Nonprofit Administration and Management Commons^™

Promoting Workplace Health Using Wearable Technology: A Mixed Methods Study In A Nonprofit Organization, Mitchell Tarver

Dissertations

Despite efforts to improve the designs and benefits of workplace wellness programs (WWPs), there are two major problems preventing employers from optimizing the human capital of their employees: (a) many WWPs are limited and do not include an exercise component, which increases the potential for chronic health conditions; and (b) more than 50% of employees are reluctant to participate in WWPs due to the common barriers of time, convenience, and location. A lack of physical activity is a problem because studies have shown that chronic conditions increase rates of absenteeism and presenteeism, both of which increase productivity loss. Additionally, low …

A Study Of The Global Job Satisfaction And Motivators Of Job Satisfaction Among Long-Tenured Protestant Pastors In Southern California, Ron Armstrong

Dissertations

Purpose: The purposes of this study were to determine the global job satisfaction of long-tenured Protestant pastors in southern California; to determine what are the facets of job satisfaction that motivate them to remain in their job; to discover what personal characteristics they perceive to have contributed to their long tenure.

Methodology: This study utilizes an explanatory, mixed method design. It is explanatory because it utilizes quantitative methods first, then seeks to better understand those results through qualitative methods (McMillan & Schumacher, 2010).

Findings: The subject pastors are very satisfied with their jobs; report high global job satisfaction; substantially higher …

Middle Managers Working Beyond Senior Management’S Expectations: A Phenomenological Study Of The Managed Healthcare Industry In Southern California, Gerald Dugas

Dissertations

Purpose. The purpose of this qualitative study was to explore how middle managers and senior managers working in the managed healthcare industry in southern California perceive what factors motivated middle managers to work beyond senior management’s expectations.

Methodology. A qualitative phenomenology study was chosen because it allowed the researcher to acquire a firm understanding of the nature of everyday lived experiences. This methodology was used to capture the meaning of experiences that motivated middle managers to work beyond expectations. The researcher conducted semi-structured, face-to-face interviews to gain a deeper understanding of the lived experience of the participants. Participants …

Conversational Leadership: A Leadership Approach For Nonprofit Executive Directors, Qiana O'Leary

Dissertations

Purpose. The purpose of this phenomenological research study was to describe the behaviors that exemplary nonprofit executive directors practice to lead through conversation using Groysberg and Slind’s (2012b) four elements of conversational leadership (intimacy, interactivity, inclusion, and intentionality).

Methodology. The qualitative phenomenological method was decided by a group of 12 thematic researchers to study conversational leadership practices based on four variables: intimacy, interactivity, inclusion, and intentionality. This method was selected to investigate the experiences, perceptions, and decisions of the participants to help identify the patterns of conversational leadership practitioners. The population for this study was nonprofit executive directors in …

Identifying Cross-Country Key Drivers Of Social Entrepreneurial Activity, Cris Bravo

Dissertations

Governmental and philanthropic efforts alone are not sufficient to eradicate poverty. The world needs new frameworks that enable sustainable development by integrating the economic, social and environmental dimensions, and social entrepreneurship is of great interest because it has the capacity for facilitating societal change by fostering innovative ways to address social inequality, unemployment, and climate change. Precisely because social entrepreneurship lays at the intersection of the business and nonprofit worlds, it is a complex phenomenon, and there are many unknowns regarding how the convergence of these dimensions can be understood and managed at cross-national levels.

To investigate this phenomenon, this …

Local Workforce Development Boards: Alignment With Operational Indicators And Behavioral Characteristics, Sharon Humphreys Johnson

Dissertations

The ability of a region to remain competitively viable is dependent upon attracting new business and retaining existing businesses (Good & Strong, 2015). In many instances, regional growth depends on the workforce and the region’s ability to develop a talent pipeline of existing or accessible workers (Blakely & Leigh, 2010). The passage of the Workforce Innovation and Opportunity Act (WIOA) increases the expectations of local workforce board leadership. The WIOA vision for Local Workforce Development Boards (LWDB) is to serve as strategic leaders and act as conveners of regional workforce system partners, stakeholders, and businesses to develop new structures for …

A Corporate Model: Aligning National Nonprofit Expectations With Regional/Local Efforts To Serve The Mission, Emma A. Powell

Dissertations

This study seeks to provide a body of knowledge and application of research to the national nonprofit audience. The focus is to study conditions that could lead to better alignment between regional staff understanding and implementation of the national expectations, by identifying alignment behaviors in five indicator areas. These indicators are fundraising, mission delivery, volunteer engagement, HR/operations, and PR/external communications.

