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Walden Dissertations and Doctoral Studies

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Articles 691 - 720 of 798

Full-Text Articles in Management Sciences and Quantitative Methods

Profitability And The Financial Strategies Of Women-Owned Small Businesses, Kellie J. Emrich Jan 2015

Profitability And The Financial Strategies Of Women-Owned Small Businesses, Kellie J. Emrich

Walden Dissertations and Doctoral Studies

The fastest growing segment of business development in the United States comes from small business start-ups, with 42% of these businesses being women owned. Women-owned businesses are annually 25% less profitable when compared to the average small business in the United States. Based on the theory of planned behavior, the purpose of this single exploratory case study was to investigate how women small business owners and their employees use financial strategies to increase the profitability of their businesses. Data came from semistructured interviews with 1 woman business owner and 5 business consultants who work for the women-owned small business. The …

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Social Disorder And Level Of Engagement Of Small Business Owners In The Virgin Islands, Saul Santiago Jan 2015

Social Disorder And Level Of Engagement Of Small Business Owners In The Virgin Islands, Saul Santiago

Walden Dissertations and Doctoral Studies

The U.S. Virgin Islands is experiencing an economic recession, manifested through social disorders such as abandoned and vandalized houses. Research points to social disorders and lack of community engagement as key factors inhibiting community development efforts. In order to strengthen these struggling communities, research has highlighted the need for public-private partnerships. Guided by Ajzen's theory of planned behavior, which posits that attitudes can predict behaviors, this study examined the relationship between social disorder and engagement of small business owners in community development. Small business owners in the U.S. Virgin Islands received an Internet or paper survey; a total of 79 …

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Business Governance Best Practices Of Virtual Project Teams, William James Hamersly Jan 2015

Business Governance Best Practices Of Virtual Project Teams, William James Hamersly

Walden Dissertations and Doctoral Studies

The steady increase in project failure rates is leaving businesses searching for better integration techniques to virtualize their project environments. Through virtualization, organizations may have positive impacts on communities across geographical boundaries and resource constraints. The focus of this phenomenological study was to explore, via the experiences of successful project management practitioners, best practice strategies for integrating virtual project teams through data analysis. The conceptual framework included von Bertalanffy's general systems theory, decomposition model of business process and project management frameworks, and the recomposition approach. Twenty-two senior project managers with more than 5 years of experience managing virtual project environments …

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Examining The Relationship Between Selected Ratios And Market Capitalization Of An Ipo, Michael Wayne Donaldson Jan 2015

Examining The Relationship Between Selected Ratios And Market Capitalization Of An Ipo, Michael Wayne Donaldson

Walden Dissertations and Doctoral Studies

This study examined the relationship between return on equity (ROE) and return on assets (ROA), the business sector, and long-term performance of new firms 5 years after the initial public offer (IPO) date. IPOs have a high rate of delisting from stock exchanges, and understanding possible predictors of long-term performance will benefit business owners and investors. The purpose of this study was to determine if ROE and ROA are predictors of long-term performance of IPOs on U.S. stock exchanges. The research question examined whether there is a statically significant relationship between the ROE, ROA, business sector, and market capitalization of …

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Customer Satisfaction Factors In Life Insurance Growth In Ghana, Geraldine Gina Abaidoo Jan 2015

Customer Satisfaction Factors In Life Insurance Growth In Ghana, Geraldine Gina Abaidoo

Walden Dissertations and Doctoral Studies

The growth rate of life insurance in Ghana is under 1% of GDP, and life insurance company leaders must identify and implement customer satisfaction strategies that will aid business growth and sustainability. Guided by the theory of customer satisfaction management systems (CSMS), the purpose of this multiple case study was to explore customer satisfaction strategies that life insurance company leaders execute to grow and sustain the life insurance business. Twelve life insurance company leaders working in the Accra-Tema geographic area participated in face-to-face semistructured interviews for this study. Data analysis involved compiling, disassembling, reassembling, interpreting, and concluding the data. Member …

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Strategies To Overcome Barriers To A More Effective Leadership Style, David Barnwell Jan 2015

Strategies To Overcome Barriers To A More Effective Leadership Style, David Barnwell

