Organizational Behavior and Theory Commons^™

Economic Cycles As A Source Of Social Influence On Individuals, Nina Sirola

Research Collection Lee Kong Chian School Of Business

The current review summarizes emerging research in psychology and associated disciplines showing that the economic cycles exert social influence on individuals across a range of psychological domains. Most research on social influence focused on how factors in the proximal environment impact individuals, while influences emanating from the state of the economy as a whole received far less attention. I review the development of different intellectual traditions examining social influence to explain the relative lack of attention to economic cycles and position emerging work on the topic relative to past research. I then review research on how economic cycles influence individuals …

Communication As Constitutive Of Organization: Practicing Collaboration In And English Language Program, Ariadne Miranda

USF Tampa Graduate Theses and Dissertations

This dissertation is about collaboration as an organizational practice that is communicatively constituted. Specifically, I examine how members of a team in an English language program located in a large southeastern university in the United States make sense of what they define as a collaborative work environment and materialize it in their meetings in spoken and written discourse, and in their mention and use of organizational artifacts. Though the study examines the practices of one organizational setting, the insights generated illuminate broader organizational and discourse dynamics and speak to important issues in the discipline of communication such as authority, leadership, …

Exploring Workplace Spirituality And The Benefit It Has On Teams, Tracey Kimberly Johnson

Dissertations

Purpose: The purpose of this phenomenological study was to explore and understand the perception of nonprofit leaders on how spirituality in the workplace fosters a positive workplace culture.

Methodology: In this phenomenological qualitative study, data were collected using interviews of 12 nonprofit leaders. The essential data collection method for this study was in-depth, semi-structured, open-ended interview questions, key informant interviews, and pilot study data interviews. After the data were collected and transcribed, the coding process began, and themes were identified.

Findings: The research on spirituality in the workplace and spiritual intelligence of nonprofit leaders has been completed. There is still …

The Moderating Effect Of Employee Bottom-Line Mentality On The Relation Between Personality And Unethical Pro-Organizational Behaviors, Jordan Thomas

Theses and Dissertations

Unethical pro-organizational behavior (UPB) refers to unethical actions that employees engage in to benefit the company they work for. The issue of employees engaging in UPB has been high-lighted in various high-profile scandals, such as the Volkswagen emissions scandal. The current study examined the interaction between employees’ personality traits, perceptions of bottom-line mentality (BLM), and UPB. The results suggested that when employees who are low on trait conscientiousness and honesty-humility are placed in an environment in which they perceive to have high levels of BLM, they are more likely to engage in UPB than those individuals who had higher levels …

Leading With Trust: A Phenomenological Study Of The Strategies Leaders In Certified B Corporations Use To Build Trust With Their Employees, Victoria Wodarczyk

Dissertations

Purpose:The purpose of this phenomenological study was to explore how senior management leaders of certified B Corporations (B Corps) build trust with employees, using the 5 domains of connection, concern, candor, competence, and consistency.

Methodology:Aqualitative phenomenological approach was used in this study to explore how senior leaders of certified B Corps build trust with their employees using The Values Institute (TVI; Weisman, 2016) trust framework and the accompanying domains of connection, concern, candor, competence, and consistency. Participants were purposely chosen based on study criteria of a senior management leader in a certified B Corp including leadership for at …

Meaning Makers: A Mixed-Method Case Study Of Exemplary Small Business Owner Leaders And The Strategies They Use To Create Personal And Organizational Meaning, Margaret S. Ohlhaver

Dissertations

Purpose. The purpose of this replication of a thematic, mixed-method case study was to identify and describe the behaviors that small business owner leaders use to create personal and organizational meaning for themselves and their followers through character, vision, relationships, wisdom, and inspiration.

