distinguish two divergent views about strategic decision-making. These characteristics include the role of the board chair, the boardroom climate, the board's shared vision and goals, the board's agency primacy, the board's process for decision closure and the board's level of involvement in the strategic planning process.

Managing The Mission Through Times Of Adversity: What Leads To Reliable Nonprofit Performance?, Kathleen Roche

Student Scholarship

During times of severe economic adversity, nonprofit organizations must carry out their charitable missions to ever-growing and needier constituencies despite endowment erosion, dwindling contributions, reduced staff, and severe funding cuts. The literature tells us little about what nonprofit organizations and managers actually do to survive economic crises. In depth interviews with leaders of a wide range of U.S. nonprofit organizations compared and contrasted crisis management experiences, revealing that, regardless of size and operation tenure, those best situated to emerge from severe and sudden revenue loss had energized, outwardly focused leaders and actively engaged boards, many volunteers, greatly extended hours of …

Board Level Strategic Decision-Making: Process Characteristics And Context, Bernard C. Bailey

Student Scholarship

How do boards make strategic decisions? Semi-structured interviews with twenty eight directors of small to medium size publicly traded U.S. companies in the high technology sector were conducted in order to gain insights into strategic decision-making at the board level. We identified six characteristics that distinguish two divergent views about strategic decision-making. These characteristics include the role of the board chair, the boardroom climate, the board's shared vision and goals, the board's agency primacy, the board's process for decision closure and the board's level of involvement in the strategic planning process.

Government Leadership-Business Voice: An Interaction And Mediation Analysis Of Business Environment Reform In Indonesia, Jaime Chua

Student Scholarship

Moving beyond the competing theories on public leadership and citizen voice, the study investigates whether local public executives' influence on reform depends on business voice; and whether leadership or voice is mediated by public-private sector dialogue before either can influence reform. Extending Hirschman's Exit-Voice-Loyalty theory, the conditional effects of leadership and voice are tested to assess if quasi-exit (collusion), association membership, or dissatisfaction with government services moderate reform. Multi-group invariance tests are conducted for each moderating condition to assess if key findings are robust across business firms. Based on structural equation analysis of survey data from over 12,000 small, medium-sized, …

From Esteem To Stigma: The Effect Of The Financial Crisis On Banker Engagement, Glen Weaver

Student Scholarship

Absent from a quickly accumulating literature on job engagement is a focus on professionals in the financial industry. There is, in particular, little research on the organization or industry identity of bankers as a discrete group. Nor has the literature explored the relationship of these identities with job engagement or environmental duress. We seized an opportunity to study the effects of the 2007-2009 financial crisis on bankers' identities and passion for their jobs. Semi-structured interviews with 28 mid-level bankers at five prominent US banks that accepted Toxic Asset Relief Program funding (TARP) captured insights about "normal state" (pre-crisis) versus mid-crisis …

A Longitudinal Study Examining Changes In Students' Leadership Behavior, Barry Z. Posner

Management & Entrepreneurship

This study investigated the impact of a leadership development program in students' first year with the subsequent leadership behaviors of those students in their senior year. Significant changes were reported in the frequency of engaging in leadership behaviors from freshman to senior years. No differences were found on the basis of gender. In addition, significant differences in leadership behaviors were found between seniors who had participated in the leadership development program with a control group of seniors who had not participated. Results supported the impact of a formal leadership program upon students' leadership development.

The Virtue Of Profit (Wheaton, Il - Second Revision), C. William Pollard

C. William Pollard Papers

In this second revision of a speech delivered at Wheaton College's Hastert Center (now the Center for Economy, Government, and Public Policy), Pollard contends that profit can be considered virtuous when it allows servant leaders to invest in employees, thereby contributing to the moral and spiritual formation of human beings.

The Virtue Of Profit (Wheaton, Il - First Revision), C. William Pollard

C. William Pollard Papers

In this speech -- a revised version of one delivered at Wheaton College's Center for Economics, Government, and Public Policy -- Pollard contends that profit can be considered virtuous when it allows servant leaders to invest in employees, thereby contributing to the moral and spiritual formation of human beings.

Leader And Employee Influence On The Development Of Organizational Climate In The Long-Term Care Sector, Alice A. Obermiller

Student Scholarship

The long-term care sector is challenged with retention issues that impact the quality of elder care. Annual turnover rates in excess of 50% at some staff levels combined with a growing senior population illuminates an issue where worker supply may not meet demand. Despite empirical evidence that staffing is a critical factor in the provision of high quality care and that facilities with higher staff to resident ratios have better quality ratings and more positive resident outcomes, twenty years of research underscores a persistent retention dilemma. Previous research has substantiated a correlation between retention and the work environment and called …

The Global Financial Meltdown: Is It A Recipe For Disaster To Employee Engagement?, Glen Weaver

Student Scholarship

The global financial crisis of 2007-2009 was particularly devastating to the financial services industry. Poor performance, mergers/acquisitions, and massive layoffs were characteristics of the crisis. For example, Citigroup lost almost $19 billion in 2008 and market capitalization for the top three U.S. banks for the period January 1, 2007 through January 15, 2009 fell $514 billion or 75%. It was reported that since the beginning of the financial crisis in July 2007, banks had shed over 186,000 positions and thousands more remained tenuously employed as banks struggled to sustain themselves in an increasingly volatile environment. Studies during this period reflected …

Managing The Mission Through Times Of Adversity: What Leads To Highly Reliable Performance?, Kathleen Roche

Student Scholarship

During times of severe economic adversity, nonprofit managers must lead their organizations and carry out their charitable missions to ever-growing and needier constituencies despite unpredictable endowment erosion, fewer contributions, less staff, and the most severe funding cuts most of them have ever experienced, or are prepared for. We propose research to explore which leadership skills and styles are most helpful and if reliance upon traditionality is a good indicator of endurance. By capturing the experiences of nonprofit leaders as they manage under conditions of duress, we will relate these factors to research about high reliability organizations, which have been found …

Generative Characteristics As Antecedents Of Engagement, Thomas H. Carlson

Student Scholarship

Organizations and their members at all levels are increasingly expected to perform, adapt, and to do 'more with less'. Positive psychology and appreciative inquiry inform us that as organizations strive to become more productive, innovative, and agile their interests and objectives are well-served by understanding that they have at-hand greater capacity for performance and learning than perhaps they had realized. Positive psychology emphasizes the role of character strengths and virtues suggesting that individual characteristics, whether dispositional or acquired, differentiate between those who are better able to contribute to organizational performance and learning and those who are less so. Appreciative inquiry …

The Virtue Of Profit (Mclean, Va), C. William Pollard

C. William Pollard Papers

In this speech delivered to the Workforce Ministry Group of McLean Presbyterian Church (McLean, VA), Pollard contends that profit can be considered virtuous when it allows servant leaders to invest in employees, thereby contributing to the moral and spiritual formation of human beings.

Strategic Leadership And Innovation In High Technology Firms, Terri A. Scandura Phd

Management Faculty Articles and Papers

Did you ever wonder what the organizations that produce some of the high tech gadgets we marvel at such as the IPhone and the Blu-ray player are like? How do their leaders create and maintain a spirit of innovation that produces these hit products? High technology firms face unique challenges because of the fast paced and ever-changing landscape of their industry. Intellectual capital and innovation have become the key sources of competitive advantage in a wide range of industries and many have argued that the key to the future competitiveness of organizations in the U.S and abroad is the ability …