Walden Dissertations and Doctoral Studies

Disengaged employees and leaders lacking the skills to engage their employees account for an estimated $300 billion annual loss through lowered productivity. This study focused on a leader's understanding of employee engagement as a means of increasing productivity. Utilizing the theory of leadership styles and expectancy theory for the conceptual framework, this descriptive study explored strategies small business leaders have used to develop effective leadership styles to improve workplace engagement. Interviews with a purposive sample of 20 highest-ranking executives at small businesses with between 50 and 250 employees in the Mid-Atlantic region of the United States were analyzed using the …

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Exploring Recruiting Challenges Of The Insurance Industry, Hema Chaurasia Jan 2015

Exploring Recruiting Challenges Of The Insurance Industry, Hema Chaurasia

Walden Dissertations and Doctoral Studies

Insurance companies provide financial protection to the general population, but their workforce challenges may destabilize the companies to the point of financial distress. Senior insurance company leaders lack effective strategies to recruit skilled professionals. With contingency theory and resource-based view theory as the framework, the focus in this multicase study was the exploration of the recruiting strategies of human resources (HR) managers in New York City area insurance companies. Four insurance company HR managers were recruited via a purposeful and snowball sampling method for semistructured interviews. These interviews were analyzed through a reflective interpretation process, which was guided by the …

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A Quantitative Model Studying The Effects Of Transformational Leadership On Job Satisfaction, Kenneth Uzoma Chukwuba Jan 2015

A Quantitative Model Studying The Effects Of Transformational Leadership On Job Satisfaction, Kenneth Uzoma Chukwuba

Walden Dissertations and Doctoral Studies

Hotels have lost $3.4 billion over the last 5 years because of high rates of employee turnover. Leaders must use the tools necessary to increase job satisfaction and retain professional employees. The problem was that insufficient data described the relationships between transformational leadership, gender, education, and job satisfaction for hotel professionals. The purpose of this survey study was to understand the relationship between transformational leadership and job satisfaction for the hotel professionals in the United States. A total of 248 hotel professionals from the Colorado Lodging and Hotel Association were surveyed using the Multifactor Leadership Questionnaire and the Job Satisfaction …

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An Exploration Of Wireless Networking And The Management Of Associated Security Risk, Helen Loretta Collins Jan 2015

An Exploration Of Wireless Networking And The Management Of Associated Security Risk, Helen Loretta Collins

Walden Dissertations and Doctoral Studies

The rapid expansion of wireless information technology (IT) coupled with a dramatic increase in security breaches forces organizations to develop comprehensive strategies for managing security risks. The problem addressed was the identification of security risk management practices and human errors of IT administrators, putting the organization at risk for external security intrusion. The purpose of this non-experimental quantitative study was to investigate and determine the security risk assessment practices used by IT administrators to protect the confidentiality and integrity of the organization's information. The research questions focused on whether the security risk management practices of IT administrators met or exceeded …

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Examining The Relationship Between Trust, Credibility, Satisfaction, And Loyalty Among Online Donors, Belinda Gail Roberson Jan 2015

Examining The Relationship Between Trust, Credibility, Satisfaction, And Loyalty Among Online Donors, Belinda Gail Roberson

Walden Dissertations and Doctoral Studies

Despite more than $769 million in charitable gifts in 2013, U.S. nonprofit organizations lost $735 million in lapsed and reduced gifts. Donor attrition is a problem for most charitable organizations, and many are using the Internet to cultivate donors. Online communication has become an important part of fundraising for many charitable organizations. The online communication factors in the current study include trust, credibility, and satisfaction. These factors may affect donor loyalty. Donor loyalty may increase or decrease donor attrition. Reducing donor attrition is important to anyone who plays a role in the success of a nonprofit organization. The purpose of …

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Managing Workplace Stress For Increased Performance In An Irish Higher Education Institution, Tommy J. Foy Jan 2015

Managing Workplace Stress For Increased Performance In An Irish Higher Education Institution, Tommy J. Foy