Methodology. Qualitative interviews with exemplary small business owners were conducted to capture their insights on how they used behaviors associated with character, vision, relationships, wisdom, and inspiration to create personal and organizational meaning. In a quantitative survey, followers of each small business owner leader participants were asked to assess how important each of the variable behaviors were …

Gender, Emotional Displays And Negotiation Outcomes, Horacio Arruda Falcao Filho

Dissertations and Theses Collection (Open Access)

This paper examined whether positive and negative emotional displays influenced negotiation outcomes (value creation and claiming) differentially for female and male negotiators. Also considered was how negotiation dyad gender composition might affect value creation and claiming. I examined recordings from a negotiation exercise (N = 194). Results revealed that when females expressed negative emotions significantly reduced value claiming on the part of those female negotiators. However, the effects of expressing positive emotions on negotiation outcomes did not vary by negotiator gender. The findings suggest that female negotiators do not need to be positive but only need not be negative to …

A Closer Look At Response Options: Is Judgment In Situational Judgment Tests A Function Of The Desirability Of Response Options?, Katarina Kaminski, Jorg Felfe, Philipp Schaepers, Stefan Krumm

Research Collection Lee Kong Chian School Of Business

The current study builds on the current scholarly debate about SJTs potentially being less situational than previously assumed. Specifically, we respond to recent calls to examine general (situation unspecific) information included in response options as a guide to SJT responses. Across three consecutive studies and three different forms of SJT administration (standard, without situation descriptions, under fake-good instructions), the relevance of social desirability of response options on SJT responses was examined. Results suggest that social desirability of response options is significantly related to test takers' response. This finding generalized across different forms of SJT administration. Across studies and together with …

The Differential Impact Of Interactions Outside The Organization On Employee Well-Being, Devasheesh P. Bhave, Freyr Halldórsson, Eugene Kim, Alexandru M. Lefter

Research Collection Lee Kong Chian School Of Business

We examine two different perspectives of interactions outside the organization: the relational work design perspective and the emotional labour perspective. The relational work design perspective suggests that interactions outside the organization have favourable outcomes for employees, whereas the emotional labour perspective suggests that such interactions have adverse outcomes for employees. Our goal is to reconcile findings from these two research streams. In Study 1, using data from employees working in diverse occupations, we find that interactions outside the organization have a positive indirect effect on employee well‐being via task significance, and a negative indirect effect on employee well‐being via surface …

Why Are Americans So Divided On Refugee Policy?, Shilpa Madan, Shankha Basu, Aneeta Rattan, Krishna Savani

Research Collection Lee Kong Chian School Of Business

The U.S. will resettle the lowest number of refugees in fiscal year 2019 since the Refugee Act was passed in 1980. After taking office, President Donald Trump reduced the admission limit from 110,000 in 2017 to 45,000 in 2018, and to 30,000 in 2019. The reduction is not a result of fewer refugees seeking resettlement. On the contrary, the number of people seeking resettlement is on the rise.

The Missing Shifts, Saumya Sindhwani, Jerry Conner, Howard Thomas

Research Collection Lee Kong Chian School Of Business

Saumya Sindhwani, Jerry Connor and Howard Thomas argue it is time to change the way we develop leaders – and tap into the power of mindset. The needs the managers speak of fit into two broad categories (“empathy” and “resourcefulness”) and both are fundamental “changes in mindset”. By that, we mean a change in attitude or world view.

Enabling Models Of Inclusive Growth: Addressing The Need For Financial And Social Inclusion, Yuwa Hedrick-Wong, Howard Thomas

Research Collection Lee Kong Chian School Of Business

While poverty is falling, the gap between the rich and poor is getting wider and more and more people are being excluded from the means to better themselves. Yuwa Hedrick-Wong and Howard Thomas look at ways to include them.