Research in the areas of nonprofit structure design, motivation, and mission alignment continue to be significant to the sectors maturity and distinction. Corporate model nonprofit organizations structure is unique to other nonprofits within a local community. Understanding the corporate model …

Spinning Straw Into Gold: A Study Of Resource Creation, Flow, And Conversion In A Nonprofit Collaboration, Elizabeth A. Castillo

Dissertations

Throughout history people have joined together to improve their individual lives. In the modern era, organizations often work cooperatively to enhance their efficiency and effectiveness. Collaborating organizations in the nonprofit sector are increasingly expected to produce system-level change as well. This collective impact approach is under-theorized and therefore not consistently actionable. A central puzzle is how formal nonprofit collaborations acquire resource inputs and transform them into outputs, outcomes, and impact while producing financial returns to sustain the backbone organization. Resource dependence theory is sometimes proposed as an explanatory framework, yet it does not explain the generation of a double bottom …

Clients As Voting Board Members: A Mixed Methods Examination Of San Diego County Nonprofit Human Services Organizations, Elaine Marie Lewis

Dissertations

The literature suggests that thoughtful board composition generates more strategic and thoughtful policymaking. This study examined one aspect of board composition that is frequently cited as a source of more strategic and thoughtful policymaking: clients as voting members.

This study used descriptive and inferential statistics to examine the prevalence of, and the factors associated with clients participating as board members of human services nonprofit organizations in San Diego County. Through a review of the most recent 12 months of board meeting notes, this study also explored the level of participation of two clients on the board of directors of one …

When Worlds Collide: Bringing The Native/Indigenous Transnational Nonprofit Leader To The Conversation, Christina E. Mitchell

Dissertations

Transnationals have long been a subject of academic discussion. Described differently according to discipline and study, the primary characteristic of transnationals is that they cross borders in support of a broad range of purposes, including advocacy and service provision, and profession and research. While not explicitly engaged within the nonprofit conversation up to this point, transnationals do have an implicit association with the nonprofit sector. This dissertation locates the transnationals in the nonprofit sector bringing a particular type of transnational into the nonprofit conversation: the native/indigenous transnational nonprofit leader. Based on findings of an exploratory case study, this leader is …

An Examination Of The Volunteer Coordinator's Influence On Church Volunteers' Intent-To-Continue At The Largest Protestant Churches, Jason Berton Golden

Dissertations

Volunteers contribute to the production of goods and services by easing the burden of the paid workforce while not increasing costs. Today’s volunteers tend to be highly trained, skilled professionals looking for a place to invest their time and skills. Churches are the largest single recipient of many volunteers’ efforts. Despite this fact, volunteerism is on the decline in churches.

Once recruited, attrition rates can climb as high as 40% in the first 12 months following training of volunteers. Therefore, the greatest challenge churches face is turnover. Not only does turnover lead to reduced production; it also incurs added expenditures …

From Altruism To Investment: Venture Philanthropy And Its Impact On Shared Governance At Liberal Arts Colleges, Joshua D. Merchant

Dissertations

Competition for philanthropic dollars has escalated in recent years, particularly in higher education. A new type of charitable giving – venture philanthropy – has emerged and is impacting both educational policy and practice. Venture philanthropy involves donors using business models, championed practices of venture capitalists, and decision making procedures to drive their philanthropy and ongoing engagement with organizations they support.

Venture philanthropy has the potential to improve the financial vitality of colleges and universities. However, it also poses significant questions to the academy as more colleges and universities engage with donors who embrace its tenets. The primary research question seeks …

Use Of Funds In A Nonprofit Organization As Predictor Of Organizational Effectiveness And Efficiency, Throstur B. Thordarson

Dissertations

Purpose. The purpose of this study is to explore predictive relationships between how funds are used in a religious not-for-profit organization (NPO) and member recruitment. Financial data, from Seventh-day Adventist conferences at the organizational level, were correlated with data on membership recruitment from these same conferences.

Method. This study used a linear time-series analysis where relationships between variables and past values were explored over a 12-year period. Financial data were collected from year-end audited statements and financial activity statements. Published statistical records were used to collect data on membership and member donations.