Walden Dissertations and Doctoral Studies

Workplace stress costs -£3.7 billion per annum in the United Kingdom and in excess of $300 billion per annum in the United States. However, little research exists on the relationships between perceptions of social support, work-life conflict, job performance, and workplace stress. The purpose of this correlational study was to provide educational leaders with the information they need to examine the existence, strength, and direction of relationships between perceptions of social support, work-life conflict, job performance, and workplace stress in an Irish higher education institution. The theoretical framework for this study consisted of a combination of reward imbalance theory, expectancy …

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Independent Retail Business Owners' Perceptions Of The Patient Protection And Affordable Care Act., Bradley A. Hall Jan 2015

Independent Retail Business Owners' Perceptions Of The Patient Protection And Affordable Care Act., Bradley A. Hall

Walden Dissertations and Doctoral Studies

Passage of the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act (PPACA) in 2010 prompted the question of how independent businesses may react to the employer mandate in the PPACA. The law is based on the theory of managed competition and it is more likely to affect businesses with fewer employees than to affect larger businesses that already offer health insurance. The purpose of this quantitative, pre-experimental study was to examine the strategic responses of independent retail business owners in Hillsborough County, Florida, regarding their perceptions of the employer mandate in the PPACA. Before 2014, there was a great deal of non-peer-reviewed …

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Leaders' Risk Propensity And Delegation Of Critical Decision-Making Authority, Reginald Carlton Doctor Jan 2015

Leaders' Risk Propensity And Delegation Of Critical Decision-Making Authority, Reginald Carlton Doctor

Walden Dissertations and Doctoral Studies

A leader's unwillingness to delegate critical decision-making authority to subordinate managers and employees negatively impacts the performance of a firm. There is a lack of research that measures a leader's willingness to delegate critical decision-making authority to subordinate managers and employees based on their individual risk propensities. The purpose of this study was to provide empirical evidence of the influence risk propensity has on a leader's willingness to delegate critical decision-making authority. Specifically, this study examined the extent that risk propensity of leaders affect delegating critical decision making authority to subordinate managers and employees. The research design was a quantitative …

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Organizational Change: Evaluating The Effect Of Motivational Interviewing On Readiness To Change, Conrado Joaquin Grimolizzi-Jensen Jan 2015

Organizational Change: Evaluating The Effect Of Motivational Interviewing On Readiness To Change, Conrado Joaquin Grimolizzi-Jensen

Walden Dissertations and Doctoral Studies

Failure accompanies most organizational change efforts. Change agents' efforts focus on employee resistance or readiness to change without considering employee ambivalence. Motivational interviewing (MI) may reduce ambivalence and improve the success rate of organizational change initiatives. The purpose of this experimental research was to evaluate the effectiveness of MI to increase readiness to organizational change, to assess the influence of MI on change-related beliefs, and to investigate the relationship between beliefs and readiness to change. The theoretical framework was the transtheoretical model of change, the theory of planned behavior, and social cognitive theory. Through random assignment, 56 employees of a …

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Financial Performance Outcomes Following System Replacement In The Insurance Industry, Trevor James Owen Jan 2015

Financial Performance Outcomes Following System Replacement In The Insurance Industry, Trevor James Owen

Walden Dissertations and Doctoral Studies

Enterprise system replacement projects within the property and casualty insurance industry are costly, high-risk undertakings that carry a significant risk of project failure. The decision to replace policy administration systems for companies with over $250 million in direct written premium is a multimillion dollar investment for corporate strategic decision makers. This study examined the financial impact of enterprise policy administration system replacement in the property and casualty insurance industry by comparing financial performance results for companies that performed policy administration system replacements with those that did not. Insurance industry financial results for the years 2009 through 2014 were used for …

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The Perceptions And Lived Experiences Of Leaders Practicing Mindfulness Meditation: A Phenomenological Investigation, Denise A. Frizzell Jan 2015

The Perceptions And Lived Experiences Of Leaders Practicing Mindfulness Meditation: A Phenomenological Investigation, Denise A. Frizzell

Walden Dissertations and Doctoral Studies

Despite the gap between the demands of the global work environment and the maturity of its leaders, minimal research exists on the trend of the practice of mindfulness meditation and the developmental experiences of leaders, thereby resulting in a growing divide between theory and practice. Consequently, leadership scholars have little understanding of how an increasing number of leaders experience mindfulness meditation. The purpose of this phenomenological study was to understand the perceived impact mindfulness meditation had on leader development for 20 manager-leaders who had a regular (at least 3 days a week) mindfulness-meditation practice. The primary recruitment strategy included outreach …