The Influence Of Work On Personality Trait Development: The Demands-Affordances Transactional (Data) Model, An Integrative Review, And Research Agenda, Stephen A. Woods, Bart Wille, Chia-Huei Wu, Filip Lievens, Filip De Fruyt

Research Collection Lee Kong Chian School Of Business

Although personality is typically conceptualized in industrial, organizational, and vocational psychology as enduring and stable, an increasing volume of research now shows that personality changes throughout the lifespan, with work being a potentially important influence of trait development. This paper reviews and integrates the emergent literature in this area, and in doing so proposes a new Demands-Affordances TrAnsactional (DATA) model of personality development at work, against which research is evaluated. This DATA model clarifies how personality-related behavior at work is called upon by work demands at four different levels (vocation, job, group and organization) and proposes Person-Environment (PE) fit as …

The Principles Of Organizational Inaction, Roger A. Lohmann

Faculty & Staff Scholarship

Organization inaction and the absence of change are seriously understudied topics. This article (a spoof) reports on a research problem that identifies and studies four principles of organizational inaction: The time, subject matter, group size and controversy theorems together and separately explain a great deal of committee and organizational inaction. The article also introduces innovative techniques of invariant statistics and mystery sampling. The article is an extensive rewrite of a 'research report' that originally appeared in a peer-reviewed administrative humor journal, The Bureaucrat, in 1979.

The Empathetic Leader, Sarah Romney

Marriott Student Review

Research shows that “empathy” is an important quality in a leader and improves one’s ability to resolve group needs, obtain followers, perform prosocial behaviors, and get positive results. However, many business students do not recognize the value of empathy. Business schools can help improve this by teaching the importance of empathy and giving students the opportunity to develop it.

An Indentured Servant: The Impact Of Green Card Waiting Time On The Life Of Highly Skilled Indian Immigrants In The United States Of America, Pooja B. Vijayakumar, Christopher J. L. Cunningham

Industrial and Organizational Psychology Translational Research and Working Papers

Highlighting the archaic immigration system in the United States of America (US), the present study demonstrates for the first time the impact of green card waiting time on the work and family life of Indian immigrants living in the US. Our present findings show that 93.4% of our participants are very concerned about the estimated green card waiting time in the US. We find 70% of the total participants are seriously thinking at the present time about emigrating to a more visa-friendly country. Also, 30% of the participants have already applied for permanent residency in a visa friendly country and …

The Effect Of Organizational Resilience And Ceo’S Narcissism On Project Success: Organizational Risk As Mediating Variable, Hadi Al-Abrrow, Alhamzah Alnoor, Sammar Abbas

Organization Management Journal

This study aimed to determine the effect of organizational resilience and chief executive officer (CEO) narcissism on project success via the mediating role of organizational risks. The study also highlighted the potential of the organization to adapt to environmental conditions, while maintaining successful projects according to established standards. The study developed a theoretical framework, within which the hypothetical structure was built on involving the five study variables. The framework was then tested and used in electrical power sector projects in Iraq, particularly in Basra. The study distributed 201 questionnaires to employees in the electricity power sector to obtain the required …

Work–Family Conflict And Counterproductive Work Behaviors: Moderating Role Of Regulatory Focus And Mediating Role Of Affect, T. T. (Rajan) Selvarajan, Barjinder Singh, Peggy A. Cloninger, Kaumudi Misra

Organization Management Journal

Evidence suggests work–family conflict can lead to numerous negative consequences in the workplace, including behaviors detrimental to the organization and its members, such as counterproductive work behaviors (CWBs). Yet relatively little research has addressed the relationship between work–family conflict and CWBs. This study builds on the structural model of stress and regulatory focus theory to addresses this major gap in the literature. Our model proposes that negative affect and self-regulation can help us understand how and why work–family conflict may be related to CWBs. We hypothesize that work–family conflict is positively related to negative affect, which in turn is positively …

A Study Of The Hierarchical Culture Gaps Within Unionized Utilities Companies, Levi R. G. Nieminen, Benjamin Biermeier-Hanson, Adam Roebuck, Daniel R. Denison