Findings. This study concludes that Seventh-day Adventist …

Emotional Intelligence And Community Healthcare Productivity, Christopher Jacob Fox

Dissertations

Economic crisis is threatening state budgets. The strain on state budgets effects pensions and the healthcare benefits to communities. Rising healthcare costs and lagging insurance reimbursement rates are forcing healthcare organizations to sustain programs with fewer financial resources. Research studies indicate that payment increases from Medicare and Medicaid will not keep pace with the historical trend in hospital cost inflation (Kaufman, 2011). Of the healthcare facilities affected by federal budget constraints are community mental healthcare centers. The strain on state budgets has taken its toll on community mental healthcare facilities in particular struggling under the healthcare reform initiatives (Simpson, 1995). …

Structure And Mission Effectiveness: A Study Focused On Seventh-Day Adventist Mission To Unreached People Groups Between 1980 And 2010, Abraham Guerrero

Dissertations

The present study examines the impact of the Seventh-day Adventist Church's structure on mission effectiveness in taking the gospel to unreached people groups between 1980 and 2010. A historical descriptive study, this dissertation's theory base includes structure from an anthropological perspective; structure, mission, and effectiveness from an organizational perspective; and church structure and mission effectiveness in Christian history.

The impact of structure on mission effectivenessis evaluated in the present work by looking for patterns in history in which the structure has been either a facilitator or a hindrance for establishing churches among those who have not been reached with the …

Organizational Leadership : A Study Of The Perceptions Of Servant Leadership Practices And Beliefs, And Its Implications For A Private Christian Institution Of Higher Education In Brazil, Jose Iran Miguel

Dissertations

Purpose. This study verified the perceptions of the workers of Brazil Adventist University (UNASP) regarding the beliefs and practices of servant leadership by using data collected online through the instrument called the Organizational Leadership Assessment (OLA), focusing on six key areas of organizational health, according to three independent variables, which are leadership categories, campus, and gender.

Method. As a quantitative comparative study, the relationship between dependent and independent variables was determined by means of a one-way multivariate analysis of variance (MANOVA) and a 2 by 3 factorial design in order to observe significant differences and interactions between variables. …

A Comparative Study Of Giving And Volunteering Patterns Among Adults With Seventh-Day Adventist And Other Christian Religious Identities, Karen E. Stockton-Chilson

Dissertations

Problem. In an environment that challenges the non-profit sector, including church-based organizations, to do more with less, it is important to understand the mechanisms that build and sustain two key resources-individual giving and volunteering. Research indicates that there is a great deal of variation in the extent to which individuals provide help. An integrative theoretical model is utilized to examine and compare the giving and volunteering behaviors, socialization, attitudes, reasons, and motivations of adults with Seventh-day Adventist and other Christian religious identities, with secondary consideration given to the effect of potential ethnic variations.

Method. The sample (N = 1359) …

An Exploratory Study Of Michigan Grantmaker Attributes And Competencies, Lisa R. Wyatt Knowlton

Dissertations

Foundation trustees and professional staff are giving greater attention to issues of accountability and return on investment, while voices of those with significant experience in the private sector inquire with increasing frequency and vigor about the organizational performance of foundations. For these reasons there must be renewed attention on the competencies and attributes of grantmaking practitioners. This study is a self-assessment by grantmakers based on the construct of Emotional Intelligence (Goleman, 1995) as well as competency studies in organizational management and leadership.

In association with the Council of Michigan Foundations, grantmakers associated with foundations holding in excess of $1 million …

Case Studies Of Organizational Evaluation In Community Foundations, Joyce Box Brown

Dissertations

Community foundations are classified as public charities (501(c) 3). They derive their funds from many donors rather than a single donor, and the board is made up of representatives from the community served. They are most often established to serve a specific geographic area. This study investigated and described how three different community foundations approach organizational evaluation— choosing proposals to fund, monitoring programs, improving programs, and assessing program impact.

The three community foundations approach evaluation not as a formal system of grant accountabilities, but as a way of systematically gathering information from various constituents for purposes of guiding important decisions. …

Lobbying In The Nonprofit Sector: A Study Of Practice And Values, Larry A. Buzas

Dissertations

Executive directors of nonprofit organizations were interviewed to determine their lobbying practices. Direct lobbying and grassroots lobbying, as defined by P. A. 94-455 were studied. Independent variables include: (a) formal organizational support, (b) organizational affiliation, (c) organizational characteristics, and (d) the executive directors' perceptions and demographic characteristics.

Data were collected during semi-standardized interviews. A random sample of 50 executive directors of nonprofit organizations in Michigan was selected. The research shows that executive directors of nonprofit organizations do lobby policy makers at the local, state, and federal levels using the following techniques: (a) face-to-face visits, individually or with coalitions, including providing …