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A Client-Vendor Relationship Perspective Of Cultural Differences On Cross-Border Information Technology Outsourcing, John Kennedy Bosire Jan 2015

A Client-Vendor Relationship Perspective Of Cultural Differences On Cross-Border Information Technology Outsourcing, John Kennedy Bosire

Walden Dissertations and Doctoral Studies

Cross-border information technology (IT) outsourcing continues to rise due to the demand for business process outsourcing. Issues such as miscommunication and management problems have emerged because of cross-cultural disparities between clients and vendors across national borders. The theoretical framework of this study was based on the organizational culture model studies of Meek, Spradley, Smith, and Draft for examining and understanding complex organizational practices. The purpose of this mixed-methods explanatory sequential case study was to qualitatively identify and quantitatively determine the management approaches that are effective in managing cross-cultural differences and the constitution of the elements of global adjustment, motivation, mindset, …

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Physician Participation In Crowdsourcing: Effect Of Intrinsic And Extrinsic Motivation, Rod Gene Brace Jan 2015

Physician Participation In Crowdsourcing: Effect Of Intrinsic And Extrinsic Motivation, Rod Gene Brace

Walden Dissertations and Doctoral Studies

Physicians must participate in developing medical protocols to ensure that medical best practices are adopted for patients' social benefit. Healthcare leaders have struggled to gain sufficient physician participation in developing medical protocols. Using technology-based crowdsourcing to assimilate knowledge from physicians may help healthcare managers improve medical protocol development. Using self-determination theory, this quantitative causal-comparative design aimed to determine whether differences in intrinsic and extrinsic motivation existed among the 132 participating physicians who did or did not participate in developing medical protocols in a crowdsourcing environment. Participants were recruited by e-mail through an independent physician association. Motivation levels were measured by …

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Employees' Perceptions Of Managerial Transformational Leadership Behaviors And Effectiveness Among Information Technology Managers, Olusesan Ogunsakin Jan 2015

Employees' Perceptions Of Managerial Transformational Leadership Behaviors And Effectiveness Among Information Technology Managers, Olusesan Ogunsakin

Walden Dissertations and Doctoral Studies

The selection of effective leaders is critical to improving organizations' performance in the current dynamic global business landscape; however, the inadequacy of leadership selection criteria in many organizations had led to an increase in the rate of chief executive officers' dismissals within the last 3 decades in the United States. The purpose of this correlational study was to examine the relationship between employees' assessments of their managers' transformational leadership behaviors and employees' perceptions of managerial leadership effectiveness for improved leadership selection. Bass' transformational leadership theory and Herzberg's motivation-hygiene theory guided the study with data gathered, using an online survey, from …

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Efficient Management Of Cross-Cultural Manufacturing Teams In The Dominican Republic, Efrain Serrano Jan 2015

Efficient Management Of Cross-Cultural Manufacturing Teams In The Dominican Republic, Efrain Serrano

Walden Dissertations and Doctoral Studies

Companies that have moved their operations from the United States to other countries have forced top management to rely on their managers for leading overseas assignments. However, the success rate of expatriate managers is low and is a concern for top management in corporations. The purpose of this phenomenological study was to explore the shared lived experiences of 20 expatriate managers to identify methods which may improve the success rates of expatriate managers asked to participate in overseas assignments. Social learning, cultural shock, and experiential learning were used to support the conceptual framework linking how cross-cultural training, adaptation, problems, and …

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Restaurant Revenue Management: Examining Reservation Policy Implications At Fine Dining Restaurants, Nanishka Hernandez Jan 2015

Restaurant Revenue Management: Examining Reservation Policy Implications At Fine Dining Restaurants, Nanishka Hernandez