Organization Management Journal

The purpose of this study was to measure the culture gaps between hierarchical subgroups within unionized utilities companies. We conducted a mixed methods study. Using archival survey data, we compared hierarchically-defined subgroups’ perceptions of performance-linked culture traits within five unionized utilities companies. We later conducted interviews and focus groups, followed by qualitative coding and analysis. As compared to non-union employees, union employees viewed their companies as substantially less involving, consistent, adaptable, and clear about purpose and direction. Our qualitative analysis highlighted two prior management decisions as illustrative of the contrast between high and low levels of union involvement and clarity. …

Stakeholders And Business Strategy: A Role-Play Negotiation Themed Exercise, Jeff Moretz, Catherine C. Giapponi

Organization Management Journal

Consideration of the interests of stakeholders as well as the potential impact of stakeholders on company decisions provides critical insight into dimensions of strategic decision making that may be overlooked using traditional strategy frameworks. Using a case based on a manufacturing company’s deliberation of a decision to send offshore the manufacturing of its core products, this exercise exposes students to a variety of stakeholder perspectives through a role-play negotiationthemed exercise. Students adopt the roles of top management, labor representative, local supplier, customer representative, city manager, environmental activist, and shareholder representative. The negotiation activity is designed to raise student awareness of …

Turning Passion Into Profit: When Leisure Becomes Work In Modern Roller Derby, Amanda Nicole Draft

Wayne State University Dissertations

Modern roller derby operates as a “by the skater, for the skater” business model, where participants are not paid but must devote a certain amount of time, effort, and money to sustaining their sport and respective organizations. At the same time, while derby is grounded in anti-corporate values, a growing industry has sprouted to support the sport, the larger share of which consists of small business retailers selling gear, apparel, and other accessories. I use the context of modern roller derby to examine the changing natures of work and leisure, specifically how they operate as greedy institutions and emphasizing the …

Integrating Coaching And Self-Determination Theory: The Development And Validation Of The Managerial Coaching Questionnaire, Hunter Thomas Black

CGU Theses & Dissertations

Despite increasing practitioner application and decades of research on the topic of managerial coaching, the topic continues to lack conceptual clarity, foundational theory, and sound measures. As a result, there is little understanding of the underlying psychological mechanisms connecting coaching behaviors to employee outcomes. This dissertation develops a new theory-based framework and survey measure of managerial coaching behaviors (the managerial coaching questionnaire; MCQ) grounded in self-determination theory (Deci & Ryan, 1985; Ryan & Deci, 2000). Time-lagged results support the theoretical propositions of the framework with results showing a positive relationship between the MCQ and employee wellbeing mediated by employee need …

Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, Transgender, And Questioning Youth Services In Urban Homeless Shelters, Rajahm Sellers

Walden Dissertations and Doctoral Studies

Homeless shelter administrators provide shelter, food, and other basic needs to the homeless population. Because policies, environments, and services adhere to the general population, lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgendered, and questioning (LGBTQ) youth suffer when homeless shelter administrators do not address specific needs. The purpose of this study was to examine the perceptions of homeless shelter administrators and bridge the gap in knowledge about the policies and environments that impact the homeless LGBTQ youth community. The theoretical framework for this study was Tajfel and Turner's theory of social identity. Research questions included significant differences between developed shelter policies and environments based …

Relationship Between Transformational Leadership And Perceived Meaning In Work, Denise Adams

Walden Dissertations and Doctoral Studies

Researchers have conducted correlational studies on transformational leadership and perceived meaning in work; however, researchers have not used an experimental design to examine the relationship between transformational leadership and perceived meaning in work. The purpose of this study was to determine whether reading information on transformational leadership, which focused on charisma and individualized consideration, influenced participants' hypothetical judgment of perceived meaning in work. The quantitative study included a 2 x 2 between-subjects design in which information on the independent variables of charisma and individualized consideration was manipulated in a description of a hypothetical leader. The dependent variable was the hypothetical …

Sharing Of Threat-Related Information Among Public Safety Agencies In Honolulu, Hawaii, Cortney M. Chambers