Walden Dissertations and Doctoral Studies

In the restaurant industry, some patrons do not honor their reservations, especially on holidays. Grounded in postpositivism and system theories, the purpose of this comparative study was to examine the impact of implementing a credit card payment policy for fine dining restaurants reservations and no shows after implementation of a credit card guarantee policy at a high-end hotel located in the southeast United States. Data were collected from archival records provided by the hotel executives. According to the results of a Wilcoxon Signed Rank test, there was a statistically significant decrease in the number of no shows, p < .001, after the implementation of the credit card guarantee policy. In a paired sample t-test, there was a statistically significant decrease in the number of reservations, p < .001, after implementation of the credit card guarantee policy. The implications for positive social change include the potential to increase understanding of payment policies as they relate to the restaurant industry. Service industry managers can benefit from implementing payment policies that can vary from specific dates, seasons, and type of services. Customers will also benefit by being able to make reservations not originally possible due to demand. The current study adds to service industry knowledge, increasing the understanding of payment policies as they relate to restaurant industry. Conducting a similar study in other service industries in the future may lead to a better understanding of the nature of policies and customers' traits and behaviors.

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Volunteers' Engagement And Retention In The Community Of Bosniaks Georgia, Inc., Senija Orlovic Jan 2015

Volunteers' Engagement And Retention In The Community Of Bosniaks Georgia, Inc., Senija Orlovic

Walden Dissertations and Doctoral Studies

Members of ethnic- and nationality-based community organizations in the United States support their communities with their membership fees and donations, but they often show little interest in participating in volunteer activities. The purpose of this case study was to examine what motivates people to engage in ethnic- and nationality-based community organizations and provide information to leaders of the ethnic- and nationality-based community organizations to develop best practices with ways to attract and retain volunteers. This study was based on Clary, Snyder, and Stukas's conceptualization of functional motivations of volunteerism. Interview data were collected from 32 individuals who volunteer in a …

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Transformational Leadership Principles Within Small Businesses, Tiffany Suzanne Mckinnon-Russell Jan 2015

Transformational Leadership Principles Within Small Businesses, Tiffany Suzanne Mckinnon-Russell

Walden Dissertations and Doctoral Studies

Small businesses in the United States experience a high rate of failure. The purpose of this phenomenological study was to identify and explore consistent strategies small business owners in Harrisburg, Pennsylvania used to lead successful companies. Transformational leadership theory formed the conceptual framework for this study. A mixed purposive sample of 20 small business owners participated in semistructured face- to-face and telephone interviews. Each of the participants possessed a minimum of 3 years of successful business operation and employed fewer than 500 individuals. Using Moustakas' modified van Kaam analyses, 6 main themes emerged: characteristics and experiences, leadership behaviors, managing operations, …

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Technological Change And Employee Motivation In A Telecom Operations Team, Samuel Ogbonnaya Ude Jan 2015

Technological Change And Employee Motivation In A Telecom Operations Team, Samuel Ogbonnaya Ude

Walden Dissertations and Doctoral Studies

Some managers view innovative product development and convenient service delivery as necessary to business survival. However, unmotivated employees might negate any gains from the use of innovation. The purpose of this correlational study, grounded in diffusion of innovation theory, was to assess the relationship between creativity and support for innovation, resistance to change, and organizational commitment and employee motivation. A random sample of 81 information technology (IT) professionals from telecom service centers completed an online survey. Simultaneous multiple linear regression was the statistical technique used to analyze these data. The results indicated a poor model with low R2 to significantly …

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Marketplace Clinics Complementing Community-Based Diabetes Care For Urban Residing American Indians, Robert Steven Rick Jan 2015

Marketplace Clinics Complementing Community-Based Diabetes Care For Urban Residing American Indians, Robert Steven Rick

Walden Dissertations and Doctoral Studies

The American Indians population in Minneapolis, Minnesota has experienced limited health care access and threefold diabetes health disparity. The purpose of this study was to measure the extent to which collaborating marketplace clinics and community-based support groups expanded diabetes care and provided self-management education for this largely urban Indian neighborhood. The marketplace clinics located in nearby CVS, Walmart, Target, and Supervalu stores committed financial support, certified educators, and pharmacy staff for the community-based support group. The study was conducted within the patient activation measure (PAM) analytical framework to assess the participants' acquired knowledge, skills, and confidence for diabetes self-management. A …

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The Perceptions Of Managers Relating To Subordinate Productivity In Virtual Work Arrangements, Frank Melvin Jan 2015

The Perceptions Of Managers Relating To Subordinate Productivity In Virtual Work Arrangements, Frank Melvin

Walden Dissertations and Doctoral Studies

Some managers tend to resist virtual work and find it challenging to manage the productivity of subordinates working virtually. This phenomenological study examined managers' perceptions of subordinate productivity in virtual work arrangements. Adaptive structuration theory and McGregor's X and Y theory guided this study. The primary research questions focused on the managers' perceptions of worker productivity in virtual work arrangements and the related challenges. Data collection included semistructured interviews with 40 business managers responsible for overseeing the productivity of virtual workers. The study was conducted in the Atlanta, Georgia metropolitan area. Utilizing the Stevick'Colaizzi'Keen method of data analysis, 3 primary …

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Exploring Antecedents To Work Engagement And Psychological Well-Being Within A Canadian Provincial Ministry, Kris Ellis Jan 2015

Exploring Antecedents To Work Engagement And Psychological Well-Being Within A Canadian Provincial Ministry, Kris Ellis

Walden Dissertations and Doctoral Studies

A gap exists in organizational development strategies on why some individuals remain disengaged with their work. This study addressed whether a combination of specific contextual factors could support individuals, teams, and leaders to demonstrate the attitudes and behaviors consistent with work engagement. The theoretical frameworks of social constructivism, the conceptual framework of symbolic interactionism, and a hermeneutic inquiry approach were used to address how individual psychological traits/abilities of employees support work engagement. Nineteen employees of a Canadian provincial government ministry completed an engagement survey, MSCEIT, MBTI, and SDI assessments. They also participated in focus groups. Survey results showed high engagement …

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The Relationship Between Information Technology And Organizational Effectiveness As Perceived By Health Care Providers, Christian Chikwem Ukaga Jan 2015

The Relationship Between Information Technology And Organizational Effectiveness As Perceived By Health Care Providers, Christian Chikwem Ukaga

Walden Dissertations and Doctoral Studies

The U.S. Congress has made health information technology a central component of the national quest to improve health care delivery. The problem addressed in this study was the uncertainty among healthcare providers regarding the benefits of health care information technology adoption relative to healthcare delivery processes and outcomes. The purpose of the study was to understand the effectiveness of information technology as perceived by healthcare providers. The research questions were designed to investigate the relationship between health information technology and organizational effectiveness, exchange of information, organizational process, organizational productivity, and direct personal care. Sociotechnical systems theory and Donabedian's framework for …

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The Value Of Diagnostic Software And Doctors' Decision Making, Babatunde Ayodele Alaofin Jan 2015

The Value Of Diagnostic Software And Doctors' Decision Making, Babatunde Ayodele Alaofin

Walden Dissertations and Doctoral Studies

The prevalence of medical misdiagnosis has remained high despite the adoption of diagnostic software. This ongoing controversy about the role of technology in mitigating the problem of misdiagnosis centers on the question of whether diagnostic software does reduce the incidence of misdiagnosis if properly relied upon by physicians. The purpose of this quantitative, cross-sectional study based on planned behavior theory was to measure doctors' opinions of diagnostic technology's medical utility. Recruitment e-mails were sent to 3,100 AMA-accredited physicians through their database that yielded a sample of 99 physicians for the study. One-sample t tests and, where appropriate because of non-normal …

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Impact Of Eu Medical Device Directive On Medical Device Software, Guy Foe Owono Jan 2015

Impact Of Eu Medical Device Directive On Medical Device Software, Guy Foe Owono

Walden Dissertations and Doctoral Studies

Directive 2007/47/EC of the European Parliament amending Medical Device Directive (MDD) provides medical device manufacturers with a compliance framework. However, the effects of the amendments to the MDD on competition in the U.S. medical device software industry are unknown. This study examined the impact of this directive on the competitiveness of U.S. medical device software companies, the safety and efficacy of medical device software, employee training, and recruitment. The conceptual framework for this study included 3 dimensions of medical device regulations: safety, performance, and reliability. The overall research design was a concurrent mixed method study using both quantitative and qualitative …

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