Walden Dissertations and Doctoral Studies

There is a lack of knowledge regarding how public safety organizations communicate threat-related information at the local level. The purpose of this qualitative exploratory case study was to explore the benefits and challenges of sharing threat-related information between public safety agencies (law enforcement, fire services, emergency medical services, and public health) in Honolulu, Hawaii. The conceptual framework for the study was general systems theory. The sample for this study was a subset of 13 individuals from the larger population of approximately 50 subject matter experts who worked within four public safety agencies and had extensive experience analyzing and sharing threat-related …

“Square Peg In A Round Hole” An Interpretative Phenomenological Analysis Of Workers’ Experiences With Workplace Conflict, Katherine Joanna Sosa

Department of Conflict Resolution Studies Theses and Dissertations

Conflict is a predictable aspect of organizational life. Research indicates that workers spend the majority of their lifetime at work and that unresolved conflict is one of the largest reducible costs in organizations. However, the majority of employee conflicts are not accurately addressed by rights-and-power based conflict management systems. This Interpretative Phenomenological Analysis (IPA) study explored the experiences and perceptions of workers who had been involved in an unresolved or escalated workplace conflict that was of consequence in their lives. The study sought to learn how it impacted them and how they made sense of the conflict, their organizations, and …

The Impact Of Socioeconomic Status On College Students’ Experiences, Shaafi A. Farooqi

Pitzer Senior Theses

This qualitative research project examines the role of socioeconomic status in shaping the experiences of students attending Pearson College, an elite liberal arts college in Southern California. One hour-long, semi-structured interviews were conducted with ten Asian Pacific Islander Desi American (APIDA) students in order to better understand APIDA student experiences and their views on the college’s efforts to support class-based diversity and inclusion. Findings include insights into challenges faced by college students, how they understand privilege and identity, and where college students find support. These results have implications for Pearson College, and similar liberal arts colleges, to implement changes to …

Comparative Assessment Of The Flow State Scale And The Work-Related Flow Inventory: A Relative Weights Analysis, Samantha Gildemeister

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

Flow experiences, or optimal experiences of intense concentration and enjoyment, were originally measured using qualitative measures. More recently, quantitative measures such as the Flow State Scale (FSS) and the Work-Related Flow Inventory (WOLF) allowed for structural assessment of the construct, but the vague definition of flow led to variability in the foundation of the measurement. As such, this study aimed to investigate the extent of overlap between the FSS and the WOLF at the factor level in a sample of working adults. Specifically, we investigated the relation between the nine FSS factors and the three WOLF factors using confirmatory factor …

Experiences Of Subtle Sexism Among Women Employees In The National Park Service, Audrey Marie Ashcraft

Walden Dissertations and Doctoral Studies

Although blatant sexism persists in the workplace, there is a subtler type of sexism that is not often discussed. Some of the harmful outcomes that concern organization employees and leaders include decreased job satisfaction and morale, increased stress and turnover, damaged workplace relationships, barriers to career development for women, and decreased feelings of safety in law enforcement employees. Subtle sexism is often disguised as friendliness or chivalry, and therefore is difficult to detect, so it is often ignored or trivialized. The harms are cumulative and compound over time. The purpose of this qualitative, phenomenological study was to gather data about …

Self-Efficacy And Leadership Commitment During Lean Strategy Deployment, Angela Deloise Pearson

Walden Dissertations and Doctoral Studies

Lean strategy deployment (LSD) provides a means to create lasting value at reduced cost; yet most LSD efforts fail to attain sustainable improvements. The current study sought to gain an understanding of how leaders in oral healthcare manufacturing setting in the northeastern region of the United States can apply self-efficacy and leadership commitment during an LSD. Using Bandura’s theory of self-efficacy this qualitative phenomenological study examined the lived experiences and perceptions of 15 mid-to-senior level managers, concerning the use of self-efficacy and leadership commitment during a lean strategy deployment (LSD). The key findings resulted in 10 emergent themes. The top …